Atlanta Braves Top Draft Options for 2016
Braves Draft Choices Starting to Clarify
Last week, Atlanta Braves General Manager John Coppolella held a twitter ‘fan conference‘ in which he took and answered several questions about himself, the team, and future directions.
There wasn’t a lot of ‘breaking news’ in that run-down, but there was definitely one tidbit worth noting:
"@ChimeraTony In terms of the 2016 draft, are there specific positions you are targeting given the restock on minor league pitching? JC: Best player available, but after taking 4 HS kids last year think a college player, preferably a bat, would help"
I suppose I could fill in a couple of gaps there that twitter’s brevity tends to create. I’m pretty sure that the full answer might have been “Because we drafted 4 high school kids in early rounds last year and already have the deepest set of pitching prospects in all of major league baseball, it’s probably time to consider a college hitter that might be ready to support them soon.”
We could even go further. The Braves have seemed to concentrate on more athletic position players in the International Market, and those signees (in addition to ones expected in 2016) are effectively pre-high school players. Thus, if the Braves wish to keep a ‘flow’ going, the timeline fairly well demands a college hitter – or two – be drafted this year.
So as a follow-on to yesterday’s updated look as 2016 draft positions, I thought it would worthwhile to take a peek at a possible first selection for Atlanta.
How Does the Field Look?
It’s now 2016, and that 2016 draft is less than six months away, so this is the time of year in which BaseballAmerica and others start making their lists… their Top 50 and Top 100 and Top… whatever as we get closer to the draft.
The gotcha is that while the showcase leagues never seem to quit, the school schedules have yet to get underway, and scouts will once again be combing the country in search of new standouts or those who need to follow-up on previously high expectations.
Strongly in the Braves’ favor this year is BA.com’s assessment that 2016 “is a banner year for college outfielders.” This is significant because they point out right away that over the past ten years only 59 have been drafted in the first two rounds – roughly 750 picks total. Over that period of time, only Dustin Ackley went in the first 5 overall picks.
That trend could change this year with Atlanta leading the way.
Who’s Available?
MLB.com has a Top 50 Draft list up (includes high schoolers), and BA.com has a Top 100 list of college players exclusively.
Culling the pitchers and high school kids, that leaves these players as the more-or-less consensus top candidates for Atlanta’s first draft pick at this time. Numbers shown are MLB.com’s scouting grades on the 20-80 scale in these categories: Hitting/Power/Speed/Throw/Field… and Overall.
These are shown in order of BaseballAmerica’s list:
- COREY RAY, Louisville (OF). 55/50/60/50/55 – 55
- BUDDY REED, Florida (OF). 50/50/70/60/60 – 55
- NICK SENZEL, Tennessee (3B). 55/50/50/55/45 – 50
- KYLE LEWIS, Mercer (OF). 50/60/50/50/50 – 55
- BRYAN REYNOLDS, Vanderbilt (OF). 55/45/55/40/55 – 55
- RYAN BOLDT, Nebraska (OF). 55/40/55/45/50 – 50
- NICK BANKS, Texas A&M (OF). 55/50/55/55/50 – 50
- BOBBY DALBEC, Arizona (3B). 45/60/30/60/45 – 50
Atlanta’s long-term intentions for Ender Inciarte and Mallex Smith could weigh heavily here. If they intend to keep both, then that ties up two of the outfield positions for several years. Throw Hector Olivera into the mix and that’s all three positions tied up with team control through at least 2020.
Also on the horizon is Austin Riley, who will need to show Atlanta whether he’s ultimately a third baseman or left fielder.
Of course, if the Braves find a gem here at the #3 draft position, then those problems will be dealt with in due course.
Next: More Detail About Each Player Coming Up