MLB Bans Teams from Scouting Amateur Players During Winter Period, Cites Injury Risk

Major League Baseball is instituting a dead period for amateur scouting, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Passan reported that MLB issued a memo prohibiting teams from evaluating high school juniors and seniors from Oct. 15 through Jan. 15. A similar ban applies to college players from Nov. 15 to Jan. 15.

"During the down period, team employees will be barred from seeing any player covered by the policy in a baseball setting or from trying to procure video or third-party data on players, according to the memo," Passan said. "Should employees run afoul of the policy, the memo said, they could be fined, suspended or placed permanently on the game's ineligible list while their teams could face sanctions in the draft or international amateur signings."

Passan added that the winter months weren't typically a hive of action on the scouting front. The MLB draft is in mid-July, so the spring and summer are when teams do the bulk of their evaluations.

Still, the new ban might cut down on the number of winter tournaments and showcases, which "have encouraged players to train for maximum-effort throws outside of typical competitive environments."

This is another step by MLB to change the sport at lower levels in a way that benefits the health of players.

In December, the league released the findings from its Report on Pitcher Injuries, which was based on input from 200 people around the game. David Adler of MLB.com summarized some of the key points, including how youth baseball is influenced by the trends in MLB.

"Guys are seeing big leaguers throwing hard in short bursts," one college coach said in the report. "The radar gun is in their face more than it ever has been. Kids today know the [velocity] and metrics of every pitch. The last thing that goes on someone's recruitment profile is ERA. It's all velocity, spin rate, vertical break."

A different college coach expressed a similar concern.

"I just think for the system kids are in — chasing rankings and scholarships, possibly being the highest [draft] pick — velocity is king," they said.

The scouting ban won't transform the evaluation process or the youth baseball calendar, but it does shift the pendulum in a way where players with pro aspirations are incentivized to take more rest time.