The Pirates will have the first pick in the 2021 MLB draft.
They earned that right by stumbling through the 2020 season and finishing with the league’s worst record at 19-41, but there was some question about whether the draft order would be determined by reverse order of finish because the season was so abnormal. On Monday, MLB confirmed the draft order will indeed be determined as it usually is.
The first pick is expected to be Vanderbilt right-handed pitcher Kumar Rocker, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2019 College World Series. He went 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA in a coronvirus-shortened 2020 season.
The Pirates will be picking first overall for the fifth time. The first four times, they selected Jeff King (1986), Kris Benson (1996), Bryan Bullington (2002) and Gerrit Cole (2011).
The Rangers, Tigers, Red Sox and Orioles will round out the top five. The Astros won’t have a first-round pick as part of their punishment for their role in a sign-stealing scandal.
The draft is scheduled for July 11-13, 2021 in Atlanta.
