Imagine being Michigan State pitcher Mason Erla.
He was having a great season — climbing up draft boards, showing a fastball that touches 97 miles per hour and putting up great stats — but the coronavirus crisis stopped everything, including the college baseball season.
Now, he’s stuck in limbo, unsure if he will get drafted because Major League Baseball changed its draft so dramatically.
Erla is ranked No. 170 in this draft by Baseball America, which would normally be a great thing. Almost certainly, he would be taken in the first 10 rounds.
But this year, the draft has been shrunk to just five rounds and only 160 players will be drafted when you count compensation picks.