How Much Does A Minor League Baseball Player Make?

A comprehensive look at minor league baseball player salaries, including how much players at each level make and how those salaries compare to the MLB minimum.

MLB and MiLB

There is a big difference between what a player in Major League Baseball (MLB) and a player in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) make. MLB is the highest level of baseball in the world while MiLB is the developmental league for MLB. The average MLB salary is $4.36 million while the average MiLB salary is only $6,000.

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams play in the National League (NL) and American League (AL), with 15 teams in each league. The NL and AL were formed as separate legal entities in 1876 and 1901 respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities beginning in 1903, the leagues merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs. With the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament.

MiLB
Minor League Baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball (MLB) and provide opportunities for player development and a pathway to Major League employment. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of either the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or the International League. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, do not have any major league affiliations.

Minor League Baseball

Depending on what level they play at, minor league baseball players can make anywhere from $3,000 to $7,500 per month. The majority of players (approximately 60%) are paid at or near the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, with the other 40% earning slightly more.

Players in Single-A generally make $3,000 to $4,500 per month, while those in Double-A can expect to earn $5,000 to $7,500 per month.Players at the Triple-A level make the most money out of all minor league baseball players, with salaries ranging from $2, 150 to $2,700 per month.

The minor league baseball season is relatively short, running from April to September. Players usually only work during these months and do not receive any pay during the off-season.

Salaries

MLB

In order to become a Minor League Baseball player, one must be drafted by an organization through the Major League Baseball Rule 4 Draft, or they must sign as an international free agent. Although some players are signed as amateurs out of high school or college, the majority of players that are drafted or sign with a team are between the ages of 18-21. A small number of players are able to bypass the minor leagues entirely and go straight to the major leagues, but this is very rare.

The vast majority of players will spend several years in the minor leagues before getting called up to the majors, if they ever do. The pay in the minor leagues is not nearly as high as it is in the majors, but it has increased significantly in recent years. According to MLB.com, the average salary for a player in Triple-A (the highest level of the minors) was $2,837 per month in 2019. This comes out to $34,044 per year. Players in Double-A made an average of $2,150 per month ($25,800 per year), while those in Single-A made $1,875 per month ($22,500 per year).

Players at lower levels of the minors make even less money. For example, players in short-season A ball made just $1,400 per month ($16,800 per year) in 2019. Salaries vary depending on a number of factors such as a player’s experience level and their team’s affiliation (whether they are with a Major League Baseball team or an independent league).

MiLB

The average salary for a minor league baseball player is $3,000 per month for the five-month season, or $60,000 annually. Contracts for players drafted in the first year of the draft (or “first-year players”) are for seven seasons. After that, minor league free agents are free to sign with any major league or minor league team.

Differences in Salaries

The average salary for a minor league baseball player is $6,000 per year. Major league baseball players make an average of $3.2 million per year. The minimum salary for a major league baseball player is $400,000 per year. The minimum salary for a minor league baseball player is $1,100 per month.

MLB vs MiLB

The average salary for a minor league baseball player is $6,000-$10,000 per season. Major league baseball players make an average of $3.2 million per year. The minimum salary for a major league baseball player is $500,000 per year.

Reasons for the differences

There are a few reasons for the differences in salaries between Major League and Minor League Baseball players. The most obvious reason is that Major League Baseball is a much bigger and more popular sport than Minor League Baseball, so the players in the Major Leagues are able to command higher salaries. Another reason is that Minor League Baseball is a developmental league, so the players are not as experienced or as skilled as the players in the Major Leagues, so they are not able to command as high of salaries. Finally, Major League Baseball teams are owned by large corporations, while most Minor League Baseball teams are owned by individuals or small groups of investors, so the Major League teams have more money to spend on player salaries.

How to get to the MLB

A player in the minor leagues is paid according to his level in the minors and the number of years he has been in minor league baseball. A player in Class A baseball will make $3,300 per month, while a player in Triple-A will make $2,150 per month. A player with less than three years of service in minor league baseball will make $1,100 per month.

The path to the MLB

In order to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team, a player must first be eligible for the draft. To be eligible, a player must either be:

-A high school graduate, or
-At least 21 years old and have been out of high school for at least 3 years.

Once a player is eligible for the draft, they can then be drafted by any Major League Baseball team. The draft consists of 40 rounds, and each team has one pick in each round. The order of the draft is determined by the previous year’s standings, with the worst team getting the first pick and the World Series champion getting the last pick.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, we can see that there is a wide range of salaries in Minor League Baseball. Players at the lower levels make much less than the Major League minimum, while players at the higher levels can make up to $100,000 per year. There are a few factors that can affect a Minor League player’s salary, such as their experience, their level, and the market size of their team.

Summary

In short, a minor league baseball player make around $7,500 per month on average during the season. However, the salary can range from $1,100 to $2,150 per month for those at the lower end of the spectrum and extend up to as much as $10,000 per month for more experienced or higher ranking players.