April 5th, 2024
Jim Callis
@JimCallisMLBThe Guardians didn't just win the 2024 Draft Lottery. They also hit the jackpot.
With assigned values for each pick rising 8.7 percent, mirroring the growth in MLB revenues, Cleveland's No. 1 overall pick is worth $10,570,600. That's the highest ever, eclipsing the $9,721,000 amount the Pirates' No. 1 choice was slotted at a year ago.
The Guardians, who had just the ninth-best lottery odds of coming away with the top choice, also have the largest total allotment since the bonus-pool era began in 2012. Helped by the record value of the No. 1 pick and a competitive-balance choice at No. 36, their pool totals $18,334,000. The 2015 Astros had two of the first five selections that year -- which they turned into Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker -- and set the previous standard at $17,289,200.
The 2024 MLB Draft will be hold on July 14-16 during All-Star Week in Dallas.
• Draft Central | Top 100 Draft prospects | Order
Eighteen teams have seven-figure bonus pools, with the Rockies ($17,243,400), Reds ($15,842,100), Royals ($15,418,300) and Athletics ($15,347,900) joining the Guardians in crossing the $15 million threshold. Cleveland gained $4.3 million by moving up from ninth to first in the Draft Lottery, while the Reds added $4.7 million by jumping from 14th to second.
The Astros have the smallest pool at $5,914,700. Houston sits 28th in the unadjusted Draft order and forfeited its second pick for signing qualified free agent Josh Hader.
The pools for all 30 clubs combine to total $334,375,000, up from $307,335,300 a year ago. Teams combined to spend a record $350,089,060 on signing bonuses for drafted players in 2023. That sum included the two highest bonuses in Draft history, $9.2 million for No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes and $9 million for No. 2 choice Dylan Crews (Nationals).
Each selection in the first 10 rounds comes with an assigned value, with the total for a club's picks equaling what it can spend in those rounds without incurring a penalty. If a player taken in the top 10 rounds doesn't sign, his choice's value gets subtracted from his team's pool. Clubs near the top of the Draft often spend less than the assigned value for those choices and use the savings to offer more money to later selections.
Teams that exceed their bonus pool face a penalty. Clubs that outspend their allotment by 0-5 percent pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. At higher thresholds, teams lose future picks: a first-rounder and a 75 percent tax for surpassing their pool by more than 5 and up to 10 percent; a first- and a second-rounder and a 100 percent tax for more than 10 and up to 15 percent; and two first-rounders and a 100 percent tax for more than 15 percent.
In 12 Drafts with bonus pool rules, clubs have outspent their allotments a total of 217 times but never by more than 5 percent. The Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers and Giants have outspent their pools every year, and 22 of the 30 teams did so in 2023. The Rockies and Twins never have exceeded their pools.
Bonus pools by team
Guardians: $18,334,000
Rockies: $17,243,400
Reds: $15,842,100
Royals: $15,418,300
Athletics: $15,347,900
White Sox: $14,593,300
Pirates: $14,000,500
Angels: $12,990,400
Brewers: $12,984,400
Diamondbacks: $12,662,000
Twins: $12,209,600
Tigers: $11,921,800
Nationals: $11,500,100
Orioles: $10,920,900
Red Sox: $10,521,600
Marlins: $10,438,500
Cardinals: $10,213,000
Rays: $10,093,100
Cubs: $9,802,300
Mets: $9,572,200
Mariners: $9,543,300
Padres: $9,360,500
Blue Jays: $8,987,000
Yankees: $8,134,500
Braves: $7,765,000
Giants: $7,566,200
Phillies: $7,381,800
Rangers: $6,997,900
Dodgers: $6,114,700
Astros: $5,914,700
First Round
- Guardians: $10,570,600
- Reds: $9,785,000
- Rockies: $9,070,800
- Athletics: $8,370,800
- White Sox: $7,763,700
- Royals: $7,213,800
- Cardinals: $6,823,700
- Angels: $6,502,800
- Pirates: $6,216,600
- Nationals: $5,953,800
- Tigers: $5,712,100
- Red Sox: $5,484,600
- Giants: $5,272,300
- Cubs: $5,070,700
- Mariners: $4,880,900
- Marlins: $4,704,700
- Brewers: $4,534,100
- Rays: $4,372,900
- Mets: $4,219,200*
- Blue Jays: $4,073,400
- Twins: $3,934,400
- Orioles: $3,802,200
- Dodgers: $3,676,400
- Braves: $3,556,300
- Padres: $3,442,100*
- Yankees: $3,332,900*
- Phillies: $3,228,300
- Astros: $3,132,500
- Diamondbacks: $3,045,500
- Rangers: $2,971,300
* Picks dropped 10 spots for exceeding competitive-balance tax threshold by more than $40 million.
