On Monday, MLB and USA Baseball announced the inaugural MLB Draft Combine will take place June 20-26 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
The format for the combine features 88 top Draft-eligible prep players, as decided by Major League clubs. Those 88 will compete in a tournament made up of eight games — including one called a “gold-medal” game and another “bronze-medal” game — and will also perform showcase workouts to display their skills in front of multiple scouts and front-office executives. The players will also undergo medical evaluations from June 24-28.
Players from the newly established MLB Draft League will be available for evaluation in separate events away from the Combine during the month of June. The Draft League starts in 2021 with Frederick, Mahoning Valley, State College, Trenton, West Virginia (Black Bears) and Williamsport on board for its inaugural season.
The 2021 Draft itself will be held from July 11-13 with the first night set in Atlanta as part of All-Star Weekend. It is expected to include at least 20 rounds, up from five in 2020 but potentially down from 40 in years prior. The timeframe itself is another change from the traditional June dates, saving that month for the new combine and showcase events.
Monday’s announcement also revealed that the Prospect Development Pipeline League will resume in the coming year. The PDP League was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic but is expected to take place July 22-Aug. 21 this summer, also in Cary, N.C. That event will spotlight 96 high-school players who are eligible for the 2022 Draft and will also serve as a de facto tryout for the USA Baseball 18U Team.
