MLB Draft Thread

It looks like I'm lower on this draft than most.

It seems like most of the draft people's rankings I trust view Southisene as a large significant reach at 22, that swing looks rough. I think a lot of the draft depends on Lodise, and I'm just not a very big fan of him. To go that significantly under slot with our first three picks and only come out with two over slot guys to show for it ... it just seems too thin to me. I like McKenzie a lot and think he's the one I'm most excited about in this class. No issues there. The Essenburg pick is definitely interesting, but I don't love going big overslot for a corner outfielder. Just doesn't seem like the best allocation of those extra resources.

Really disappointed that this draft is basically just filler outside of Southisene, Lodise, McKenzie, Essenburg and I guess maybe Miller. If you're going to go that far underslot with the first three picks, I would've been much happier with more lottery tickets.

Just my opinion, I realize I'm in the minority with it. Let's tank the next couple months, get Baldwin the ROY award and finally get a huge class next year.
 
I will say that going this far under slot taints it a bit. I didn’t feel the 2 HS kids were that big of an overshot grab. Seems like there is going to be money left on the table that should have been used.
 
CJ9 said:
It looks like I'm lower on this draft than most.

It seems like most of the draft people's rankings I trust view Southisene as a large significant reach at 22, that swing looks rough. I think a lot of the draft depends on Lodise, and I'm just not a very big fan of him. To go that significantly under slot with our first three picks and only come out with two over slot guys to show for it ... it just seems too thin to me. I like McKenzie a lot and think he's the one I'm most excited about in this class. No issues there. The Essenburg pick is definitely interesting, but I don't love going big overslot for a corner outfielder. Just doesn't seem like the best allocation of those extra resources.

Really disappointed that this draft is basically just filler outside of Southisene, Lodise, McKenzie, Essenburg and I guess maybe Miller. If you're going to go that far underslot with the first three picks, I would've been much happier with more lottery tickets.

Just my opinion, I realize I'm in the minority with it. Let's tank the next couple months, get Baldwin the ROY award and finally get a huge class next year.
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I wouldn't say you're in the minority. I think it was just a draft. I also think that a few of the ones I would have liked to have taken priced themselves out of the Braves range. With the amount saved, I would have swung for the fence for some late risers or those who were thought to have signability issues. Time will tell. I'm ok with the strategy I guess, but as I've posted before, I'd spend a premium for premium talent. By all accounts though, 4 of the top however many is not that bad of a haul. Time will tell (I hate that statement because it's true).
 
bravesfanMatt said:
I just don’t see a team having the balls to save a million or so from the draft to try and entice a non drafted FA. Has that ever happened. That would be an extremely bold move. Seems like a better chance to blow up in your face because the kid would say no knowing his potential to make more in two years is pretty good.
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Thats not how it works. They dont save money for one player and if that player doesnt sign they dont spend the money. They just pivot and move on to other players. Unlike the old system where you could only sign players you had drafted now every team gets a chance to bid. So theres no chance any serious team is going to leave a million dollars in bonus pool money go to waste.
 
I loved the draft. We needed to switch course some and try a different approach to infuse the minors with bats and AA did that. Both Strider and Schwellenbach weren't highly sought after when we drafted them so it's all a dice roll anyways and we won't know what we really have for a year or 2.
 
CJ9 said:
It looks like I'm lower on this draft than most.

It seems like most of the draft people's rankings I trust view Southisene as a large significant reach at 22, that swing looks rough. I think a lot of the draft depends on Lodise, and I'm just not a very big fan of him. To go that significantly under slot with our first three picks and only come out with two over slot guys to show for it ... it just seems too thin to me. I like McKenzie a lot and think he's the one I'm most excited about in this class. No issues there. The Essenburg pick is definitely interesting, but I don't love going big overslot for a corner outfielder. Just doesn't seem like the best allocation of those extra resources.

Really disappointed that this draft is basically just filler outside of Southisene, Lodise, McKenzie, Essenburg and I guess maybe Miller. If you're going to go that far underslot with the first three picks, I would've been much happier with more lottery tickets.

Just my opinion, I realize I'm in the minority with it. Let's tank the next couple months, get Baldwin the ROY award and finally get a huge class next year.
Click to expand...
I'm not disappointed, but I am a bit surprised in that they just seemed to veer dramatically from the course they have taken in the past. Only they can plot out how they are going to maneuver the bonus pool, but they've consistently tried to draft a post-round 10 flyer and they didn't do that this year. Like you say, it appears to be a pretty narrow draft in terms of players that appear to have high grades.
 
CJ9 said:
It looks like I'm lower on this draft than most.

