Atlanta Braves Day 2 MLB Draft Strategy and Best Players Available
We take a look at the day two draft strategy for the Atlanta Braves in the 2020 MLB Draft and some players they might be targeting.
The Atlanta Braves surprised a lot of people on day one of the 2020 MLB Draft by taking left-handed pitcher Jared Shuster out of Wake Forest.
Most sites had him ranked as the 40th to 70th best prospect in this draft class and the Braves took him 25th overall.
Braves take Shuster in 1st Rd. light. Related Story
There are several reasons for why this might have happened.
Either the Atlanta front office saw something in him they really liked when he made improvements in the Cape Cod League and into his junior season that make them believe he could become a front of the rotation starter.
Or, the Braves are hoping to sign him under slot value to save money for their third-round pick.
Fred will get into that in more detail with an article coming out later on Thursday, bt for now, let’s focus on day two.
What You Need to Know — Day 2
When: Thursday, June 11 starting at 5 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: MLB Network or ESPN 2
When do the Braves pick: 97, 127, and 156
Atlanta will have a much busier day on Thursday as they’ll make three picks in the final four rounds. However, they’re still 60 picks away from making their next selection.
Players to Target
Again, it’s pretty much impossible to predict who a team will take in the draft. I previewed a ton of players for the Braves to take at 25 and Shuster was never even on my radar.
J.T. Ginn, a right-handed pitcher out of Mississippi State, is someone to keep an eye on. He fell out of the first round and if teams continue to pass on him because of his injury problems, maybe the Braves take a chance on him at 97.
They’d likely have to go over slot for him at that point to keep him from going back to Mississippi State to regain his value as he’s a top 15 pick if healthy.
Jared Kelley was the biggest high school prospect to fall out of the first round, but it’s highly unlikely he falls all the way to the Braves.
Other top ranked high school prospects they could target include:
RHP — Tanner Witt — Texas — FanGraphs Ranking 30
RHP — Carson Montgomery — Florida — 31
RHP — Masyn Winn — Texas — 39
LHP — Dax Fulton — Oklahoma — 45
RF — Dylan Crews — Florida — 46
3B — Drew Bowser — California — 50
If they wanted to take a hometown kid, catcher Corey Collins is from North Gwinnett High School in Georgia and is ranked 61st overall on FanGraphs THE BOARD.
RHP Will Sanders is also from Georgia and is ranked 94th overall.
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Make sure you check back with Tomahawk Take on our website and Twitter as we continue to cover the 2020 MLB Draft.