The Boston Red Sox are going to have quite the crop of prospects to choose from in a few weeks.
Could Jack Leiter be among them?
Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox have the fourth overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft. Unsurprisingly, Bloom hasn’t tipped his hand as to anyone catching his eye, and it’s especially difficult to pinpoint what he’ll do after going way off the map by picking Nick Yorke in the first round last year.
But the name everyone is interested in is Leiter, son of two-time All-Star and World Series champ Al Leiter. The 21-year-old has been impressive in his run with Vanderbilt, and is perhaps the best pitching prospect available. However, he has started falling in some mock drafts, which has perked up Sox fans’ ears.
ESPN MLB Draft analyst and insider Kiley McDaniel also seems to believe it is looking more and more likely that Leiter will be there for Bloom’s taking when pick No. 4 rolls around.
“They will get a shot at at least one of the four prep shortstops, with Marcelo Mayer and Kahlil Watson fitting best,” McDaniel wrote in a column published Tuesday when outlining the best fits for the Red Sox. “An increasing chance Jack Leiter gets to them would be ideal to address a need and quickly boost the big league club.”
McDaniel also points out in his column that the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers, who pick second and third, respectively, also could stand to bolster their pitching prospect pool. If they agree, that would complicate the possibility of Leiter falling to Boston.
But the fact that so many people in the know think there’s a possibility Leiter falls to the Red Sox is something that should give Boston fans some hope.
Leiter went 10-4 with a 2.08 ERA in the regular season for the Commodores across 17 starts. He averaged 14.8 strikeouts, 3.6 walks and 1.1 homers per nine innings.
