Unlike the draft in most professional sports leagues, the Major League Baseball draft is just as much about money as it is talent.
Every draft slot is assigned a value, which is the projected signing bonus that a player should receive. Each team has a bonus pool, which is the sum of the assigned slot values for all of their picks.
MLB teams can get as creative as they choose with bonus pool by giving draftees underslot or overslot contracts, but teams cannot exceed their pool value.
It's an aspect of the MLB Draft that often gets overlooked, and for the Los Angeles Dodgers, it has never been more relevant than in 2025.