2021 MLB draft

[moonslav59]

Too bad we can’t trade our 1st rounder for a 2nd rounder. These 1st rounders all suck!

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Halladay is also one of 3 first round picks to throw a perfect game. For a little trivia, name the other two...

 

I got Matt Cain, but thought the other guy was Dallas Braden (now MLB analyst); wrong.

 

I forgot all about the third guy: drafted by New York, then New York, and basically a .500 guy for four clubs before throwing his perfecto... the next year he went 0-8 for a fifth team and was done.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

My prediction: the two prep shortstops go 1 and 3 and the Rangers take Leiter at 2.

 

That leaves the Red Sox to make a decision at 4: Rocker or Davis? Tough decision.....

[jacksonianmarch]

My prediction: the two prep shortstops go 1 and 3 and the Rangers take Leiter at 2.

 

That leaves the Red Sox to make a decision at 4: Rocker or Davis? Tough decision.....

 

The sox have to go Rocker in that case. Their system is brewing offensive players but is devoid of pitching talent. Rocker is a top notch talent

[Fan_since_Boggs]

The sox have to go Rocker in that case. Their system is brewing offensive players but is devoid of pitching talent. Rocker is a top notch talent

 

True, but the one position where the Red Sox are relatively weak (in the farm) is at catcher. R.Hernandez is probably more of a backup than starter and Wong was a big question mark coming into the season and hasn't done anything this year. He is also already 25 years old. I don't know how long Vazquez can hold up--he is 30 years old.

 

In terms of needs, Davis is a perfect fit. But yeah, the Red Sox need the pitching prospect too.

[moonslav59]

True, but the one position where the Red Sox are relatively weak (in the farm) is at catcher. R.Hernandez is probably more of a backup than starter and Wong was a big question mark coming into the season and hasn't done anything this year. He is also already 25 years old. I don't know how long Vazquez can hold up--he is 30 years old.

 

In terms of needs, Davis is a perfect fit. But yeah, the Red Sox need the pitching prospect too.

 

If they project Davis as a ML catcher, he may be their pick. If they see him as a 1Bman, maybe not.

 

Catchers are hard to project value.

[mvp 78]

True, but the one position where the Red Sox are relatively weak (in the farm) is at catcher. R.Hernandez is probably more of a backup than starter and Wong was a big question mark coming into the season and hasn't done anything this year. He is also already 25 years old. I don't know how long Vazquez can hold up--he is 30 years old.

 

In terms of needs, Davis is a perfect fit. But yeah, the Red Sox need the pitching prospect too.

 

My only question is that the Rays seem to not value Catchers as highly as other orgs. They aren't looking for the next Fisk, they just find a decent receiver. Does Bloom follow that path?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

My only question is that the Rays seem to not value Catchers as highly as other orgs. They aren't looking for the next Fisk, they just find a decent receiver. Does Bloom follow that path?

 

For clubs that prioritize pitching (which should be all of them), it's always more important to have a good catcher instead of a good hitter who plays catcher.

 

Davis' main skill is with the bat. Most reports rate his arm as his best asset behind the plate, but wonder if he'll remain at catcher as a pro.

 

Worst-case scenario sounds like a guy named Sanchez, whose team may be finally admitting they'll never win with him as their No. 1 backstop.

[mvp 78]

For clubs that prioritize pitching (which should be all of them), it's always more important to have a good catcher instead of a good hitter who plays catcher.

 

Davis' main skill is with the bat. Most reports rate his arm as his best asset behind the plate, but wonder if he'll remain at catcher as a pro.

 

Worst-case scenario sounds like a guy named Sanchez, whose team may be finally admitting they'll never win with him as their No. 1 backstop.

 

At that point, I go for a pitcher instead.

[notin]

True, but the one position where the Red Sox are relatively weak (in the farm) is at catcher. R.Hernandez is probably more of a backup than starter and Wong was a big question mark coming into the season and hasn't done anything this year. He is also already 25 years old. I don't know how long Vazquez can hold up--he is 30 years old.

 

In terms of needs, Davis is a perfect fit. But yeah, the Red Sox need the pitching prospect too.

 

Safer move is to take a pitcher. Trading young pitching for a catcher is not that difficult. Heck the Sox got Ronaldo Hernandez for two aging minor league journeyme...

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Safer move is to take a pitcher. Trading young pitching for a catcher is not that difficult. Heck the Sox got Ronaldo Hernandez for two aging minor league journeyme...

 

Totally agree. Like the Sox with Sale, the Astros have Verlander out for the year... and yet, Houston just threw two young pitchers at us with better stuff than anyone in the Boston rotation.

