BA Mock Draft has Rangers going college bat

Baseball America has a 2021 MLB Mock Draft out, their first since the season ended and we have what we think will be the final draft order, based on 2020 standings (though MLB could theoretically change that, based on the agreement reached with the MLBPA in March).

BA has the Rangers taking University of Miami catcher Adrian Del Castillo at #2. Del Castillo is a lefthanded hitting catcher who was the #196 prospect on BA’s 2018 pre-draft rankings, but slid due to signability issues, ultimately being taken by the Chicago White Sox in the 36th round. The Miami native put up a 995 OPS as a freshman, when he split time between catching and playing right field, and had a 1025 OPS as a sophomore (primarily catching) in the abbreviated 2020 season. He has hit for average and power in college as well as walking a lot, with more walks than strikeouts.

Despite a lot of fans treating University of Vanderbilt pitchers Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter as locks to go 1-2, Leiter drops to #6 in this mock draft. While Rocker does seem, right now, to be the favorite to go 1-1 (and he is mocked to the Pittsburgh Pirates at #1 in this version), he isn’t seen as a Stephen Strasburg/Bryce Harper no doubt top overall pick they way those two players were in the fall before their draft years. Leiter, meanwhile, was a well-regarded pitcher coming out of high school, but BA notes that there are questions about him currently. Leiter could end up being the clear-cut choice at #2 when the draft comes around, but right now, that’s not the case.