Prep Baseball Report

MLB Draft League: 39 Players Selected in 2021 Draft


Mike Rosenbaum
Senior Prospect Analyst

In its inaugural season, the MLB Draft League had 39 of its players selected in the 2021 Draft. The three-day event concluded Tuesday with 31 Draft League players coming off the board in Rounds 11-20 following the selections of eight Draft League players, three in the top five rounds, on Day 2.

“I want to congratulate the young men from the MLB Draft League who were selected by Major League teams,” said Draft League president Kerrick Jackson. “Our main objective in the league is to foster an environment for growth, development and evaluation that ultimately provides every Draft League player an opportunity to begin their journey toward reaching the Major Leagues.

“To have the number of players selected that we did in the first year is a sign of the endless potential that this League possesses. We look forward to hosting future Major Leaguers for years to come.”

Draft League players were twice selected with consecutive picks -- the first bridging the gap from Day 2 on Monday (Michael Hobbs, No. 312 overall) into Day 3 (Jack Carey, No. 313 overall). There also were 12 instances in which multiple Draft League players were taken within a six-pick span including in the 17th round, when Carlos Lomeli (No. 493), Aaron Haase (No. 495) and Luis Guerrero (No. 496) were taken within a four-pick stretch.

Frederick Keys SS Alex Ulloa (4th round, Astros) garnered honors as the Draft League’s highest-drafted player, while West Virginia LHP Mitch Bratt (5th, Rangers), fresh off of celebrating his 18th birthday after posting the Draft League’s second-most punchouts, became the circuit’s first drafted pitcher in the subsequent round. Altogether, the Draft League had seven high school players selected in the ‘21 Draft, including four from Puerto Rico.  

Collegiate players accounted for 82 percent of the league’s draft picks, with pitchers comprising 66 percent of the group, and a total of 10 players, including eight pitchers, were drafted out of the JUCO ranks.

The Williamsport Crosscutters paced the league with eight ‘21 Draft selections. The Keys, Trenton Thunder and Black Bears produced seven Draft picks apiece. The Mahoning Valley Scrappers and State College Spikes had six and four players selected, respectively. 

The Cubs, Dodgers, Rays and Blue Jays all drafted three Draft League players, while the Braves, Orioles, Red Sox, Reds, Astros, A’s, Pirates, Mariners, Rangers and Padres took two each.

Overall, 21 MLB clubs tapped the Draft League for talent in the 2021 Draft. 

Full list of MLB Draft League players selected in the ‘21 Draft:

Frederick Keys (7)

SS Alex Ulloa (4th round, Astros)

OF Mason Auer (5th, Rays)

LHP Ronan Kopp (12th, Dodgers)

RHP Luke Anderson (15th, A’s)

RHP Luis Guerrero (17th, Red Sox)

SS Hector G. Nieves (19th, Astros)

RHP Kamron Fields (20th, Rays)


Mahoning Valley Scrappers (6)

2B Darren Baker (10th round, Nationals)

RHP Andrew Hoffman (12th, Braves)

LHP Nathan Lavender (14th, Mets)

RHP Cole Ayers (16th, Yankees)

RHP Aaron Haase (17th, Tigers)

LHP Jimmy Burnette (18th, Blue Jays)


State College Spikes (4)

LHP Chase Watkins (9th round, Cubs)

RHP Andrew Moore (14th, Mariners)

3B Damiano Palmegiani (14th, Blue Jays)

C Kenny Piper (18th, Rays)


Trenton Thunder (7)

SS Ryan Cepero (8th round, Royals)

RHP Garrett Hawkins (9th, Padres)

RHP Jack Carey (11th, Pirates)

RHP Dylan Heid (11th, Orioles)

3B T.J. Rumfield (12th, Phillies)

LHP Nick Mondak (18th, Angels)

LHP Sam Strickland (19th, Braves)


West Virginia Black Bears (7)

LHP Mitch Bratt (5th round, Rangers)

RHP Michael Hobbs (10th, Dodgers)

RHP Kobe Robinson (13th, Padres)

C Tucker Mitchell (14th, Rangers)

OF Garrett Spain (15th, Blue Jays)

RHP Madison Jeffrey (15th, Dodgers)

RHP Carlos Lomeli (17th, Pirates)

 

Williamsport Crosscutters (8)

LHP Eduardo Rivera (11th, A’s)

1B Jacob Teter (13th, Orioles)

C Michael Trautwein (13th, Reds)

RHP Owen Holt (16th, Reds)

MIF Christian Olivo (17th, Cubs)

RHP Dominic Hambley (18th, Cubs)

RHP Tyler Uberstine (19th, Red Sox)

RHP Troy Taylor (20th, Mariners)




Premium Content Area

This article is only available to PBRPlus Subscribers. If you wish to continue reading this article:

Login to the Subscriptions Website.
To purchase a NEW SUBSCRIPTION, please click here to go to our subscription products page.