Prospect Promotion Incentive Picks
- Diamondbacks: $2,904,000 (for NL ROY Corbin Carroll)
- Orioles: $2,835,400 (for AL ROY Gunnar Henderson)
Free-Agent Compensation Pick
- Twins: $2,766,100 (for Sonny Gray)
Competitive Balance Round A
- Brewers: $2,698,300 (from Orioles in Corbin Burnes trade)
- Diamondbacks: $2,632,500
- Guardians: $2,569,200
- Pirates: $2,511,400
- Rockies: $2,452,200
- Royals: $2,395,000
Second Round
- Athletics: $2,332,100
- Royals: $2,278,000
- Rockies: $2,224,700
- White Sox: $2,172,800
- Nationals: $2,122,200
- Angels: $2,072,800
- Mets: $2,031,700
- Pirates: $1,984,800
- Guardians: $1,938,800
- Tigers: $1,893,700
- Red Sox: $1,846,400
- Reds: $1,804,900
- Padres: $1,762,500
- Yankees: $1,721,200
- Cubs: $1,681,200
- Mariners: $1,641,800
- Marlins: $1,603,400
- Brewers: $1,562,100
- Rays: $1,525,200
- Blue Jays: $1,489,000
- Twins: $1,453,700
- Orioles: $1,418,900
- Braves: $1,385,000
- Phillies: $1,352,000
- Diamondbacks: $1,319,200
- Rangers: $1,287,600
Competitive Balance Round B
- Rays: $1,260,200
- Brewers: $1,226,800
- White Sox: $1,197,200 (from Mariners in Gregory Santos trade)
- Twins: $1,168,000
- Marlins: $1,139,100
- Reds: $1,110,600
- Tigers: $1,093,600
- Athletics: $1,076,900
Free-Agent Compensation Pick
- Angels: $1,060,300 (for Shohei Ohtani)
Third Round
- Athletics: $1,043,900
- Royals: $1,027,700
- Rockies: $1,011,900
- White Sox: $996,100
- Nationals: $980,300
- Cardinals: $964,500
- Angels: $948,600
- Mets: $934,800
- Pirates: $920,800
- Guardians: $906,800
- Tigers: $892,600
- Red Sox: $878,800
- Reds: $865,800
- Padres: $852,300
- Yankees: $838,900
- Cubs: $826,000
- Mariners: $812,900
- Marlins: $800,800
- Brewers: $788,700
- Rays: $776,500
- Blue Jays: $767,200
- Twins: $759,700
- Orioles: $752,500
- Dodgers: $745,000
- Braves: $737,800
- Phillies: $730,500
- Astros: $724,800
- Diamondbacks: $717,700
- Rangers: $710,400
Fourth Round
- Athletics: $703,400
- Royals: $696,300
- Rockies: $689,600
- White Sox: $682,800
- Nationals: $676,000
- Cardinals: $669,300
- Angels: $662,900
- Mets: $656,400
- Pirates: $649,700
- Guardians: $643,500
- Tigers: $637,200
- Red Sox: $630,900
- Giants: $624,800
- Reds: $618,800
- Padres: $612,900
- Yankees: $606,700
- Cubs: $600,800
- Mariners: $594,900
- Marlins: $589,000
- Brewers: $583,400
- Rays: $577,700
- Blue Jays: $572,200
- Twins: $567,400
- Orioles: $562,000
- Dodgers: $556,300
- Braves: $551,100
- Phillies: $545,400
- Astros: $541,100
- Diamondbacks: $535,800
- Rangers: $530,400
Free-Agent Compensation Picks
- Padres: $525,200 (for Josh Hader)
- Padres: $520,000 (for Blake Snell)
- Blue Jays: $515,100 (for Matt Chapman)
Fifth Round
- Athletics: $510,000
- Royals: $505,000
- Rockies: $500,000
- White Sox: $495,400
- Nationals: $490,500
- Cardinals: $485,700
- Angels: $480,800
- Mets: $476,200
- Pirates: $471,400
- Guardians: $466,900
- Tigers: $462,300
- Red Sox: $457,900
- Giants: $453,300
- Reds: $448,700
- Padres: $444,200
- Yankees: $440,100
- Cubs: $435,600
- Mariners: $431,400
- Marlins: $427,000
- Brewers: $422,900
- Rays: $418,600
- Blue Jays: $414,600
- Twins: $411,000
- Orioles: $407,100
