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Boras: MLB should hold separate drafts for college, high school players

Michael Reaves / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The MLB amateur draft, scheduled to take place from June 10-12, is in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The league recently said in a memo that it's sorting through the unprecedented circumstances but acknowledged the draft will be different in some way, Jorge Castillo and Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times report.

While the memo didn't give specific examples, super-agent Scott Boras has an idea of his own.

Boras suggested MLB hold two separate drafts this summer; one for college players and one for high school players. His reasoning is that scouts have only had sufficient time to gather information on the older group.

"The top Division I college players have been scouted for years," Boras explained. "There aren't too many surprises. The high school players are most affected because you’re evaluating them on their junior and senior years."

While Boras' idea is plausible, an anonymous scout told Castillo that a more likely scenario would be for MLB to forgo the draft due to the heightened possibility of teams making mistakes.

"How do you give a guy $1 million and don't know if he’s healthy?" the scout said.

MLB is also temporarily prohibiting all scouting activity, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, which throws another wrench into draft plans and the event taking place on time.

The MLB draft has happened every year since 1965, including during the 1994-95 work stoppage.

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