Detroit Tigers: What canceling the NCAA season means for the draft

With the NCAA Baseball season being canceled, take a look at how this will affect the Detroit Tigers and their first overall selection in the 2020 MLB Draft.

It has been a shocking time as sports are at a standstill due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The first event to impact the NCAA baseball season was the cancelation of the College World Series, which is held in Omaha every year. The 2020 MLB Draft was going to be held in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Detroit Tigers have the first overall selection.

This was followed by conference after conference canceling the remainder of their seasons. This is insane, something that has not been seen in history. The 2020 MLB Draft is still expected to take place in June, but how does this affect the Tigers drafting.

The way things currently stand, the season is not going to be completed, so any player evaluation will have to be based upon the fifteen-ish games that most teams have played this year. Most scouting and assessment will have to be done based on the 2019 season if there is not enough information from the 2020 season.

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There is no hiding it; the situation is less than ideal for teams, but looking at the first overall pick, it is essentially down to four different players.

The Tigers should focus on the four players who have been listed as the top four considerations for the first selection.

Since they will not get to see how these players will finish their seasons, they will have to go off prior seasons or the minimal information from the 2020 shortened season.

Austin Martin from Vanderbilt has been getting better over the years, with 2019 being a breakout season for him. Spencer Torkelson from Arizona State University has been a power threat in 2020 and could profile to be a power hitter once with a minor league organization.

Nick Gonzales has a much less proven track record but has since broken out with a bang in 2020 and is one of the possible first overall picks. If the Tigers opt to go with pure talent in terms of a pitcher, it is Emerson Hancock form the University of Georgia who will get a look from the Tigers.

Besides the first overall pick, the Tigers will have plenty of other picks to make beyond the first round that is affected by the cancelation. There are still plenty of questions to be asked, the draft may see some changes between now and June, but one thing is for sure, things changed.

The Tigers have to adjust and continue evaluating the players in the draft class by examining the small sample size from 2020 or their 2019 stats. The situation is unique, but the months leading up to the draft will be interesting, it’s time to sit back and see how it plays out.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.