It was reported on May 8th that MLB would cut down this years MLB amateur draft rounds in 2020 to only 5. The whole MLB draft is usually a total of 40 rounds.
Notably, last year’s draft had a total of 1,217 players picked. With the rounds being significantly slashed down, only about 160 players will be selected by teams. Sadly, this means many of the hardworking prospects that have put in countless days of training and preparing to be drafted won’t have a home.
Why is this such a big deal? If you remember some notable players have been drafted in the 5th round and later such as Jacob DeGrom (9th round in 2010 by the NY Mets) and Paul Goldschmidt (8th round in 2009 by the AZ Diamondbacks).
On top of that, early draft negotiations had suggested that all draftees would be forced to defer 90% of their bonuses. Breaking down the deferment, draftees would get 10% upfront, with 45% paid in July of 2021 with the remaining 45% paid in July of 2022.
What Does This Mean For The Unsigned?
The players who do not or cannot attend college will be forced to get full-time jobs. Due to the low bonuses, many will have no choice but find work elsewhere to make ends meet. This would be a major snag in players’ training schedules that keep them in shape for the game. In some cases, players may have to leave the U.S. in hopes of playing elsewhere such as Japan, Taiwan, or Korea. Sadly, some players may have to give up the game of baseball for good.
The main reason is simple on why the MLB decided to cut the draft down majorly this year. Money. After weeks of back and forth talks between the MLB and MLBPA, the original plan was to have the draft set at 10 rounds. The 5 round decision was said to be more of an “owner-driven decision” than anything else. MLBPA gave the green light to owners to have a 5 round draft. Owners have been looking at ways to cut the money spent on amateur draft signees and this is the way to do it.
The money saved from the team owners was thought to be headed towards veteran players, or so the MLBPA thought. Realistically, the money saved by team owners would only be around 1 to 2 million dollars so cutting down the draft really makes no sense. Having the draft cut down does not have any connection to the current pandemic so seeing as it’s just another reason for MLB to and it’s owners to save money.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had their fair share of signed players after the 5th round and above. Here are some notable names, some may surprise you.
Notable Los Angeles Dodger Draftees (5th Round or Later)
– Steve Sax, 2B. 9th Round, 1987
– Matt Kemp, OF. 6th Round, 2003
– Eric Karros, 1B. 6th Round, 1988
– Mike Piazza, C. 62nd Round, 1988
– Orel Hershiser, P. 17th Round, 1979
This year’s MLB Draft is slated for July 2020 at the Holland Center in Omaha, NE.
