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Draft  | Story  | 12/29/2021

Year In Review: Draft

Brian Sakowski     
Photo: Jackson Jobe (Perfect Game)
Year In Review: PG Events | High School

 Every year around this time, somewhere between Christmas and the new year (and the Main Event Showcases, of course), the PG scouting staff likes to look back over the past year in review-style articles. This one focuses on the 2021 MLB Draft, which saw several key storylines unfold over its three-day run back in July. 
 
Draft Particulars Change
 
The industry had certainly become accustomed to the draft taking place in early/mid June, something it had done for years prior to the COVID pandemic, so it was quite an adjustment for scouts/general scheduling when the draft date was announced for mid-July. In addition to that, the draft size changed again as well, blossoming back up to 20 rounds following 2020’s 5-round iteration, and 20 rounds seems to be where MLB wants the draft to stay for the immediate future, at least. Reminder, of course, that the draft was 40 rounds prior to the pandemic. The issues presented by the date moving have to do with scheduling, as stated, as well as general time/resource deployment for Major League clubs given the proximity of the trade deadline to the new draft date. The draft, however, was a huge hit on its new date from a public standpoint, with increased viewership and a much better job of promoting it by Major League Baseball. 
 
Prep Bats Fly Off The Board
 
In an unprecedented run, prep bats absolutely flew off the board during the first several rounds of the draft. Led by Marcelo Mayer at No. 4 overall to the Red Sox, 20 prep bats were selected in the first 60 picks, 27 in the top-100 picks overall. In a year where college bats struggled to really bust out and with a general scarcity of college hitter data thanks to limited collegiate summer ball in 2020, it was the perfect storm for this sort of phenomenon, especially paired with the overall strength of the prep bat class by itself. Power and power projection were the catalysts here, as most of the prep bats selected project to have at least average power at the Big League level, irrelevant of future defensive home. 
 
Henry Davis Goes First Overall
 
The draft has always, at least under the current slotting system, been something of a crapshoot when projecting the first overall pick, since it’s not always the highest-ranked player selected first depending on signing deals, etc. Louisville catcher Henry Davis was the first overall pick in 2021, a decision that wasn’t made public until very close to the draft starting. He signed for $6.5 million, a number roughly $2 million under slot, allowing Pittsburgh to spread their pool allotment down the board. Davis excelled at Louisville, with huge exit velocities and consistent hard contact leading a profile that also features one of the best catcher arms of the past several years as well. 
 
Jackson Jobe is First Prep Selected
 
In a year with so much prep talent on the position player side, it was a prep arm who came off the board first amongst the high school players, in Jackson Jobe going No. 3 overall to the Tigers. Jobe, a Perfect Game All-American, consistently impressed evaluators at every stop with his top-of-class spin traits and good present command as well as athleticism and projection. He was one of several prep arms taken in the first round, including Connecticut lefty Frank Mozzicato, Florida righty Andrew Painter, New Jersey righty Chase Petty and Alabama lefty Maddux Bruns. Mozzicato, especially, had an interesting ascent, going from intriguing fall projection follow to the No. 7 overall pick in less than a year. All told, bats were the story of the 2021 prep draft class, but the arms made their mark on the early rounds as well. 
 
PG All-Americans Go Early and Often
 
As it happens every year, PG All-Americans were very well-represented in the early rounds of the draft. In all, a total of 20 PG All-Americans were selected in the first 100 picks of the 2021 Draft, and that’s not including the former All-Americans who were selected in that range, but out of college, including the Vanderbilt pair of Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker fitting that description. The total signing bonus number for those 20 PG All-Americans (top 100 picks)? How about $67.18 million dollars, once again, not including the former All-Americans who signed out of college this past year. 
 
Setting the Stage for 2022
 
The summer circuit went off without interruption in 2021, giving us our usual deep looks at the 2022 draft class. Suffice it to say, if the 2021 draft was the story of prep infielders, the 2022 draft looks like it’ll be depth of prep arms and the highest-end upper crust of prep bats we’ve seen in quite some time. Termarr Johnson, Elijah Green, and Andruw Jones established themselves as the Big 3 this year, all with the makings of top-5 overall picks, and we’re looking forward to following their final prep seasons this spring and how it all ends up during the 2022 draft. 
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