Overview

In this project we conducted a survival analysis of the time from draft date to debut date for major league baseball players. Our analysis specifically focuses on the variables of fielding position and whether a player was drafted in high school or college, and how these differences change a player’s time from draft to debut.

0.1 Motivation

An analysis of the period of time between a player’s draft date and their MLB debut date can help major league teams better prepare for their future seasons. Among players who reached the majors, we estimated the average length of time between a player’s latest draft date and their MLB debut date to be 1667 days, or 4.56 years. Therefore, when professional teams are drafting their players, they generally need to be planning for what they want their organization to look and play like at least four to five years later. If these teams have a better idea of how long it usually takes between the draft and debut date for high school players in comparison to college players, they may have a better idea of who to scout and draft when rebuilding their farm system for that future championship team. This planning can additionally be more accurate when taking into account position, and analyzing how there are differences in average time to debut between players at different positions.