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2021 MLB Mock Draft: Louisville catcher goes No. 1 to Pirates; Vanderbilt pitchers go in top seven - CBS Sports

2021 MLB Mock Draft: Louisville catcher goes No. 1 to Pirates; Vanderbilt pitchers go in top seven - CBS Sports

2021 MLB Mock Draft: Louisville catcher goes No. 1 to Pirates; Vanderbilt pitchers go in top seven - CBS Sports
Jun 11, 2021 5 mins, 5 secs

The bonus pools are tied to picks in the top 10 rounds, and if you give one player a below-slot bonus, you can give the savings to another player(s).

Texas does not receive a competitive balance pick, which are extra picks given to lower revenue teams.

Below is our first 2021 MLB amateur mock draft.

We'll have mock draft updates every other Friday between now and draft day with the latest chatter, speculation, and rumors.

Pick: C Henry Davis, Louisville ($8,415,300 slot value).

There is no Bryce Harper, Adley Rutschman, or Stephen Strasburg in this draft class.

Davis, the top two high school shortstops (Jordan Lawlar and Marcelo Mayer), and the two Vanderbilt righties (Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker) are all in the mix.

Applying that strategy to the draft would suggest Lawlar or Mayer will be the pick here, though I'm instead going with the Davis, the draft's best hitter and a likely long-term catcher once MLB adopts the automated strike zone.

Pick: SS Jordan Lawlar, Jesuit College Prep (Texas) ($7,789,900 slot value).

The Rangers have a very position-player-heavy farm system (MLB.com ranks only three pitchers among their top 15 prospects), though you don't draft for need, especially not with this high a pick.

2 pick in the 2019 draft.

Like Witt, Lawlar will turn 19 soon after the draft, and older high school prospects don't have the greatest track record in pro ball.

Rumor has it the Tigers are leaning shortstop here, and with Lawlar off the board in our mock draft, Mayer is the best available.

The Red Sox appear to be leaning college player, and they've been connected to Davis, Leiter, and Rocker in recent weeks.

Rocker's velocity has wavered the last few weeks and Leiter had a start skipped for workload reasons not too long ago, which is contributing to the two sliding down draft boards.

Pick: OF Sal Frelick, Boston College ($6,180,700 slot value).

2 pick (he signed for $5.2 million despite being slotted for $7.8 million), and used the savings on other players later in the draft.

The D-Backs are rumored to have interest in high school shortstop Kahlil Watson, who figures to come off the board in the 6-10 range, and I think they'd take Frelick over Cowser if given the opportunity.

They've been connected to Watson and fellow high school shortstop Brady House the last few weeks, but I have a hard time believing Rocker will fall any further than this.

If nothing else, he's the most well-known player in the draft, and his pure upside may be the highest in the draft as well.

7 pick, you don't worry about organizational need, and you simply take the best player.

In this mock draft, Colorado gets to pick between House and Watson, and they've also been connected to slider specialist Jackson Jobe this spring.

He's had a tremendous spring and is climbing draft boards, so much so that he could figure into the top five picks by time the draft rolls around.

If MLB allowed draft pick trading, I imagine the Halos would be on the phone with the D-Backs trying to move up to have a shot at Rocker.

25 pick out of high school in 2018, and he's had an up-and-down career at UCLA, one that included a broken thumb earlier this spring.

He is the best college infielder in the draft class by a pretty significant margin though, and those guys usually don't last long on draft day.

The Nationals are said to covet Jobe and Miami (Ohio) righty Sam Bachman, and in our mock draft, they get to pick between the two.

All else being equal, taking the college pitcher over the high school pitcher makes sense given the historical risks, though Jobe is considered the most polished prep righty in quite some time, and his slider is a top of the line offering with elite spin rates.

The Mariners have not used their first round pick on a high school player since taking Alex Jackson with the No.

College player it is.

There's reliever risk here because his control isn't great, but it's potential frontline stuff, and that's hard to pass up 12 picks into the draft.

He's one of the best athletes in the draft class and he has explosive power, though there is some rigidity to his swing, creating concerns about his ability to handle higher level pitching.

Cowser, Frelick, and McLain are all off the board in our mock draft though, and at this point it makes more sense to grab Wicks, one of the most advanced pitchers in the country, rather than reach for a bat.

They're unavailable in this mock draft, though the bet here is Milwaukee would jump on Cowser, Frelick, or McLain should they make it this far.

High school catchers have a terrible track record in pro ball, but Ford is as talented and athletic as any in recent memory.

The draft starts to open up at this point and the Reds have extra picks at No.

They're just as willing to go with the safer college player as they are the high-upside high school kid.

He's the hardest throwing high school pitcher in the draft class -- he regularly touched 101 mph this spring -- and his slider and changeup are surprisingly advanced for a kid who hasn't needed them to dominate

You have to go back to Bradley Zimmer in 2014 for the last time Cleveland used its top pick on a college player

Also, Cleveland skews toward players who are young for the draft class, and Baez will graduate at age 17

They've started to focus on players with premium athleticism and big upside (Austin Beck, Tyler Soderstrom, even Kyler Murray), and Mooney is climbing up draft boards as a legitimate shortstop with sneaky pop in his righty bat

The A's have mostly been connected to high school hitters this spring, including Taylor and Houston area third baseman Izaac Pacheco

He came into the spring as a potential top-10 pick, swung and missed his way out of the first-round picture, and is now playing his way back up draft boards

That said, the track record of high school second basemen in pro ball isn't great

Summarized by 365NEWSX ROBOTS

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