ESPN's Kiley McDaniel 2021 MLB Mock Draft 2.0: Mayer to Pirates, Leiter to Red Sox

Less than one month away from the 2021 Major League Baseball draft July 11, the top of the first round is taking shape. 

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel released his second mock draft of the season Friday with several key changes from his previous projection in May. 

McDaniel still picks a high school shortstop to go No. 1 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but now it's Marcelo Mayer (Eastlake H.S., California) instead of Jordan Lawlar (Jesuit H.S., Texas). 

McDaniel projects Louisville catcher Henry Davis to the Texas Rangers at No. 2. The Detroit Tigers take Georgia high school shortstop Brady House, the Boston Red Sox select right-handed Vanderbilt ace Jack Leiter and the Baltimore Orioles grab high school shortstop Kahlil Watson out of North Carolina to round out the top five.

McDaniel's top five has three repeat players: Mayer (No. 3 in the original mock), Davis (No. 5) and Leiter (No. 2).

McDaniel said the class has "no clear top prospect," and the order of picks could come down to how much players in the first round will sign for "because it impacts who you can take at your next pick."

This applies most to the No. 1 pick, where McDaniel wrote there is some "movement away" from Jordan Lawlar "because he's perceived to have a higher signing price than Mayer ... because the narrative is Lawlar was narrowly better and/or narrowly more likely to go first."

McDaniel has Lawlar and Mayer ranked as the No. 1 and No. 2 prospects, respectively, in this class, so even if the Pirates draft the player more likely to sign at their price tag, they won't get someone with significantly less talent.

If Davis was guaranteed to stay behind the plate in professional baseball, he might be in the mix as the best overall player. The Louisville star hit .370/.482/.663 with 15 homers and 48 RBI in 50 games this season. 

McDaniel has Davis ranked as the fourth-best player in the 2021 draft with big raw power but noted he "isn't very good defensively."

Leiter and Vanderbilt teammate Kumar Rocker are the two best-known prospects in the 2021 draft class. Both players could improve their stock when the Commodores play their first game in the College World Series against Arizona on Saturday.

McDaniel said the Red Sox are "tough to pin down" because they are being connected to every top player in the class.

Leiter is coming off an impressive start against East Carolina in the super regionals. The Commodores star allowed one run on two hits with 10 strikeouts over seven innings. 

McDaniel projects Rocker to land with the Kansas City Royals at No. 7. He was even better in his super regional start, striking out 11 and allowing three hits in 7.2 shutout innings vs. the Pirates.

The 2021 MLB draft will take place from July 11 to 13.