Like all things in the sports world right now, the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft is very much up in the air right now.
The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has canceled the remainder of the college baseball season and placed the start of the MLB season on hold.
Given the state of things in the baseball world, it was hard to believe June's MLB Draft -- set to have 40 rounds and over 1,200 players selected -- would proceed as usual.
Talking to media shortly after his team's season abruptly ended, FSU baseball coach Mike Martin Jr. was skeptical any draft would happen.
"The fact that they're not allowing private workouts with MLB teams, as soon as they came out with that, I said, 'Well, how are you going to have a draft?'" Martin Jr. said on a teleconference.
"If I'm an owner and I'm going to drop two million dollars into a prospect and my guys have seen him twice, no way. That's why I don't think it's going to happen.
"I don't know how you can have a draft because the owners are going to be really reluctant to dump big money in guys when the sample size is so small...There are a lot of things that are just up in the air."
ESPN confirmed that the draft is likely changing this year Thursday night with a story that said the MLB Draft is likely to move to July. The story also stated that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will have the discretion to limit the draft to as few as five rounds and that the 2021 draft could be as few as 20 rounds.
Should this be taken to maximum effect, the effect on college baseball would be extremely significant. For reference, 167 players were taken in the first five rounds of the 2019 MLB Draft, 13.7% of the total players drafted over the three-day draft.
"The guys at the very top, this doesn't really hurt them that much," Carlos Collazo, who covers the MLB Draft for Baseball America, told the Democrat.
"But you're right about the depth guys, the guys who maybe don't have the sexiest pro-tools profile but maybe relied upon that college performance to do well in the draft, they don't have a chance to really show that performance and succeed statistically.
"Those guys are going to be the ones that are tougher to scout and maybe they don't get a chance when they otherwise would have depending on if the draft is short, what the NCAA does with eligibility, how juniors and seniors decide they want to handle coming back to school versus going to the draft."
The NCAA will vote Monday whether or not it will extend an extra year of eligibility to athletes in all spring sports, including baseball.
If it does, it creates other issues in scholarship numbers and roster issues that must be addressed.
It's an interesting situation for the Seminoles who have a number of juniors likely to be potential high draft picks and a number of additional draft-eligible sophomores.
More: FSU basketball alums playing overseas dealing with fallout from coronavirus pandemic
More: Florida State basketball freshman Patrick Williams declares for 2020 NBA Draft
More: Five questions that must be answered with the Florida State sports world in limbo
Sophomore outfielder Elijah Cabell was always a draft-eligible sophomore. Sophomore shortstop Nander De Sedas became draft-eligible when the MLB moved the draft date later into June.
To prepare for all possibilities, Martin Jr. began having conversations with these players weeks ago, even when so much was still up in the air.
"We've discussed with some guys, their thoughts. There are so many questions still to be answered," Martin Jr. said.
"We can't get a definite answer from those guys as to what they're leaning towards doing because if I can go up in money with them and try to entice them that way, juniors and seniors. There's just a lot to figure out."
While Martin Jr. was extremely concerned with the small scouting window this season and how it may affect the possibility of a draft, Collazo downplayed this notion that teams have only scouted these players for a month this season.
"I've spent a lot of time talking with scouts about just that question, 'How are you guys handling it now that you don't have this spring season?' I think it's a bit of an overstatement to say they've only had a month. I think all of these teams have been scouting these players for years," Collazo said.
"The entirety of last summer, there were showcases and events, the Cape Cod League on the college side and all these college juniors obviously been scouted their freshman and sophomore years and even in some cases as high schoolers. So, these teams are prepared to draft right now. If the draft had to happen, I think most clubs would say they're ready to go."
That being said, he admitted the removal of well over half of the 2020 college season does change the margin for error among teams making draft decisions.
"Obviously, going from the top-end guys down to those day-three type of players, the error bars are much wider, all the picks are inherently more risky," Collazo said.
"But all of these teams have a significant amount of information and data on all these players so I think they're more prepared than you might think."
A few FSU players including junior pitchers C.J. Van Eyk and Shane Drohan and Cabell are expected to be taken despite the shortened draft should they decide to test the MLB waters this offseason.
Should the draft be cut to the minimal five rounds, it leaves a few others like De Sedas and junior outfielder Reese Albert as fringe draft prospects.
If these players are granted an extra year of eligibility, the only loss for them would be a year of play.
Still, these potentially undrafted players could still decide to sign professionally for a smaller signing bonus than the one they would normally get for being drafted after the fifth round. No undrafted player will be allowed to sign for more than $20,000.
Like everything else right now, it's a situation shrowded in uncertainty.
Reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @CurtMWeiler.
No one covers the ‘Noles like the Tallahassee Democrat. Subscribe now so you never miss a moment.
"to have an impact" - Google News
March 29, 2020 at 11:14PM
https://ift.tt/2xB1afH
Potential MLB Draft shortening would have big impact on FSU, college baseball - Tallahassee Democrat
"to have an impact" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2OtZUAR
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Potential MLB Draft shortening would have big impact on FSU, college baseball - Tallahassee Democrat"
Post a Comment