[Hugh2]

In a year that reportedly is very weak in College bats, Davis stands alone at the top, but he would be a top ten talent in any draft for his bat alone. He's easily the best hitting prospect in this draft and if you don't like him as a catcher he has plenty of arm and athleticism for 3B.

 

I really hated the idea of Davis, but I'm slowly starting to like him more and more. A college hitter is much safer than a college pitcher. I almost like the ideal of drafting him and moving him off C immediately just for his bat. He might be a plus defender at 3rd, whereas he might be an average defensive catcher.

[Hugh2]

At the end of the day, it's looking like 1 of Lawler, Mayer, House, Davis, Rocker, and Leiter are going to fall to us (Lawler Mayer less likely) and any one of these guys would be a huge infusion of talent into our system.

[moonslav59]

At the end of the day, it's looking like 1 of Lawler, Mayer, House, Davis, Rocker, and Leiter are going to fall to us (Lawler Mayer less likely) and any one of these guys would be a huge infusion of talent into our system.

 

It's a certainty.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

At the end of the day, it's looking like 1 of Lawler, Mayer, House, Davis, Rocker, and Leiter are going to fall to us (Lawler Mayer less likely) and any one of these guys would be a huge infusion of talent into our system.

 

We can say at least three of those names will be available with the Sox' #4 pick. The intrigue -- for Bloom, anyway -- is that so will all the other draft-eligible amateurs in the baseball world.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

My only question is that the Rays seem to not value Catchers as highly as other orgs. They aren't looking for the next Fisk, they just find a decent receiver. Does Bloom follow that path?

 

That's true, the Rays do seem to place highest value on SPs--they aren't afraid to take them in the first round.

 

Still, I would take the safer pick--Davis, who will stay at catcher--and then look for a high upside high school arm (over slot) in round 2 or one of the Tommy John guys.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Fan_since_Boggs

[mvp 78]

That's true, the Rays do seem to place highest value on SPs--they aren't afraid to take them in the first round.

 

Still, I would take the safer pick--Davis, who will stay at catcher--and then look for a high upside high school arm (over slot) in round 2 or one of the Tommy John guys.

 

I'd take Leiter/Rocker and then follow up with a TJ guy in the 2nd.

[Hugh2]

While there seems to be a lot of uncertainty in this draft after that top tier of 6-7 guys the back as a whole has tons of depth.

 

Remember there were only 5 rounds last year. That is a TON of Sophmore eligible and junior college players who did not get drafted. This might be the year a team does not have to go under slots 3-10 so they can spread the money elsewhere. Premium talent could be had for slot, or at least better talent than is otherwise available.

 

Might still need to save money if you want to draft some highschool guys. A ton of HS talent didn't get drafted last year, so the college draft could be much deeper in 2-3 years.

[moonslav59]

That's true, the Rays do seem to place highest value on SPs--they aren't afraid to take them in the first round.

 

Still, I would take the safer pick--Davis, who will stay at catcher--and then look for a high upside high school arm (over slot) in round 2 or one of the Tommy John guys.

 

The one thing TB has not been all that great at doing is drafting well, especially in the first round. There are various factors involved, but still, their history is not all that great over the last decade.

 

Their famed 2011 draft where they had so many comp picks they ended up with 12 picks in the top 90 netted next to nothing, next to Snell, taken with their 6th pick in the first round & bonus picks.

 

2012: R Shaffer 3B (25th pick)- first pitcher taken in 4th rd (N Gannon)

 

2013: N Ciuffo C (21) and Stanek (P) picked 29th overall

 

2014: C Gillaspie 1B (20)

 

2015: G Whitley OF (13)

 

2016: J Lowe 3B (13)

 

2017: B McKay LHP (4)

 

2018: M Liberatore LHP (16)

 

2019: G Jones SS (22)

 

2020: N Bitsko RHP (24)

 

[Fan_since_Boggs]

The one thing TB has not been all that great at doing is drafting well, especially in the first round. There are various factors involved, but still, their history is not all that great over the last decade.

 

Their famed 2011 draft where they had so many comp picks they ended up with 12 picks in the top 90 netted next to nothing, next to Snell, taken with their 6th pick in the first round & bonus picks.

 

2012: R Shaffer 3B (25th pick)- first pitcher taken in 4th rd (N Gannon)

 

2013: N Ciuffo C (21) and Stanek (P) picked 29th overall

 

2014: C Gillaspie 1B (20)

 

2015: G Whitley OF (13)

 

2016: J Lowe 3B (13)

 

2017: B McKay LHP (4)

 

2018: M Liberatore LHP (16)

 

2019: G Jones SS (22)

 

2020: N Bitsko RHP (24)

 

 

You are correct, I looked up each guy.

 

Bitsko (P) = has upside but shoulder issues, and so who knows. Shoulder issues are a major red flag (of course).

