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Author: Ziv Chen

In the Major League Baseball 2020 amateur draft that was held last week, the two-day event featured only five rounds, as opposed to the usual forty, most likely because team owners wanted to save money amidst coronavirus pandemic and uncertainties about the MLB 2020 season.  There are many unknowns during this weird season which is still hanging in the air, and as even many of the best draft prospects spend time in the minors, it will take time to mark any winners of losers from this draft. 

And to make things even more interesting, now teams are allowed to sign up as many undrafted free agents as they need to fill up their dugouts.  As there were only 5 rounds to the 2020 draft, many of the spots that could have been filled on later rounds now remain open to free agents, which the teams will get for considerably less money.  Case in point: last year players signed on the 10^th round were allowed to sign up for a bonus of $100,000, compared to signing an undrafted free agent with is limited to a sign up bonus of up to $20,000.

Many of these undrafted agents are very talented players that are just starting, or haven’t started yet, their professional baseball career.  So although having a lot of raw talent, some are limited on their prospects, opportunities and even economic conditions.  So we picked a few out of many that we hope to see in the MLB as soon as it comes back again.  Even though at the way things are going, some of these players may be pitching for their college or minor league teams again next spring.

Kale Emshoff, Catcher, Arkansas Little Rock

The Texas native who plays for Little Rock missed the 2019 season due to injury, but came back with a vengeance in the 2020 season and started 17 games for the Trojans.  During the shortened season, Emshoff was one of the top performers in the country hitting .417//.527//.800 with seven homers.  His raw power and defensive strength will let him stay behind the plate.  It’s not clear if Emshoff plans to sign with the MLB, or return for his last season at Arkansas.

Kale Emshoff, Photo: Little Rock Athletics

Casey Opitz, Catcher, Arkansas

Another Arkansas catcher that was not selected at the draft is Casey Opitz.  The star Razorbacks catcher was expected to be one of the 160 amateur players selected, but he didn’t hear his name called at the draft.  Opitz brings a lot of arm power, so much power that he can even consider pitching if being a catcher doesn’t work out.  He is tweeting about his intentions of returning to the Razorbacks for his senior year.  And if he keeps his offensive momentum, we’ll probably see him drafted next year.

Cam Shepherd, Shortstop, Georgia

Cam Shepherd is all about consistency, and planning for the long run, as opposed to short-term thrills.  He was already drafted at the 20^th round by Tampa Bay Blue Rays in 2019, and he was also picked on the 29^th round by the Boston Red Sox in 2016 straight out of high school.  Still, Shepherd chose to build his impressive college career with 198 starts for the Bulldogs.  During the last season with UGA he hit .268/.372/.493 with four home runs.  So whether going back for his senior year with the Bulldogs or going pro – We will definitely here his name again soon.

Cam Shepherd, Photo: Georgia Bulldogs Baseball

Max Troiani, Outfielder, Bentley

Bentley University never came up with an MLB player before but hitting 345/.427/.359 against much stronger opponents than he’s used to face, and with a wooden bat, Troiani may be the first big leagues player the Falcons will produce.  With 35 for 39 career steels, his biggest force is his speed, and coming from a pretty small team and school, there are opportunities to come back for another season, or to try to step up to the pros.

Max Troiani, Photo: NCAA Division II

Chase Antle, Right-Handed Pitcher, Coastal Carolina

The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers had six players last year that were selected on the 10^th-round draft or higher.  In fact, the Chanticleers are known to produce often some good late draft round selections.  Antle, who transferred from Bowling Green, would have probably been one of these late round drafts if things would have been normal, but nothing is normal this MLB season.  Still, he ended up signing with the Phillies.

There you have it, the 5 best free agents. And if you fancy the sport as much as we do, take a look into the best MLB odds so you can be ready to bet on baseball once it returns: https://extra.betamerica.com/mlb/odds/

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