Atlanta Braves: Mock Draft Preview

Aug 15, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; American pitcher Alex Speas (16) throws a pitch against the National team during the first inning in the Under Armour All America Baseball game at Wrigley field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Predicting an Atlanta Braves Mock Draft

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 4th, Tomahawk Take writer Benjamin Chase will act as Atlanta Braves General Manager in the annual mock draft held at John Sickels’ minorleagueball.com site. The draft starts at noon central (1pm Eastern), so tune in early, and you’ll catch the first pick. The draft will go through round 5, so we’re going to look at my plan for each pick!

Round 1, Pick #3, Slot ~$6.5M

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Much has been said about this pick. I’m going to be picking as the Braves would be picking, so I’m going to be going off the list as I’ve been told to expect the Braves to go, not my own personal list. At #3, The pick will be Kyle Lewis if he’s there. If not, I’ll have to view who went first and second to see what is on the board, but my best bet would be that it will be a high school player, either outfielder Mitch Moniak, or one of pitchers Jason Groome or Riley Pint.

Round 1, Pick #40, Slot ~$1.6M

Basically, this slot has become a definite high school arm. It’s just a matter of which one. I would love to see one of Joey Wentz, Ian Anderson, or Braxton Garrett end up at this spot, but in the mock tomorrow, I would wager that those guys will be taken before my spot, so I’m going to go realistic and stick to high school guys, so I’m going to be looking at guys like Kevin Gowdy, Alex Speas, or Jared Horn.

Round 2, Pick #44, Slot ~$1.5M

In the real draft, the Braves will be shooting for one more big player here before having to go cheap, working deals with guys who will likely be graded as a 15-25 pick for 40/44 on a HS pitcher and a bat. I’ll have to watch for what comes my way in the draft tomorrow, but this will be the last spot where I’m likely to be willing to go near slot.

Round 2, Pick #76, Slot ~$839K

At this pick, I’ll be looking for a college player, either a pitcher, like Matthias Dietz, or a college hitter, along the lines of Heath Quinn or Austin Hays if they are still there. I’m nearly certain the Braves will be looking to save some money at this pick, but not a TON of money.

Round 3, pick #80, Slot ~$789K

Once again, I’ll be looking to go under slot, but not drastically so yet at this point. I’m considering a couple different routes at this pick. The Braves have shown a willing to pursue injured players, such as AJ Minter last year. That would be one route to consider, going for an injured arm that would be healthy for 2017. The other route is pursuing a college catcher if one I like falls to this spot.

Round 4, pick #109, Slot ~$547K

Round 4 will start the college pitcher draft money savings, and I’m going to follow as the Braves will for this draft, not going for the #100 player on the board at #109, but going for a cheap senior sign college pitcher.

Next: Braves Minor League Database

Round 5, pick #139, Slot ~$410K

Round 5 will be similar to Round 4, though I may also throw in a senior college hitter that would be a low-cost signee. There will be a few interesting options that slip down the draft board, and I’d like to take the shot on one here if there was one available.

What do you think of the strategy here? Crazy? Right on?