MLB Draft: What’s Different This Year

The first round of the MLB Draft started this Wednesday, June 10 and will be completely finished on Thursday. The First-Year-Player Draft is usually 40 rounds long, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was shortened to only 5.
This move was a result of cutting costs for MLB. Since they will be losing money this season, they needed to make up ground somewhere.
The Detroit Tigers earned the first pick in the draft after only winning 47 games last season. This was the second time in three years that they had the top spot.
The number one overall selection was an expected one. The Tigers took Spencer Torkelson, who played his college ball at Arizona State.
Torkelson hit .337/.463/.729 with 54 home runs in 129 games as a Sun Devil. He broke the old freshman record for home runs held by Barry Bonds by hitting 25 in 2018.
The most surprising move was that the Tigers selected Torkelson as a 3rd baseman. He usually played first in college and was in the outfield on occasion. “You give me a bat and a glove, and I just want to win,” Torkelson said during the MLB Network broadcast. “That’s it.”
In a normal year, cameras show players at large parties that their entire family attends for the MLB Draft. This year, only close relatives were seen celebrating with the player during their big moment.
Vanderbilt may have had the best all-around player coming into the draft in R.J. Anderson, who ended up dropping to the 5th pick, going to the Toronto Blue Jays. Many experts believe that he was the best athlete in the draft. He will be added to the list of talented young position players that will be suiting up for the Blue Jays.
College Players Getting Second Looks This Year
This was the first year ever that the first seven picks were college players. Most of the time, a bright young star out of high school is within the first few picks.
Not only that, but most of the top picks were overlooked the first time they entered the draft. Each of these players had their names in the draft three years ago, several not even getting drafted at all.
A lot of this relates to the fact that these teams didn’t get a good look at high school seniors in their last season. COVID-19 basically wiped out the entire year, only really having their junior seasons on which to base their judgments.
Here is the list of the top seven picks and where they went three years ago in the draft. Click here for a full list of all the draft picks so far.
1. Spencer Torkelson, Tigers: Undrafted
2. Heston Kjerstad, Orioles: 36th round
3. Max Meyer, Marlins: 34th round
4. Asa Lacy, Royals: 38th round
5. Austin Martin, Blue Jays: 31st round
6. Emerson Hancock, Mariners: 38th round
7. Nick Gonzales, Pirates: Undrafted
Even though there were different circumstances, this is a great sign for college baseball. If more players realize that their stock will rise in college, there will be fewer players entering the majors out of high school.