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, Central 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
Anything goes with the Phillies' draft strategy as they try to pull off the rare feat of making the right choice with their top draft pick.
“Picking at 15, you try to come up with who has some type of chance to get there, who you think is going to get there, who’s going to be gone for sure, and it’s really tough this year,” Phillies amateur scouting director Brian Barber told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. “I have some comfort in about eight or nine guys for sure that won’t be there. And after that, it’s a group of about 10 to 12 that have a 50/50 chance, so we’re trying to work through all our scenarios with scouts."
Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis at MLB.com have linked the Phillies with Tyler Soderstrom of Turlock HS (ranked #19 by MLB.com) and Garrett Mitchell of UCLA (#6).
