• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, June 24, 2025

MLB’s Continued Push to Make Young Stars, and the Draft, Matter

  • MLB points to a greater fan familiarity with top prospects as a result of several initiatives.
  • The historic rise of Paul Skenes could further winnow the apprenticeship of some players in the minors.
Jun 9, 2024; Lexington, KY, USA; Oregon State Beavers infielder Travis Bazzana (37) throws the ball during the second inning against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kentucky Proud Park.
Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas—The Guardians are hardly in the midst of an on-field rebuild, currently enjoying a 4.5-game lead in the AL Central division and poised to make their sixth postseason appearance since 2016. But now having selected Travis Bazzana (above) with the first pick of the MLB Draft—held Sunday night in Fort Worth, Texas—the spotlight will be on Cleveland to make the Oregon State second baseman a star, and quick. 

The meteoric rise of Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes—last year’s top draft pick, who in just two months has been called up to the majors, dominated the league, and been named as the National League’s starting pitcher in Tuesday’s All-Star Game—is helping change how baseball approaches marketing its young talent. But if MLB gets its way, Skenes will be far from alone. 

Traditionally, baseball has struggled in showcasing its prospects compared to football and basketball. Despite rapid growth in recent years, college baseball remains well behind college football and basketball in terms of television audiences, revenue, and overall prominence. The apprenticeship that most MLB draft picks must make in the minor leagues, often for multiple years, further curtails fans’ ability to latch on to prospects.

The boom-bust history of the MLB draft—with Hall of Famers Harold Baines, Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, and 2024 inductee Joe Mauer joining flops like Bryan Bullington, Matt Bush, Steve Chilcott, and Brien Taylor in the history of No. 1 picks—adds to the uncertainty around the event.

Beyond the current frenzy around Skenes, though, MLB believes it is making additional headway in addressing the age-old problem of showcasing its young talent. Among the current efforts:

  • A continued escalation in the production value and programming emphasis on the draft: For 12 years, the MLB draft was held at MLB Network studios in Secaucus, N.J., and it competed against a full slate of regular-season games. But Sunday night’s event, held at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, marked the fourth year that the draft was combined with the All-Star Game events, and all of the MLB games for the day preceded the primetime slot on ESPN. 
  • Greater attention on the Futures Game: A staple of MLB All-Star Game weekends since 1999, this event involving top minor-league prospects now has more reputability, as 25 players from last year’s game have since appeared in the majors, and 18 Futures Game alumni are first-time big-league All-Stars this year. 
  • Tighter coordination with the affiliated minor leagues: Prior to the 2021 season, MLB implemented a takeover of Minor League Baseball, and now runs the entity’s business operations out of league headquarters in New York. A key priority for the overhaul, particularly at the outset, was to elevate facility conditions for prospects. But the move has since begun to yield off-field benefits as well.  
  • More content: MLB has steadily increased its editorial emphasis on the minor leagues and key prospects on MLB Network and MLB.com, and now includes MiLB game broadcasts on subscriptions for both MLB.TV and the At Bat mobile app. 

“The strategy of trying to make the draft more prominent, moving it to the All-Star Game, taking more control in Minor League Baseball, integrating it more fully with our business. … is starting to pay benefits in terms of the marketing of our players,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. 

There’s an element of luck and timing, too. This year’s event has several dozen players among the draft-eligible group that are sons or brothers of current or former MLB stars and executives, including the children of Adrian Beltre, Yankees GM Brian Cashman, Mark McGwire, Manny Ramirez, and Gary Sheffield. 

The uphill climb, however, remains. Despite the hype around Skenes last year, viewership for the first round of the MLB draft on ESPN and MLB Network fell by 5% to an average of 744,000, well below comparable marks for the NBA, NFL, and even the WNBA, and setting up a further test for the channels this year. 

A Changing Draft

One look at MLB’s setup at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth further emphasized just how much the event has changed since it left the MLB Network studios in 2021. The layout at the 116-year-old, 3,418-seat venue—normally a regular site for rodeos as well as concerts and local sports—included a full and lively crowd and a stage heavily decorated with western and stockyard motifs to lean heavily into the local culture and give the event a heightened sense of place.

All of that was a marked difference from the simple podium and a cramped set of tables for individual teams that the league previously set up in Secaucus.

“Every year, we try to find a location for the draft in that [All-Star Game] city that really adds something, and the Cowtown Coliseum is a particularly unique one,” Morgan Sword, MLB executive vice president of baseball operations, tells Front Office Sports. “And as the pathway to the big leagues is now getting quicker and quicker, we think some of the names picked here tonight are going to be household names very soon.”

Takeover Effects

MLB’s overhaul of the minor leagues, first implemented three years ago, was highly controversial. Turning away from more than a century of doing business largely the same way, the move led to the dissolution of the separate National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues and created a new structure in which minor league clubs became license holders of MLB parent teams. The shift cut the number of MiLB clubs from 160 to 120, was paired with a sharp upgrade in MLB facility requirements, and generated lawsuits and Congressional inquiries.  

