Round 6 to Round 10

Merrifield was drafted by the Royals in 2010

MLB draft will take place on June 10–11, 2020. Compared to the 2019 MLB draft, the 2020 MLB draft will be shortened to only 5 rounds. A shorter draft means that fewer prospects will be selected. There were 1217 players selected in the 2019 draft. This year, there will be a total of only 160 picks.

Hall of Famer Mike Piazza was drafted by the Dodgers in the 62nd round. 3-time MVP Albert Pujols was selected by the Cardinals in the 13th round. We will definitely miss these late-round miracles. But, let’s be realistic. Let’s only take a look at picks from the 6th round to the 10th round in the last 10 years (2010-2019).

2010-2019 Round 6-10 (Number of Players with MLB Appearance)
Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Round 9	Round 10	Total
63	39	39	41	30	212

In the last decade, 212 players that were selected between the 6th round and the 10th round already had MLB appearance(s). In particular, 63 players were drafted in the 6th round. While in the 10th round, only 30 players made it into the big league. Let’s make it simple with some calculations, over the last decade, on average, every year 6 players selected from the 6th round made MLB. Thus, every year, approximately 21 prospects, who were selected between the 6th round and 10th round in the draft, will be MLB players.

Notable players who were drafted between the 6th and 10th round

Whit Merrifield	Drafted by the Royals in the 9th round (2010)
2019 All-Star

Whit Merrifield made his MLB debut in May 2016. In the last 4 seasons, Merrifield hit .296/.344/.445. In 2018 and 2019, he led MLB in hits 2 consecutive seasons, with 192 hits and 206 hits each. Also, he’s a good runner, accumulating 107 stolen bases from 2016 to 2019.

Corey Dickerson	Drafted by the Rockies in the 29th round (2009)  Drafted by the Rockies in the 8th round of the (2010)
2017 All-Star 2018 Gold Glove

Corey Dickerson began his career at the Colorado Rockies, making his MLB debut in June 2013. In the last 7 seasons, he hit .286/.328/.504. He was selected to the all-star game in 2017 when he played for the Tampa Bay Rays. He was traded to the Pirates in 2018 and he won his first Gold Glove award in 2018. He signed a two-year contract with the Marlins earlier this year.

Blake Treinen	Drafted by the Marlins in the 23rd round (2010) Drafted by the Athletics in the 7th round (2011)
2018 All-Star

Blake Treinen was selected by the Oakland Athletics in 2011 and decided to sign, but he was traded to the Nationals in a 3-team trade in 2013. He played 4 seasons with the Nationals before trading to the Oakland A’s in 2017. Blake Treinen had a fantastic 2018 season, he recorded 9-2 with 38 saves. Meanwhile, his ERA was only 0.78 and WHIP was only 0.834. There was no doubt that he deserved a place in the All-Star game. There are other good players that were selected between the 6th and 10th round. For example, Chris Paddack was selected by the Marlins in the 8th round in 2015. He pitched very well in his rookie season last year and now he’s considered the ace of the San Diego Padres. Another example is that 2017 NL All-Star Jake Lamb was selected in the 6th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2012 draft. Besides, Ross Stripling was picked by the Rockies in the 9th round in 2011, but he didn’t sign with the Rockies that year. The Dodgers selected him in the 5th round next year.  The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on baseball is just massive. The five round draft is so different from the typical 40 round event. Hundreds of players will lose the opportunity to head to the pros in 2020. MLB franchises also lose opportunities to select good prospects and some of these prospects will possibly make it to the MLB.