The 2020 MLB Draft will total just five rounds, making it the smallest draft in league history. And while cutting the Draft from 40 rounds down to five means that just 150 amateurs will be selected instead of the customary 1,200, there will still be a number of African-American players selected as 15 of them are ranked in the Top 200 players.
8 of those players are products of the numerous diversity programs that MLB has instituted over the years (Hank Aaron Invitational, Prospect Development Pipeline League, Breakthrough Series, Dream, Series, and RBI program) to identify, develop and showcase Black talent for college and pro scouts.
Ed Howard — (SS) Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, Illinois
Chase Davis — (OF) Franklin High School, Elk Grove, California.
Robby Ashford — (OF) Hoover High School in Alabama, has also signed to play quarterback at Oregon.
Drew Bowser — (SS) Harvard Westlake High School
Isaiah Greene — (OF) Corona High in California
Gino Groover — (OF) Walker HS, Marietta, Ga.
#DraftEdition
Minority Baseball Prospects GA 2020 Top 10 Rankings@jwalker0522 @groover_gino @SlimJimmy244 @MarquisJr9 @Daltonpearson51 @JaylenPaden @harold_coll @josh_shuler5 @jadencwoods #JordanMcCladdie#MinorityBaseballProspects#MLBDraft2020 #MLB #WednesdayMotivation pic.twitter.com/EN5tVLqED9— Minority Baseball Prospects (@MBPTakeover) June 10, 2020
Markevian “Tink” Hence — (RHP) Watson Chapel HS, Arkansas
Austin Martin — (3B) Vanderbilt Commodores
Jordan Nwogu — (OF) University of Michigan
Jamal O’Guinn — (SS/OF) USC
Alerick Soularie — (OF/INF) University of Tennessee
Carson Tucker — (SS) Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, Ariz.
Zavier Warren — (SS) Central Michigan University
Masyn Winn — (SS/RHP) Kingwood HS, Texas
Jordan Walker — (3B) Stone Mountain, Ga.
MLB Diversity Program Alumni
The 2019 MLB Draft reflected another strong showing for young, African-American talent as they comprised 12 of the 78 selections on Day 1(15.4%), continuing a trend that has seen Black players — particularly those who have participated in the MLB-sponsored camps (Dream Series, Breakthrough Series, Hank Aaron Invitational) — being drafted more frequently.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced, “…over the past five years about 20 percent of our first-rounders were African-American, and (our Youth) Academies have been built in communities largely African-American. Almost all of those kids had some touch with one of our Academy programs or with the Elite Development Invitational (renamed Hank Aaron Invitational)and we believe that the bigger we make those programs, the more diversity we will attract to the game.”
