Name: Joe Mack
School: Williamsville East (NY) HS
Position: C
Height/Weight: 6’1” 210lbs
B/T: L/R
D.O.B.: 12/27/2002
Previously Drafted: No (committed to Clemson)
SCOUTING REPORT
Joe Mack is a high school catching prospect out of Williamsville East High School in New York. He is viewed as a top two prep catcher available in the 2021 MLB Draft. Scouts have had an eye on him since he was a freshman playing varsity with brother, shortstop Charles Mack, who was a Twins sixth rounder in 2018. Joe has been a mainstay on the PG All Tournament Teams since he was in 14U in 2017. He has played in the Area Code Games, some assorted travel teams, and was selected to be a member of the West Roster of the 2020 Perfect Game All American Classic.
Since committing to Clemson University after his Freshman year, he has climbed the draft rankings. He is listed as the 19th prospect on MLB.com, the 3rd catcher overall. He is also ranked 22nd by Baseball America, 30th by Kiley McDaniel of ESPN ($), and 33rd by Keith Law of The Athletic ($).
MLB.com has said that “Mack has the chance to be an impact player on both sides of the ball”, while Baseball America called him “a consistent performer at the plate”. It has been suggested that he has the offensive skills to profile at first or a corner outfield spot, should he not stick at the catcher position.
SCOUTING GRADES
Scouting grades are according MLB Pipeline, grades may vary between different publications
HIT: 55
POWER: 50
RUN: 40
ARM: 60
FIELD: 50
OVERALL: 50
PROSPECT OVERVIEW AND FUTURE OUTLOOK
Mack is a very consistent hitter with good bat-to-ball skills. He uses his short, compact swing to keep his at-bats alive, and also shows a plus knowledge of the strike zone. He is not opposed to taking walks, and will use his advanced two-strike approach to spray base hits to the opposite field. His power tool hasn’t been completely unlocked yet, but has picked up a little steam early in this, his senior season. He is capable of turning on a pitch and driving it, but does tend to be more of a gap-to-gap hitter. He is a hard contact/barrel guy, so it is likely he develops power as he progresses.
Prior to the 2020 season, Mack was a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, and lost 20 lbs. He regained that weight and is back to his normal playing weight. However, at 6’1 and 210 lbs, he looks to have some room to fill out. His run tool will likely slow as he gets a bit bigger and stronger if he sticks at catcher.
DEFENSE
Mack has a plus raw arm tool. He uses this with his athleticism and quick feet to achieve sub 1.9s pop times. He has been timed as low as 1.84 in PG Tournaments, where running is rampant. Velocity on his throws has been clocked in the mid 80’s from the dish. There is room for growth in Mack’s defensive game. He will need to continue to develop this tool, but the building blocks are there. Mack has soft hands, but will need to work to become a good receiver. He has the athleticism and flexibility to move laterally in either direction. His quick feet work when needing to slide to keep the ball in front of him and is also handy for launching to make a throw from unorthodox positioning. His leadership is one of his qualities that is not measurable, but is lauded as a big plus to his game.
Overall, Mack is a solid prep catching prospect with potential for a very high floor and moderate ceiling. If the power continues to develop he could be a very productive 3 to 4 tool player, the only questions being his receiving skills and his speed. His hit and power tool should allow him to profile as a 1B or OF if his receiving doesn’t reach an acceptable level, lessening risk of drafting a prep catcher.
MOCK DRAFT OUTCOMES
Mack seems to be slated in the mid-teens to mid-twenties across all mock drafts. Jim Callis at MLB.com has Mack heading west to the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the 29th overall pick. Kiley McDaniel with ESPN ($) and our James Fox have Joe Mack projected to join his brother in the Twins organization at pick number 26. With the family connection, I wouldn’t be surprised by the pick.
Perfect Game’s staff has Mack making his way to the Braves via the 24th pick. Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo has him going to the Indians at 23.
POTENTIAL FIT WITH THE WHITE SOX
We have been talking about the Sox going with a prep bat for a couple of years now. There have been eight drafts since the White Sox chose the first round two-headed monster of OF Courtney Hawkins (13th) and 1B Keon Barnum (1st Rd compensatory). Since that draft, the White Sox have been through a rebuild and philosophy change. The rebuild to contend soon and for a long period of time led to being pretty hesitant to pull the trigger on a prep bat, as they needed the top developed bat. Things on the south side may be changing.
Joe Mack would be a step in the right direction of getting the farm depth skilled and younger. The prospects standing in his way are all considerably older. The only stateside prospect reasonably close, age-wise, is Victor Torres at 21 in Kannapolis, taken in the 11th round of the 2019 MLB Draft. If selected by the White Sox, Mack would certainly move to the top of the organizational list at the catcher position. With offensively skilled catchers being a difficult position to fill, it might be worth taking a good look. Mack still has the rest of his senior season to either improve or drop his stock, but he looks to have the leadership and bat to go at 22 if the Sox are confident in the glove. Jim Callis linked the White Sox to Joe Mack in his most recent mock draft.
Photo credit: Williamsville East Athletics
Want to know right away when we publish a new article? Type your email address in the box on the right-side bar (or at the bottom on a mobile device) and click “create subscription.” Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Also, consider supporting FutureSox on Patreon! You can get early access to special articles and Patreon-only posts, in addition to more benefits.
Shop our exclusive merchandise! Show your support with FutureSox apparel!