Vanderbilt superstar pitchers Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter have long been rumored to be the front runners to go first in the 2021 MLB draft, a pick the Pittsburgh Pirates have.
But Baseball America’s latest mock draft has the Bucs taking five-tool shortstop Jordan Lawler first overall.
Lawlar plays for Jesuit Prep high school in the Dallas area and is committed to Vanderbilt.
The 6’2” righty has the tools to develop into a all-star caliber player but the Pirates should stick with Rocker or Leiter.
Pirates pre and post-game host Kraig Riley agrees that Lawlar could be a top but he isn’t want the Pirates need right now.
“If you want to take the best player available, there's talk that Lawlar could work his way into that. Would I hate the move? No. Would it make the most sense for the Pirates? Also no.
If you want to know what the Pirates could do with the number one overall pick if all things are equal between Lawlar and Rocker or Leiter, just look at the players Ben Cherington has been acquiring.
Most of the trades are for pitching and Cherington is constantly preaching that you can never have enough pitching. It's the most valuable asset for small market teams and the only way they can acquire it is through the draft, so unless Lawlar really separates himself from Rocker or Leiter, I'd expect the Pirates to go the pitching route.”
MLB.com still has Rocker in their number 1 position, followed by Lawlar. Leiter is 6th.
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