(670 The Score) With a limit of just five rounds for the first time in its soon-to-be 56-year history, the MLB amateur draft will be markedly different when it starts next Wednesday.
Cutting the draft from 40 rounds to five was a byproduct of an initial labor agreement between the owners and players in late March. The change was made in an effort to cut costs for owners during the coronavirus pandemic, the Associated Press reported.
Coming off a 72-89 campaign in 2019, the White Sox hold the No. 11 pick in the draft. Director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley will be running his first draft for the White Sox and is excited about what many consider a strong group of high school and college prospects.
"The preparation has been so different for us," Shirley said. "Obviously the world stopped in the middle of March for baseball and its boots-on-the-ground cycle of grinding every day at the ballpark. That was eliminated for us but has not stopped our path of moving forward. We felt we had prepared extremely well up to that point heading into the spring. We still feel really good about this draft."
Shirley and those in the amateur scouting department have been staying connected remotely.
"We have been in Zoom meeting around seven hours a day for the last three weeks," Shirley said. "We have a video service by the name of Synergy. This service gives you the ability to look at every college over the last three years. So you can view a player that you are interested in throughout his entire college career. That platform provides you the capacity to continue to evaluate the player. The high school players, it's a little bit different. We have not been able to watch them play this spring. However, we spent so much of our summer last year on high school players that we were also able to see 65% of the players in the warmer climates play before the shutdown. We do know how many of them looked in the 2020 campaign."
Shirley was asked if there's more pressure on scouting directors like himself to make the right decisions because there are so many fewer chances in a five-round draft.
"Obviously, you want to get five right," he said. "The thing that bodes well is this is a deep draft. So you feel good about the selections you are going to get in five rounds because of the depth of this draft. It is a heavy pitching draft. It is a heavy depth of college pitching. There are certainly high school pitchers we really like. We have worked out tails off in hopes of being ready up to pick 142. We are prepared for any scenario that rolls off the board."
Shirley didn't tip the White Sox's hand about what position they may focus on, other than to note the team has zeroed in on 15 prospects that it likes. Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline recently predicted the White Sox will select North Carolina State catcher Patrick Bailey at No. 11 overall.
There's a local product who's on the White Sox's radar and could be an option for them. Mt. Carmel High School shortstop Ed Howard, 18, is expected to be selected in the top 20 picks. Howard was a standout on the Jackie Robinson West team that advanced to the Little League World Series in 2014.
"Ed Howard has been tremendous with us," Shirley said in reference to the workouts and meetings that the White Sox have conducted with Howard. "He is first a tremendous citizen and someone Chicago should be very proud of. What he did prior to this year and the work he did last fall will make him very valuable regardless of seeing him or not. Ed Howard was going to be a substantial part of this draft, whether he played 10 or 11 games in the Public League this year. I like Ed Howard the kid a lot. I wish him the best. He is a player we continue to talk about."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
