Robert Hassell III goes first at No. 8 to Padres as 13 prep players taken on first day.
Video: Fictional high schools seen via Google Earth
Take a tour of these cinematic prep palaces.
It took awhile for high school players to come off the board in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft, but they had a strong finish in the first round with a few surprises along the way. The draft's first day say 11 prep players chosen (with two more taken in the competitive-balance round).
The truncated MLB Draft continues on Thursday with Rounds 2-5.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Harvard-Westlake
Photo by Terry Jack
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Independence (Thompson's Station, Tenn.) was the first high school player chosen with the No. 8 overall pick by the San Diego Padres. The eighth-overall selection is the lowest the first high school player has been chosen in the 56 years of the MLB Draft.
The previous lowest selection was Clayton Kershaw of Highland Park (Dallas) at No. 7 overall in 2006. Three times, the first prep chosen was at No. 6, including 1992 when Derek Jeter of Kalamazoo Central (Mich.) was taken by the Yankees.
Overall, a high school player has been chosen with the No. 1 overall pick 25 times.
Outfielders Favorite Choice
The first three high school players chosen were all outfielders. After Hassell III went to San Diego at No. 8,
Zac Veen of
Spruce Creek (Port Orange, Fla.) went to the Rockies at No. 9.
Three picks later, the Reds chose
Austin Hendrick of
West Allegheny (Imperial, Pa.) at No. 12.
Pete Crow-Armstrong of
Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) became the fourth prep outfielder chosen when the Mets picked him at No. 19.
Red Sox make surprise pick
Boston made the surprise pick of the first round when it chose second baseman
Nick Yorke of
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) at No. 17.
The selection was a shocker for several reasons. First, second basemen rarely come off the draft board in the first round. Second, Yorke was ranked by MLB as the No. 139 best player available in the draft. The second-lowest ranked prep player chosen in the first round was
Carson Tucker, a shortstop from
Mountain Pointe (Phoenix), who was ranked No. 52.
The Red Sox have had good luck with Northern California second basemen, however. Former league MVP Dustin Pedroia is originally from Woodland.
Few pitchers chosen
In the past, high school pitchers have been a popular first-round choice. Not so in 2020.
Mick Abel of
Jesuit (Portland, Ore.) went to the Phillies at No. 15 while
Nick Bitsko of
Central Bucks East (Doylestown, Pa.) went to the Rays at No. 24.
Among those pitchers not taken Wednesday included potential first round picks
Jared Kelley of
Refugio (Texas) and
Carson Montgomery of
Windermere (Fla.).
Only three prep pitchers were chosen in the first round last year with seven chosen in the 2018 draft.
Draft beats last year's numbers
The 2019 draft had one of the lowest total of high school players taken in over a decade with just 10 players chosen. The 2020 draft did one better with 11 players chosen. An additional two players were chosen in the competitive-balance round making 13 preps chosen out of 37 total picks on the draft's first day.
