Atlanta Braves Draft Prospects: April 9th Update

Atlanta Braves Draft Prospects

We aren’t going to give an in-depth report on each guy every couple of weeks, but we’ll update the major players in play for the #3 pick, via industry consensus.

This week, we’re adding a few players to the list: Cal Quantrill, Zack Collins, Dakota Hudson, Bryan Reynolds, Carter Kieboom, Josh Lowe, Will Benson. One thing that I’ve noticed is that a few guys have been rumored by southern Braves fans who have a favorite player from their college or regional high school and they want the Braves to pick him. A good example currently is Robert Tyler of the University of Georgia. He’s not projected in the top 10 of the draft (or the top half of the draft recently, for that matter), but he’s still talked about any time the draft is discussed in a lot of circles. That isn’t to say that by the time we get to June things couldn’t change and he becomes a top-10 guy, but right now that isn’t the case, and if I were to present the case of every single guy who had a chance to possibly work his way into the discussion at #3, well, I’d not have any time to cover anything else!

To take a look at the initial write-ups on the guys I had on, you can click here. The bottom of the page discusses the Braves draft slot allocation, which could play some influence into this. My last piece of information for everyone will be sources on where to get draft info:

2080 Baseball, featuring a number of former Baseball Prospectus minor league writers and former MLB scouts, who also has a tie-in with Perfect Game, who hosts some of the premier summer high school events in the nation
Baseball America, really the industry standard
Baseball Prospectus, long highlighted as an analytical leader in the industry, but also well-regarded for scouting
ESPN’s MLB Draft Coverage (Insider subscription required), Keith Law works with the ESPN team to give amazing analysis of players throughout the country, especially college guys
Minor League Ball, the site operated by John Sickels, whose draft coverage doesn’t ramp up for probably another month or so, but it’s high quality once he gets going
MLB.com’s draft coverage page, where they put together a number of reports from different sites
Scout.com Draft Coverage, definitely more heady scouting and more in depth, and mostly behind a pay wall, but good, quality information

News Updates

Baseball America presented a mock draft on March 30th. They had the Braves taking Riley Pint, the big right handed pitcher out of high school in Oklahoma.

The National High School Invitational took place. Baseball America presented their list of the best players from the tournament. Blake Rutherford was the only notable guy on their list.

Scout.com put together their 2nd mock draft of the spring. They have two editors working side by side, one chose University of Louisville outfielder Corey Ray and the other chose California high school outfielder Blake Rutherford.

Player Updates

More from Tomahawk Take

Kyle Lewis has been in a funk recently, which some have actually said makes him a MORE probable target for the Braves with a possible run at one of the Georgia high school guys who are projected in the middle of the first round in a low-pay pick on Lewis at #3 and over pay on one or two of those Georgia guys at 40 and/or 44.

Corey Ray is making a push to not only be the #3 pick, but possibly the #1 overall pick with his recent play, knocking out a pair of home runs and stealing a base in the last week, though his season totals are about the same as last post, sitting at .336/.396/.640 with 9 home runs, 26 steals, and a 14/16 BB/K ratio. He’s still yet to be caught stealing on the season.

Cal Quantrill has been linked to the Braves recently, though it is not necessarily at #3, but in a dual play if Quantrill doesn’t get a lot of time on the mound in 2016, he could become a pick like Sean Manaea was in 2014 for the Kansas City Royals with the Braves grabbing him at 40 or 44. When healthy, he has a tremendous fastball and change up with a good feel for two breaking pitches. If he doesn’t get onto the field until late, the Braves could pounce.

Zack Collins is a catcher from the University of Miami, and I never would have imagined we’d be discussing him until #40 or #44, but he’s blowing up boards right now, and I’ve seen the comparison twice in the last week, so I’ll repeat it – Collins has been hitting like Kyle Schwarber, but gloving like an actual catcher. That could be a huge boon to the Braves, who have a bit of depth concern at catcher at the upper levels (though there are a ton of catchers from high-A on down with big time value, so it’s not a position I’d expect a lot of draft focus on). Collins has received huge marks on his defense all spring and he’s hitting big so far: .413/.582/.675 with 6 home runs and a 36/18 BB/K ratio in 80 at bats.

Dakota Hudson is maybe the biggest riser in the college pitching crop this year as a righty for the Mississippi State. He was ranked at #19 on March 7 by BA and placed #9 in their mock draft on March 30th, for one example. I’ve seen projections as high as #4. I’m not sure why he’s not been rumored with the Braves at all, but Hudson pitches with a fastball that hits the upper 90s and a very good slider. His feel for the change comes and goes, and he could use a fourth pitch, but that’s a very quality raw tool set.

I personally see him as a reliever, however, so I’d not be a big fan of him at #4 for that reason. 2016 season stats: 7 starts, 0.92 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 18/56 BB/K ratio over 48 2/3 innings.

Bryan Reynolds from Vanderbilt has been viewed as the most “mature” skill set among the college outfielders in the draft, but he’s come out and put in a very good offensive season that could lead to people viewing him as more than just a high-floor player. Season stats: .319/.459/.611 with 7 home runs and 2 stolen bases and 28/34 BB/K over 113 AB. He’s a guy who could move quickly as a leadoff type that plays left field as he has good base running skills, though he’s seemed to sell out for more power this season (as evidenced by adding over 7% to his strikeout rate this season).

Carter Kieboom is a Georgia high schooler from Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia. He flashed surprising power at the summer showcase circuit, and that moved him forward on a lot of draft boards. BA had him #33 on their top 100 at the beginning of March, and I’ve seen him in mock drafts recently as high as the mid-teens.

Kieboom is a guy with raw power, local draw, and some intriguing upward movement in his stock that reminds me of Cornelius Randolph last spring. Keiboom most likely won’t make it to #3 in value, but he could be one of those guys the Braves package with a guy they can get a “deal” on at #3 to sign for over slot at #40 or #44 with a pre-draft “deal”.

Josh Lowe is going to feel very familiar to Braves fans this year after Austin Riley‘s season last year. Lowe is the opposite as he is a 3B first with skills on the plate enough to fall back on a mound career. Lowe had a ton of helium coming into the spring and has seen that deflate a bit, but he’s a 6’4 athletic guy from Pope High in Marietta, Georgia who has seen himself drop from #11 on March 7’s top 100 from BA to #17 a month later, and I’ve seen him mid-20s in other mocks (and out of the first round altogether in another mock). He’s a guy who would work perfectly in a pairing with a “cheap” buy at #3 to pick Lowe at #40/#44.

Will Benson is the third of the Georgia high school trio that is currently being rumored as a possible pre-draft deal guy that the Braves could save money at #3 to draft later at #40/#44 for more money than they’d get at the slots where they’re likely to go otherwise. Benson is from the Atlanta area and is a big 6’6, strong kid already, though he’s athletic enough that some scouts believe he could even handle center field at his current size, but if he fills out much more, he may be stuck at an outfield corner. He’s oddly falling right now, and I’m not sure why. For example, in the Scout.com mock drafts, he’s fallen from #8 in late-February to #19/#23 in late-March. He’d be a very wise play for the money deal for the Braves if he would take it.

Next: Draft Pools Revealed

New Videos:

Jason Groome very cold weather start from 4/5, hence the lower velocity, but watch this curve!

Riley Pint, new video, but recorded last summer:

Mickey Moniak:

AJ Puk vs. Kentucky:

Cal Quantrill:

Zack Collins:

Dakota Hudson:

Bryan Reynolds:

Carter Kieboom:

Josh Lowe:

Will Benson:

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