THE LONG & SHORT OF IT
Find out what makes the quartet tick, what sets each apart from the field in a deep draft class—and how each views his shortstop contemporaries.
The 2021 draft will be remembered for its high school shortstops.
Since 1981, when Baseball America was founded, there hasn’t been a draft class with this concentration of teenagers at shortstop, the game’s most glamorous position.
Only once before in draft history, in 1973, were four high school shortstops selected among the top 10 picks. Hall of Famer Robin Yount, drafted third overall, headlined that year’s prep shortstop class.
This year, Jordan Lawlar of Texas, Marcelo Mayer of California, Kahlil Watson of North Carolina and Brady House of Georgia all merit top 10 selection on talent. All four have a good chance to go top 10 on draft day, especially in a down year for college hitters.
Even in a stronger year for college hitters, the upside of this group of prep shortstops might be too much for teams to pass up at the top of the draft.
After all, high school shortstop is a prized demographic among scouting departments, as one director explained earlier this year when it started to become obvious that this quartet was shaping up to be special—historic, even.
“The supply of really good defenders at a premium position who can also provide huge offensive impact—it’s just exceptionally rare,” the scouting director said. “That’s why these guys, the Bobby Witts and the CJ Abramses of the world, don’t get out of the top six or seven picks. They’re a commodity.
“If you are a slam dunk offensive impact and you’re sticking at that position, in my mind you are going in the top five picks.”
Going back to 2000, Baseball America has never ranked more than three high school shortstops among the top 30 draft prospects in any given class.
#1 JORDAN LAWLAR, SS
DALLAS JESUIT HS
BORN: JULY 17, 2002. AGE: 18. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-2. WT: 185.
This year, Lawlar (No. 1), Mayer (No. 2), Watson (No. 6) and House (No. 7) all rank inside the top 10, and each player has been talked about as a potential top five pick in our conversations with industry sources when attempting to forecast this year’s first round.
“There has been a lot of heat in to see those guys, and rightfully so,” said another scouting director. “I would not be surprised if one of those guys goes off the board earlier than expected. Everyone is dreaming on that everyday shortstop.”
Beyond the prospect rankings and the mock draft best guesses, what makes this group of four players so special?
Baseball America spoke to all four high school shortstops to go beyond the hype, to get a better sense of the players’
