Atlanta repeatedly connected with rising college hitter

We’re less than a month away from the 2024 MLB Draft and things are starting to come into focus. The top 8-9 prospects in the draft are pretty well established although the exact order in which they will be selected is up in the air and we are starting to see broadly the same names in consideration in the first round. For the Atlanta Braves picking number 24, it would normally be true that they would be resigned to preparing their board and simply reacting to what happens in front of them on the first day of the draft.

However, a strange consensus is starting to emerge regarding the Braves’ pick. Of course, Keith Law of The Athletic went off-script with his latest mock draft and had the Braves taking high school arm Braylon Doughty on a contract deal. However, two of the most prominent draft media outlets, MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, have the Braves focusing on Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt with their first-round pick, which would be a pretty drastic change from their draft strategy the most recent.

In a vacuum, Waldschmidt would be a good pick at the 24th pick in the first round. Not only has he put up big numbers at Kentucky at the plate this year, but the most advanced data models like him as a guy with a strong approach at the plate, great bat-to-ball skills and who hits the shit out of it. ball when it makes contact. His future defensive home is an open question, but the Braves would buy his bat here and might find out the rest later and Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo received enough feedback on the Braves-Waldschmidt connection that he made fun of him at Atlanta in its last game. two simulated sketches.

However, it would certainly be a pretty significant change from what Atlanta has done in recent years in the draft. The Braves are quite confident in their ability to develop pitchers and then use their pitching depth to trade for the hitters they want/need, with nine of their last 11 first-round picks being weapons, including all five last. While the addition of a quality college bat would be welcomed by many fans, these simulations may need to be taken with a grain of salt.

In all likelihood, the Braves are likely maintaining the same strategy they’ve always had by going with the best player available when they pick and it’s possible they’ll stock up on Waldschmidt to try to get the teams ahead of them to take him. consider. The idea here is that if a team ahead of the Braves in the first round wins it, that could push their real target towards them. Anthopoulos’ front office doesn’t leak very often and if Waldschmidt’s name is leaked, there’s probably a reason for it.

We’ll know soon enough. The Braves didn’t think Hurston Waldrep would be available last year when they picked last year, but he was and they were thrilled. It’s certainly possible that Waldschmidt is their guy right now, but teams’ best-laid plans can be thrown out the window pretty quickly once the draft unfolds in front of them.

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