DRAFT IN PROGRESS THREAD ... What's past is preamble

[Hudson2]

Plus Bridges has been hinting that there were some bats they coveted but ended up not being available when the Braves picked. Anderson was ok in my book once Moniak and Senzel were off the board. But I think there are some strong indications the Braves would have taken those two if they were available.

I agree with that. I think Senzel was #1 on the Braves board. Lewis for some reason has issues that a lot of teams were scared of. Anderson is not a finished product and some are acting like he has no room to grow. If he were a college junior then ok I'd get it but he's a just turned 18 year old kid who has tons of potential. None of us know how these guys are gonna turn out that's why it's all a gamble but I do trust our scouts on these kids and I think our draft is top 1 or 2 right now.

[nsacpi]

I don't hate what we did, but it is confusing to me. Coppy has even acknowledged that the most sure thing to produce is college hitters while the most risky is high school pitchers. But that's all we continue to acquire.

I think the problem is that Senzel was the only college bat worth picking that high. Once he and Moniak were off the board we had to fall back on plan B. Not that there is anything wrong with that. You need a plan B in this situation in case the teams ahead of you pick who you want.

[auyushu]

At least the Braves are aiming for higher ceiling players who probably flame out more times than not, but I can take that over the safe "should have drafted them at 100" type players we've been drafting.

Agreed 100% there. I just want to see us be more balanced with our drafting going forward. I could see the logic this draft, and Allard was really the only logical choice last year with our first pick. But if are going pitcher again next year with our top picks it starts to become a major issue.

[mqt]

Names that interest me at 80:

Jared Horn, RHP, Vintage HS, Napa, CA
Drew Mendoza, SS/3B, Lake Minneola HS, Minneola, FL
Austin Hays, OF, Jacksonville
Heath Quinn, OF, Samford
Thomas Jones, OF, Laurens, SC
Jeff Belge, LHP, Henninger HS, Syracuse, NY
Braden Ogle, LHP, Jensen Beach HS, FL
Cooper Johnson, C, Carmel HS, Mundelein, IL

Horn and Mendoza would likely be wasted picks. There is about a 0% chance of signing them with what we've done already.

[rico43]

This is from Callis this morning about Kyle Lewis:

Lewis arguably had the best combination of high ceiling and high floor in the entire Draft, and the Phillies considered him for the No. 1 overall selection. A subpar workout with the Braves on Tuesday took him out of the mix at No. 3 and he lasted eight more picks

[clvclv]

Names that interest me at 80:

Jared Horn, RHP, Vintage HS, Napa, CA
Drew Mendoza, SS/3B, Lake Minneola HS, Minneola, FL
Austin Hays, OF, Jacksonville
Heath Quinn, OF, Samford
Thomas Jones, OF, Laurens, SC
Jeff Belge, LHP, Henninger HS, Syracuse, NY
Braden Ogle, LHP, Jensen Beach HS, FL
Cooper Johnson, C, Carmel HS, Mundelein, IL

I'll also toss in Jesus Luzardo, Nick Banks and Austin Hays as personal targets.

[Russ2dollas]

I don't get the outcry. Pages and pages on the draft thread about playing signing games and the braves did it.

Anderson is a guy I've seen described as either having 3+ pitches or some combination of 1-2+ pitches with the non-plus flashing plus. He's got a good frame. He throws in the 90s. It's likely that when he fills out he'll throw in low 90s consistently. Not to mention the correlation with advanced velocity and TJ.

We get 3 HS pitchers who could be TOR. I know some dispute that, but most of the things I've read from non-Braves scouts is that is the ceiling for these guys.

We then get a HS catcher who can hit. THis is by far our biggest need. I know he might not stick at catcher. But we have had Gattis and AJ catch for us, so I think there's hope he can be better than that. This guy plus morales gives us two catchers who can hit.

Some people on here are sure Lewis or Groome or X are going to be stars. It seems clear the industry consensus was that there were not any guys like that. So I like the Idea of getting 3 top 25 guys when most think those top 25 guys are pretty similar.

Hitters....I can't help you. Int market is good but those guys are 5-10 years away. So it will have to be a trade or FA.

[Millwood1Hitter]

Anderson is Garrett Fulenchek all over again. One was Kevin Brown, the other is Mike Mussina.

