MLB is Moving the Amateur Draft To July

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Big news coming from Major League Baseball regarding the amateur player draft that has, of late, taken place in mid-June.

But no longer!

Though they haven’t officially announced the move, this move to move the draft from mid-June to July 1 makes logical sense through and through.

As mentioned in Peter Gammons’ tweet, having the draft move to July 1 will move the signing deadline for draft picks to July 15. This gives draftees and the teams that draft them just two-weeks to negotiate contract, signing bonus, and everything else that comes with the MLB amateur draft.

This decision to move the MLB amateur draft to July 1 provides more flexibility for the draft prospects playing in college and still participating in the College World Series. By moving the draft, the college season, and the College World Series, will be completed before it starts.

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Mike Zunino, the Mariners’ first-round draft pick– number 3 overall– back in 2012 was in the midst of a run in the College World Series with the Florida Gators when he was drafted. Moving draft dates will allow players like Mike to dedicate their time and energy to the College World Series entirely, then be able to shift their focus and their mindset to the MLB.

It remains unclear, for now at least, how the delayed draft date will affect the start of the rookie-ball seasons for minor league baseball.

But, overall, this drafting day switch makes an awful lot of sense. The MLB isn’t doing it to draw out the offseason and coax more baseball viewership– the draft is in the middle of the regular season. The NFL recently moved their draft date, but that move seemed far more aimed at television viewership, and money, than the well-being of the young men being drafted.

Look out for the official announcement of the draft date switch sometime soon. But for now, be happy the powers that be in the MLB are making decisions that improve the lives of their most important assets: the players.