Jones (SS) = is doing OK in high Single A but he is already 23 years old and will need to hit at the higher levels. He could be a decent utility player but I doubt we are looking at a superstar.

 

Liberatore (P)= a top pitching prospect now on the Cardinals.

 

McKay (P) = a disappointment thus far (the 4th pick of the draft). He has shoulder issues (not good) but he is a two way player and some speculate he should focus on hitting/fielding if his shoulder undermines his career as a pitcher. In 2019, he was a dominant pitching prospect before the shoulder injury.

Lowe (OF) = looks like a fourth OF or platoon bat in the best scenario.

 

Whitley (OF) = He is still in the Rays organization but isn't much of a prospect anymore. A disappointing pick at 13 to be sure.

 

C Gillaspie (1b) = bust, now playing in an independent league.

 

N Ciuffo © = bust, sounds like he is somewhere in the Orioles system.

 

Stanek (P) = on the Astros, an OK reliever

 

R Shaffer (3b) = bust

 

When it comes to the Rays last 3 first round SPs (in bold), two of the three ended up with shoulder issues and an uncertain future. This is more evidence that the Red Sox should take Davis over Rocker. So much more can can wrong with pitching prospects. And catching prospects as good as Davis are pretty rare.

 

BTW, Bitsko is a case in point as to why these guys should take the money while it is there. He was drafted by the Rays and paid 3 million to buy him out of his commitment to Virginia. Think about it: if he attended Virginia, and then blew out his shoulder, there is good chance he never would have received a big bonus or been a first round pick. Instead, he signed with the Rays, locked in 3 million, and then blew out his shoulder. If his career is over, so what, he made 3 million and can now spend a small fraction of that money on getting an education. He is set up financially for the rest of his life, assuming he doesn't spend the money recklessly.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Fan_since_Boggs

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

You are correct, I looked up each guy.

 

Bitsko (P) = has upside but shoulder issues, and so who knows. Shoulder issues are a major red flag (of course).

Jones (SS) = is doing OK in high Single A but he is already 23 years old and will need to hit at the higher levels. He could be a decent utility player but I doubt we are looking at a superstar.

 

Liberatore (P)= a top pitching prospect now on the Cardinals.

 

McKay (P) = a disappointment thus far (the 4th pick of the draft). He has shoulder issues (not good) but he is a two way player and some speculate he should focus on hitting/fielding if his shoulder undermines his career as a pitcher. In 2019, he was a dominant pitching prospect before the shoulder injury.

Lowe (OF) = looks like a fourth OF or platoon bat in the best scenario.

 

Whitley (OF) = He is still in the Rays organization but isn't much of a prospect anymore. A disappointing pick at 13 to be sure.

 

C Gillaspie (1b) = bust, now playing in an independent league.

 

N Ciuffo © = bust, sounds like he is somewhere in the Orioles system.

 

Stanek (P) = on the Astros, an OK reliever

 

R Shaffer (3b) = bust

 

When it comes to the Rays last 3 first round SPs (in bold), two of the three ended up with shoulder issues and an uncertain future. This is more evidence that the Red Sox should take Davis over Rocker. So much more can can wrong with pitching prospects. And catching prospects as good as Davis are pretty rare.

 

BTW, Bitsko is a case in point as to why these guys should take the money while it is there. He was drafted by the Rays and paid 3 million to buy him out of his commitment to Virginia. Think about it: if he attended Virginia, and then blew out his shoulder, there is good chance he never would have received a big bonus or been a first round pick. Instead, he signed with the Rays, locked in 3 million, and then blew out his shoulder. If his career is over, so what, he made 3 million and can now spend a small fraction of that money on getting an education. He is set up financially for the rest of his life, assuming he doesn't spend the money recklessly.

 

I like notin's idea of drafting pitchers and then spinning them while they're still highly-regarded prospects for quality position players. Liberatore had a great rep, and the Rays wasted no time in trading him for Arozarena, the star of the '20 postseason and a possible MLB regular for the next five years.

[Hugh2]

I like notin's idea of drafting pitchers and then spinning them while they're still highly-regarded prospects for quality position players. Liberatore had a great rep, and the Rays wasted no time in trading him for Arozarena, the star of the '20 postseason and a possible MLB regular for the next five years.

 

I think if anything the opposite is a good idea. Hitters tend to be safer bets in the draft, particularly collegiate hitters. The Sox also have a much better track record drafting and developing talent on the offensive side of the ball. You can always trade hitting for pitching.

 

Not that I would be upset with Kumar or Leiter in this draft. I'd be excited about both. I might be able to get on board with Jobe as well, although I can understand why many might have a fear of drafting HS pitchers.