[zbhargrove]

Here's what I'm sure of...

No matter what the Braves did yesterday, it would have been staunchly defended by the usual suspects

Yah let's just ignore the fact that most of the experts are absolutely praising our day 1

[zbhargrove]

Read the post I was quoting.

I would have taken Lewis 3rd but if we had to pick a pitcher I'd have gone with Puk. Higher upside, lower risk, ready sooner, and a lefty.

I'd probably have gone Muller at 40 and then under slotted 44 with a college senior.

How in the world is Puk lower risk??

[jimsnores]

Here's what I'm sure of...

No matter what the Braves did yesterday, it would have been staunchly defended by the usual suspects

No matter what the Braves did yesterday, it would have been harshly criticized by the usual suspects. (I actually agree with what you wrote, but the converse is equally true.) I don't have the expertise some on this board have, so I can't really speak to how well the Braves did. I generally agree with getting as many ceiling prospects as possible, with hopes that some work out, which is what I think they tried to accomplish.

[zbhargrove]

Better than a high school right handed who no source has said has ace potential and who won't throw a pitch for us until Freeman is in his decline.

You are just being ridiculous right now... plenty of experts have said he has a very high ceiling/ace potential since being drafted.

[praeceps93]

You are just being ridiculous right now... plenty of experts have said he has a very high ceiling/ace potential since being drafted.

It's just because he doesn't have any of the 3 sexy traits people want from their "ace" pitchers: big velo, huge size, or an absolute knockout pitch. Being really good across the board is boring, even if it does allow for ace potential in its own right.

[Horsehide Harry]

It's hard for me to get too worked up at this point. I liked the Allard pick last year because of the upside, even with the health gamble. I thought the Riley pick was a reach because I thought he had a slider speed bat (still do) and the Soroka pick came out of left field for me and it has arguably worked out best of all.

My one complaint, and it is a small one since none of the players picked in the entire draft are likely to show up and make a difference for 4 years, is the inattention to bats. I never thought you could draft for immediate impact help at the ML level, although I admit to hoping that Lewis would be the real deal and be up and ready to go in 2 years.

Because of the above view, I have strongly advocated turning our good ML players into 2 or three good near ready every day batting (hopefully power guys) prospects who are close to being ready.

[dak]

So far, seeing universal praise in the media about the Braves' day one. My recollection of last year's reaction was mostly positive, with just some dissenting opinions on picks (like the Minter pick).

[Enscheff]

Don't know what any of this means, but the organization is gonna be struggling if they are always looking for cheap options at everything. No clue what under slotting, over slotting, or any of that means.

If you don't know what that stuff means then you have no business commenting about the modern day draft. So why even chirp about it? Why even chime in if all you have is ignorance?

They went cheap at 3 so they could go expensive at 40 and 44. Whether or not that strategy pays off is one thing, but the Braves weren't just "being cheap".

[Enscheff]

I give the Braves a B+ for yesterday. While it was great to get 3 of the top ~25 talents, they didn't grab any of the best positional talent. In a draft where all the top 25 guys are roughly equal, I think it was a good strategy o grab as many of those guys as possible.

[bravesfanMatt]

It's hard for me to get too worked up at this point. I liked the Allard pick last year because of the upside, even with the health gamble. I thought the Riley pick was a reach because I thought he had a slider speed bat (still do) and the Soroka pick came out of left field for me and it has arguably worked out best of all.

My one complaint, and it is a small one since none of the players picked in the entire draft are likely to show up and make a difference for 4 years, is the inattention to bats. I never thought you could draft for immediate impact help at the ML level, although I admit to hoping that Lewis would be the real deal and be up and ready to go in 2 years.

Because of the above view, I have strongly advocated turning our good ML players into 2 or three good near ready every day batting (hopefully power guys) prospects who are close to being ready.

you so crazy.. always looking for an opportunity to trade some guys..

[brian22]

Good pick there...Finally starting to address a NEED

This isn't the NFL. You're not married to the players you draft. Players are currency, plain and simple. Drafting for need will lessen your currency and weaken your franchise.

Besides, the Braves are so bad, every position is a need.

[yeezus]

If you have pitchers ranked above position players, you take them.