Firstly, if you haven’t checked out our Top 300 Board for the 2021 MLB Draft, it’s a fantastic place to gather full scouting reports on most of the biggest names for next year’s draft.

The 2021 draft cycle will be different than any before it. It’s been a challenging year in scouting circles as talent evaluators grapple with the inability to access high-level talent.

The college side of things has been particularly brutal. 2020 saw 12-15 games played for most schools. A normal year generally schedules 55-65 games per school. To add to the headache, the renowned Cape Cod wood bat league was cancelled. ‘The Cape’ is the pinnacle for collegiate competition each summer. With that off the board many guys won’t have a chance to have their breakout.

This is/was-to-be the most important summer for 2021 draft-eligible players. Plain and simple. Nick Gonzales was such a high pick in 2020 largely because of his dominance at the Cape last summer. It’s a big deal.

On the prep side, most school seasons were cancelled, though the summer wood bat showcase circuit was largely unaffected. Scouts were able to see the best talent in the country at several showcase events this summer, but unfortunately, some talented prospects elected to stay home out of caution for the virus. Understandable.

In both cases, we at Prospects Live leaned on our industry connections to access as much data as humanly possible. We’ve attended several showcases and put in the work. Relationships with industry personnel, access to independent bullpen sessions/swing blast sessions, and school pitch metrics/data has allowed us to appropriately grade much of the 2021 class. It’s why you may find we’re higher/lower on some players than the rest of the industry.

This will be the first of several mock drafts to drop between now and next summer.

Enjoy.