To say the Dodgers were balling on a budget during the draft would be an understatement. Their monstrous spending in free agency had to come at a fault somewhere, and the repercussions were massive on the draft front.
Los Angeles’ first round pick would come at a 10-pick penalty due to exceeding the second surcharge threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax, now picking at 40 with their first selection. To add to the blow, their signings of Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz resulted in a loss of their second, third, fifth, and sixth round picks, creating a record-low bonus pool of just $3,951,900. It is worth noting that clubs are able to spend upwards of five percent over their allotted pool, so the class figures to be north of four million.
But there’s a reason the Dodgers continue to have a consensus top-five farm system in the league. Their eye …