MLB Announces New "MLB Draft League"
Major League Baseball and five founding members announced the formation of an MLB Draft League, which will be focused on top prospects that are eligible to be drafted by MLB Clubs.
(November 30, 2020)
Today, Major League Baseball and Prep Baseball Report and five other members announce the formation of an MLB Draft league that will showcase and focus on top prospects eligible to be drafted by Major League baseball clubs that summer.
In the announcement made by Major League Baseball Draft, league teams will be creating "teams," named the Mahoniny Scrappers, the State College Spikes, the Trenton Thunder, the West Virginia Black Bears, and the Williamsport Crosscutters, with a six-team being announced in a couple of weeks.
Some of the plans for the league include:
- a 68-game regular season with an annual All-Star Break centered around the MLB Draft
- "unprecedented" visibility to MLB club scouts through in-person observation and state-of-the-art- scouting technology and educational programming;
- Support staff for the league, such as staffing, player and coach recruitment, on-field operations, and administrative functions, will be coming from Prep Baseball Report (PBR).
- PBR will also use its media and technology platforms to promote the league and its players throughout the season.
Today's announcement follows the late September announcement of the Appalachian League's evolution into the premier college wood bat league for the nation's top rising freshmen and sophomores. It is part of MLB's broader efforts to modernize player development while preserving baseball in the local communities in which it is currently played. More announcements, including additional members of the MLB Draft League, other MLB-sponsored leagues as well as licensed affiliates, will follow in the coming weeks.
Kerrick Jackson will serve as President of the MLB Draft League. Before joining PBR, Jackson served as the head coach at Southern University, where he led a nine-win team to the NCAA Tournament in three years. For three years, Jackson was the Midwest Area Scouting Supervisor for the Washington Nationals, overseeing Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and the Dakotas. Jackson served as the recruiting coordinator at the University of Missouri for five years (2010-2015) and has held assistant roles at Nicholls State University, Fairfield University, Emporia State University and Coffeyville Community College. He has coached in the Cape Cod League and New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Morgan Sword, MLB's Executive Vice President, Baseball Economics & Operations, said: "We are thrilled to partner with Prep Baseball Report and the founding members of the MLB Draft League to create a one-of-a-kind league that will attract the nation's top players who are eligible for each year's MLB Draft and allow local fans to see top prospects and future big-league stars in their hometowns. This announcement continues MLB's commitment to preserving and growing baseball in communities around the United States."
Sean Duncan, President of Prep Baseball Report, said: "We are honored to work with these ownership groups and Major League Baseball to assure the future of impactful, high-level baseball to the region and continue the legacy of deep community involvement from all of these teams. With more than 150 scouts and operations personnel coast-to-coast at the high school, collegiate and junior college levels, we take great pride in our ability to identify the nation's top amateur draft prospects, which will ultimately make the MLB Draft League the preeminent league for draft-eligible players."
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