2020 MLB Draft: VA/DC Recap
June 12, 2020
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On Wednesday and Thursday, Major League Baseball held their 2020 Rule Four Amateur Draft. The draft was shortened to five rounds this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the shortened draft and some players who we would have expected to be taken this year being out of the pool for various reasons, there were some players who we felt were in the mix to be selected.
Unfortunately, the shortened draft resulted in no prep alums from Virginia or DC being drafted. The only players drafted from a Virginia college were a pair of players selected from Virginia Tech, pitcher Ian Seymour from Massachusetts in the second round and catcher Carson Taylor from Georgia in the fourth round.
Despite no players being taken, it is possible that a few will sign as undrafted free agents in the coming days, we will keep an eye on that.
Early next week, look for us to take a way-too-early look at the Class of 2021 and Class of 2018 to start the process of preparing for the 2021 MLB Draft.
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Ian Seymour LHP / OF / St. Johns Shrewsbury, MA / 2017Rankings StateRank: 9 / POS: 3 PBR Draft BoardRank: 156 / POS: 23 College Draft 100Rank: 89 / POS: 18
- 2020 DRAFT: Seymour planted a flag with a loud Cape showing last summer in which he struck out 39 while allowing just six walks in his 25.1 innings of work (2.48 ERA/1.03 WHIP/.217 BAA). The 6-foot, 210-pound lefty doesn't boast overpowering stuff, but he works quickly and does a very good job tunneling his fastball, changeup and slider, making him a tough arm to consistently square-up. He works his heater into the low-90s, touching 94, with modest arm-side action, and it plays up thanks to an above-average 79-80 mph changeup that he throws on plane with the fastball with excellent arm speed deception. The offering shows arm-side dive following that of the fastball and Seymour excels at turning it over consistently. His tilted slider is a potential average offering that also plays up due the mirroring action off of his fastball and changeup, and is particularly effective away to same side arms after being set-up by a fastball. Given his loud summer, strong four-week spring (3-0, 2.21 ERA, 20.1 IP, 13H, 5 BB, 40 SO) and solid three-pitch mix, Seymour profiles as a top 4-5 round target this summer. For more on Seymour, please see our Then & Now feature from late April.
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Carson Taylor C / Greater Atlanta Christian, GA / 20182020 DRAFT: Taylor put up big numbers as a draft-eligible sophomore in the shortened 2020 season, hitting .431/.541/.690 with seven doubles, one triple and two homers in 58 at-bats, along with 20 RBIs. He impressed with his ability to hit for average and rack up doubles, but he really impressed with his control of the strike zone (12 walks against five strikeouts). And he did it against solid competition. Taylor was good as a freshman too, but he missed some time late in late spring/early summer with a broken hamate bone, then struggled in the Cape Cod League. That experience was good for him, and he came back to campus in the fall with a better plan at the plate. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Taylor is a thick, physical switch-hitter who has yet to fully harness his intriguing power potential, but he stands out for his natural hitting instincts and ability to drive the ball to all fields. He's made big progress defensively over the last year, gradually improving his arm strength (which is now playable) and polishing his receiving and blocking skills. His bat remains his calling card, but he shows enough promise behind the plate to project to stick at the position in pro ball.
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