Cleveland Indians MLB Draft: What are 2021 MLB Mock Drafts saying?

Mike Axisa, CBS Sports (June 25)

Mike Axisa updated his mock draft on June 25 and kept the same pick for the Cleveland Indians that he had in his June 11 edition with outfield Joshua Baez. While Baez has struggled a bit this season in terms of strikeouts, his power is very intriguing in today’s game that is drifting more towards the home run ball and launch angle. Being in the later part of the first round, the Tribe might be in the perfect position to take a chance on the outfielder with hopes of limiting those swings and misses.

Cleveland has a type and that type is high schoolers with upside who are young for the draft class. Baez turns 18 just before the draft and he is an exit velocity monster with enormous power. There’s risk here given his propensity to swing and miss, but every player at this point in the draft has a flaw, and few have Baez’s power potential. – Mike Axisa

Having just turned 18 within the last month, Baez fits what Axisa alludes to as the Tribe taking players on the younger side of the class. Being a Vanderbilt commit, it could take a nice signing bonus to convince Baez to bypass college completely.

Standing at 6-foot-3, Baez’s biggest draw is his power, but with that has come some struggles making contact as well. His arm strength in the field is also impressive, hitting 96 on the radar gun when on the mound.

Baez has the ability to be a five-tool player, but it will really just depend on where he lands in this draft. Since he has somewhat of a hit and miss resume, figuratively and literally, he could go anywhere in the first round. However, if Cleveland has a chance to take him it could turn into a high-reward pick.

Joel Reuter, Bleacher Report (June 25)

Joel Reuter keeps with the trend of young players for the Cleveland Indians in his mock draft, projecting Cleveland to take right-handed pitcher Chase Petty. A little over 18-years old, Petty is committed to Florida, but his fastball velocity and slider make him an intriguing MLB prospect.

An undersized right-hander with some reliever risk, the 6’2″, 190-pound Petty has some of the best pure stuff in the draft, with a 70-grade fastball that touches triple digits and a hard slider. It’s a profile similar to that of Daniel Espino, who the team took with the No. 24 pick in 2019. It might take an above-slot deal to get him signed outside the top 20 given his standing as one of the top high school arms in the class, but he could be well worth the investment. – Joel Reuter

Over the last three drafts the Cleveland Indians have taken four right-handed pitchers in the first round of the MLB Draft and three of them have been out of high school. That could be taken one of two ways. The team has gone to the well enough and will explore more options this time around or that’s what Cleveland does, so expect more of that.

Either route makes sense, so you can’t fully rule out Petty. Reuter writes him as 6-foot-2, but his Perfect Game profile lists him at 6-foot-1, so regardless he’s a bit undersized. However, he’s still taller than Eli Morgan.

When Cleveland is on the clock there will probably be players that better fit the needs of the club available, but Petty’s an intriguing option. While he won’t be ruled out, it might take some convincing to select him. If he is the pick, he has a lot of potential. But in terms of need, there are other areas to address for the future.

Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com (June 30)

The Cleveland Indians have been a bit exposed this season at the catcher position. Roberto Perez and Austin Hedges are great defensive catchers, but that is at the cost of sacrificing offensive production from the position. Then, when both of them went down with an injury, the team had to turn to worse defensive options with little offensive upgrade.

Taking all of that into account, the front office in Cleveland might be inclined to take a catcher in the first round, despite doing so just a few years ago in 2018 with Bo Naylor. One of the best in this class might be Harry Ford, who Jonathan Mayo has Cleveland taking in his latest mock draft.

If there’s a high school hitter available, he might come up in conversation here, with Ford ahead of fellow prep backstop Joe Mack right now. They could also look at a college arm like [Michael] McGreevy. -Jonathan Mayo

With Naylor and Bryan Lavastida already on the club’s Top 30 prospect list, the catcher position might not seem like a huge need. However, when you look at what Ford could bring to the team, it’s hard to ignore. Him falling in the order is what could be the problem.

Another 18-year old, Ford has arm strength behind the plate that was clocked at 85 miles per hour on a throw down to second with a 1.81 pop. If his ability to think through a game can come around and his bat follows, he could be the catcher the Tribe have been searching for.

Edward Sutelan, SportingNews (July 2)

The only player from the collegiate ranks to be mocked to the Cleveland Indians over these four mock drafts, Jud Fabian has a similar profile to Joshua Baez, but with a higher level of experience. Given that extra experience and high-ceiling, Edward Sutelan from the SportingNews has Fabian going to Cleveland in his most recent mock draft, the one that was completed the most recently of the four here.

The Indians have shown a willingness in previous drafts to gamble on upside early over the higher floor players, and that’s what Fabian offers them. A tough 2021 dropped Fabian in rankings from potentially being the first college bat taken to possibly even a second-rounder, but he has tons of raw power and offers the speed needed to play all three outfield positions. If Cleveland can get him to click, it could be getting a steal late in the first. -Edward Sutelan

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Turning 21-years old in September, Fabian is a bit older than the typical Tribe prospect. However, his experience makes him a bit more intriguing. The team can see more of his game, for better or worse, which gives more confidence in the selection.

Over three seasons at Florida, Fabian played in 132 games for the Gators, totaling a slash line of .249/.366/.512. While the average was a bit lower, he did tally 25 doubles and belt 32 home runs in addition to 85 RBI and 15 stolen bases.

He can do a little bit of everything, but it will be figuring out if he can do any of them extremely well. The power is promising and the added speed is a nice bonus. If he’s there at 23 he could be a steal if Cleveland brings him along properly.