Striking It Rich

The term prospecting probably arouses visions of pick axes, claims and the 1800s.  Or possibly someone hunkered down over a stream panning for treasure.  It is the elusive lure of riches by simply discovering gold.

However, gold is not the only valuable commodity discovered by prospecting.  Scouts and front offices of all the major league baseball teams are also searching for the next wave of talent.  That wave of talent comes in the form of baseball prospects and discovering a rising star can make many involved rich in several ways.

First, a player can benefit by raising his prospect status as an amateur.  While scouts will drool over a player’s natural “tools” such as speed and power, performance can raise the bar as well.  There is less perceived risk from a polished player.  Players selected early in the draft become millionaires before even setting foot on a diamond as a professional.

A team derives value from a successful prospect through team and cost control.  A team controls the rights to the player for several years before free agency can send the player’s salary through the roof.  In addition, for the first few years, a team can pay a player near league minimum.  Therefore, they can allocate the dollars saved to other areas of the roster to field a better team.

Of course there are increased revenue streams from fielding a contending team.  More coverage, more butts in the seats, and more merchandise sales are benefits.  Also, the playoffs create even more revenue.

In addition, the team and owners can benefit from a marketable star through other sources of revenue such as television deals, jersey and ticket sales and publicity.

Team general managers also benefit from prospects.  They can choose to trade prospects for established players.  Essentially, they are the currency used by contending teams to make a playoff run.  They are also the future that general managers of rebuilding teams try to acquire.  Fail to find good prospects and you will fail at your job.

Another beneficiary of prospecting would be a player agent.  Representing a quality prospect will lead to a nice commission from the subsequent contract negotiation.

Therefore, just as with gold prospecting, prospecting for baseball players carries plenty of potential reward.  Also, the similarities continue since claims may come up empty just like a player could flame out.  However, the lure of riches keeps on drawing many back in the hopes of striking it rich with the next prospect.