The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the first overall pick in Sunday night's 2021 MLB Draft.
With no consensus top prospect in this year's class, Pittsburgh went with the three-year collegiate catcher over the likes of Vanderbilt right-hander Jack Leiter and a few highly-rated high school shortstops.
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Davis hit .370/.482/.663 with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs in 50 games as a junior. Behind the dish, he threw out 46 percent of potential base stealers.
While Leiter didn't go first overall, he didn't have to wait much longer to hear his name called. The Texas Rangers took the 6-foot-1 right-hander with the No. 2 pick.
Leiter, the son of two-time World Series champion pitcher Al Leiter, is coming off a sophomore season where he posted a 2.13 ERA, 0.845 WHIP and 14.6 K's/9 over 110 innings. During a pandemic-shortened freshman season, Leiter made four appearances with a 1.72 ERA.
Jackson Jobe became the first 2021 high school prospect to be drafted when he was selected third overall by the Detroit Tigers. Out of Heritage Hall High School (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Jobe went 9-0 with 0.13 ERA in his senior campaign. He struck out 122 batters and walked just five in over 51 innings of work. The 18-year-old right-hander will join a Tigers farm system that boasts three top-20 prospects.
Boston Red Sox
A shortstop finally came off the board at No. 4 with the Boston Red Sox's selection of Marcelo Mayer. Mayer, a left-handed hitter, tallied a slash line of .392/.555/.886 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs in 34 games as a senior at Eastlake High School (Calif.).
The Baltimore Orioles rounded out the top five by taking Sam Houston State University junior outfielder Colton Cowser. The left-handed-hitting Cowser earned 2021 Southland Conference Player of the Year after hitting .374 with 61 runs, 16 home runs, 52 RBIs and a 1.170 OPS.
Here are the rest of the selections from Day 1 of the draft:
No. 6, Arizona Diamondbacks: Jordan Lawlar, SS, Jesuit College Prep (Texas)
No. 7, Kansas City Royals: Frank Mozzicato, LHP, East Catholic HS (Conn.)
No. 8, Colorado Rockies: Benny Montgomery, OF, Red Land HS (Pa.)
No. 9, Los Angeles Angels: Sam Bachman, RHP, Miami University (Ohio)
No. 10, New York Mets: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt
No. 11, Washington Nationals: Brady House, SS, Winder-Barrow HS (Ga.)
No. 12, Seattle Mariners: Harry Ford, C, North Cobb HS (Ga.)
No. 13, Philadelphia Phillies: Andrew Painter, RHP, Calvary Christian Academy (Fla.)
No. 14, San Francisco Giants: Will Bednar, RHP, Mississippi State
No. 15, Milwaukee Brewers: Sal Frelick, OF, Boston College
No. 16, Miami Marlins: Kahlil Watson, SS, Wake Forest HS (N.C.)
No. 17, Cincinnati Reds: Matt McLain, SS, UCLA
No. 18, St. Louis Cardinals: Michael McGreevy, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
No. 19, Toronto Blue Jays: Gunnar Hoglund, RHP, Mississippi
No. 20, New York Yankees: Trey Sweeney, SS, Eastern Illinois
No. 21. Chicago Cubs: Jordan Wicks, LHP, Kansas State
No. 22, Chicago White Sox: Colson Montgomery, SS, Southridge HS (Ind.)
No. 23, Cleveland Indians: Gavin Williams, RHP, East Carolina
No. 24, Atlanta Braves: Ryan Cusick, RHP, Wake Forest
No. 25, Oakland A's: Max Muncy, SS, Thousand Oaks HS (Calif.)
No. 26, Minnesota Twins: Chase Petty, RHP, Mainland HS (N.J.)
No. 27, San Diego Padres: Jackson Merrill, SS, Severna Park HS (Md.)
No. 28, Tampa Bay Rays: Carson Williams, SS, Torrey Pines HS (Calif.)
No. 29, Los Angeles Dodgers: Maddux Bruns, LHP, UMS-Wright HS (Ala.)
No. 30, Cincinnati Reds (Compensation Pick): Jay Allen, OF, John Carroll Catholic HS (Fla.)
No. 31, Miami Marlins (Competitive Balance Round A): Joe Mack, C, Williamsville East HS (N.Y.)
No. 32, Detroit Tigers (Competitive Balance Round A): Ty Madden, RHP, Texas
No. 33, Milwaukee Brewers (Competitive Balance Round A): Tyler Black, 2B, Wright State University
No. 34, Tampa Bay Rays (Competitive Balance Round A): Cooper Kinney, 2B, The Baylor Schools (Tenn.)
No. 35, Cincinnati Reds (Competitive Balance Round A): Matheu Nelson, C, Florida State
No. 36, Minnesota Twins (Competitive Balance Round A): Noah Miller, SS, Ozaukee HS (Wisc.)
The MLB draft continues on Monday at 1 p.m. ET for Rounds 2-10 and wraps up on Tuesday with Rounds 11-20.