How come baseball signees don't graduate a semester early and show up in January?

I realize the roster is limited like hell, but we always end up with 5 or 6 guys who never got one rep in a game all year


Couldn't this be a way to get those guys for at least one year who end up as high school first rounders, like the kid we lost to the Atlanta Braves?



ETA: I realize I didn't explain well enough

I'm talking only about guys who are pretty obviously going to go in the top two rounds out of high school, especially pitchers

and if you're their dad and mom, wouldn't you rather trust your kid's arm that spring to DVH and staff instead of a high school coach

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Because baseball is a spring sport?

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thank you we've all known that since we were zero years old

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Baseball plays their senior year in spring,

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LOL, also known since birth. Known before birth!


So again, what prevented Cole Phillips from graduating Boerne, TX last December, a semester early, and playing for the Diamond Hogs last spring instead of playing his senior year in high school?





ETA: beebe, I didn't explain my point well enough, my bad

Because if they're a 1st or 2nd rounder they're going pro usually.

If they sign with a college team they have to wait until after their Junior season or sophomore season if they turn 21 by draft day.

Also, your football roster is largely put together in the spring. Your baseball roster is largely put together in the fall. You can make it graduating early in football and football has no draft eligibility until they're roughly 3 years into college. In baseball, they can go right after high school and they wouldn't line up to get that year of playing time. The players with skills to start in college without playing fall ball at the college level are going pro typically.

Robert Moore enrolled early, can’t remember the exact timeline but it was really surprising when we suddenly got him a year earlier than expected.

Rule 4 Draft

Definition

The Rule 4 Draft is the official term for the First-Year Player Draft, an amateur draft held annually. Players must be a resident of the United States (U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, apply) or Canada to be eligible for the draft. Players who have graduated high school but not attended college are eligible for the draft, as are those who have completed at least one year of junior college. Players attending four-year colleges are eligible to be drafted upon completing their junior year or turning 21 years old.

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Cornelius

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Hawgeye

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that's the answers I was looking for - thank you


That said, I'd like to see that rule go away.

Why do we punish an 18 year old for graduating early in December and playing a semester in college, and yet allow his twin brother 18 year old to get drafted after playing a last year in high school instead of graduating early?