Downsized draft may become the new normal
Baseball’s amateur draft is about to enter the next phase of its ongoing development — same as all those young prospects picked every year.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 version was ticketed for a move to Omaha, Nebraska, to coincide with the College World Series. The idea was to stage a bigger television event with more elite players on hand, like Petaluma native and Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson and Vanderbilt infielder Austin Martin.
Of course, the COVID-19 outbreak scuttled the CWS and sent draft headquarters back to mostly empty MLB Network studios this week in Secaucus, New Jersey. Major League Baseball owners and players agreed to slash 40 rounds to five, beginning tonight with the first 37 picks. The remaining 123 will be made Thursday.
MLB Network and ESPN will both produce broadcasts today at v4 p.m. Thursday’s coverage will be on ESPN2 and MLB Network at 2p.m.
For months now, scouts benched at home with no prep games to attend have been relegated to evaluating video and meeting on Zoom.
“We’re normally going to watch them play games, they’re preparing for their playoffs, their postseason runs if they’re college players,” Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz said. “But this year in particular ... we’ve been able to get to know these players on a level that we otherwise wouldn’t have.”
The reduced number of rounds came as a concession from players to owners. The fiveround setup is expected to save teams approximately $1 million each.
There will be a 160 players drafted (counting compensation selections), instead of the normal 1,200 or so. While the signing-bonus values for drafted players will be the same as they were in 2019, this year’s bonuses may be deferred out as far as July 2022. Drafted players will receive a maximum of $100,000 this season.
Next year, teams can cap the draft at 20 rounds if they choose. MLB also has proposed cutting
the minimum number of minor league affiliations from 160 to 120, allowing each organization to drop at least one. So with owners intent on streamlining farm systems, it seems reasonable to think the June draft that began in 1965 might never look the same.
Here’s a look back at some of the pivotal moments that mark the evolution of Major League Baseball’s amateur draft since the then-Kansas City A’s selected Arizona State center fielder Rick Monday first overall 55 years ago:
ON SECOND THOUGHT >> Monday played 19 big league seasons and became a twotime All-Star, including with the A’s in 1968, and following the 1971 season was traded to acquire Ken Holtzman. But with the top pick in the second June amateur draft in 1966, the New York Mets swung and missed.
They went for high school catcher Steve Chilcott, who never made the majors. Next, the A’s grabbed Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson from Arizona State. Ouch.
Other regrettable 1-2 choices: Matt Anderson (Tigers) over J.D. Drew (Phillies) in 1997; Matt Bush (Padres) over Justin Verlander (Tigers) in 2004; and Stanford’s Mark Appel (Astros) over Kris Bryant (Cubs) in 2013.
SLIMMING DOWN >> As recently as the 1990s, teams could keep making picks as long as they wanted in an unlimited draft.
Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza was famously selected during the 62nd round in 1988 by the Dodgers. Right-hander Clay Condrey, who won a World Series ring with the 2008 Phillies, lasted until the 94th round in 1996, when the Yankees took him with the 1,730th overall choice.
The draft was trimmed to 50 rounds in 1998 and 40 in 2012.
SIT THIS ONE OUT >> The Houston Astros were stripped of their first- and second-round picks as part of their sign-stealing punishment. The Red Sox had to forfeit their secondround pick.
FIRST THINGS FIRST >> Petaluma’s Torkelson has a chance to become the second true first baseman selected first overall since the draft began in 1965. Adrian Gonzalez in 2000 was the first.
The former Casa Grande High star’s calling card is his power. He hit .340 with six home runs and 11 RBIs In 17 games at Arizona State before the season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The junior batted .337 with 54 homers at ASU, two homers shy of Bob Horner’s school record. TOP OF THE CHART >> Detroit picks first for the second time in three years, after selecting Auburn right-hander Casey Mize in 2018. Alex Rodriguez (Mariners, 1993), Chipper Jones (Braves, 1990) and Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners, 1987) rank as the most successful No. 1 selections. Al Chambers (Mariners, 1979), Shawn Abner (Mets, 1984) and Bryan Bullington (Pirates, 2002) are among the biggest busts. Before Appel, the only top overall picks who failed to reach the majors were Chilcott and lefthander Brien Taylor (Yankees, 1991).
FAST COMPANY >> The last player to go straight from the draft to the majors without a minor league stop was Cincinnati pitcher Mike Leake, selected eighth overall out of Arizona State in 2009. Padres outfielder Xavier Nady, chosen 49th from Cal in 2000, is the only other player to do it this century.