I get the childhood dream thing with these kids, however, many of them are taking a short term view of a very long life. Look at Kramer "little sweet" Robertson from LSU. He was drafted in the 13th round last year, came back to LSU and was drafted in the 4th round this year. He played another year in college, still gets a big payday, and another shot at a National Championship, all while not traveling on buses to play instructional league A ball.
I know that many of these kids think in terms of 3 years and go because of bargaining power from what I've heard. However, let's be honest, most of them will never darken the doors of a big league club house and no future employer is going to care about your status as a AA ball player the last 6 or 7 years. Finishing college, playing baseball, and still playing professional baseball after college in the minor leagues makes sense to me, UNLESS you are getting that huge payday for being selected in the first 2 or 3 rounds. Staying in college and graduating is a better long term decision for their lives, especially those whose chance of ever cracking a big league lineup is slim and none.
Look at a guy like Boomer White. Last I saw, he was batting sub .225 in A ball. Why? Because like it or not, professional baseball is an UPHILL battle to play with the big boys. And he was the SEC player of the year last year, right? Yes, not having to go to class, and playing ball as your job sounds glamorous, but for almost all of these guys drafted every year, most will be looking for real jobs in a few years, after having not finished college. Name for me 1 Aggie off last year's team that you think will have a long career in the major leagues? 13 draft choices, how many will actually play in the majors over the next 2 or 3 years?
