Draft Reform?

I'd gotten a question from umeboshi-san about the reforms going on with the draft system in NPB. What he wrote was:

Tell me why there is not much information about the draft in English. It has been discussed in Japanese papers lately. If you know anything about it but cannot write it on the paper, please tell us about it here.

This was actually in reply to a Hot Corner article written in 2005, when the owners approved the current two-draft system, splitting the amateur draft into a high school draft and other amateur draft. They added an additional draft, as well, the 育成 (ikusei or "development") draft for developing players who do not count against the 70 man roster (all those uniform numbers 100 and above).

I know that the Players Association is still not happy with the current draft system. They've been pushing for a straight waver draft for years (with no signs of acknowledgment from the owners). I'll try my hand at translating the draft articles as they come in.

[As an aside, I need to totally revamp the way my Player Meikan handles the draft. Currently there can be as many as 3 first round draft choices by a team for a given year with no way to tell apart those who declared their team (for the amateur draft) or which draft they entered from (high school, amateur, or development).]