So you wanna be an Atlanta Braves scout?

The MLB Draft is coming up in 35 days, but the scouts have been out in the field a lot longer.  Spoiler:  I have no idea how they do that.

There is a Wikipedia page which claims that Atlanta Braves have 73 scouts working for them.

I already know that this number is wrong – probably on the light side – since right away I see that neither of the Directors of North American (Brian Bridges) or International scouting (Mike Silvestri) are listed, nor are Scouts Emeritus (my title) Roy Clark and Gordon Blakeley.

What I do know is that within the first month after each draft, field work begins for the next year.

On Saturday, I “played” scout for a day.  Now don’t read too much into that – I do not claim to be a judge of talent by any stretch of imagination, but there was a semi-local opportunity that was just too good to pass up… and it gave me just a taste of what the professionals do… for probably 180 to 200 days a year.

Premium Matchup

May 6th saw a quarterfinal playoff matchup between two Alabama high school baseball teams that arguably was worthy of the state finals, with each team ranked in the state’s top 5.  Each team was headlined by pitchers who rank nationally as end-of-the first-round talents and the two best baseball prospects in the state.

The Decatur (AL) Red Raiders drew the Cullman Bearcats for this Class 6A matchup.  Only Helena HS, 3rd ranked nationally, would have improved this Alabama matchup.  Both teams were obviously well-coached and well-prepared.

Others seemed to agree – the stadium was absolutely packed out, including the outfield bleachers.  I can’t say how many scouts were present, but many were definitely there… one followed me into the stadium.

The weather was almost perfect – cool for May in Alabama and cloudless, but with a strong wind blowing consistently left-to-right from corner to corner.  That didn’t seem to come into play.

One Atlanta Braves angle as an aside:  The Decatur coach is Luke Lamm, who is the brother of Mark Lamm – a former Vanderbilt pitcher drafted in 2011 who reached AAA Gwinnett, and who I had seen throw for the Mississippi Braves before being released in 2015.

It might have been more fun had the coaches opted to run their big horse starters against one another.  Alas, that wasn’t done, but the double-header still allowed a good look at each one.