With the 2020 MLB Draft set to be held under a climate of change, that is extending to television networks as both MLB Network and ESPN will produce live coverage on Day 1 — Wednesday, June 10.
It will mark the first time that multiple networks will provide live primetime coverage of the MLB Draft. Beginning at 4 p.m. (PT), MLB Network and ESPN will both carry the first round (selections Nos. 1-29) and Competitive Balance Round A (selections 30-37).
Beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, MLB Network and ESPN2 will televise the second round (beginning with the 38th overall selection) through the fifth round. The Los Angeles Dodgers have six picks in the draft, including No. 29 overall.
While the league is keeping with the original date of the first day of the Draft, this year’s version is being capped at five rounds in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Furthermore, like the NFL earlier this year, the MLB Draft is going to be conducted remotely.
As a result of the national emergency created by the pandemic, MLB will not hold its 2020 Draft in Omaha, the site of the now-cancelled NCAA’s Men’s College World Series, as announced last December.
The Draft had been slated to be held at Omaha’s Holland Performing Arts Center and would have welcomed competing College World Series teams to attend the festivities.
The five rounds of the 2020 MLB Draft will amount to 160 total selections. The signing deadline for this year’s class was pushed back from July 10 to Aug. 1, and full payment of bonuses may be delayed for up to two years.
Beginning next week, MLB Network will air six different Draft preview programs ahead of its coverage from June 10-11. The MLB Network Radio channel on SiriusXM will also offer live coverage from the first night, beginning at 3 p.m.
On June 11, MLB Network Radio will carry a simulcast of MLB Network’s live draft coverage beginning at 2 p.m. Coverage available on Sirius channel 209, XM channel 89 and on the SiriusXM app.
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