Tight draft format could hurt Tigers
While the Detroit Tigers still hold the No. 1 pick in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft, the club still doesn’t know when it will get a chance to make that selection.
The draft was originally scheduled for June 10-12, but will now be moved to July due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No official date has been set. “We don’t have a date yet,” Tigers’ general manager Al Avila said Tuesday on a media conference call. “We should know more next week.”
Where the Tigers will lose out is that MLB will reduce the draft to as few as five rounds from the usual 40 rounds.
Once the draft is done, the players normally taken in the rounds that won’t be included this year will become free agents and the Tigers will have to fight with every other club to try and sign them.
“Obviously, we will have a group of players that we will want after the draft is over, however many rounds it is,” Avila said. “The difference is, they can sign with any team they want. It’ll be different, but we will be prepared for it.”
With time to still ponder the selection, the Tigers have focused on pitching in recent drafts, which has many believing the club will use the top pick on Arizona State power-hitting first baseman Spencer Torkelson or perhaps Vanderbilt University’s Austin Martin, who can play in the infield or outfield. Detroit director of amateur scouting Scott Pleis said all doors are still open for the top pick.
“It’s a well-rounded draft,” Pleis said. “When you start thinking about needs, you might be passing on a guy that’s quite a bit better.
“My job is to give the Detroit Tigers the best player. You’ve got to draft the best guy and, hopefully, that falls into your needs and then everyone’s happy.”