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Updated 2020 MLB Draft Order

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Last week we took a look at the 2020 draft order if the season ended that day, and showed that the Pittsburgh Pirates would likely end up somewhere between the fifth and 11th pick. That really wasn’t a challenge to see if they could get a better pick than the fifth overall, but they haven’t won a game since I posted that article last Sunday. They were sitting in eighth place at this time last week, so here are the updated standings, listed by where the clubs would pick if the draft order was set after Saturday’s actions.

  1. Tigers 35-79
  2. Orioles 38-78
  3. Royals 42-76
  4. Marlins 44-72
  5. Mariners 48-70
  6. Blue Jays 49-71
  7. Pirates 48-68
  8. Rockies 52-65
  9. White Sox 52-63
  10. Padres 55-61

As you can see, the Pirates right now seem like they are going to finish with one of the top seven picks. Those first two spots seem off-limits because I’m not sure either club will get to 48 wins and that’s only half sarcasm. The Orioles just lost 23-2 yesterday and they’re about to go on the road to face the Yankees and Red Sox. The Tigers and Orioles will basically be playing for the top draft spot in a mid-September four-game series against each other, so that should be fun.

That being said, just one week ago I didn’t think the Pirates could finish higher than the fifth pick. Now with 46 games left, the third overall pick is within their sight. That’s especially true with the third place Royals having a total of ten games left against the Tigers and Orioles.

The Pirates have ten games total left against the teams on that list. They face the Rockies in Colorado Aug 29-Sept. 1st. That’s followed by three at home against the Marlins Sept 3-5. Then the Mariners come into PNC Park Sept 17-19 for some pretty big games (obviously in the draft sense).

Getting a higher draft pick, along with the bigger bonus pool that goes along with that pick, is the big silver lining to a lost season, unless the poor record brings about wholesale changes. So we will check back up on the progress next Sunday.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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