Atlanta Braves Second Pick of the 2015 Draft: Right-Handed Pitcher Mike Soroka

With their second pick of the 2015 draft the Atlanta Braves selected Mike Soroka. Who? My thoughts exactly. Here’s what I could find out about him.

Ht/Wt
6-5, 210 lbs.

Bats/Throws
R/R

HS
Bishop Carroll | Graduates in 2015

Hometown
Calgary, AB

Soroka is tall skinny right-hander – 6’5″, 210 lbs and was the best rated Canadian pitching prospect in the list. He has  a smooth, simple delivery and a promising pair of off speed pitches, but his calling card is his live fastball which sits in the low 90s, but plays up immensely due to its late movement.

According to Baseball America, his fastball was registered between 2,300 and over 2,500 RPM by TrackMan, with both run and sink. The pitch tends to act a bit differently from a movement perspective when thrown to different spots in the zone, adding to its deception.

His best off speed pitch is a changeup mostly because it’s more consistent than his breaking pitch.  The change has good sink and he will throw it in any count. His breaking ball can flatten out  but like his fastball it has a well-above average spin rate- being clocked as high as 3,000 RPM by TrackMan. At its best it has good tilt and sink with late bite but it has to become more consistent to become a reliable swing and miss pitch.

Soroka is just 17 and has plenty of time to grow and he’ll need it if this isn’t to be a huge mistake.  He could grow and add velocity to his four seamer later but he really needs to improce his breaking pitch if he’s to reach his ceiling which is a three or four starter.

There’s video of him here.

It’s really hard to justify taking Soroka and leaving Jon Harris and other better, more projectable arms still available. The question is really, will the press have the nerve to ask it? My guess is no, they won’t.