In previous years, we'd be roughly a month away from the Draft at this point and the picture would be coming into clearer focus. But with the event pushed back to July 11 and teams having less history than ever on college players because of the pandemic, it's still very
share-square-388280
The 2021 MLB Draft is still 11 weeks away, and there’s a tremendous amount still unknown and to be decided in terms of who goes where in the first round. But that won’t stop us from trying to guess.
“Guess” might be the operative word in this first mock draft of the season. Jim Callis and I will alternate in trying to bring you the best projections we can, with the hope that the ones we post right before the July 11 Draft come as close to getting it right as we can.
For this first go-round, I tried to run names by as many teams and scouting director types as possible. The main objective: to have names in each spot that make some sense and are feasible, so I kept permutations for each team to a minimum (There are simply too many at this point.). Consider this a snapshot of names that could land in the first round, with the plan to bring that picture into greater focus as we get closer to the Draft.
share-square-92322
Jack Leiter unquestionably has been the most dominant college player in the first two months of the season. If he s not the most famous prospect in the 2021 Draft, then he s a very close second to fellow Vanderbilt right-hander Kumar Rocker.
Will Leiter go No. 1 overall to the Pirates when they make that selection on July 11? As of now, he s the favorite and ranks atop MLB Pipeline s newly released Draft Top 150. But there also are three other strong candidates and nearly three months for others to emerge.
Leiter turned down first-round interest from clubs as a New Jersey high schooler in 2019 in order to attend Vanderbilt, and his decision couldn t have turned out much better. After losing most of last season to the coronavirus pandemic, the son of two-time All-Star and World Series champion Al Leiter has been spectacular.
MLB Draft 2021: N.J.’s Jack Leiter, son of ex-Yankees, Mets pitcher Al Leiter, tops latest prospects ranking
Updated 6:11 AM;
Today 6:09 AM
Facebook Share
It’s Jack Leiter’s world, and we’re all just living in it.
The only question with Leiter is how well he’ll hold up to a full-season workload of starts, something he hasn’t been able to answer because he pitched just 58 2/3 innings as a New Jersey high school senior in 2019 and 15 2/3 as a freshman a year ago. He has gotten stronger and now carries 205 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame that’s a little smaller than desired for a starter. If he keeps pitching like this all season, it will be hard for Pittsburgh to pass on him. . Leiter’s closest challengers at this point are his teammate (Kumar) Rocker and a pair of high school shortstops, Jordan Lawlar from Jesuit Prep (Dallas) and Marcelo Mayer from Eastlake High (Chula Vista, Calif.). Lawlar is the consensus best position prospect in the Draft there isn’t a coll
MLB Pipeline Top 150 Draft prospects mlb.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mlb.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.