Atlanta Braves Mock Draft Monday, Version 2.0

Benjamin Chase

Jun 24, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores pitcher Kyle Wright (44) throws during the game against the Virginia Cavaliers in game three of the College World Series Finals at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Mock Draft Monday: Round 2

The Atlanta Braves went on a winning streak to finish the 2016 season and close out Turner Field, and while for many fans that was fun, it meant that the club will be selecting #5 overall in the upcoming June draft.

Many sites have begun to release their top 100 lists and mock drafts. I spent most of the last month getting in contact with as many possible people as I could to get an idea of how the draft is shaping up this year, who to look at, who should be looked at but isn’t, and last, but certainly not least, who the Atlanta Braves are looking at.

We’ll have one of these mock drafts at least every other week until the draft comes. The selections here are based on a number of hours of research into the players themselves, team strategies, and any insights I’ve been able to gleam from those around the game I’ve chatted with this spring about this very interesting class.

We will look at the entire first round through the competitive balance round A selections, then we’ll examine the Braves’ strategy for round 2 if the first round set out would happen, and finally, we’ll consider what direction the Braves could go after those two selections.

I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to comment below!

Next: The First Round

Atlanta Braves Mock Draft Monday: The Draft

More from Tomahawk Take

The Braves selection will be discussed further on the next slide.

1. Minnesota Twins – Kyle Wright, RHP, Vanderbilt
2. Cincinnati Reds – Brendan McKay, LHP/1B, Louisville
3. San Diego Padres – Hunter Greene, RHP/SS, California HS
4. Tampa Bay Rays – Pavin Smith, 1B, Virginia
5. Atlanta Braves – Jordan Adell, OF, Kentucky HS
6. Oakland Athletics – MacKenzie Gore, LHP, North Carolina HS
7. Arizona Diamondbacks – Jeren Kendall, OF, Vanderbilt
8. Philadelphia Phillies – Austin Beck, OF, North Carolina HS
9. Milwaukee Brewers – Royce Lewis, IF/OF, California HS
10. Los Angeles Angels – J.B. Bukauskas, RHP, North Carolina
11. Chicago White Sox – Jake Burger, 3B, Missouri State
12. Pittsburgh Pirates – David Peterson, LHP, Oregon
13. Miami Marlins – Seth Romero, LHP, Houston
14. Kansas City Royals – Alex Faedo, RHP, Florida
15. Houston Astros – Shane Baz, RHP, Texas HS
16. New York Yankees – Nick Pratto, 1B, California HS
17. Seattle Mariners – Griffin Canning, RHP, UCLA
18. Detroit Tigers – Adam Haseley, OF, Virginia
19. San Francisco Giants – D.L. Hall, LHP, Georgia HS
20. New York Mets – Sam Carlson, RHP, Minnesota
21. Baltimore Orioles – Logan Warmoth, SS, North Carolina
22. Toronto Blue Jays – Alex Lange, RHP, LSU
23. Los Angeles Dodgers – Bubba Thompson, OF, Alabama HS
24. Boston Red Sox – Nate Pearson, RHP, Central Florida JC
25. Washington Nationals – Keston Hiura, 2B/OF, UC Irvine
26. Texas Rangers – Heliot Ramos, OF, Puerto Rico HS
27. Chicago Cubs – Tanner Houck, RHP, Missouri
28. Toronto Blue Jays – Brendon Little, LHP, State JC of Florida
29. Texas Rangers – Trevor Rogers, LHP, New Mexico HS
30. Chicago Cubs – Nick Allen, SS, California HS
31. Tampa Bay Rays – Matt Sauer, RHP, California HS
32. Cincinnati Reds – Blayne Enlow, RHP, Louisiana HS
33. Oakland Athletics – Drew Waters, OF, Georgia HS
34. Milwaukee Brewers – Luke Heimlich, LHP, Oregon State
35. Minnesota Twins – Mark Vientos, IF, Florida HS
36. Miami Marlins – Brady McConnell, SS, Florida HS

Next: Discussing the Braves' Choices

Atlanta Braves Mock Draft Monday: The Braves’ Picks

5. Jordan Adell, OF, Kentucky HS

Adell is a guy who has been one of the most well-regarded prospects in this high school class for nearly two seasons. He’s an elite athlete, and it seemed like there was a load of misinformation spread in the fall/winter about swing and miss issues and concerns with his swing mechanics.

Adell has done nothing but impress this spring, notable with his astounding 21 home runs to 7 strike outs on the season. While his swing isn’t textbook, he has very high athleticism that allows it to work very well.

I had believed that the Braves were out on Adell as I had not heard of any interest, but I then had an independent scout confirm the team’s presence at his spring games, and not just area scouts, either. I don’t have the permission to release the name of who, but a prominent member of the scouting department spent a weekend there recently, per the report I had.

Adell is the type of elite athlete that would fit what the Braves love in being able to develop the baseball skills in their system on top of a present high athletic base. The team often pursues guys who play multiple sports or spend heavy time both on the mound and at the plate, whether their future goal is with a bat or throwing for that player.

Of note – this independent scout mentioned that the Braves area guy hasn’t been at every one of Adell’s games, but the majority of the games he’s been at were games that Adell started on the mound.

Round 2, Pick 41 overall: Hans Crouse, RHP, California HS

With a half-dozen choices before the Braves here and all the teams in the same market the Braves would be in, it’s tough to gauge what would be there, but with what is still on the board, Crouse would be the top target for the team most likely.

Crouse is a guy whose stuff is certainly solid, sitting in the low 90s with excellent heavy feel and movement on the fastball and touching 96-98. He’s also shown feel for a breaking pitch and a change, but they’re both behind the fastball, though his command and control of the fastball is notable.

One of the things that has been mentioned to me when I talked with scouts is that there is a reason that, though he doesn’t have the most elite stuff at the showcases he’s gone to, he’s always ended up on the “all start team” at the end of each show case or at least getting plenty written about his performance as he’s an extreme competitor and has a “bulldog” mentality on the mound.

I’d say if the team had Adell in hand, they’d certainly be looking for an arm, but with South Carolina righties Wil Crowe and Clarke Schmidt both available here, they could take Schmidt and give him the year to heal from his Tommy John surgery or else take Crowe as a guy who should contribute quickly in the upper minors.

Rest of Draft

I mentioned in the first mock that the Braves do have pretty loaded rookie league teams, so it’s possible that they go in heavy in their first few picks, then go for signability picks soon in the draft rather than waiting until the 5th-6th rounds to start that process.

If they were able to nail down Adell and Crouse both early, going after someone like Hunter Ruth in the 3rd would make a ton of sense along with a college hitter in the 4th, then going for senior sign picks through the 10th round.

One guy I’d love to see with the Braves would be Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Daulton Varsho. He was ranked #124 on Baseball America’s recently released top 200 draft prospects, and he reportedly nearly made the most recent top 100 for MLB Pipeline. He’s a catcher with a very good defensive profile and an offensive ceiling that I had multiple people compare to Jason Kendall.

Next: Braves Minor League Database

What would be your thoughts on this situation? Leave a comment below!!

Benjamin Chase

I live in rural South Dakota, where I picked up the love of baseball from my great grandmother and my grandfather. I've enjoyed passing on the game to my nephews and now to my own children. I love evaluating the minor leagues and often have a game on the computer and the TV at the same time!