Behind in the count By David Borges
Few local products expected to be taken in shortened draft
Jim Penders spent most of last Thursday getting some home improvement work done.
In normal years, Penders would have been down in Clearwater, Fla., coaching the UConn baseball team through the American Athletic Conference tournament. Instead, he was on a ladder all day.
Such are the times we live in.
Ironically, the coronavirus pandemic — if it can be looked at this way — may bring at least one small benefit Penders’ program. Typically around this time of year, Penders is expecting a few of his players to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft. It’s a great thing for the players, and great for the program. Still, it’s always tough to lose a few good players to the draft — especially commits out of high school who wind up never spending a minute in a Husky uniform.
That’s not likely to happen this year, however. The 2020 MLB draft, which begins on June 10, has been cut to a mere five rounds. The draft normally consists of 40 rounds. Instead of over 1,200 players getting drafted, this year there will only be 160.
In a normal year, several athletes from Connecticut high schools and colleges, as well as those playing at schools out of state, would have a good chance to hear their name selected at some point in the draft. A few would likely be taken in the area of the draft (10-15 rounds) where a signing bonus may outweigh the idea of playing college ball.
With a five-round draft, there will be few — if any — players from Connecticut selected.
The two players with Connecticut ties most likely to be selected aren’t actually from the state. Aaron Sabato, a power-hitting first baseman from the University of North Carolina, hails from Rye Brook, N.Y. but played prep ball at the Brunswick School in Greenwich. Sabato, who hit 18 home runs in 2019 for the Tar Heels, is projected as a possible late-first round or second-round pick.
Similarly, Hudson Haskin is a Bronxville, N.Y. product who attended Avon Old Farms before playing the past two seasons at Tulane. He is rated as mlb.com’s No. 75 overall prospect, so he figures to have a good chance at being selected.
The only Connecticut native who could be drafted is Jake DeLeo of Norwalk. Like Haskin, he also played outfield at Avon Old Farms (after beginning his career at St. Joseph’s) and has committed to play next season at Georgia Tech. DeLeo, a 6-foot-1, 195pound, five-tool player, doesn’t appear on most draft boards and isn’t likely to be selected — especially since teams are likely to lean even more heavily on college kids with two or three years of experience over high school prospects.
For Penders, guys like lefthander Caleb Wurster, righthander Nick Krauth and outfielder Kyler Fedko may have had a chance to be selected within the first 10-15 rounds. Similarly, righthander Calvin Ziegler, a righthander who is rated one of the top prospects in Canada, and Adrian Siravo, a righthander from New Hampshire, are a pair of incoming recruits who may have been faced with the choice of turning pro or attending UConn.
There’s an outside chance one or two of those players could be drafted in a couple of weeks, but it appears very unlikely.
Even though this year’s draft will be limited to five rounds, there will still be an opportunity for undrafted players to sign free-agent contracts for $20,000. A player drafted in the sixth round this year would have signed for about $250,000-$300,000. Even a 10th-rounder would have signed for about $150,000. Now, the best those players could hope for is $20,000.
A few local players from UConn could still be tempted to sign as undrafted free agents. Wallingford’s Paul Gozzo, a catcher who likely would have been backup to rising junior Pat Winkel next season, has entered the NCAA transfer portal with Penders’ full blessing. If Gozzo finds a school that offers better playing time, he may take it — but he has also indicated he could sign as a free agent.
Westport’s Ben Casparius, the former Staples High star who spent his first two years at UNC, was denied a waiver to play this past season at UConn — about two weeks before the season was canceled in mid-March. While Penders would love the talented righthander to play for the Huskies next season, it appears Casparius will sign as a free agent if given the chance.
Then there’s Orange’s Chris Winkel, who recently graduated. Winkel has been admitted to grad school at UConn and it appears highly likely he’ll take up the opportunity afforded to all spring-season seniors for an extra year of eligibility. Winkel, who might have been a late-round selection if the draft were 40 rounds, would have one last chance to play with his younger brother.
As for Pat Winkel, who underwent Tommy John surgery in December and was out for this past season anyway, he is progressing well in his rehab and could put himself back in a position to be a high draft pick a year from now — when the draft (at least in theory) will be back to 40 rounds.