Major League Baseball scouting organizations spent more on high school players (in terms of seven-figure bonuses) in 2023 than in any MLB Draft prior too. With more than $108 million being dished out to 40 different prospects, the forecasted promise of elite upside was more than capitalized on with checkbooks, and early projections and performances have many clubs giddy about their investments.

Less heralded than its predecessor, the overwhelming consensus on the 2024 MLB Draft from the prep side of things was that it was a down year for talent with potentially a more robust depth chart of middle-tier elite prospects. An emerging idea of grabbing quality through quantity developed as clubs might have opted to grab as many players (at a discount) in order to strengthen the chance of squeezing out future successes. This came in what was thought to be a stark contrast to the 2023 (as well as ‘21&’22) class which featured a bevy of budding superstars and up-the-middle talent that included two $7+ million dollar bonuses (Max Clark, Walker Jenkins) and 13 total first rounders (just 10 in ‘24).

However, the finances of the matter describes a differing opinion and reinforces the notion that “no matter the year, somebody has to get paid”. The data set below gives a birds-eye-view of the past four (post-Covid) high school draft classes, and while the ‘21-’23 groups clearly have a bit of separation with nearly $10M more paid out to the top 40 bonus-getters, the amount given to the ‘24 group is hardly a paltry sum.

2021

Top 40 bonus total: $107.9 million ($2.69 million avg.)
42 high school players received seven-figure signing bonuses
Avg of the Top 20: $3.8 million
$5+ million = 5
$4+ million = 3
$3+ million = 4
$2+ million = 12

$2+ million total = 24

7-figure positional breakdown:
SS: 12
LHP: 4
RHP: 11
OF: 8
C: 2
3B: 3