The 2020 MLB Draft will be much different than usual, but the Texas baseball program could see at least a couple players picked in the five rounds.
Heading into the 2020 season, it looked as if the Texas baseball program could have a bounce back campaign after a down 2019 run. Head coach David Pierce had a lot of pressure on his shoulders to start building this program back up after a very poor record in Big 12 play in 2019. Texas finished up with a record of 27-27 (7-16 Big 12).
Texas just couldn’t beat many teams on the road, rounding out with a record of 6-16 away from the friendly confines of UFCU Disch-Falk Field. But they got off to a scorching hot start to the 2020 regular season, winning each of their first nine games. It would take a nail biter against the No. 11 ranked LSU Tigers back on Feb. 28 in the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic (4-3 loss) for the Longhorns to break that season-opening winning streak.
Then, thanks to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Texas baseball season ended prematurely back on March 11. The last game Texas played was on March 11, in a win at home over the Abilene Christian Wildcats by the final score of 9-1. Texas capped the 2020 campaign with a record of 14-3, before playing in a single Big 12 game.
However, one result of the college baseball season ending early was the premature end of a key part of the MLB Draft scouting process.
According to an ESPN report, the 2020 MLB Draft will be held remotely on June 10 and 11 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar to that of the 2020 NFL Draft, the MLB Draft will be completely virtual. The first day will see 37 picks in the first round, and the second will have 123 in rounds two-through-five. That’s all that will occur in this year’s draft.
Here’s a deeper look into the three biggest prospects to watch for the 2020 MLB Draft out of the Texas Longhorns baseball program.