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2021 MLB Draft
2021 MLB Mock Drafts
When the draft is still months away, MLB organizations are still putting together draft boards. Especially as scouting has been heavily impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, early mocks are more about introducing players to fans and laying out organizational traits. There are some historical points to consider. For instance, from 2013-2018, the Cubs selected relatively safe college players high, but in 2019 and 2020 there was a significant change in philosophy. The Cubs board should now be viewed as much more open to drafting prospects from riskier demographics. These mocks will attempt to factor these historical data points for all organization.
Also, teams don’t (and shouldn’t) draft for need in the first round. It’s so easy to mock a team a college pitcher when they have a lack of pitchers, but it’s a bad strategy. Teams identify certain traits including biodynamic/kinetic metrics, age, position, success with wood bats, etc and build draft models. Teams then identify the best player on the board who will sign within a specified range and select that player. Case in point, the San Francisco Giants employ future Hall Of Famer Buster Posey at catcher in the big leagues and had elite catching prospect Joey Bart in the minors before they took Patrick Bailey with their first round pick in 2020.
It’s always fun to look back on mock drafts early in the season and compare them to the final draft selections. I hope you enjoy these mocks as we lead into the draft season.
Chicago Cubs Draft Primer?
New to following the MLB Draft? You’ve come to the right place. Make sure to check out the constantly updating Chicago Cubs Draft Primer.
And make sure to check out this 10-round Mock Draft for the Cubs
Who Could be Cubs Draft Targets?
Check out multiple hitters and pitchers that boast biodynamic data and scouting features that the Cubs have recently been targeting.
Ivy Futures 2021 Draft Ranking
Ranking methodology:
Draft lists always have variability. I try to strike a line between upside and floor, while also looking at historical success and drafting tendencies. I do factor in some industry consensus and biodynamic/kinetic data when available. This list isn’t an aggregate ranking and there will be some players that deviate from classic ranking sites like Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. That’s where the true fun in draft ranking begins. For the Top 50 and the Top 100 lists (coming soon), I will only rank players in which I’ve seen two viewings of them. So if your favorite player is missing from one of these lists, it’s possible that I haven’t seen them twice in video/person.
Ivy Futures 