Purple Row After Dark: Revisiting the 2021 MLB Draft

This morning, Baseball America ran an interesting “what if?” article, “Redrafting the 2021 MLB Draft: Jackson Merrill, James Wood top the class.”

As Carlos Collazo writes, “That lack of consensus led to a 2021 redraft that deviates massively from how selections actually played out. Not a single player who went in the first 10 picks on draft day lands in the top 10 of our exercise. And five of the players who went in the top 10 aren’t here at all, including Davis, who was the first-overall pick.”

That year, the Colorado Rockies drafted Benny Montgomery with their first-round pick. Here’s how Collazo suggests that draft might have played out in hindsight:

8. Rockies — OF Sal Frelick

• Actual Pick: OF Benny Montgomery
• Original Drafting Team: Brewers (1.15)
• Draft Rank: No. 9
• Best BA Rank: 2023 No. 33 overall prospect

A large majority of the top-of-the-class prospects from this draft don’t look good in hindsight. Frelick, a Boston College outfielder who ranked as the No. 9 player in the class, is one of the rare exceptions. From his 2021 draft report:

“Frelick is one of the safer college hitters in the draft, with a chance to be a dynamic sparkplug who hits at the top of a lineup and plays good defense in the middle of the field.”

That outlook has largely panned out for Frelick, though most of his defensive work has come in right field since he plays on a Brewers team that puts center field defenders in every outfield spot. He took a step forward as a hitter in 2025 and slashed .288/.351/.405 with 12 home runs, 20 doubles and 15 stolen bases. He primarily played right field but can handle all three outfield positions and has been one of baseball’s better outfield defenders over the last three seasons.

In case you’re interested, here’s how the revamped draft looks for teams who picked before the Rockies did:

1. Pittsburgh Pirates draft SS Jackson Merrill, not C Henry Davis
2. Texas Rangers draft OF James Woods, not RHP Jack Leiter
3. Detroit Tigers draft RHP Bryan Woods, not RHP Jackson Jobe
4. Boston Red Sox draft LHP Andrew Abbott, not SS Marcelo Mayer
5. Baltimore Orioles draft C Carter Jensen, not OF Colton Cowser
6. Arizona Diamondbacks draft RHP Gavin Williams, not SS Jordan Lawler
7. Kansas City Royals draft RHP Tanner Bibee, not LHP Frank Mozzicato
8. Colorado Rockies draft OF Sal Frelick, not OF Benny Montgomery
9. Los Angeles Angels draft RHP Spencer Schwellenbach, not RHP Sam Bachman
10. New York Mets draft RHP Bubba Chandler, not RHP Kumar Rocker

Get this: Hunter Goodman, the 29th pick in the Baseball America redraft, ends up a Los Angeles Dodger.

And Benny Montgomery (No. 39 PuRP) moves into the second round.

I’m generally not a big fan of what-if? scenarios, but I thought this one was worth playing out. If you’re interested, here’s what the mock drafts showed for the Rockies in 2021, and here’s our 2021 draft coverage.

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