That takeover has since been followed by a unionization of minor league players, as well as an aggressive march by Diamond Baseball Holdings, which now owns 35 affiliated franchises, more than a quarter of all of MiLB, with plans for more growth. The company most recently acquired the White Sox’s top farm club, Charlotte, in a deal estimated around $100 million.

But with the dust now settling from that large-scale reorganization, Manfred said he sees clear, across-the-board benefits. 

“If you just look at [Orioles prospect and 2022 No. 1 pick] Jackson Holliday, Paul Skenes, the attention that’s been paid to these [major league] debuts has been driven in part by greater familiarity with the players that people are gaining by having more access to what’s going on in the minor leagues,” he said. “Over the long haul, in terms of players developing their individual brands, it’s a real improvement.”

Eyes on Cleveland

The Guardians won the top pick in last December’s draft lottery, prevailing when they had just a 2% chance of doing so, and coming on the heels of a 76-86 season that was something of an aberration from recent team history. But in keeping with the building trends around the game, Bazzana could be in Cleveland rather quickly.

The 21-year-old Australian, the first born in that country to go in the first round of the MLB draft, will be eligible for a $10.57 million signing bonus as part of the draft’s slotting system. But unlike hard-slot systems for draftees in other leagues, the Guardians could slightly exceed that figure, or go below it and use some remaining draft pool money for other picks as MLB’s system offers more flexibility in allocating funds. 

The selection of Bazzana was part of nine total draft picks of college players among the top 10, up sharply from a comparable six last year and five in 2022.

“What we’re seeing is also evidence of the rising quality of college baseball,” Sword said. “More players are coming out of there ready to make the jump [to MLB] sooner.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Jun 20, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; SL Benfica forward Evangelos Pavlidis (14) in action with Auckland City FC defender Christian Gray (4) during a group stage match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at Inter&Co Stadium.

Day Jobs, Weekly Stipends: Behind the Club World Cup’s Only Amateur Team

“We’ve never been in this for the financial reward.”
Jul 7, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson (28) react after striking out during the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Yankee Stadium.

Former Yankee Josh Donaldson Wins $222K in Lawsuit Against Landlord

Donaldson played the 2022 and 2023 seasons for the Yankees.
Mar 30, 2025; Austin, TX, USA; The team of Alex Marquez (73) of Spain and BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP celebrate as he comes in second place in the 2025 Grand Prix of the Americas at Circuit of The Americas.

European Watchdog Clears Liberty Media’s $5B MotoGP Buy

Liberty Media now owns both the motorcycle racing league and F1.

A’s Launch $1.75B Ballpark Build With Funding Puzzle Still Unsolved

Ground is broken in Las Vegas, but funding issues, Sacramento woes persist.

Featured Today

Mar 15, 2025; Fort Worth, TX, USA; UAB Blazers forward Yaxel Lendeborg (3) dribbles the ball upcourt against the North Texas Mean Green during the first half at Dickies Arena

NIL Is Shrinking the Pool of NBA Draft Entrants

Agents are now advising many players to stay in school.
Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Abdul Carter on the red carpet before the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field
June 21, 2025

‘More Is More’: The Elite Luxury Jewelers Decking Out Athletes

Meet the elite group of luxury designers crafting the biggest statement pieces.
Dec 5, 2024; Miami, FL, USA; FIFA president Gianni Infantino presents the FIFA Club World Cup trophy during the Club Word Cup draw at Telemundo Studios.
June 15, 2025

Revamped Club World Cup Is FIFA’s Billion-Dollar Gamble

The revamped soccer event debuts amid controversy.
Jun 10, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino stands during the anthem against the Switzerland during the first at Geodis Park
June 14, 2025

Gold Cup Is Complicated for USMNT—but U.S. Soccer Has Its Eyes on..

Uncertain tournament success isn’t fazing forward-looking U.S. soccer.
June 22, 2025

Thunder Win NBA Finals Behind Young, Deep, and Cheap Roster

The Thunder’s young and cheap roster won its first title Sunday.
June 23, 2025

NBA Conference Gap Wider Than Ever Amid Injuries to East’s Best

A team from the West has won the NBA title 17 times since 2000.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Ted Leonsis unpacks basketball’s global rise, media rights, and portfolio ownership.
June 22, 2025

WNBA Players Drop Fresh Statement in CBA Fight: ‘We Want a Fair..

The WNBA All-Star Game is less than four weeks away.
June 20, 2025

Pac-12 Still Playing Conference Tetris As Realignment Heats Up

Sacramento State is leaving the Big Sky for the Big West.
June 19, 2025

Fire Rekindled? WNBA’s Portland Expansion Team Eyes Original Name

WNBA trademarks hint at Portland Fire revival as league expands and honors history.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates after scoring a 3-pointer Tuesday, June 17, 2025, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever defeated the Connecticut Sun, 88-71.
June 18, 2025

Caitlin Clark ‘Celebrates’ Chance at $500K Commissioner’s Cup Prize

The winning team shares a $500,000 prize pool.