NEW NORMAL

The 2021 draft won't go down as the most talented ever, but its place in history is assured for other reasons. We take a look back five years later.

- by MATT EDDY

Commissioner Rob Manfred poses with 2021 No. 1 pick Henry Davis.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

At no time was that more apparent than the 2021 draft. Scouting departments across the country welcomed the return of amateur spring seasons after the pandemic truncated the 2020 college and high school seasons in mid March.

Incomplete scouting looks and partial data led to shaky draft selections in the shortened, five-round 2020 draft—though early 2026 performances from the likes of Max Meyer, Austin Martin, Emerson Hancock, Nick Gonzales, Jordan Walker and Cade Cavalli may be changing the tenor of that first round.

Scouts welcomed the return to normalcy that was the 2021 draft cycle. The only problem was that the draft class lacked a clear-cut top talent. The concentration of high school shortstops, led by Jordan Lawlar and Marcelo Mayer, headed the draft ranking, though half a decade later fellow first-round prep shortstops Jackson Merrill and Colson Montgomery look like the best bets.

The 2021 draft will be remembered for many reasons beyond its status as the first to take place after the Covid pandemic. It was also the first to:

■ Be held in mid July rather than early June

■ Take place during All-Star Game festivities

■ Run for 20 rounds rather than 40, 50 or more

■ Funnel players into the reorganized minor leagues featuring five domestic levels, not seven.

1 HENRY DAVIS