Report: 2021 MLB Draft will be 20 rounds long

The 2021 Major League Baseball Draft will be 20 rounds, according to J.J. Cooper of Baseball America.

The league has informed all 30 teams of the plan.

MLB's agreement with the players' association allowed the league to shrink the 2021 draft to 20 rounds without the union's approval, according to Cooper. The current understanding between the sides allowed for this year's draft to be between 20 and 30 rounds.

Until 2019, the MLB Draft was 40 rounds. Due to the pandemic, last year's draft was trimmed to five rounds, the shortest ever.

This year, for the first time, the draft will be conducted from July 11-13 as part of MLB's All-Star Game festivities. The Pittsburgh Pirates own the first overall pick.