It seems like most of the draft people's rankings I trust view Southisene as a large significant reach at 22, that swing looks rough. I think a lot of the draft depends on Lodise, and I'm just not a very big fan of him. To go that significantly under slot with our first three picks and only come out with two over slot guys to show for it ... it just seems too thin to me. I like McKenzie a lot and think he's the one I'm most excited about in this class. No issues there. The Essenburg pick is definitely interesting, but I don't love going big overslot for a corner outfielder. Just doesn't seem like the best allocation of those extra resources.

Really disappointed that this draft is basically just filler outside of Southisene, Lodise, McKenzie, Essenburg and I guess maybe Miller. If you're going to go that far underslot with the first three picks, I would've been much happier with more lottery tickets.

Just my opinion, I realize I'm in the minority with it. Let's tank the next couple months, get Baldwin the ROY award and finally get a huge class next year.
Click to expand...
I'm with you. I think some see position players and just nut themselves. Unless there is some unforeseen wizardry with these savings, its a very very cheap look. Not like when we took Ian at 5.

Could have definitely picked a better player in RD 1. That hurts my opinion a lot.
 
Tapate50 said:
I'm with you. I think some see position players and just nut themselves. Unless there is some unforeseen wizardry with these savings, its a very very cheap look. Not like when we took Ian at 5.

Could have definitely picked a better player in RD 1. That hurts my opinion a lot.
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They may of had to pivot after the 1st bc somebody got picked before us that they were willing to go over for and it never played out. We won't ever know but I really like the first several picks.
 
Carp said:
Speaking of UDFA's, BA released some signings this morning:

www.baseballamerica.com

2025 MLB Undrafted Free Agent Tracker: Agreements for All 30 Teams

Follow along with our 2025 MLB undrafted free agent signing tracker as we update with new deals in the coming days and weeks.
www.baseballamerica.com www.baseballamerica.com

Atlanta Braves​

  • Daniel Brooks, RHP, Charleston (source)
  • Will Eldridge, RHP, Indiana
  • Adiel Melendez, LHP, Montevallo
  • Scott Mudler, C, Braves (source)
Click to expand...

Daniel Brooks Baseball Reference Page

Will Eldridge Baseball Reference Page

Adiel Melendez Baseball Reference Page (Pitched at Montevallo University in Alabama his last season. Same school as Braves' 2024 8th Round pick Logan Samuels)

Scott Mudler Baseball Reference Page
 
Tapate50 said:
That doesn’t really track.
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Why? If they had somebody in mind they knew was gonna be way over and that person was gone then they should have went another direction with somebody else but shit happens sometimes. Bc why else would saving money that can't be spent matter?
 
It's not crazy to go under with the first round pick and find a guy who will agree to an underslot deal. If you draft a high-profile guy that you may have to go well over slot to sign and he doesn't sign, you forfeit that pool money and that causes real problems. That's why the Braves took McKenzie and Essenburg at a lower slot value because if they don't sign, you're not totally screwed. In the Anthopoulos era, I've been surprised at the guys that have been underslot and overslot, but they pretty much know what it is going to take to get it done with every guy before they draft him.
 
Super said:
I’m going to go ahead and not pretend I know much of anything about these guys and see what happens 1-3 years from now.
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Not a bad view of it to be honest. But I've seen all ends of the prospect spectrum and I guarantee that any of you can see a player on a given day and say "what the f...were they thinking signing this guy?" or you could marvel at the kids who got little money and can flat out play. To your point, we don't know until we know. This post started out with me doing an exercise in showing you scouting reports vs actual results or (the Deester eye-test model...ha).

I quit half way in. It's inexact and a waste of time. The Braves do better than most in the latter rounds, but that doesn't mean you can't take a stab at 'perceived' higher talent early on (money notwithstanding). But their strategy has merit. It is what it is.
 
CJ9 said:
It looks like I'm lower on this draft than most.

It seems like most of the draft people's rankings I trust view Southisene as a large significant reach at 22, that swing looks rough. I think a lot of the draft depends on Lodise, and I'm just not a very big fan of him. To go that significantly under slot with our first three picks and only come out with two over slot guys to show for it ... it just seems too thin to me. I like McKenzie a lot and think he's the one I'm most excited about in this class. No issues there. The Essenburg pick is definitely interesting, but I don't love going big overslot for a corner outfielder. Just doesn't seem like the best allocation of those extra resources.

Really disappointed that this draft is basically just filler outside of Southisene, Lodise, McKenzie, Essenburg and I guess maybe Miller. If you're going to go that far underslot with the first three picks, I would've been much happier with more lottery tickets.

Just my opinion, I realize I'm in the minority with it. Let's tank the next couple months, get Baldwin the ROY award and finally get a huge class next year.
Click to expand...

I just don't get excited by middling middle infielder power, particularly in college prospects.
 
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