Braves Draft Round 3 – RHP Max Povse

The Braves selected Max Povse in the second round of the 2104 MLB Amateur Draft , Povse is seen here pitching for the Staunton Braves in a Valley Baseball League game in July 2013. Photo Credit Katie Currid USA Today High School Sports

With their third pick of the 2014 the Braves draft team continued to plunder North Carolina by selecting Max Povse,  a RHP out of UNC – Greensboro (NC). Ranked number 142 by Baseball America, the 20 year old (21 in August) Povse is a 6’8” righty who features  a low to mid 90s fastball and a nice slider. He tend to elevate the fastball and when he does it straightens out and becomes hittable. The slider is a work is progress, it has depth but isn’t a tight pro-level pitch yet.  He does throw a changeup and has a good feel for it but  needs to throw it more often to make it effective. His size and stuff should translate well to the majors if he can improve the secondary stuff and keep the fastball on a downward plane he could become a mid-level or better starter.

Povse was a four letter man at Green Hope High School and set a new school record by striking out 18 batters in just eight innings against Middle Creek and won all conference honors. That performance led to his selection in 42nd round of the 2011 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He opted to go UNC-Greenville instead and joined their rotation starting 14 gamje and throwing 57 2/3 innings. . The following year he became their Friday night starter again making 14 appearances and posting a 4-4 record with a 4.75 ERA in 77 2/3 IP. he allowed opponents hit just a .248 BA while striking out 81.

In 2013 he played for the Staunton Braves in the Valley Baseball League throwing 54 innings and posting a 3.33 ERA with 60 strikeouts and only 12 walks. He was named to the South squad for the Valley Baseball League All-Star game where he was named the outstanding pitcher after picking up the save by throwing one inning, allowing just one hit while striking out two. Perfect Game said that he “. . .He leads a wave of 90-plus arms that had dominant 2013 seasons” and his statistics reflect that assessment.

Statistics from Point Streak

The 2014 season saw Povse once again making 15 starts fro the Spartans posting a 6-4 record with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP while duplicating his 81 strike out season and allowing 27 walks. His career at Greenville produced some impressive numbers. The ERA and WHIP don’t mean as much in an aluminum bat league because pitches that would break bats or become easy outs fly off of those horrible excuses for baseball hardware.

Statistics Courtesy The Baseball Cube

Other Stuff

Povse is a Braves fan as you can see from the picture on his Twitter page and if that wasn’t enough of a recommendation active in charity work. He has a page on Stay Classy to encourage fans to donate to the Vs. Cancer Foundation a non-profit organization dedicated to saving kids’ lives by empowering athletes and communities to fund lifesaving childhood cancer efforts.

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That’s A Wrap

There’s no official word yet on whether Povse will sign but judging by his clothing choice and picture location I’d say the odds are pretty good. He is like a lot of the pitchers in the draft a work in progress and making the jump to pro ball isn’t easy but he looks the part physically, has the basis of a good selection of pitches and has experience at the college level. All of those will help him make the transition. We at the Take wish him good luck and hope to see him in Atlanta soon. Updates on future picks from the Braves draft team will be available as soon as we get the data.