When Dropping Out of High School Makes Sense

Last night, just seconds before the signing deadline, the Washington Nationals signed their first round pick Bryce Harper to a five year $9.9 million deal. (This is the second year in a row that the Nationals have signed a first round pick at the last minute. Stephen Strasburg was in that situation last year and has already become a phenom.) Harper is only 17 years old and has just received the highest paying contract for a non-pitcher coming out of the draft (that is not a free agent).

Harper has been a star in the making for years, and was even on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 16. In order to be eligible for the draft as early as possible, Harper chose to drop out of high-school (though he got his GED) and enter junior college. According to MLB rules, a player is eligible for the draft if he has graduated from high school and has not yet entered college or junior college, or if he has entered junior college. (A player may also be drafted from a regular four year college, but only if he is 21 years of age and has completed his junior year.) So, Harper therefore avoided waiting until high school graduation to enter the draft and got the benefit of some junior college experience.

Yes, these MLB rules are ridiculous, but Harper, and his agent Scott Boras, made them work. As a 17 year old Harper is now a multi-millionaire and will have to find a cool teenage way to spend that kind of dough.