First Pitch 2021 MLB Mock Draft: Predicting the top-5
By Mark Powell
The 2021 MLB Draft is just days away. Here’s how it could play out.
All eyes will be on Vanderbilt pitchers Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, who is the son the MLB great Al Leiter. However, there’s a good chance the top selection will be neither of those two.
Rather, that honor could go to one of a trio of high school shortstops.
Marcelo Mayer, Brady House and Jordan Lawler all fit the modern frame in the hole, similar to a Fernando Tatis, Jr. or Trevor Story type — a tall, rangy shortstop who can make highlight-reel plays look easy, and also supply an astounding amount of power at their best.
2021 MLB Mock Draft: Picking the top-5
The MLB Draft often lacks the popularity and flare of some of the other showcases, such as the NBA and NFL, because it takes said prospects a few years to reach the top-tier of professional sports. Very rarely does a, say, Leiter, start in the major leagues right away. Even Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, two of the more hyped-up draftees in recent memory, spent some time fine-tuning in the minors. It’s just the way of the baseball world.
Having the Draft on the same weekend of the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game doesn’t help matters, either, and the league should take a big, fat L for that dimwitted decision.
For our part, though, the FanSided team has taken a crack at how the top-5 will shake out. Frankly, it’s anyone’s guess, but you might as well listen to the folks who might know a thing or two.