One of the difficult aspects if trading for me is valuing a current major leaguer vs a future one.... Does anyone have any rule of thumb on this? How much in terms of draft picks is a current stud pitcher worth- say age 30- how much does the contract shift that etc...


I realize that is a complicated question with a million permutations but any thought processes people use would be appreciated!

Pitchers hold their value into their late 30s.   Position players begin decline in their early 30s and, depending on their skill set, may be useless by 34-35.

Therefore, if I'm trading a young pitcher, I want nothing short of a king's ransom.   Simply put, someone will get 10-11 seasons of control, all at peak value, and and possibly another 5 seasons at peak value from said pitcher.

Position players are different.   At best, they get the 10-11 seasons of peak value then, maybe, some high cost/declining value seasons.

All that said, it depends a lot on the situation.  If I need a hitter to push me over the top, that 31 y/o LF might hold a lot more value than I'd normally give him.   But the pitcher/position player value always holds the same.  The "king's ransom" is what changes.