It seems like I am learning about new parts of the new collective bargaining agreement on a regular basis. Not surprising given the expansiveness and subtlety that exists within. But tomorrow marks the first ever Competitive Balance Lottery, making solvent a new component to the draft, and bringing us an opportunity to discuss both this aspect and other aspects that we might not realize until they take effect like that baseball officially has at least part of a draft lottery.

Here's an article to help inform:

http://beck.mlblogs.com/2012/07/17/how-tigers-qualify-for-competitive-balance-lottery/

Quick notes: 10 lowest revenue franchises and/or 10 smallest markets get a draft pick either at the end of the first round and compensation round, or at the end of the second depending on the outcome of the lottery.

The attempt is to help small market, or low revenue clubs gain an advantage on the development end since they supposedly lack one in terms of "natural resources."

The Lottery part happens tomorrow, but the entire structure is intriguing to me. For one, it allows teams to trade the picks they receive in this aspect of the draft. This isn't at all new to professional sports, but is totally novel in baseball and adds a new element of the draft as well as a potential precedent, though one less likely to catch on given the nature of the farm system in baseball.

The system is flawed in my mind if the Cardinals (with the 110 million payroll and highly loyal fanbase )get a "competitive balance" lottery pick and the Braves don't.

Here's another, more thorough, article for reference: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1258849-explaining-the-competitive-balance-lottery-of-the-mlb-draft