Each Sunday through the end of the season, we are going to take a look at the updated 2020 MLB draft standings. This week we added a little something, as a local high school player is getting some big attention this summer.
First we start with a look at the standings from last Sunday morning:
- Tigers 35-79
- Orioles 38-78
- Royals 42-76
- Marlins 44-72
- Mariners 48-70
- Blue Jays 49-71
- Pirates 48-68
- Rockies 52-65
- White Sox 52-63
- Padres 55-61
As you can see, the Pirates were in seventh place at the time, but they were within striking distance of the third overall pick. The Tigers and Orioles seemed well out of reach because there was a chance that neither of them would get to 48 wins, while the Pirates were obviously going to win some games over the final 46 games of the season. The Royals seemed within reach because they still had a total of ten games left with the Orioles and Tigers.
As you probably know, the Pirates won some games since one week ago today. Here are the updated draft standings as of this morning:
- Tigers 37-83
- Orioles 39-84
- Royals 44-79
- Marlins 45-77
- Mariners 51-73
- Blue Jays 52-74
- Pirates 51-71
- White Sox 55-67
- Rockies 56-67
- Padres 57-65
The only change to the top ten is the White Sox moving ahead of the Rockies and that happened last night. The Pirates are still in seventh place and they lost a 1/2 game in their chase of the Royals. They lost more ground to the Marlins after Miami went 1-6 in the last week. The Pirates are four games ahead of eighth place, so at worst they should still be seventh when we check next Sunday.
Over their final 40 games, the Pirates have ten games against teams on this list. The first four are in Colorado at the end of this month. That series is followed by three games at home against the Marlins. Finally, the Mariners come in for three games, September 17-19. Right now that final series looks like it could be a big one for the draft spots.
Remember the Name Austin Hendrick
Austin Hendrick has been getting some attention lately for his performance in summer ball. The West Allegheny HS outfielder was recently ranked as the fifth best prep prospect in the 2020 draft by Baseball America. They rated him high due to his bat speed from the left side, raw power potential and ability to square up pitches. He’s playing his high school ball just 15 miles from PNC Park so the Pirates should get plenty of looks at the young outfielder.
Here are some videos for now. He will definitely be part of our draft coverage next year, but this is a nice little intro.
First is from Prospect Live from last month showing a lot of game action
2080 Baseball has a video from the winter and I’m including this so you can see the difference in his swing/stance from November to July.
Finally, here’s one from Baseball America that has some outfield throws. Short video that also includes batting practice swings
