Perfect Game mock:
25. Atlanta Braves | Jared Kelley, RHP, Refugio (Texas)
The Braves have been rumored to be interested in local product Cole Wilcox as well as potential under slot deals but they’ll take Kelley if he’s available at 25.
Been waiting on the Fangraphs mock, and it’s the biggest woof of them all:
25. Atlanta Braves- Nick Loftin, SS, Baylor
Atlanta puts a premium on defensive fit and Loftin plays short and is model-friendly.
I don't think the Braves' bonus pool is large enough to low-ball in the first and then get an above-slot guy somewhere in the third through fifth. You can't do in five rounds what the Braves did in the first 20 last year. There's just not that money to move around. Maybe it can be done, but you'd have to basically surrender the slot money in rounds four and five and push that forward to the third along with any savings from the first round. The other thing to consider is that even if you go considerably lower with bonus considerations in the first, who is going to be there in the third to warrant going over slot?
I would do that without any hesitation. I’d much rather have two top talents than one and depth pieces.
The problem will be getting an impact talent to fall to 96. I just don’t know how to realistically do that when they’d have to fall past multiple teams that have multiple picks and gigantic bonus pools. Totally on board if we can do it though.
Meh, so called "high impact HS arms" flame out so often it doesn't seem wise to put extra eggs into one of those baskets.
I'm hoping the Braves got scouting info on a few kids nobody else had time to see, and are going to draft them based on knowing something others don't. In that case they just draft BPA and be done with it.
This year in particular seems like a terrible year to put any stock on places like FG and BA...they literally have no current info.
Yes espn and Mlbtv!There's a draft going on?