Like most everything else, the MLB draft will take place in an unusual fashion this year. This year’s 2020 Rule 4 amateur selection show will launch at 5pm EST, but it’ll be held remotely and it will end after only five rounds — well shy of the typical forty-round affair. Bonuses will be capped as usual, but they won’t be paid up front. Instead, players can only receive up to $100K at the outset, with the rest deferred to 2021-22.
Three days from now, draft-eligible players that went unselected will be eligible to sign. There’ll be a large number of worthwhile candidates out there, but none can sign for more than $20K under the coronavirus-specific rules.
The atypical circumstances only increase the potential for wild outcomes. It might feel like normal at the top of the draft, where the scuttlebutt is that the Tigers will kick things off by taking ASU first bagger Spencer Torkelson, but things could get weird quickly thereafter. There has been some chatter that a team could even punt the draft — perhaps even one that has a fairly lofty draft position, per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper examined that possibility, concluding it likely doesn’t make much sense for a team to pursue.
We’ll find out soon enough. As we wait, here are some resources to learn up on how this year’s draft came together or see how prognosticators expect it to turn out …
- Teams That Gained Or Lost Draft Picks Via Qualifying Offer Free Agents
- Several Prospects Withdraw From 2020 Draft
- 2020 MLB Draft Order
- Fangraph’s Mock Draft 2.0 & 2020 Draft Primer
- Baseball America’s Mock Draft 8.0
- ESPN.com’s Mock Draft 3.0
- MLB.com’s Latest Mock Draft
- The Athletic’s Final First-Round Projection
really hope the Phillies draft college arms or hign schoolers they cant sign so they can get comp picks next year. anything else would annoy me.
Are you a Phillies fan? I find that a really curious strategy to be pulling for. Even if you don’t love the class, or the uncertainty- why would you want them to punt an entire draft? That feels as if it’d put a lot of pressure on them next year, and lead them to miss out on some talent this year.
This year it’s 5 rounds.
Next year it’s 20.
Comp picks gained next year add to the $$ for 2021.
less talent and more question marks this year with guys dropping out of the draft. id rather kick the can down the road.
This is considered an VERY deep draft according to all the scouts. That seems like a mistake.
There is no less talent at the top of this draft. I haven’t seen any 1st rounders withdraw from this draft, only lower round guys. Really very few of those too. It seems the grass is ALWAYS greener next year.
Go away
uh, sorry? what did i do to you?
You comment too much. You also called Luis Urias a AAAA player then went into hiding when you were called on it multiple times.
My favorite baseball event of the year. Is it for certain to be streamed live on MLB.com?
It’s on espn this year lol
ESPN sucks. I won’t watch them.
Might want to watch it cause if the rating stink the mlb is in even more trouble than it already is and it’s looking real bad rn
I saw that it was gonna be on ESPN. Mind blown. I’d prefer MLB network but don’t have TV. They’ve streamed it online for several years so just making sure nothings changed.
Shoot I remember listening to the radio feed of drafts in the early 00’s…
I don’t think a lot of teams will “tank”. The lure of the delayed bonus is HUGE with all the cash flow issues endemnick to the current situation. And you can always factor additional bonus payments in 2021/2022 into your MLB payroll.
5 years from now, it’s going to be a Nicky Gonzales and Peter Crow-Armstrong draft anyway……Jared Kelly too…..
this is off topc but MLB what are you doing? every other league figure it out and will play. what the hold up with you? you cant play a full season that over. easy play 60-80 games and call it a day. or play some kind of march madness style tournment
Wonder how much revenue that’s bringing in…
I understand why it’s shorter this year, but I still don’t understand why it’s only 5 rounds instead of 10. Even though scouting has gotten better recently, it’s still a crapshoot. If teams are normally able to go 40 rounds, surely they have enough data to make some sort of guess on 1/4 of that amount, considering that would be where their focus normally is. I just feel the players are getting hosed this year.
MLB was already trying to trim the minor league teams, and many of them are stocked with the players taken later.
I wonder if would be Draft Picks might say” I am not signing with Team X” if that team calls them ( especially because they are only collecting $100,000 and if they have options ( such as High School draftees))?
I’d have to imagine teams generally give a call to a kid’s agent and ask if he’d be willing to sign with them, assuming the contract was right. If someone said, “Hell no, Orioles, I’m not signing with you,” the Orioles would assumedly pass on them. However, you could only do that with one or two teams or word gets out and you look like a complete diva. You also can’t do it at the very top of the board because word will get out that way, too.
Happens every year in MLB, top talent falls due to “signability” because those high schoolers have college to fall back on. Colleges will reap the benefits with a stronger freshman class of talent next season.
“For the upcoming 2021 season, the 35-man roster limit has been lifted, the annual scholarship counter was raised from 27 to 32 and the 25 percent scholarship minimum was temporarily lifted. However, the NCAA did not pass an additional SEC proposal that would increase the number of total scholarships from 11.7 to 13.7.”