- Braves: $403,400
- Phillies: $399,600
- Astros: $396,200
- Diamondbacks: $392,300
- Rangers: $388,700
Sixth Round
- Athletics: $385,500
- Royals: $382,100
- Rockies: $378,900
- White Sox: $375,700
- Nationals: $372,300
- Cardinals: $369,100
- Angels: $366,100
- Mets: $363,100
- Pirates: $359,900
- Guardians: $357,000
- Tigers: $354,100
- Red Sox: $351,100
- Giants: $348,200
- Reds: $345,100
- Padres: $342,300
- Yankees: $339,600
- Cubs: $337,000
- Mariners: $334,200
- Marlins: $331,300
- Brewers: $328,700
- Rays: $326,000
- Blue Jays: $323,400
- Twins: $320,800
- Orioles: $318,300
- Dodgers: $315,500
- Braves: $312,800
- Phillies: $310,300
- Astros: $307,600
- Diamondbacks: $305,200
- Rangers: $302,700
Seventh Round
- Athletics: $300,200
- Royals: $297,700
- Rockies: $295,300
- White Sox: $292,700
- Nationals: $290,300
- Cardinals: $288,700
- Angels: $286,200
- Mets: $283,800
- Pirates: $281,500
- Guardians: $279,100
- Tigers: $276,700
- Red Sox: $274,600
- Giants: $272,200
- Reds: $270,000
- Padres: $268,000
- Yankees: $265,800
- Cubs: $263,600
- Mariners: $261,600
- Marlins: $259,600
- Brewers: $257,400
- Rays: $255,500
- Blue Jays: $253,300
- Twins: $251,500
- Orioles: $249,400
- Dodgers: $247,900
- Braves: $245,900
- Phillies: $244,300
- Astros: $242,400
- Diamondbacks: $240,600
- Rangers: $238,900
Eighth Round
- Athletics: $237,400
- Royals: $235,900
- Rockies: $234,200
- White Sox: $232,200
- Nationals: $230,900
- Cardinals: $229,000
- Angels: $227,700
- Mets: $226,000
- Pirates: $224,500
- Guardians: $222,800
- Tigers: $221,400
- Red Sox: $219,900
- Giants: $218,600
- Reds: $217,400
- Padres: $216,200
- Yankees: $215,100
- Cubs: $213,900
- Mariners: $212,900
- Marlins: $211,600
- Brewers: $210,700
- Rays: $209,800
- Blue Jays: $208,700
- Twins: $207,800
- Orioles: $206,900
- Dodgers: $205,800
- Braves: $205,300
- Phillies: $204,400
- Astros: $203,500
- Diamondbacks: $202,800
- Rangers: $202,000
Ninth Round
- Athletics: $201,300
- Royals: $200,600
- Rockies: $200,000
- White Sox: $199,200
- Nationals: $198,600
- Cardinals: $198,000
- Angels: $197,500
- Mets: $196,700
- Pirates: $196,100
- Guardians: $195,700
- Tigers: $195,100
- Red Sox: $194,600
- Giants: $194,200
- Reds: $193,600
- Padres: $193,000
- Yankees: $192,600
- Cubs: $192,100
- Mariners: $191,600
- Marlins: $191,300
- Brewers: $190,900
- Rays: $190,400
- Blue Jays: $190,100
- Twins: $189,500
- Orioles: $189,000
- Dodgers: $188,800
- Braves: $188,600
- Phillies: $188,200
- Astros: $187,800
- Diamondbacks: $187,600
- Rangers: $187,100
Tenth Round
- Athletics: $186,400
- Royals: $186,200
- Rockies: $185,800
- White Sox: $185,500
- Nationals: $185,200
- Cardinals: $185,000
- Angels: $184,700
- Mets: $184,300
- Pirates: $183,800
- Guardians: $183,600
- Tigers: $183,000
- Red Sox: $182,800
- Giants: $182,600
- Reds: $182,200
- Padres: $181,800
- Yankees: $181,600
- Cubs: $181,400
- Mariners: $181,100
- Marlins: $180,700
- Brewers: $180,400
- Rays: $180,300
- Blue Jays: $180,000
- Twins: $179,700
- Orioles: $179,200
- Dodgers: $179,000
- Braves: $178,800
- Phillies: $178,800
- Astros: $178,800
- Diamondbacks: $178,800
- Rangers: $178,800
