While it’s the least-viewed and least-heralded selection process of the four major North American sports, the 2020 MLB Draft takes center stage of the subdued sports world on Wednesday night as the top prospects begin their professional journey to the show.
Baseball fans won’t see a majority of their favorite teams’ top picks in the majors for at least a few years as they are usually tasked with going through the rigors of minor-league ball — one of the main differences between the MLB Draft and the NFL or NBA Draft where players usually make an immediate jump to the pros.
Even baseball’s draft has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, though.
Normally containing up to 40 rounds of picks, the league decided to cut the draft down to just five rounds this year as a cost-cutting method. That’s 1,200 picks depleted to just 150.
The fewer players selected, the fewer dollars teams will have to spend on contracts to sign these prospects — a shrewd move that has become commonplace around MLB lately as the league and players’ union are entrenched in a salary stalemate surrounding the 2020 season.
Regardless, dreams will come true for a number of promising young baseball talents around the United States on Wednesday night as the first round will take place virtually on ESPN, starting at 7 p.m. ET.
Here is the selection order of the first round:
- Detroit Tigers
- Baltimore Orioles
- Miami Marlins
- Kansas City Royals
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Seattle Mariners
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- San Diego Padres
- Colorado Rockies
- Los Angeles Angels
- Chicago White Sox
- Cincinnati Reds
- San Francisco Giants
- Texas Rangers
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Chicago Cubs
- Boston Red Sox
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- New York Mets
- Milwaukee Brewers
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Washington Nationals
- Cleveland Indians
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Atlanta Braves
- Oakland Athletics
- Minnesota Twins
- New York Yankees
- Los Angeles Dodgers
*The Houston Astros forfeited their first-round selection as a part of their punishment for their sign-stealing scandal.
Considering the delayed arrival to the majors by many of these prospects, it’s difficult to predict who each team will take based on their current needs. Franchises will often take the best talent available or stick to their historical philosophies like building through pitching or finding the best bat available regardless of position.
These are the top 30 prospects of the class of 2020, as ranked by MLB.com:
- Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Arizona St.
- Austin Martin, OF/3B, Vanderbilt
- Asa Lacy, LHP, Texas A&M
- Emerson Hancock, RHP, Georgia
- Nick Gonzales, SS/2B, New Mexico St.
- Garrett Mitchell, OF, UCLA
- Zac Veen, OF, Spruce Creek HS (FL)
- Reid Detmers, LHP, Louisville
- Max Meyer, RHP, Minnesota
- Heston Kjerstad, OF, Arkansas
- Mick Abel, RHP, Jesuit HS (OR)
- Jared Kelley, RHP, Refugio HS (TX)
- Austin Hendrick, OF, West Allegheny HS (PA)
- Nick Bitsko, RHP, Centra Bucks East (PA)
- Ed Howard, SS, Mount Carmel HS (IL)
- Robert Hassell, OF, Independence HS (TN)
- Patrick Bailey, C, North Carolina St.
- Garrett Crochet, LHP, Tennessee
- Tyler Soderstrom, C, Turlock HS (CA)
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)
- Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP, South Carolina
- Cade Cavalli, RHP, Oklahoma
- Cole Wilcox, RHP, Georgia
- Dillon Dingler, C, Ohio St.
- Bryce Jarvis, RHP, Duke
- Bobby Miller, RHP, Louisville
- Austin Wells, C, Arizona
- Tanner Burns, RHP, Auburn
- Chris McMahon, RHP, Miami
- Casey Martin, SS, Arkansas
The Yankees had to give up their second and fifth-round picks as compensation for signing pitcher Gerrit Cole to that mammoth $324 million contract, meaning they will take the best possible prospect available to cushion the blow of not choosing again until the third round.
Per MLB Pipeline, the Yankees have been linked with Baylor shortstop Nick Lofton (ranked #36 by MLB.com), Mount Carmel HS (Chicago) shortstop Ed Howard (#15), Mountain Pointe HS (Phoenix) shortstop Carson Tucker (#52), Texas Tech pitcher Clayton Beeter (#51), and Arizona catcher Austin Wells (#27).
As for the Mets, they will likely continue their tradition of going with pitching early — an organizational philosophy that has helped churn out the likes of Tom Seaver, Doc Gooden, and Jacob deGrom.
Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, members of the MLB.com draft team, mocked the Mets to take a pitcher like Georgia’s Cole Wilcox (#23), South Carolina’s Carmen Mlodzinski (#21), Miami’s Slade Cecconi (#31), Auburn’s Tanner Burns (#28), or Central Bucks High School East’s (PA) Nick Bitsko (#14).
