FSU baseball and the MLB Amateur Draft

Tonight kicks off the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft. The schedule for the draft is as follows:

Monday, June 3 - Day 1

6 p.m. - Draft preview show on MLB Network & MLB.com

7 p.m. - Rounds 1-2 on MLB Network & MLB.com

Tuesday, June 4 - Day 2

1 p.m. - Rounds 3-10 on MLB.com

Wednesday, June 5 - Day 3

12 p.m. - Rounds 11-40 on MLB.com

While there are no first rounders on the current roster there is a possibility that a few players’ names could be called tonight in the second round. In order to be eligible for the draft you must fall into one of the following categories:

• High school players, if they have graduated from high school and have not yet attended college or junior college;
• College players, from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old; and
• Junior college players, regardless of how many years of school they have completed

Since stepping on to campus as the top-rated high school player in the nation to attend college in 2016, Drew Mendoza has not disappointed. The junior third baseman will more than likely hear his name in tonight’s second which means he would be offered enough money to forgo his senior season.

The Nationals are near the bottom of the league with $5,979,600 in pool money, one would think that they would need to offer Mendoza more than the $618,200 that is slotted for his draft position.

Given the opportunity to improve his draft stock, J.C. Flowers took full advantage. Playing only centerfield his first two years the junior took on the role of closer in 2019. He allowed only 4 runs in 23.2 innings and recorded 11 saves all while hitting a career high 13 homeruns at he plate. Scouts are split on whether they foresee Flowers as a pitcher or as a freakishly athletic outfielder but his ability to do both might cause him to be overdrafted.

Interesting to see that Flowers was drafted as a pitcher and not a position player. The slot value for his pick is $460,000 but the Pirates have cash to spend with $9,944,000 which is in the top third of teams.

Drew Parrish will more than likely not hear his name tonight but should Tuesday afternoon during the 3rd through 10th round. The left-hander did not have the same success this season that he saw in 2018 but major league teams are more concerned with his potential as opposed to his on the field results. If drafted in the first ten rounds it would be difficult to count on Parrish to return one more year.

The slot value for the above pick is only $184,700 but the Royals have the third biggest pool of money in the majors and could over pay for Parrish’s services.

As current underclassmen, seniors and committed high school players have their names called over the next three days we will update this article.

Valdes is the Seminoles top rated commitment, his slot value is $1,076,300 but the Indians are near the bottom of the MLB in total pool money available.

The slot value for McCray is $689,300 while the Giants are in the middle with regards to total pool money available at $8,714,500.

The senior is slotted for a payday of $151,600, since he is a senior there really is no reason for Seattle to overpay him.