Astros will have only four picks in MLB’s 2020 draft.

MLB confirms 2020 draft will be just five rounds

In an effort to curtail spending as the sport remains shut down, Major League Baseball’s June draft will have only five rounds, giving the Astros just four picks in general manager James Click’s first season.

After reaching an agreement March 26 that gave commissioner Rob Manfred authority to shorten the draft to “as few as five rounds,” the league and its players association had been in negotiations this week for a possible 10round scenario. But reports Friday indicated the two sides could not come to an agreement.

The Astros were stripped of their first- and second-round draft picks in both 2020 and 2021 as punishment for the electronic sign-stealing scheme during the 2017 season. They will not choose until 72nd overall — a pick they received as compensation after pitcher Gerrit Cole declined their qualifying offer and signed with the New York Yankees.

Houston’s other picks are No. 101, 131 and 160. The club’s $2,202,600 bonus pool is the lowest of all 30 teams.

The conundrum is just another hurdle Click must clear in a whirlwind first few months as general manager. Last season was Houston’s first draft without longtime amateur scouting director and assistant general manager Mike Elias, who now runs the Baltimore Orioles.

In Elias’ absence, former general manager Jeff Luhnow took a more pronounced role in the 2019 draft. Director of player evaluation Charles Cook and national scouting supervisor Kris Gross had bigger roles, too, along with special assistant Kevin Goldstein.

On Tuesday, Click said he’s been “very closely involved” in discussions with Gross and Cook regarding the Astros’ draft process.

“Even before I got here, the efforts to continue to improve the draft process were ongoing, and I’m rapidly getting up to speed on what those are and what they look like,” Click said.

“Right now, I think we’re having a really healthy discussion about the things I’ve seen be successful and the kind of things that have been successful here in the past. It’s obviously going to be a blend of those two things.”

Such a small bonus pool, coupled with a shutdown of all scouting and amateur baseball around the country, suggests the league could lean more toward college players, since there’s much more film, data and scouting on them than high school players. That the Astros under Luhnow relied so heavily on video and data in lieu of in-person scouting could put them in an ideal position for such a situation.

College players are also much easier to sign than high schoolers, who often must decide between professional ball and a college commitment.

“It’s a really good question, and one that I think we’re trying to answer right now,” Click said. “I don’t want to worry too much about what the other 29 teams are going to do and what they’re going to focus on in the draft. Our job is to get our board lined up 1-150 or 300 or whatever the last pick ends up being, so when we get in there and we get closer and closer to those picks, we just take the best talent available and worry about the rest of it later.”

As their major league team improved and draft bonus pools decreased during Luhnow’s tenure, the Astros tended to have college-heavy drafts. In 2018 and 2019, Houston selected nine college players in the first 10 rounds.

Both high school players they selected — 2018 secondround pitcher Jayson Schroeder and 2019 fourth-round outfielder Colin Barber — received signing bonuses over their pick’s slot value because of money saved on college players chosen in the first 10 rounds.

In 2020, teams will be allowed to sign an unlimited amount of undrafted players for a maximum of $20,000 — offering little incentive for unselected players. For reference, the first pick of the sixth round during last season’s draft carried a $301,600 slot value. The final pick of the 10th round was worth $142,200

The NCAA already has granted baseball players an extra year of eligibility, somewhat softening the blow for a college player who goes unselected in a five-round draft.

High schoolers in the same situation face an interesting choice. They can honor their commitment to a Division I college — and perhaps not be draft-eligible again until 2023 — or they can go to a junior college. Junior college players are eligible for the MLB Draft regardless of how many years they’ve completed.