A review of multiple current Atlanta Braves mock drafts

It’s the season of mock drafts and thus far there’s little consensus among the observers on who the Atlanta Braves might select with their 9th overall pick.

Who will the Atlanta Braves choose with their 1st of 2 first round picks on June 3rd?  There’s a lot of people trying to make guesses right now.

We’re down to 5 weeks from the Rule 4 draft as both high school and college seasons are getting close to their respective finish lines – with the college season going into late May with conference playoffs and the College World Series rounds dragging into late June.

But the MLB is on a different schedule. They want to have time for their new draftees to get their feet wet in a pro program so that early evaluations can be done and plans can be made for next season.

Thus the draft takes place during the first week of June… even while some meaningful games are still on-going at the college level.

So organizations have to be wrapping up their internal evaluations and making their last visits within the next couple of weeks… and our gaming-chair scouts are doing the same.

How good is this draft class?

All together? Not really a lot to be excited about. There is an obvious #1 pick, that being Catcher Adley Rutschman from Oregon State.

After that is a fairly quick drop-off of expectations in top-end talent.   Happily, the Braves will have some good selections available to them.  Barring a surprise coup later on – like changing the mind of a ‘signability guy’ – the clear prize in the draft will be that 9th overall pick.

[ It is for this reason (a weak-ish draft) that I believed the Atlanta Braves might be willing to forgo their 2nd round pick – 3rd overall – in favor of signing a Qualifying Offer player.

At this point, that’s highly unlikely, but that kind of balancing act is still part of the strategies that are involved with drafts and the evaluation of talent. ]

Let’s review a few thoughts others have voiced about potential Braves’ picks in the 1st Round and then I’ll have a thought or two at the end.