I thought the Braves acquiring injured pitchers meme was dead.
I thought the Braves acquiring injured pitchers meme was dead.
"Donald Trump will serve a second term as president of the United States.
It’s over."
Little Thethe Nov 19, 2020.
I'm so split on Stewart. The guy can absolutely hit and I love his approach at the plate. But he makes Gomes look like a defensive juggernaut in left. I don't really know where else to put Stewart other than left field, either.Originally Posted by nsacpi
I hope Christin Stewart is a guy that's high on our list as well in the first three rounds He's an advanced college bat with very good power. He's from Atlanta as well.
Andrew Benintendi. SEC Player of the Year. Right now he's leading the SEC in AVG (.415), HR (17), SLG (.771), and OBP (.511), and still has an outside shot at the triple crown with a few more RBI. Those stats were accumulated while playing in a park that has favored pitchers by a good margin. He's also 21/25 in stolen bases. Good defender in CF, although his arm isn't all that great.
If he's available at 14 I'd love to see the Braves take him.
Last edited by DirkPiggler; 05-19-2015 at 09:39 AM.
His stock has definitely risen. Seems like a lot of people have him top 10 now. I wouldn't mind him being the pick. I'd love Stephenson, too.
I still wouldn't stray from the teams strength and that is the identification and development of pitching. If the right hitter is there you take him but I would not be opposed to taking more arms. Also, we are doing well with MIFers so I would take some of those as well.
Natural Immunity Croc
While we do not take many corner infielders and outfielders in the early rounds, our success rate when we do take them is as good as any other position if not better.
He's been raking all year, but the mock drafts have just now caught up to his production. Was 42nd in one projection week before last (BA I think). This week on BA he's going 9th to the Cubs.
You could look at several ways.
The braves develop pitchers the best, so they should draft pitchers high. Or the Braves develop pitchers well, so spend a high pick on a position player b/c the Braves can probably develop several pitchers late.
They should take the best player. It should be a player with upside. I'd love to get an elite college bat, but my understanding was that the draft was light on college bats that were projected to have pop and a position in MLB.
JohnAdcox (05-20-2015)
We have a lot of picks so we should be able to cover the waterfront.
The Braves have 6 of the top 100 picks in this draft, and when you look at the pitching at the lower levels in the organization, it is very, very thin. We do not have very many strong pitching prospects below AA ball right now (and not very many at or above AA either). I think at least 4 of these 6 picks need to be used on pitching prospects.
John Manuel, Jim Callis, and Keith Law all have Atlanta taking Tyler Stephenson at 14. He is in the Brian McCann/Jarrod Saltalamacchia mold of catching prospects that the Braves value.
Also, I hope Atlanta doesn't take any college prospects with any of the first 6 picks. Put the focus back on high school talent. The bonus pool is big enough, and we need guys with upside.
Fulenchek - will be in A
Sanchez - A
Sims - A+
Jenkins - AA
Hush - AA
Wisler - AAA
Banuelos - AAA
There aren't a whole lot of systems who can match that number of high-upside arms. And that doesn't include guys like Povse, Sobotka, Thurman, Janas, etc, the kind of guys the Braves have had success with recently.
Obviously I want the Braves to take some high-upside arms if we can, but our system badly needs some impact bats. We have to take advantage of this draft to get some. If we come out of this with a bunch of pitchers and MIFs, I'm going to be ticked.
Braves1976 (05-25-2015)
I'll be interested to see where the Braves put Luis Barrios. Big arm with big control issues. In a tragic aside that I never saw reported here, Braves' prospect Yeralf Torres died in a car accident in January. The reason I mention that here is that the Braves haven't been getting that much production out of their Dominican Summer League team over the past couple of years and that has contributed to the depth problems mentioned above.
Dilmer Mejia should also be mentioned. Little guy and Braves have had problems keeping those guys healthy, but he showed promise as a 16-year-old last summer.
I'm guessing a balanced draft. I don't think it's going to tilt dramatically in one direction or the other. Not a lot of high-ceiling college bats, so that limits hitters that could be accelerated through the system. That makes me think we'll see high school arms, college arms, and some high-ceiling high school bats. Even with the money we have, it's going to be a tight squeeze.
My favorites for the picks we have in the top 75 along with the BA scouting report on them.
#14- 2B/3B Cornelius Randolph
Scouts became very familiar with Griffin (Ga.) High in 2008 when Tim Beckham was the first overall pick in the draft. Now, Randolph has them coming back to the Atlanta area school to see another likely first rounder. Unlike Beckham, Randolph will not stay at shortstop as a professional. But his natural hitting ability is such that questions about his future position haven't done much to dissuade scouts. He is a disciplined hitter with an excellent feel for the strike zone. There is some swing-and-miss in his game, but when he's at his best he stays balanced and drives the ball to all fields. He has the strength and bat speed necessary to hit for above-average power, giving him a chance to be one of the best all-around hitters in the draft class. While scouts are sure Randolph isn't a shortstop, they aren't quite sure where he'll ultimately settle defensively. Some believe his hands and arm are good enough that he could become a capable third baseman if he works to improve his infield actions. Others see him as a future left fielder, where he'd be more able to concentrate on his hitting. No matter where the Clemson recruit ends up defensively, Randolph's main attraction will always be his hitting ability.
