2021 MLB Draft | Louisville Baseball Recap

(Photo of Henry Davis, Rob Manfred: CBS Sports)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft is now officially in the books. Although it had been reduced to 20 rounds long as opposed to the normal 40 due to budget shortfalls caused by COVID-19, the draft still had a heavy Louisville presence.

In total, seven University of Louisville baseball players were selected, which was good for a seven-way tie at fourth-most in the draft. The Cardinals also had a Class of 2021 commit get selected.

Below is a list of every player who was taken in the draft. All draftees have until August 1st to sign their tender:

Henry Davis

Selection: No. 1 overall, 1st round
Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Position: Catcher

We didn't have to wait long to see the first Cardinal come off the board. Davis became the first player in the history of the Louisville baseball program to be selected at No. 1 overall, and the fourth regardless of sport Pervis Ellison (NBA, 1989), Angel McCoughtry (WNBA, 2009) and Andrew Farrell (MLS, 2013).

He led the Cardinals with a .370 batting average along with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs, led the league in on-base percentage (.482) and ranked in the top 10 in the league in batting average, hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases and slugging percentage. Defensively, he also threw out over 46% of potential base stealers.

Daylen Lile

Selection: No. 47 overall, second round
Team: Washington Nationals
Position: Outfielder

Lile is the highest rated prospect in Louisville's 2021 recruiting class, coming in as the No. 43 high school player in the nation according to Perfect Game. Out of the Cardinals' 18-man class that ranked as No. 8 in the nation, Lile was the only one to be drafted.

The star outfielder for Trinity (Ky.) here in Louisville had a monstrous and historic senior season. He logged an astounding .550/.680/1.413 slash line, along with 18 home runs, 60 RBIs, 11 doubles and 12 triples and 41 walks. In his 160 plate appearances, he struck out just seven times.

Alex Binelas

Selection: No. 86 overall, 3rd round
Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Position: Corner Infielder

Despite a slow start to the year, Binelas turned it on in the back half of the 2021 season, working his way back to top 100 prospect status. A native of Oak Creek, Wisc., Binelas grew up just 15 miles away from the Brewers' home stadium.

Binelas was blazing hot down the stretch, hitting .314 with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs over the final 32 games of the year. He finished the season with a .256 batting average, 19 homers and 63 RBIs.

Cooper Bowman

Selection: No. 122 overall, 4th round
Team: New York Yankees
Position: Second Baseman

With Bowman's selection, this is the sixth year in a row that Louisville has had at least three MLB Draft selections in the first five rounds. 2016 had a whopping seven picks in the first five rounds, while 2017-20 each had three.

A JUCO transfer from Iowa Western, his overall skillset transitioned well to Louisville. In 48 games, he posted a .293/.387/455 slash line, stole 20 bases in 24 tries, had eight home runs, 22 RBI, seven doubles and 42 runs scored.

Michael Kirian

Selection: No. 173 overall, 6th round
Team: Washington Nationals
Position: Left-Handed Pitcher

A rough 2021 heavily impacted his draft stock, but Kirian was still able to put together a solid career at Louisville. He posted an ERA of 2.91 over his first nine appearances, all starts, striking out 54 batters over 46.1 innings in the process.

But in his next three starts, he gave up 21 earned runs in 15.1 innings, eventually getting relegated back to the bullpen. He allowed just one earned run over his final four appearances and 6.2 innings, all out of the pen, bringing his season ERA to 4.80 with 75 strikeouts and 28 walks over 69.1 innings of work.

Lucas Dunn

Selection: No. 250 overall, 8th round
Team: San Diego Padres
Position: Infielder/Outfielder

With Dunn's selection, it marked the fourth time in program history that Louisville had at least five players selected in the first 250 picks in the draft. The 2016 draft featured seven, while 2017 and 2019 had five.

Dunn posted a slash line of .266/.358/.451, accompanied by three home runs, 31 RBIs, 36 strikeouts to 23 walks and 12 stolen bases.

Luke Brown

Selection: No. 253 overall, 9th round
Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Position: Outfielder

We didn't have to wait long until Dunn was picked to see another Cardinal drafted, with Brown coming just four picks later. Brown's selection marked the second-most Louisville players taken in the first ten rounds of a draft, just behind 2016's seven picks.

His batting average of .320 was second on the team behind Davis, and also drove in 20 RBIs, stole 17 bases and scored 37 runs. In the shortened 2020 season, he finished with a .328 average, five doubles and a team-best 11 stolen bases and 19 runs scores.

Glenn Albanese

Selection: No. 441 overall, 15th round
Team: Los Angeles Angels
Position: Right-Handed Pitcher

Finally, Albanese closed out the draft as the final Cardinal taken. While he made just four appearances in 2021, he looked good when he was on the mound. In his three starts, he posted a 1.76 ERA in 15.1 innings, striking out 15 and walking two. His relief appearance, where he allowed 4 earned runs in 1.2 innings, did balloon his season ERA to 3.71.

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