“Frequent connection” with the high school RHP

The 2024 MLB Draft begins Sunday night at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, and buzz is building around the Atlanta Braves and one of the top right-handed pitchers in the high school class.

Braylon Doughty, an Oklahoma State commit who attended Chaparral High School in Temecula, Calif., has become a popular name for Atlanta at No. 24 overall in recent days.

To note, The AthleticKeith Law wrote in his latest mock draft that he heard the Braves “with the high school pitching group…and especially Braylon Doughty.”

Note that Law asked Atlanta to select preseason shortstop Carter Johnson and bypass Doughty, who was not selected in the first round.

The links between Doughty and the Braves continued Saturday, when Bleacher Report fanned the flames in its latest mock draft by pairing the two at No. 24.

“A frequent connection that has emerged in recent weeks is between Doughty and the Braves, and it’s unlikely he’ll still be on the board when they pick him again at No. 62,” Bleacher Report wrote. “So if they want him, they may have to take him now.”

Doughty, who stands 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, is currently committed to Oklahoma State University. He is ranked the No. 36 overall prospect by MLB.Com and the fifth-best prep pitcher, behind left-handers Cam Caminiti and Kash Mayfield and right-handers William Schmidt and Ryan Sloan.

Here’s MLB.Com’s scouting report on 18-year-old Doughty…

“While Doughty isn’t all that tall at 6’1″, he’s compact, strong and extremely athletic on the mound,” MLB.Com wrote. “He has a quick arm that allows him to throw fastballs up to 96-97 mph with snap and solid control. He misses bats with that arm and even more so with his powerful 50 mph curveball, which tops 3,000 rpm and has a tight break.

“He has 83-85 mph velocity with late lateral movement on two planes, and some think his two breaking pitches could be positives over time. He has some sense of change of speed, but he doesn’t throw it a lot.”

Since taking over as Braves general manager in November 2017, Alex Anthopoulos has selected three preseason right-handers – Carter Stewart (2018), Owen Murphy (2022) and JR Ritchie (2022, supplemental).

Will Doughty be next on the list? That will be answered Sunday night, when the draft begins at 7 p.m. ET. The event will be televised on MLB Network and ESPN.