House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves catch potential Gold Glove receiver Shea Langeliers

By Fred Owens

SECAUCUS, NJ - JUNE 5: Representatives from all 30 Major League Baseball teams fill Studio 42 during the MLB First-Year Player Draft at the MLB Network Studio on June 5, 2014 in Secacucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
SECAUCUS, NJ - JUNE 5: Representatives from all 30 Major League Baseball teams fill Studio 42 during the MLB First-Year Player Draft at the MLB Network Studio on June 5, 2014 in Secacucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves selected Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers with their first pick in the 2019 draft. /

The Atlanta Braves selected Shea Langeliers, a 6’-1” 190-pound catcher out of Baylor. This is the first time since 2014 that the Braves have taken a position player with their first overall pick.

In 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays selected Shea Langeliers as the 34th overall pick, but he chose to attend Baylor instead.  Tonight, the Atlanta Braves nabbed him at pick 9 of the 1st round.

As a freshman Shea hit .313/.388/.540/.928, that included 10 homers, 14 doubles, and two triples, in 211 AB over 55 games.

That performance earned him a unanimous selection for the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and the All-Big 12 Second Team.

Following that season, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball.com, NCBWA, and Perfect Game, named him a Freshman All-American.

In the summer of 2018, he played for the Chatham Angels in the (wooden bat) Cape Cod League. In 38 games and 112 AB, the 19-year old from Keller, Texas hit .234/.324/.469/.793, with six homers, eight doubles, and two triples.

The 2018 – 2019 college seasons

The Atlanta Braves newest catching prospect saw his batting average drop slightly in 2018, but his on-base-avg and power remained. His final line of  .252/.351/.496/.847 included 11 homers, 18 doubles, and two triples earned him a spot on the U.S. Collegiate National Team. He also earned recognition as:

  • Co-MVP of Big 12 Tournament
  • All-Big 12 First Team
  • Stanford Regional All-Tournament Tournament team.
  • A Second Team All-American, and
  • Winner of the 2018 Rawlings/ABCA Gold Glove.

He missed some games due to a broken hamate bone this year and still managed to hit to a .311/.376/.484/.860 line with six home runs, eight doubles and a triple in 38 games and 161 AB.

Pick Analysis. SheaLangeliers. player. 17. Scouting Report. Catcher. Baylor. 9

Defense

Langeliers is a superb defensive catcher.  Had Adley Rutschman not been such a beast on offense, Langeliers could easily have been the best catcher in the draft. The freely available Baseball America  scouting report speaks glowingly of his talents.

". . .he has plus arm strength and threw out nearly 70 percent of base stealers (in 2018). . . handled plenty of premium pure stuff from USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team . . . a polished pitch-framer. . .moves well behind the plate and shows impressive blocking ability  .  Langeliers defensive toolset is too appealing (to pass up)"

That’s a wrap

The Atlanta Braves see William Contreras as their catcher of the future. As a minimum, Langeliers offers a backup option who could start on most teams.

Next. Draft Day Primer. dark

On the MLB Network Draft program Jim Callis called Langeliers ‘Austin Hedges with a hit tool’. That’s the hope. Converting to wooden bats and professional pitching will be the challenge, but most scouts believe he can do that.

Home/Braves Draft