The Washington Nationals made draft history on Monday by signing number one pick Stephen Strasburg to a record-breaking $15.1 million deal.  There was plenty of “will he, won’t he” talk leading up the announcement, but in truth the result was never really in doubt.  Even as the midnight deadline gradually got closer and closer, it seemed unthinkable that a deal would not be reached.

The Nationals simply could not let Strasburg slip from their grasp. 

The Washington Nationals have started life in the U.S. capital in inglorious fashion.  They’ve built an attractive ballpark, but getting people to fill it has been a struggle.  Their current team doesn’t create excitement or much affection and it doesn’t win many games.  That’s partly due to the long hangover of the franchise’s dog days in Montreal and the only way things are going to change is by the Nationals using their high draft picks to gradually develop a core of the best young talent.  It requires some patience, but the Tampa Bay Rays showed last year, and will continue to show for many years in the future, that it’s an approach that will bear fruit in time.

High draft picks alone don’t guarantee success.  An organization needs to make good choices and be prepared to pay the going rate to secure their selections.  The Nationals appear to be well set with the first category.  Mike Rizzo has earned the reputation of being an outstanding evaluator of player talent.  His promotion from interim GM to full-time GM may have taken longer than many would have liked, but he was finally confirmed in post this week and all indications suggest that it’s excellent news for Nationals fans.

Washington’s willingness to pay-up for top prospects hasn’t been quite so certain.  They were unable to come to terms with their first round pick last year, Aaron Crow, and for a team so desperately in need of talent, making a habit of letting draft picks go to waste would be suicidal.  Crow hasn’t yet signed with his ’09 team, the Royals, either (as an Independent League player, he’s not subject to the normal deadline), so perhaps his demands aren’t realistic and the Nationals were right to walk away.  Whether they should have selected him in the first place would then be up for debate.

There wasn’t much need for lengthy debate over their selection in this year’s draft.  They had free choice and one man stood head and shoulders above the other options.  Stephen Strasburg’s performances at San Diego State University had everyone predicting stardom, not least the agent Scott Boras who added the pitcher to his stable of elite players.  Those two factors assured Strasburg of a bumper payday and he got one. 

Even Bud Selig was moved to state the Nationals “did what they had to do” to sign the pitcher.  The Commissioner would normally express reservations at a team spending so much money.  A slotting system is in place to guide teams on how much they should pay for draft picks at different levels, yet few teams fell in line this year despite the harsh economic climate.  Selig is already talking about a hard slotting system being put in place in the future, but for now teams will pay what they want to pay.

And that’s the most important point.  No one forced the Nationals to give Strasburg $15.1 million.  They weighed it up and decided he was worth the investment.  Each team has a budget and it’s up to them to decide how they spend it.

Take the Oakland A’s as an example. They started the year with a payroll of just over $62m and have continued their recent trend of trading away players earning significantly more than the league minimum as the season has progressed.  However, such cost-cutting at the Major League level has been made while diverting resources into rebuilding the farm system. 

The A’s selected Grant Green with their first round pick (thirteenth overall) this year, despite knowing that he would come with a hefty price tag.  GM Billy Beane was locked in negotiations with the player’s adviser, Scott Boras again, until a $2.75m deal was agreed with ten minutes left on the clock.  The A’s also spent big with their fourth round selection.  Catcher Max Stasi was generally considered to be a first-round talent but his signing demands and bargaining position (he was reportedly happy to go to college – UCLA – if the team who selected him didn’t pay up) saw him drop down the pecking order.  The A’s snagged him and agreed a $1.5m deal: a record sum for a fourth round selection.

That’s $4.25m on two players who potentially might never make a Major League roster, should injuries or other roadblocks materialize during their development.  So it’s a gamble, but it’s a calculated one.  The A’s have a limited pot of money and even average Major Leaguers with more than three years of service time earn seven figure salaries.  The Royals under GM Dayton Moore’s command have acquired a group of such players this season, for some unknown reason.  They are paying Mike Jacobs $3.25m and Willie Bloomquist $1.4m this year.  For $400k less than that, the A’s have invested in two talented prospects that could become quality Major Leaguers under control for six years once they reach the Show (or be traded away for other valuable parts). 

Of course, this is becoming a real issue for the Players Union, with veteran players not being happy that some prospects are getting bigger pay days than they are despite their years of Major League experience.  That’s one of the main reasons why the hard slotting system could be introduced and both players and teams will look at ways of altering the draft as part of the next Collectve Bargaining Agreement in 2011.

However, investing money in prospects is the best way to build up a franchise and, for now at least, that means paying the going rate.  The Washington Nationals have accepted this and now have one of the most prized players in the game.  They are not likely to immediately become postseason contenders, but they are heading in the right direction.

And attracting people to Nationals Stadium for Strasburg starts shouldn’t be much of a problem.