Atlanta Braves Draft Choices Still a Mystery
By Fred Owens
BPA
What’s missed in the analysis of Braves draft choices is the second half of their stated philosophy; if the best player available is definitively not a pitcher the Braves will take that player. Since the Braves draft roughly 50% pitchers you’d expect their early choice to reflect that and they do.
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From 1991 through 2010; 30 years that included 57 selections – 28 first round, 29 second round – the Braves selected:
- 8 outfielders
- 7 shortstops
- 4 first basemen
- 5 third basemen
- 3 catchers
- 1 second baseman
- 29 pitchers
That’s 28 everyday players and 29 pitchers or a 49%, 51% split; of those 57 players so far 19 have actually played for the Braves at the major league level and seven of those were pitchers.
The other factor affecting selections is whether the player will sign and if so will they sign for the Braves. The most famous case of a player telling the Braves he wouldn’t sign and is Todd Van Poppel; thank you Todd. J.D. Drew told the Phillies the he wouldn’t sign for less than $10M, they drafted him anyway and he didn’t sign. Since then teams have listened when told such things.
The new grand plan seems to be something the Astros and Cubs have done with some success.
- Take player(s) at a slot higher than their rank,
- Sign them for below slot money and
- Use excess funds to pick up good players who are passed over for some reason into rounds three and below.
Whatever the plan, draft success comes down to slot, the ability of your scouting and evaluation system to pick the right player, money and a bit of luck.
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