Mike Martin Jr. wasn't necessarily surprised when junior outfielder Reese Albert announced this week he'd be returning for the 2021 season, but the FSU head baseball coach was still quite pleased when it became official.

He just wishes the circumstances were different.

Albert is one of a number of normally draftable juniors around the country who are choosing to return to school now that Major League Baseball has announced this year's draft will only be five rounds due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are definitely excited for him to be coming back," Martin Jr. said of the All-ACC outfielder. "He's an integral part of the puzzle, if you will, with his power and speed combo. And his leadership skills are hard to find. So anytime you get one back like that, it's a boost for the program."

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Albert, who has been one of the Seminoles' top hitters for average and power throughout his FSU career, won't be the only coming back either. He's just one of the first high-profile players to announce it.

As it stands now, with the draft being reduced from 40 rounds to five, that's 35 rounds worth of players who will likely either be going back to college or off to college for the first time.

The draft-eligible players who don't get selected are allowed to sign with organizations as free agents, but for a maximum of $20,000.

For comparison's sake, the slot money designated for each pick of the sixth round in the 2019 draft was anywhere from $237,000 to $301,000. The lowest slot for a 10th-round pick last year was $142,200.

So, the prospect of $20,000 isn't going to entice many draft-eligible players to sign.

"The only ones that might are current seniors probably," Martin Jr. said. "They might say, 'Well, I'll take the 20 now. I might not get drafted next year. Or I might not get offered $20,000 next year. So, there are some guys around the country who are seniors in college who might take it.

"But not many people are going to jump on that."

The NCAA still has not announced if baseball teams (or all spring sports teams for that matter) will be allowed roster relief in 2021 to deal with the excess players coming back to school.

Martin Jr. said he is planning on as many scenarios as possible. And with few exceptions, he's expecting most every player from the 2020 roster returning with the exception of ace C.J. Van Eyk, who should be drafted early.

And most of the high school signees are likely heading to Tallahassee as well.

"I'm pretty sure we're going get relief (on roster size), but I don't think we'll go up in (scholarship) money just because nobody has any," Martin Jr. said. "I think they'll throw out (roster restrictions) and say you can have any many as you want this year. If that happens, at least we'll have a little bit of clarity. Right now, we don't have any clarity."

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If that happens, the Seminoles will welcome some talented arms to a pitching staff that was proving to be one of the best in the country through 17 games in 2020.

"Yeah," Martin Jr. said with a laugh. "We've got a chance to be really, really, really good on the mound, that's for sure."

Focusing on the future -- and trying to stay sane without baseball in his life every day -- is all Martin Jr. can do right now. He and his staff are still recruiting as much as possible, still watching videos of players -- sometimes just playing catch with their brothers or dads in their back yards -- and still trying to figure out how the roster is going to look next February.

This is the first spring he's ever really had without baseball. He's trying to stay active -- walking, jogging and anything else he can do to stay in shape. And he's trying to get his baseball fix by any means necessary.

"I've watched all 17 games we played (in early 2020)," Martin Jr. said. "Probably three or four times each. I've done a lot of self-scouting, going back through games asking why you didn't hit-and-run there, you should have done this, you should have done that. I looked at the moves we made in the bullpen. I just really broke down an awful lot."

He also is enjoying the limited amount of live sports available on television.

"I've even watched the Korean Baseball League," Martin Jr. said. "By the way, that's the slowest-paced game in the world. I couldn't watch it for too long. I'm like, 'Throw the ball, man!'

"I've watched the MLB Network an awful lot. I'm watching, 'The Last Dance.' I'm really into that. And as a staff, we'll try to get together about once a week, sit six feet apart and try to help each other stay sane."

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