Jared Kelley. Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times-Imagn Content Services, LLC
Four weeks out from the 2020 MLB draft, there is so much less known than usual about — well, just about everything.
Scouts can’t travel, so there are no at-home visits. Players can’t play, so there is no new footage to glean and study and pore over. And if teams can’t absorb new information that helps them narrow down a selection, they also can’t pick up other teams’ new information that would help them know which players will be selected where.
A month away from one of the more important drafts in Giants history, there is no consensus of either whom they will take or who will be on the board at No. 13.
The five-round draft that begins June 10 will be filled with unknowns and not filled with players a year after the draft went 40 rounds. Cutting the draft will help owners save money in a year with much coronavirus losses. The rebuilding Giants, who will have four picks in the top 68, will have to capitalize on the selections they can make.
Of course, their first-rounder will be the headliner. And scanning various publications that recently have released mock drafts reveals how little is known about who will be the 13th pick:
ESPN — RHP Jared Kelley: Kelley, a righty out of Refugio High School and a Texas commit, would be the first high school pitcher off the board. He reportedly touches 98 mph with his fastball and has a breaking ball and changeup. He and Mick Abel, from Oregon, are regarded as the two top high school arms. While pitchers are generally riskier, the Giants’ system has much more top-end hitting talent than pitching talent.
The Athletic — C Tyler Soderstrom: Last year the Giants stayed local, taking Serra’s (and Arizona State’s) Hunter Bishop with their first-round selection. Farhan Zaidi has said he would like to keep California kids at home, and Soderstrom, from Turlock, fits the bill.
The position is not fitting, as Soderstrom would be entering a system that is about to graduate Joey Bart. But the consensus is the Cal commit can move around, and teams will be drafting him for his bat, anyway. Need rarely comes into the equation in the MLB draft.
Baseball America — RHP Mick Abel: The other top righty high school arm, out of Jesuit High School in Oregon. There isn’t a pitcher in the system who projects as a future ace, and Madison Bumgarner is no longer a Giant. At 6-foot-5, 185 pounds and with upper-90s heat, Abel could be that future top-of-the-rotation stud.
MLB.com — OF Austin Hendrick: The lefty has a pretty swing that contains an awful lot of power and projects as a future corner outfielder. The Mississippi State commit, from West Allegheny High School in Pennsylvania, would fit into a system with several high-ceiling outfield bats, but perhaps not one who seems like a future center fielder.
