Baldwinsville, N.Y. -- When your Plan B is better than almost everybody's Plan A, you know you're in a good spot.  And it's why Baldwinsville pitcher Jason Savacool says he's feeling stress-free even with his future up in the air this week.

"We have a plan in place for how we're going to attack this thing," he said, referring to the 2020 MLB Draft this Wednesday and Thursday.  "So, definitely excited to see where this road leads."

 

What You Need To Know


  • Jason Savacool is one of the top young prospects in baseball and could get picked in the MLB Draft this week.

  • Despite not throwing a pitch this spring, Savacool won the 2020 NYS Gatorade Player of the Year award on his 18th birthday last month.

  • The Baldwinsville native has also accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Maryland, and says he'll honor that commitment if no MLB team meets his monetary goal.

  • The 2020 MLB Draft is Wednesday (first round only, 7pm on ESPN) and Thursday (rounds two through five, 5pm on ESPN2).

 

According to MLB.com's latest rankings, Savacool is the 156th-best prospect in the draft, and 160 players will be selected this week.  So, the hard-throwing right-hander is expecting to hear his name called Thursday night when he'll be gathered around the TV at home with his family.

If Savacool gets drafted, he's come up with a price tag he'll ask the team to meet to convince him to become the next former Bee to enter the pro baseball ranks.  However, if the money figure isn't met or he goes undrafted, the Terps' signee has a solid, Big Ten backup plan.

"I have an idea of the amount of money I'd want and the organizations that I like," he said.  "If those organizations reach out and give me an offer above the amount that I set as my bottom dollar, then I'll accept; if it's under, then I'll head off to Maryland and have a great opportunity there."

The recently-turned 18-year old says he's always been a Yankees fan, but because of their limited amount of picks in this year's virus-shortnened five-round draft, his hopes of becoming a Bomber are slim.  Savacool says he's spoken to all 30 MLB teams over the past year or so, but that number is down to 10-15 that he says are staying in touch with his agent.  Not having a baseball season this spring is making it harder for him to predict which team to put in the front-runner position.

"It's a little easier when you can see which teams come out to the field during your high school season, you get a feel for who's really interested.  But this year we didn't have that, so it's a little tougher to know what kind of teams are in the mix."

Despite the lack of a senior season, Savacool did snag a prestigious award when he was named the 2020 New York state Gatorade Player of the Year on his birthday last month.  He said it was 'definitely cool', but gave all the credit to his teammates and coaches.  It's just the latest feather in the cap for a guy who's also won a silver medal for the under-18 National team and played in the MLB Prospect Development Pipeline League last summer.  All of it helping boost Jason's confidence to a whole new level.

"Going into last summer, I would have said 'I don't even know if I'm really ready [for pro ball]'.  But, I faced all the best hitters in the country last summer, and a lot of the guys I faced will be first-round picks this year, and I've been able to get them out.  So, I'm very, very excited to see where the road takes me."