Report: Many Hate Timing of MLB Draft
There may be disagreement about how the Texas Rangers did in the 2022 MLB Draft, but there is little disagreement about the timing of the draft.
Many appear to hate it, according to a report in The Athletic on Friday.
The MLB Draft was held on Sunday through Tuesday during All-Star Game festivities in Los Angeles. The first three rounds were held in prime time on Sunday, with the remaining 17 rounds spread out over Monday and Tuesday.
The Rangers selected 18 players during the three-day event and as of Friday night had signed 12, including their first-round pick, former Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker, the teammate of the Rangers’ first-round pick in 2021, Jack Leiter. The Rangers also took the highest-rated high school pitcher, Brock Porter, in the fourth round.
The All-Star Break usually represents a break for everyone in the game, save those who are actually playing in the All-Star Game. This year’s break was truncated by a day for some teams, including the Rangers, as they had to make up games lost to the lockout in the offseason.
The Athletic spoke to scouts, agents, player personnel directors and high-ranking team officials about the timing of the draft. One quote from a baseball operation staffer was telling.
“It’s physically taxing,” he says. “Mentally, it’s the worst, but physically, it’s not good. I haven’t exercised for two months and I feel like I’m falling apart.”
The article describes a logjam of activities in a short amount of time. The College World Series, played in late June, provides the last opportunity to scout high-level college talent. The baseball operation staffer described a frenetic month during which organizations have to sort through scouting reports, continuing on-field scouting for talent that can be taken in 2023, preparing for the All-Star Break and preparing for the trade deadline, which this year is on Aug. 2, just a couple of weeks after the All-Star Break.
An amateur scout talked about missing the “quality of life” aspect due to the schedule.
So, who likes having the draft during the All-Star Break?
One agent quoted in the piece said that “30 people like it,” referring to the league’s 30 team owners.
The other three sports have used the Draft as an off-season event for years, with the NFL and the NBA being the best at drawing attention. But the key is that those two sports, along with the NHL, have their draft when games aren’t being played. MLB is the only one that holds its draft during the season, due to the seasonal aspect of the entire sport.
Additionally, it’s rare for a draft pick to be an immediate contributor to its MLB team immediately after selection. Most first-round NFL and NBA picks play right away.
Sunday’s MLB Draft telecast drew about 700,000 viewers, per the report. By contrast, the NFL’s draft drew about 10 million viewers and the NBA’s viewers drew about three million.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.
