The 2020 MLB draft was different from a typical Major League Baseball draft as it was only five rounds compared to its usual 40 being shortened due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This allowed owners to save money by paying fewer players. With front offices picking significantly fewer players than usual, it was important to get the picks right in order to bolster the future of the organization on the field. Here's who did well and who did poorly.

Winners

Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays picked fifth as they had the fifth-worst record in the 2019 season, yet they arguably got the best player in the draft in Auston Martin.

Martin was viewed by some as the best and most complete player in the draft and was expected by many to be taken second overall but he somehow fell to the Blue Jays at the number five pick. To complement Martin, they took three pitchers in the succeeding rounds and an outfielder in the fifth round which is a position of need for the Jays' future. The Jays are going to be one darn good team very soon.

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are very close to contention with their strong farm system although their farm system is starting to get a bit weaker due to the graduations of their top prospects to the major leagues. With their five picks in the draft, they took all pitchers, which was a good move as their offensive future seems most likely set.

It's even better that all the pitchers they took were college pitchers which makes them more likely to sign.

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers had the first overall selection for the second time in two years and this time around they took Arizona State power hitter Spencer Torkelson. In three years at college, he slashed .337/.443/.723 with an OPS of 1.166.

That's to go along with 48 HR, 151 hits and 119 RBIs. They took catcher Dillon Dingler in the second round which is a position of need for the Tigers future and with their remaining four picks, they took all hitters. Taking just hitters with all their picks was what they needed as the Tigers' future in pitching is expected to be very good with Casey Mize, Matt Manning, and others.

It was also smart that all the Tigers selections were college players which fits the timeline in regards to when the Tigers want to be a competitive team.

Losers

San Francisco Giants

With their first-round pick, the Giants took a catcher in Patrick Bailey. It was a bit of a surprise to see the Giants take a catcher with their first-round pick as they already have their catcher of the future in Joey Bart who was taken in the first round in 2018. Unlike a shortstop who they can slide over to second base, there's only one catcher on the diamond at a time which may relegate one of Bart or Bailey to bench duties once they're both at the major league level.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles are far away from contending.

Going into the draft, they had the chance to choose anyone other than Spencer Torkelson who was widely expected to go first overall. They could have taken Austin Martin who to some was viewed as the best player in the draft class or someone like pitcher Asa Lacy who has the future makings of an ace but they went with Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad as the Orioles front office believes they will be able to sign him for under slot value. When choosing in the first round, especially as high as second overall, the focus should be on choosing the best player available, not who will sign for less money. Also with their last two picks, the Orioles took two high school players. With high school players sometimes being a hard sign away from their college commitments, especially when chosen later in the draft, if the Orioles are unable to sign their high school selections, this draft will be viewed as a huge failure for the Orioles.

Blaze Jordan

Blaze Jordan has been a talked-about prospect for a long time. He's been named to Perfect Game All-American teams, has done numerous interviews, many videos about him revolving around his amateur baseball career and he was invited to the power showcase for the home run derby. He won his first home run derby at the age of 11 and was hitting home runs 500+ feet at the age of 13.

For a prospect getting this much showtime, you would expect him to be a high draft pick. Jordan didn't hear his name called until the third round when the Red Sox selected him with pick 89. With him being selected lower than anticipated, he may opt to honor his commitment to Mississippi State in hopes to be a top prospect for the 2023 draft where he could be selected in the first round and receive a larger signing bonus.

Some may wonder if he was better off not reclassifying and waiting one more year to get his name heard.

Jacob Cohen

Jacob Cohen is a 20-year-old pitcher from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, who constantly brags that he's apparently hitting 90 MPH on the radar gun. On draft day, he didn't hear his name called and he apparently didn't even get one sniff or look at from a major league scout. Teams can sign undrafted players for no more than $20 000 but it's unlikely Cohen will even get a call from any team. In fact, an unaffiliated semi-professional baseball team in an independent league wouldn't even offer Cohen a spot on their roster. Maybe he hit 90 MPH on MLB the Show 20 on PlayStation 4 and got confused from real-life baseball and video game baseball.

One day, someone from Thornhill will get drafted by a major league team and make Thornhill baseball proud. What an embarrassment Cohen is.

Both a winner and a loser

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers have a really thin farm system as they don't possess one prospect in the top 100 according to MLB. This draft was crucial for them to succeed as they had to fill out their farm system with impact prospects. They did very well in the first round with the fourteenth pick selecting UCLA outfielder Garrett Mitchell who was ranked the sixth-best prospect of this draft. Mitchell can eventually take over for Ryan Braun who's nearing the end of his career. They addressed other areas of need by selecting a catcher and two shortstops although the shortstop they selected in the second round, Freddy Zamora, has a similar skill set to the Brewers' current shortstop Orlando Arcia who hasn't done well at the major league level.

One downside for the Brewers of this draft is that they used all their picks on hitters and did not select one pitcher which is concerning considering their weak pitching staff and minimal pitching depth in the minors. On a positive note, all their selections were college players so they should be able to sign all their draft picks.