WKU Baseball Could Benefit From Shortened MLB Draft

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Major League Baseball has officially reached an agreement with its players to shorten this year’s draft to a total of five rounds.

The MLB Draft has been forty rounds long dating back to 2012. However, as part of this agreement, teams will be allowed to sign an unlimited number of undrafted free agents for $20,000 a piece.

The move is aimed at saving money for MLB owners, as clubs are expecting to lose a significant amount of money throughout 2020.

This substantial shortening of the league’s draft isn’t all negative, though. Cutting the player pool from 40 rounds worth of prospects to five rounds will seemingly result in many players returning for another year of college baseball as opposed to entering the MLB Draft.

WKU Baseball Head Coach John Pawlowski led a senior-laden Hilltopper roster to a 10-6 start, before the 2020 season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, with the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility and this summer’s shortened MLB Draft, Pawlowski expects the majority of his seniors to return in 2021 and believes his squad will be able to pick up right where they left off.