MLB Owners Propose Banning High-School Signings, Shrinking Draft to 12 Rounds, and Creating International Draft

Major League Baseball owners proposed banning high school players from signing directly with major league teams during collective bargaining on Thursday, June 18, 2026. The same package would raise the minimum signing age for international amateurs to 18 as of Sept. 1 and reduce spending on signing bonuses.

Beginning in 2027, the amateur draft for players from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico would shrink from 20 rounds to 12. An identical 12-round draft would be created for international prospects, with the first such draft no earlier than September 2027. Each draft would carry a $200 million signing-bonus pool and hard caps on individual bonuses.

Under the plan, teams could trade draft picks, but no club could trade its first-round selection in consecutive years, and no team could acquire more than three additional picks in the first three rounds. The owners also proposed eliminating the competitive-balance round picks introduced in 2023 and reducing the draft lottery from the top six selections to the top four.

Starting in 2028, domestic prospects would need to be at least 20 years old by Sept.

1 of their signing year and two years removed from their high-school graduating class. MLB stated that expanded college scholarships, NIL opportunities, revenue sharing, and facility investments have strengthened the college pathway. The owners said a draft centered on college-aged players would let more prospects benefit from a college education and elite development environment.

MLB said it will not seek to reduce the 120 minor-league teams in the top four levels when new professional-development licenses are negotiated in 2030. The owners noted that 75 percent of high-school players signed between 2012 and 2019 never reached the major leagues.

The current international signing period begins each Jan. 15. Bargaining began May 13, 2026, and the sides exchanged initial proposals two weeks later. Management proposed a salary cap for the first time since 1994, when a similar demand led to a 7½-month strike and the cancellation of the World Series.