(5-26-20) The 2020 Major League Baseball draft will be held virtually for the first time this year due to the pandemic. The draft will be just five rounds (instead of the normal 40 rounds), the first pick will be June 10th by the Detroit Tigers.
For Celina native and Ohio State Buckeye Seth Lonsway it will be his second time going through the draft process. After he had graduated from high school he would be drafted in the 19th round of the 2017 draft by Cincinnati. Lonsway took a pass on the deal offered by the Reds and would go on to start his collegiate career at Ohio State.
This year’s college season for Lonsway would end almost before it started… it suddenly came to a quick end due to COVID 19. Just another bump in Lonsway’s college career, he has had a few and has handled the adversity each time.
MLB Prospects Top 100 – Ranked 50th
Lonsway is presently ranked as the MLB’s #50 overall prospect heading into the draft, the 1st round has 37 overall picks, which include competitive balance selections. Lonsway, by many expert opinions, could move up enough to be selected in the 1st round. The MLB Top 100 has 6 LHP and 18 RHP pitchers ranked ahead of him.
A look at how the MLB web site evaluates Lonsway heading into the draft –
Lonsway has one of the best curveballs in the 2020 Draft, a bender with power and deptht. More velocity this spring, working at 93-94 mph at times and topping out at 96 with riding action on his four-seam fastball. Added a solid slider/cutter and shows some feel for a change-up, though he doesn’t use it very often.
Lonsway locates his curve better than his fastball…walked 18 in as many innings as a redshirt sophomore. He has an odd delivery with a nearly over-the-top slot and an extreme head tilt, and he has trouble keeping everything in sync. Can be unhittable when he throws strikes with his fastball but struggles to do so.
- MLB Draft: Meet the five most polarizing players in the class, including a former teen phenom
- Lonsway – College and Summer League Stats
cbssports.com recently featured Lonsway as one of the five most polarizing players in the draft. From the story they see him going higher in the draft then predicted by others.
Every team believes it can unlock better stuff, or better control, or what have you. Lonsway will get drafted, and the team that takes him will think they can get him (or his pitches, anyway) on the straight and narrow more often. If so, there’s substantial upside waiting to be reaped. Our guess is that Lonsway will end up being picked higher than he ought to based on his odds of figuring it out.
This year’s draftees will most likely not be playing an organized game this season in the minors, since pandemic issues are still around and because MLB and the players association are still trying to just have a season facing safety concerns.
For all of these drafted players it will be something that has never happened in any previous year or draft. How will contracts look, with owners hoping to cut down on expenses it might be a big part of the signing process.
Lonsway hopes that this draft will be the positive turning point in his baseball career…he will find out on June 10th.
Check out – COMPLETE DRAFT ORDER
First round selections Pick 1 Detroit Tigers 2 Baltimore Orioles 3 Miami Marlins 4 Kansas City Royals 5 Toronto Blue Jays 6 Seattle Mariners 7 Pittsburgh Pirates 8 San Diego Padres 9 Colorado Rockies 10 Los Angeles Angels 11 Chicago White Sox 12 Cincinnati Reds 13 San Francisco Giants 14 Texas Rangers 15 Philadelphia Phillies 16 Chicago Cubs 17 Boston Red Sox 18 Arizona Diamondbacks 19 New York Mets 20 Milwaukee Brewers 21 St. Louis Cardinals 22 Washington Nationals 23 Cleveland Indians 24 Tampa Bay Rays 25 Atlanta Braves 26 Oakland Athletics 27 Minnesota Twins 28 New York Yankees 29 Los Angeles Dodgers Competitive Balance Round A Pick 30 Baltimore Orioles 31 Pittsburgh Pirates 32 Kansas City Royals 33 Arizona Diamondbacks 34 San Diego Padres 35 Colorado Rockies 36 Cleveland Indians 37 Tampa Bay Rays[Trades 1]
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