MLB Decides To Keep Pro Scouts On The Bench For Now

After weeks of hemming and hawing about what kind of access pro scouts would have at major league stadiums and alternate training sites this season, Major League Baseball on Thursday decided to punt. 

Baseball America has confirmed The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal’s report that the league will initially start games without professional scouts in the stands. Instead, the men and women in those positions will have to do their jobs via television feeds. 

Multiple professional scouting directors said they were not given the reasons behind the decision. MLB will revisit the decision later. Currently, the league does permit up to three amateur scouts per team to do in-person coverage at high school showcases, college summer leagues and other amateur events. 

Professional scouts, however, are limited to whatever they can glean from video and analytical data. Multiple front office officials said they do not expect video and data to be shared from the alternate training sites, where teams will house some of their best prospects and upper-level players who missed the cut for the Opening Day roster.

With MLB games and alternate training sites off limits, one remaining option for in-person pro scouting coverage is independent league games. Because the minor league season has been canceled and major league player pools are capped at 60, some teams have begun allowing their minor leaguers to sign on with teams in independent leagues. 

Righthander Adam Kloffenstein, the Blue Jays’ No. 10 prospect, is playing in the Texas-based Constellation League. So, too, are Trei Cruz, the Tigers’ third-round pick this year, and OF Will Benson, the Indians’ No. 25 prospect. Around the country, a number of former major leaguers are playing in independent and newly-formed alternate leagues.

But even there, there is a lack of clarity. In March, MLB banned all in-person amateur and international scouting. After the draft MLB once again allowed in-person scouting at amateur events while continuing to ban in-person scouting at international events. But MLB never specifically mentioned pro scouting in its ban. The only guidance is in the league’s 2020 health and safety protocols, which say “any administrative, scouting, and advanced work should be conducted on a personal electronic device,” but does not explicitly prohibit in-person scouting.

The lack of communication about the discussion is the crux of the issue. Multiple scouts BA spoke with found out about the decision from Rosenthal’s Tweet. Not from their general manager or their pro scouting director, but from a Tweet from a reporter.

Now, the questions is if MLB actually revisit its decision. And if so, when? And why? Unless trend lines with the coronavirus change drastically for the better, fans are unlikely to be allowed in major league stadiums all season long. 

Without fans in the stands, scouts can easily social distance in the bleachers. They can wear masks. They can sanitize their hands often. They can do their jobs quickly, quietly and as safely as possible. If every team sent one scout to a game, that’s 30 people in the stands. If they doubled that total, that would be up to 60 people in stadiums that seat upwards of 40,000 people. 

Scouts’ main worry now is the same as it has been for weeks: Will a successful year of scouting from the couch lead to a further shift away from in-person scouting and toward much more cost-friendly evaluation through data analysis and technology?

That answer is one of many that remains unresolved.

Things could change over the summer. For now, MLB has decided that pro scouts will start the season on the bench.