[Hugh2]

MLB Mock Draft June 2

WWW.MLB.COM

---

Normally at this time of year, with college conference tournaments just completed and high school seasons nearly over, we’d be in full-on Draft fever/panic mode, trying to get one of our last mocks correct right before the Draft started. So it’s been hard to tell that muscle memory to take

 

New Mock up:

 

1. Marcelo Mayer

2. Henry Davis

3. Jack Leiter

4. Jordan Lawlar

5. Brady House

6. Kumar Rocker

7. Kahlil Watson

8. Jackson Jobe

9. Benny Montgomery

10. Sal Fredrick

 

 

Interesting take, the Pirates for a while now have been said to be honing in on Lawler and Mayer. Everyone in the top ten has been mocked to go #1 overall but Fredrick, Montgomery, and Kahlil but most draft boards and insight seem to have it down to those two with the only other shots being Davis and Leiter who most people think one of those two go #2. If i had to rank the top 4 in terms of probability of falling to the Sox I might go

 

Davis.

Leiter

Lawlar

Mayer

Rocker

House

 

I put Rocker 5th because I think they'd take one of those first 4 first when there.

[moonslav59]

Rocker’s velo has ticked back up, but many sites have him going 5-7.

 

I’m no expert, but if Lester falls to 4, I’d take him. I think Davis might be 2nd and Rocker third, but House May be the guy we take.

[Hugh2]

Rocker’s velo has ticked back up, but many sites have him going 5-7.

 

I’m no expert, but if Lester falls to 4, I’d take him. I think Davis might be 2nd and Rocker third, but House May be the guy we take.

 

It's hard to know what's noise and what's real but there has been talk that Rocker might have larger bonus demands than some of these other guys. If he doesn't go 1-2 then he might slip a little. Rocker could just as easily have the better career between him and Leiter. The tigers love college pitchers and have also said to really like the HS SS at the top of the draft, but if they're taking Rocker because Leiter and Davis is gone then that means Lawlar and Mayer are there, and they might be better than House. I don't see the Sox passing on both those two if they're there.

 

Of course, maybe the Sox think House will be just as good (and that's not a stretch), if he's willing to take less money than those two maybe he is the guy. I wouldn't be disappointed with House if he was cutting a deal.

[notin]

Rocker’s velo has ticked back up, but many sites have him going 5-7.

 

I’m no expert, but if Lester falls to 4, I’d take him. I think Davis might be 2nd and Rocker third, but House May be the guy we take.

 

MLB.com's latest mock draft has the Sox taking Davis while passing on Rocker. But they also cite that the Sox might cut a deal with a lesser player at 4 in order to save some cash for later picks, presumably those who fall for signability reasons...

[Hugh2]

MLB.com's latest mock draft has the Sox taking Davis while passing on Rocker. But they also cite that the Sox might cut a deal with a lesser player at 4 in order to save some cash for later picks, presumably those who fall for signability reasons...

 

I've been hearing this as well, not sure how I feel about it.

 

If the Sox view the talent level and potential of a tier of 7-8 players and one of those guys are willing to take less money and give the Sox an extra 1 million to 1.5 million to play with later on I'm all for it. But if they're passing on a top 10 talent then I'm not interested. Take the ceiling, this draft is pretty deep, I think they could still sign a guy for slot at #4 and still have a great draft.

 

I have absolutely NO ideal what the Sox plan on doing, but I wouldn't be surprised that what they do could be determined by who is there at #4. There might be a guy or two that they are willing to sign for slot, and if not there other guys they're looking to make a deal with.

[moonslav59]

It's hard to know what's noise and what's real but there has been talk that Rocker might have larger bonus demands than some of these other guys. If he doesn't go 1-2 then he might slip a little. Rocker could just as easily have the better career between him and Leiter. The tigers love college pitchers and have also said to really like the HS SS at the top of the draft, but if they're taking Rocker because Leiter and Davis is gone then that means Lawlar and Mayer are there, and they might be better than House. I don't see the Sox passing on both those two if they're there.

 

Of course, maybe the Sox think House will be just as good (and that's not a stretch), if he's willing to take less money than those two maybe he is the guy. I wouldn't be disappointed with House if he was cutting a deal.

 

Good points. Maybe they take the best of these 5-6 guys who will demand the least money.

[Hugh2]

Good points. Maybe they take the best of these 5-6 guys who will demand the least money.

 

Again, I'm no scout, but if I'm trying to build a consensus of what the top tier of talent is I think that first tier is

 

Mayer/Lawlar/Leiter/Rocker/House/Davis. Who knows what the Sox board looks like. There could be another guy or two in there and one of those guys out. But I'd be willing to believe they'd take a guy from that tier who wants the least money. Which, make one wonder if Davis/Leiter are the obvious picks if they fall there.

[Hugh2]

I can tell you one thing, having to wait an extra month is annoying!!!