2024 Draft - Part 15 - A Look Back At The 2021 Draft.

 I have written previously about Cleveland’s 2021 draft which still has a chance to be the best draft in Cleveland baseball history.  As part of the preparation for the 2024 draft I wanted to look back at 2021, which, to me, represents the best mixture in Cleveland history of a draft form understanding the strength of a draft with the strength of the organization, producing an outstanding collection of draft picks that organization turned into legitimate prospects.  

1 (23) - Gavin Williams - Majors

2 (58) - Doug Nikhazy -AA - 1.19 ERA in 6 starts

2S (69)- Tommy Mace - AA - 5-1 - 2.03 ERA in 8 starts

3 (95) - Jake Fox - A - (#18 Guardians prospect by MLB Pipeline)

4 (125) - Ryan Webb -AA - 3.23 ERA in 10 starts

5 (156)- Tanner Bibee - Majors

6 (186) - Aaron Davenport - AA - 3-1, 1.50 ERA in 9 starts

7 (216) - Jack Leftwich - AA - 3.80 ERA in 13 relief appearances

8 (186) - Rodney Boone - AA - 2.40 ERA in 8 starts

9 (276) - Will Dion - AAA - (#25 Guardians prospect)

10 (306) - Franco Aleman - AAA - (#27 Guardians prospect)

11 (336) - Hunter Stanley - AAA - currently injured

12 (366) - Conner Kokx- AA -.242 BA

13 (396) - Davis Sharpe - AA

14 (426) - Trenton Denholm - A+ - 3.35 ERA IN 8 starts

15 (456) - Alaska Abney - A+ - 1.08 ERA IN 14 relief appearances

16 (486) - Zack Pettway - voluntarily retired due to injuries

17 (516) - Tyler Thornton - AA - 4.50 in 12 relief appearances

18 (546) - Tommy Ventimiglia - ACL 

19 (576) - Reid Johnston - AA - injured

20 (606) - Jake Miller - A+ 

So, really-2 months into their 3rd full professional season (4th season overall), the Guardians have only lost one player from the 21 they drafted, even considering new US player caps.  Almost all the remaining players are performing well, providing welcome headaches over which ML-caliber prospect(s) will they roster against the Rule 5 this fall, because all of the remaining guys they drafted have a greater than O chance of becoming MLB players eventually.  This draft is still on track to become one of the best, if not the best, Cleveland draft of all time.