1. Pirates: Henry Davis, C, Louisville
We knew the Pirates were going to take a position player, but we didn t know which one. Instead of opting for one of the elite high school shortstops they were rumored to be targeting, such as Marcelo Mayer, they went with the best college position player available in Davis. He s got a chance to hit for power and average and has a rocket arm. His receiving needs work, and it will be interesting to see if the Pirates develop him as a catcher or move him to third base or the outfield to maximize the value of his bat.
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In a shocking and very exciting development, the Mets selected Vanderbilt right hand pitcher Kumar Rocker with the tenth pick of the first round. Rocker was often in the conversation for the first overall pick earlier in the year before his stock slipped a bit, but was still well inside the top-10 across most draft lists (7th on Fangraphs, 8th on Baseball Prospectus, 5th on Baseball America). A couple teams chose to reach down the draft board ahead of the Mets, allowing Rocker to fall into their lap.
Needless to say, this is a great get for the Mets. Throughout the pre-draft process, they’ve mostly been connected with lower-ceiling college arms or bats (Ty Madden, Sal Frelick, Matt McClain, among others), with rumors about an underslot deal for prep hitter Colson Montgomery also coming on strong late. Instead, the Mets got one of the most electric arms in the draft in Rocker, who has sky-high upside despite some issues with holding velocity du
Here s what you need to know about what happened in the first round.
Henry Davis goes No. 1
• Davis is only the seventh catcher in history to be drafted No. 1 overall. He s also only the second in the past 20 years, but the second in the last three (Adley Rutschman, 2019). Before Davis and Rutschman, the last catcher drafted No. 1 overall was Joe Mauer in 2001.
• Davis is the first Louisville player to go No. 1 overall in school history. The previous high for a Cardinals player was Brendan McKay at No. 4 in 2017. Davis is also the second Louisville catcher taken in the first round in the last six Drafts Will Smith went No. 32 overall to the Dodgers in 2016.
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The first day of the 2021 MLB draft is complete, and while 36 players heard their names called on Sunday night, there is still a wealth of talent available for the final two days and 19 rounds of this year s draft.
As part of our predraft preparation, I wrote up a number of scouting profiles to be used in our live grades article. It s a way to stay ahead of the curve timing-wise while still providing in-depth analysis about each player.
There are inevitably a handful of those profiles that go unused. So here s a closer look at some of the best talent still on the board entering Day 2 of the 2021 MLB draft.
IU signee Colson Montgomery drafted in 1st round by White Sox
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If Colson Montgomery ever makes it to Bart Kaufman Field, the Hoosiers will have one heck of a prospect on their hands. Thing is, the likelihood of that arrival ever happening feels pretty low.
That’s because the Chicago White Sox selected the Southridge High School star shortstop with the No. 22 overall pick in Sunday’s first round of the Major League Baseball Draft. MLB.com ranked the 6-foot-4, 190-pound infielder as the No. 25 overall prospect in this year’s draft pool, while The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked him as the No. 56 overall talent.