#28- 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes
In the summer after his sophomore season, Hayes looked like he was headed in the wrong direction. He was too big to stick at third base and he didn't have the top-of-the-charts power teams look for from a righthanded-hitting prep first baseman. To his credit, Hayes put in a lot of work, dropped 20 pounds thanks in part to a whole lot of swimming and made himself into a third base prospect. Hayes' father Charlie had a 14-year big league career as a third baseman. Ke'Bryan has a similar skillset as a third baseman with more hitting ability than power. He shows average raw power in batting practice, then gears his swing for line drives in games. Hayes makes some spectacular plays at third base, especially coming in on the ball, and he has excellent hands. But he will have to be very careful to stay on top of his body as he's already range limited; a move to first base would significantly increase the demands on his bat. Hayes has also improved his arm significantly over the past year to where it's above-average at times. He's a below-average runner but it's no longer a significant impediment now that he's lost some weight. Hayes' feel for the game and excellent work ethic makes him one of the safer high school position players in this class and the Tennessee recruit is considered signable.
#41- CF Eric Jenkins
The top high school prospect in North Carolina, Jenkins has a chance to develop into an impact player, profiling as a leadoff hitter and rangy center fielder. He's been known for a few years, having played summer baseball with the Dirtbags travel team, but he really emerged last summer, showing outstanding feel for the barrel, with timing and pitch recognition skills to match his intriguing bat speed. A lefthanded hitter, Jenkins has loose wrists and long arms, and a short, line-drive stroke. He can lose balance at times, and he will need to develop more strength as he gets older, but the raw materials are there for him to develop into a top-of-the-order presence. Jenkins has a lean 6-foot-2 frame, with room to fill in his lower half. He's a plus-plus runner, running the 60-yard dash in approximately 6.4 seconds, and he knows how to use his speed in the outfield and on the base paths. Scouts envision him staying in center field long-term, and his potential above-average arm gives him some versatility. Jenkins is committed to UNC Wilmington, which is less than an hour from his home, but it is unlikely that he will end up on campus, with just about every pro team in on him this spring.
#54- CF Alonzo Jones
The Columbus High School program has traditionally been one of the best in Georgia, with 12 state championships and a Hall of Fame alumnus (Frank Thomas) to its credit in the last 30 years. The Blue Devils' latest star is Jones, who may be the fastest player in the draft. He posted the top 60-yard dash time at Perfect Game National last summer, clocking in at 6.17 on an electric timer. Jones had a frustrating spring, however, as he was hampered by a broken hamate bone for much of the season. He ultimately had surgery at the end of April to repair the injury, ending his season. When he's healthy, his top-of-the-scale speed allows him to impact the game in multiple ways. He does a good job of using the middle of the field and driving the gaps so that he can get on base and use his speed. The switch-hitter also has some pop from both sides of the plate thanks to his bat speed. He is still developing as a baserunner, but his speed already allows him to wreak havoc when he gets on base. Jones plays shortstop now, but scouts believe he lacks the infield actions needed to play the position at the next level and see him as a future center fielder. Jones is committed to Vanderbilt and after a rough spring, it may be tough to sign him away from the Commodores.
#75- 3B Tyler Nevin
Plenty of scouts who saw Phil Nevin when he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 draft have now seen his soon Tyler come through the process. The younger Nevin won’t go first overall, and he’s a split-camp kind of guy who some scouts have seen look ready to go out while others believe needs to go to college. Despite his big league pedigree, Nevin lacks refinement to his game, but he does have a good body and raw ability. He was a pitcher/third baseman as a sophomore and had Tommy John surgery in October 2013, costing him his junior season. He returned with a vengeance as a senior, showing enough arm strength and solid actions to stay at third base. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Nevin ranks as the top prep hitter in a pitcher-heavy year in the Southern California/San Diego area, and scouts who believe in him like the swing and project on the power. He has some leverage and feel for hitting, with just four strikeouts this spring, but hasn’t grown into his man strength yet. Nevin is a grinder with projection and bloodlines, a combination that could get him off the board by the third round.
"Donald Trump will serve a second term as president of the United States.
It’s over."
Little Thethe Nov 19, 2020.
With the general consensus that this is an extremely difficult board to rank, I can't honestly project any picks beyond Stephenson (but bravo to those who have). But my gut tells me, with everyone's relative histories, that on one of the five we take a flyer on Brady Aiken.
Hawk (05-25-2015)
That is a gamble that I would welcome. I may be different from most, but I want the higher potential, high floor guys in this draft. Not the "almost-is-what-he-is" type.
We still need some more pitching but the system needs some high impact bats.
I havent followed this draft very closely so yeah, but i would be upset if we dont take some high upside bats early.
The system is loaded with young pitching.
Typical wisdom is that you take the most talented player at the time of your pick without regard to position. That assumes that you know who the most talented player is going to be. But, I think the Braves need some bats, specifically at C and OF if they can get them plus pitching as always. With that in mind this is what I would like to see, with follow up picks incase the primary is gone at the time of the pick:
14 Stephenson C: best C in draft, shooting up boards late.
Kyle Tucker OF: would have to slide to be available
Garrett Whitley OF
28 Brady Aiken LHP: High end gamble with #1 ability coming off TJ
Phil Bickford RHP
Mike Metuella RHP: similar story as Aiken
Chad Betts C: 2nd best catcher in draft. If Stephenson is gone at 14, it could make Betts a priority here.
41 Tyler Nevin 3B
Jacob Nix RHP
Chandler Day RHP
54 Joe McCarthy OF
Demi Orimoloye OF
Cole McKay RHP
75 Nick Neidert RHP
Skye Bolt OF
Jacob Taylor RHP
89 Casey Houghston OF
Jahmai Jones 2B/OF
Jake Woodford RHP
You would have to go over slot to sign a few of these guys but, so be it, go cheaper in the rest of the draft.
Sky Bolt is such a bad ass name...
Braves1976 (05-25-2015), zedsdead (05-25-2015)
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