Drew Burress had something to say. The Georgia Tech outfielder, overcome with emotion following a season-ending 8-7 loss to Oklahoma in the Regional Round of the NCAA Tournament, used his time at the postgame press conference to heap praise on the teammate seated next to him. An emphatic endorsement of the catcher.
An anointing.
“I gotta say something about Vahn Lackey here,” Burress told reporters, tears streaming down his cheeks. “It’s been one of the coolest things in my baseball life watching him grow up from who he was as a freshman to who he is now. He’s the best player in the country. I have no doubt about that.”
Lackey left little doubt during his junior season, slashing .397/.519/.772 with a 1.291 OPS and 20 homers.The catcher earned first-team All-America honors and took home the Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the top catcher in college baseball.
He is projected to be a top-five pick in Saturday’s MLB draft. Lackey is predicted to go No. 3 overall to the Twins in CBS Sports’ final MLB Mock Draft. (Burress, for what it’s worth, is projected as the No. 7 pick).
“I feel like every day is something new, and it’s been cool to kind of just see all the stuff that I’ve been able to do with my name,” Lackey told CBS Sports this week. “In that aspect, it’s been cool to see the progress every day.”
That name carries a little more weight because there are few players at the highest level like Lackey, who is Black. Historically, Black catchers have been scarce throughout the sport. Over the last three decades, Charles Johnson has largely stood alone as the game’s only everyday Black American-born catcher, with Drake Baldwin of the Braves among the few recent players to follow a path that has long lacked representation.
Lackey is a ballplayer, but he understands his path to the big leagues requires more than a bat and a catcher’s mitt. It also carries a level of visibility for young Black players who rarely see themselves behind the plate.
“It’s definitely cool,” said Lackey. “I just want to give that image that really anybody can do it. That’s what I like to give off, and I feel like I definitely am an inspiration to a lot of younger guys who maybe think they’re not at that size yet, and then for them just to keep going, and I feel like that’s really important. The Black community and baseball are so strong because, obviously, there’s not many of us, and we all stay together pretty well.”
In truth, had it not been for Lackey’s father, catching might never have been in his future.
Lackey grew up in Suwanee, Georgia, just outside Atlanta. His Little League team had a dilemma on its hands, consistently deploying a left-handed catcher. Looking for another option, the parents turned to their group chat.
That’s when Lackey’s father chimed in.
“Vahn can catch,” he wrote, despite his son having no experience behind the plate.
It was the beginning of the journey for the player who is now regarded as one of the top catching prospects in recent MLB Draft memory.
Behind the plate, Lackey is as mobile and agile as they come. He possesses solid receiving skills and blocking that will only improve as he gets more consistent reps. Although he has the ability to play other positions, such as third base, catching remains Lackey’s future and where his impact is truly felt.
“He’s Charles Johnson 2.0,” said one top American League executive. “High ceiling. Ultra-athletic, potential impact two-way backstop.”
Don’t let the position fool you, either. Lackey is an athlete who flashes above-average speed on the bases, swiping 15 bags in 16 attempts this past college season for Georgia Tech. At the plate, Lackey has a ton of moving parts but believes this one specific skill set is conducive to the pros.
“I feel like my contact rate is pretty high,” he said. “I feel like, no matter what level I was at, I was able to catch up to the fastball. I can hit velocity. I am not afraid of it.”
Lackey will be home in Georgia with his family during the draft, a common choice among top prospects despite MLB staging the event in person in Philadelphia on Saturday.
In Lackey’s case, home is a place he has never really left. It is where he was molded for this moment. Where his father volunteered him to put on the catcher’s gear. Where his teammate declared him the best player in the country.
And now, it is where Lackey will wait to hear his name called, validating that claim.
“I’m excited to be with all of my family and friends Saturday,” Lackey said. “It’s like my final send-off before I go play professional ball. I’m excited to see how it all pans out.”
