Eight amateur players, seventeen former All-Stars scheduled to appear at 2021 MLB Draft

Hall of Famers Dawson, Fingers, Jenkins, Raines and Sandberg Among Scheduled Attendees; Opening Night of Draft on All-Star Sunday on July 11th to Feature Top 36 Selections Live From the Bellco Theatre at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver; Draft to Air Live on MLB Network and ESPN with Simulcast on MLB.com

July 8th, 2021Share

Eight amateur players and seventeen former Major League All-Stars — including five Hall of Famers, two Most Valuable Players and one Cy Young Award winner — are among the guests scheduled to attend the opening night of Major League Baseball’s 2021 Draft on Sunday, July 11th at the Bellco Theatre in Denver.

The eight scheduled attendees include right-handed pitcher Ryan Cusick from Wake Forest University; catcher Henry Davis from the University of Louisville; catcher Joe Mack from Williamsville East High School (NY); left-handed pitcher Matt Mikulski from Fordham University; infielder Colson Montgomery from Southridge High School (IN); right-handed pitcher Chase Petty from Mainland Regional High School (NJ); infielder Trey Sweeney from Eastern Illinois University; and left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks from Kansas State University.

The decorated list of baseball personnel scheduled to attend includes Hall of Famer, three-time All-Star and 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner Fergie Jenkins; Hall of Famer, 10-time All-Star and 1984 National League MVP Ryne Sandberg; Hall of Famer, seven-time All-Star, 1981 AL Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner Rollie Fingers; Hall of Famer, eight-time All-Star and 1987 NL Most Valuable Player Andre Dawson; Hall of Famer and seven-time All-Star Tim Raines; and former Major League managers Clint Hurdle and Charlie Manuel.

Other former All-Stars who will represent Clubs are (alphabetically): Garret Anderson (LAA); Jesse Barfield (TOR); Tom Browning (CIN); Will Clark (SF); Andre Ethier (LAD); Alex Gordon (KC); J.J. Hardy (BAL); Derrek Lee (MIA); Fred McGriff (ATL); Lance Parrish (DET); James Shields (TB); and Nick Swisher (NYY). Former first round draft picks among the group include Clark (second overall pick by SF in 1985); Gordon (second overall pick by KC in 2005); Lee (14th overall pick by SD in 1993); Parrish (16th overall pick by DET in 1974); Swisher (16th overall pick by OAK in 2002); and Neil Walker (11th overall pick by PIT in 2004). (A complete list of the Club representatives who are scheduled to attend the 2021 MLB Draft can be found below.)

A total of 47 amateur players all-time have attended the Draft, including three-time American League Most Valuable Player, nine-time All-Star and 2012 AL Rookie of the Year Mike Trout of the Angels (2009); 2015 AL Rookie of the Year and 2012 number one overall selection Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros; 2016 AL Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (2013); Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (2013); Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (2018); and Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks (2008).

The Draft is scheduled for July 11th-13th during All-Star Week in Colorado, and for the first time since the inception of the Draft in 1965, the event is taking place outside the month of June. The Draft will feature 20 rounds across the three days, including the top 36 selections on the opening night of the Draft, which will follow the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and 2021 All-Star Celebrity Softball Game, part of All-Star Sunday at Coors Field. The Draft will begin exclusively on MLB Network, ESPN and MLB.com on Sunday, July 11th at 7:00 p.m. (ET)/5:00 p.m. (MT). The intervals between selections during round one (picks 1-29) will last four minutes, followed by two-minute intervals between selections for the remainder of day one (picks 30-36).

The Draft will resume at 1:00 p.m. (ET)/11:00 a.m. (MT) on Monday, July 12th with the first pick in Round 2 on MLB Network, and will continue through Round 10 exclusively on MLB.com. Selections on Day two will feature one-minute intervals between selections. Day three of the Draft on Tuesday, July 13th will begin at 12:00 p.m. (ET)/10:00 p.m. (MT), featuring picks in rounds 11-20, with no time delay between selections.

