C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
The MLB seems to have its draft plan now with the annual event scheduled now for June 10 and—the more important part—it looks like it'll be five rounds.
This obviously has massive implications for the Gamecocks, who have a host of draft eligible guys on its roster and guys committed in the 2020 class who will get professional looks.
We've talked about it a lot over the last few weeks, but it looks like the Gamecocks should get most of it's 20-man recruiting class to campus. They won't get every guy to campus—the draft and attrition happen every year—and that'll happen again this year.
Right now the biggest professional threats to go pro are Luke Little, Brandon Fields, Will Sanders and Mag Cotto currently but that could change over the next month as things become clearer.
Little—who touched 105 on his fastball yesterday—is more than likely going to be drafted and sign with a professional team and I would not expect him at South Carolina next season. Fields is a toolsy outfieder who will definitely get some professional looks just because of his upside and what he's able to do at the plate.
Sanders is a guy who is getting draft looks and it's still up in the air on if he'll come to school, but he's a guy that would benefit heavily from coming to campus. If he does, there's a chance he could develop into a very, very high draft pick.
Cotto is an interesting one as a guy who's skyrocketed up draft boards as he gets closer to the actual draft as a lefty who's topped out in the mid-90s on his fastball. A lot for him will depend on when (or if) he's drafted and how much money a team wants to offer him.
As for the current team, Carmen Mlodzinski will get plucked early–either the first or second round—and a few other guys like Thomas Farr or Brannon Jordan could hear their names as well, although I know Farr's signing bonus terms will be pretty hefty. There's a draw for him to come back and be the Friday night guy.
So, for the draft to be shorted it gives the Gamecocks a lot of talent back on the roster. They're going to have a roster management issue trying to whittle things down to 35 guys (unless the NCAA opts to expand rosters this season, which is still TBD and I'm not holding my breath) and will have to deal with it since the majority of guys are returning for the 2021 season.
Needless to say, it's going to be interesting to see how the Gamecocks approach the next few months leading up to and dealing with the aftermath of the draft.
This obviously has massive implications for the Gamecocks, who have a host of draft eligible guys on its roster and guys committed in the 2020 class who will get professional looks.
We've talked about it a lot over the last few weeks, but it looks like the Gamecocks should get most of it's 20-man recruiting class to campus. They won't get every guy to campus—the draft and attrition happen every year—and that'll happen again this year.
Right now the biggest professional threats to go pro are Luke Little, Brandon Fields, Will Sanders and Mag Cotto currently but that could change over the next month as things become clearer.
Little—who touched 105 on his fastball yesterday—is more than likely going to be drafted and sign with a professional team and I would not expect him at South Carolina next season. Fields is a toolsy outfieder who will definitely get some professional looks just because of his upside and what he's able to do at the plate.
Sanders is a guy who is getting draft looks and it's still up in the air on if he'll come to school, but he's a guy that would benefit heavily from coming to campus. If he does, there's a chance he could develop into a very, very high draft pick.
Cotto is an interesting one as a guy who's skyrocketed up draft boards as he gets closer to the actual draft as a lefty who's topped out in the mid-90s on his fastball. A lot for him will depend on when (or if) he's drafted and how much money a team wants to offer him.
As for the current team, Carmen Mlodzinski will get plucked early–either the first or second round—and a few other guys like Thomas Farr or Brannon Jordan could hear their names as well, although I know Farr's signing bonus terms will be pretty hefty. There's a draw for him to come back and be the Friday night guy.
So, for the draft to be shorted it gives the Gamecocks a lot of talent back on the roster. They're going to have a roster management issue trying to whittle things down to 35 guys (unless the NCAA opts to expand rosters this season, which is still TBD and I'm not holding my breath) and will have to deal with it since the majority of guys are returning for the 2021 season.
Needless to say, it's going to be interesting to see how the Gamecocks approach the next few months leading up to and dealing with the aftermath of the draft.
