Big-league baseball’s next crop of prospects soon will learn their first professional destinations.
Major League Baseball plans to hold the 2020 MLB Draft June 10 and 11 and will conduct it virtually, according to a memo ESPN’s Jeff Passan obtained Friday.
The league plans to forbid teams to operate draft rooms, forcing them to select players by video conference call. However, the memo reportedly says this remote dynamic might change as the draft approaches.
MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association reportedly agreed to cut the 2020 MLB Draft from 40 rounds to just five. The first round will begin at 7 p.m. ET on June 10. Rounds two through five will take place starting at 5 p.m. on June 11.
The NFL conducted its draft virtually for the first time in 2020, as did the WNBA. Both events drew some positive reviews, and MLB seems ready to follow the trend during this time of social distancing.