The selection order of the Draft is determined by the reverse order of finish at the close of the previous championship season. For the fifth time in history, the Pirates will have the first overall selection of the Draft. Previously, Pittsburgh drafted infielder Jeff King (1986) and right-handed pitchers Kris Benson (1996), Bryan Bullington (2002) and Gerrit Cole (2011) with the top picks in the Draft. The Cincinnati Reds (17th, 30th, 35th) have a Major League-best three selections within the first 36 picks during the first day of the Draft. The Detroit Tigers (3rd, 32nd), Miami Marlins (16th, 31st), Milwaukee Brewers (15th, 33rd), Minnesota Twins (26th, 36th) and Tampa Bay Rays (28th, 34th) each have two selections on the Draft’s opening night.

For the 13th consecutive year, MLB Network will produce comprehensive coverage presented by Dove Men + Care of the MLB Draft. MLB Network will air the first round and Competitive Balance Round A on Sunday, July 11th, beginning live at 7:00 p.m. (ET) from the Bellco Theatre in Denver. MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger, Lauren Gardner, Dan O’Dowd, Harold Reynolds, Vanderbilt head baseball coach Tim Corbin, Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo and MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo will provide pick-by-pick analysis and breakdowns throughout the night. Footage from Club draft rooms, extensive highlight packages, and interviews with newly-drafted players and front office personnel will be part of the telecast. Draft preview coverage on Sunday, July 11th will begin at 12:00 p.m. (ET) with a one-hour program featuring MLB.com’s ranking of the top 100 Draft prospects, followed by a Draft preview show presented by Dove Men + Care at 6:00 p.m. (ET) leading up to the first selection. MLB Network will also air round two of the MLB Draft on Monday, July 12th live at 1:00 p.m. (ET). Each year since its 2009 debut, MLB Network has televised the Draft from its Secaucus, New Jersey studios.

MLB Network’s Draft coverage will include a variety of special features, including one on the special bond MLB Network analyst Al Leiter shares with his son and Vanderbilt University star pitcher Jack Leiter. The piece will focus on Jack’s growth from the son of a former Major League pitcher to one of the projected top picks in the Draft. Stories from Jack’s childhood as well as Al’s role in his development and career at Vanderbilt are shared throughout. Two-time MLB All-Star, Cincinnati Reds pitcher and Vanderbilt alum Sonny Gray will also narrate a feature titled “Vanderbilt Powerhouse,” which includes new interviews with Tim Corbin, pitching coach Scott Brown, Jack Leiter and others, documenting the rise of the program and winning culture of Vanderbilt Baseball.

MLB Network’s MLB Draft coverage follows its recent exclusive on-site coverage of Major League Baseball and USA Baseball’s inaugural Draft Combine, which recently took place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. For five straight hours on June 25th, MLB Network covered more than 100 of the top high school and college baseball prospects as they underwent a pro-style showcase workout, as well as strength and conditioning and PDP performance assessments.

Following MLB Network’s exclusive coverage of round two on Monday, July 12th, MLB.com will exclusively cover the remainder of day two with MLB Network’s Scott Braun alongside Mayo and Callis from The Rally Hotel in Denver. Day three coverage from The Rally Hotel with Mayo and Callis begins at 12:00 p.m. (ET). On MLB.com, fans also can follow every pick with Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of hundreds of draft-eligible players with statistics, scouting reports and video highlights. On Twitter, the official Draft Twitter account, @MLBDraft, will provide up-to-the-moment updates and commentary using the official Draft hashtag, #MLBDraft, while @MLBDraftTracker will tweet all picks as they are made.

The MLB Network Radio channel on SiriusXM will also offer live on-site MLB Draft coverage from the Bellco Theatre to listeners nationwide. SiriusXM’s Grant Paulsen, Mike Ferrin and former MLB general managers Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden will host Sunday, July 11th starting at 6:00 p.m. (ET) and will provide live pick-by-pick analysis throughout the first round on SiriusXM channel 89 and with your phone on the SXM App.

2021 MLB DRAFT CLUB REPRESENTATIVES

Sunday, July 11th * 7:00 p.m. (ET) * MLB Network/ESPN/MLB.com

List of club representatives is tentative and subject to change.

CLUB

REPRESENTATIVE

ARI

Josh Collmenter

ATL

Fred McGriff

BAL

J.J. Hardy

BOS