Chase Field to host 2023 MLB Draft Combine in June
Major League Baseball announced Thursday details for the third annual MLB Draft Combine, which will be held June 20-25 at Chase Field in Phoenix, home of the D-backs.
The top 300 Draft prospects, as determined by MLB teams, will be invited to the Combine, as will up to 50 additional players. Pirates catcher Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall choice in the 2021 Draft, attended the inaugural combine that June in Cary, N.C. Nearly 250 players participated in the 2022 Combine in San Diego, including 32 of the first 50 picks in last year's Draft and top-10 overall selections Termarr Johnson (No. 4, Pirates), Jacob Berry (No. 6, Marlins), Brooks Lee (No. 8, Twins), Gavin Cross (No. 9, Royals) and Gabriel Hughes (No. 10, Rockies).
The main event will be pro-style workouts on June 20-21 that will be broadcast live on MLB Network. Coverage will include batting practice for position players and bullpen sessions for pitchers, as well as athletic testing and interviews with participants and club officials.
Beyond the on-field workouts, prospects will have the opportunity to meet with general managers, scouting directors and other executives from teams. In the first two years of the Combine, clubs and prospects universally have praised the interview process for allowing both sides to get to know each other in person.
Clubs long have hoped to get detailed pre-Draft medical information on top prospects, and that became a reality last year when MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed that anyone who consents to undergo a comprehensive physical exam at the Combine would be guaranteed at least 75 percent of the assigned pick value for wherever he's selected in the Draft. The vast majority of the nearly 250 prospects who attended the 2022 Combine participated in the medical process.
Other aspects of the Combine include a game between high schoolers who choose to participate and programs designed to educate players about their upcoming professional careers and social media branding.