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Atlanta Braves: Re-Draft of the 2015 MLB Draft

By Jake Mastroianni

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 08: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the first inning of the game against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on June 8, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 08: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the first inning of the game against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on June 8, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Mike  Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves . (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Mike  Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves . (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

We take a look back at the 2015 MLB Draft and see what the Atlanta Braves could have done differently in that particular draft.

After the 2014 season it was apparent the Atlanta Braves were going to be starting a rebuild — hopefully one that didn’t last too long.

And that rebuild needed to start with a strong commitment to the MLB Draft.

The Braves had six of the first 89 picks that year, so there was a lot riding on this draft and they needed to hit on most of them to help turn things around.

In the first round, they took high school left-handed pitcher Kolby Allard with the 14th overall selection.

At 28th overall, in the first compensatory round, they took right-handed pitcher Mike Soroka, also out of the high school ranks.

Next they took an Austin Riley, another high school player, with the 41st overall pick in the Competitive Balance Round A.

For their second-round selection, they took high school catcher Lucas Herbert with the 54th overall pick.

With their Competitive Balance Round B pick they chose A.J. Minter out of Texas A&M University.

And then with their third-round pick at 89 overall they took high school pitcher Anthony Guardado.

I didn’t look, but I’m pretty sure that’s the first time the Braves have taken four high schoolers to start a draft. That just shows you they knew they were in for a long rebuild and were looking for players to develop down the road.

I think you’re all familiar how the careers of Allard, Soroka, Riley, and Minter have gone.

Guardado spent just two years in the Braves’ system and I’ve seen no record of him since. I know he suffered a shoulder injury playing quarterback in high school, so it’s possible he was just never able to bounce-back.

Herbert spent four years in the Braves’ system but never made it higher that High-A and he never really hit.

The Braves cut him after the 2018 season and he decided to try and re-establish his career in Independent ball. That worked out great for him as the Arizona Diamondbacks picked him up after just 17 Indy League games.

The Diamondbacks shot him all the way up to Triple-A in 2019 where he hit .300 in 30 at-bats with a home run.

Teams obviously aren’t going to hit on every pick in the draft, especially when you have slot money involved.

But let’s take a look at these six picks and see what the Braves could have done differently — if anything.

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