Atlanta Braves Mock Draft Monday, Version 5.1

Atlanta Braves Mock Draft Monday: The Braves’ Picks

5. Nick Pratto, 1B, California HS

If Pratto had never shown the propensity to manipulate his fastball and breaking ball so well early on in high school, he’d be one of the top 2-3 picks in this year’s draft without question. Instead, this selection will go down as a questionable one by many due to Pratto’s rankings in various sites’ top 100/200/150/etc draft prospects lists, and his position as a first baseman.

One habit many high school teams do with excellent hitters who are seen as high-level prospects off the mound is that they plug them in at first base to protect them defensively and keep them safe from injury so their arm is not injured when it comes time to pitch. Pratto has been put into this situation, and it’s really hurt how many view him, sadly.

Watching the video on the previous page gives you a good idea of exactly why Pratto is so coveted as a hitter. Considered one of the best, if not the best, contact tools in the entire class, Pratto has minimal pre-swing load, and he has rocket-quick bat speed through the zone. He also has good feel for putting the barrel on the ball as well.

Pratto has been viewed by a number of scouts as capable of being an above-average corner outfield very quickly and even a plus outfielder in time with good movement and what would be a plus to double-plus arm in the outfield.

This would likely be a move that the Braves make because 1) they have Pratto top 3-5 on their board, and 2) he is willing to take significantly less money than the guys left on their board as McKay falls and other high schoolers of interest go off before them.

Round 2, Pick 41 overall: Mark Vientos, IF, Florida HS

The way this particular version of the mock worked out, the Braves could have an ideal situation fall into their lap at 41. They’d have both premier high school arms and high school bats left on the board with this amount of collegiate pitching and hitting taken in this mock (and there are significantly more collegiate guys getting helium to move into the first round, so this is very viable).

If they can make it work to get a premium contact guy like Vientos to fall to them at 41 to pair with Pratto, they very well may come out of the draft with the two best high school hit tools in this draft class.

Vientos is a guy who many see outgrowing shortstop due to his wide-shouldered frame at 6’4″, but he’s got very good baseball instincts, and some have compared his ability to handle short to that of the Iron Man himself, Cal Ripken, in that he positions well and makes minimal mistakes. He does have a very good arm that should translate to third base or a corner outfield spot if need be.

The Braves wouldn’t be selecting Vientos for his glove, however. Vientos showed all last summer to be one of the best bat-to-ball guys in this high school class, and an inconsistent swing has cooled many on him, though the Braves have been seen at his games recently scouting him with some fairly upper-level brass.

Vientos could be a guy to develop 20+ home run power to go along with very good contact and athleticism enough to swipe double-digit bags early in his career as well.

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.

Grabbing Pratto with the first selection would likely mean some extra money to push a higher-rated guy down, but Vientos seems to be a guy that’d sign for roughly slot at 41, so the money could go to the 3rd round here. That will lead to a likely injured player or over slot guy in the 3rd round and 4th round before going to the point of signability picks through the 10th round.

I’ve noted a few scouting trips recently of upper level Braves brass, including one for high school players in Florida and another doing some scouting of college and high school players in the northeast. Last was one of particular note that has led to the Braves’ first selection in my last two drafts, a long trip to California for some of the national cross-checkers looking at high schoolers and one particular injured collegiate arm that the Braves have been strongly tied to in Tristan Beck of Stanford.

Beck would make a very intriguing 3rd round selection if the Braves could convince him to sign as he was considered a viable top 10 arm before the season and surgery became a known issue for him.

Florida has a deep prep class that could intrigue in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th rounds. The northeast could be a very odd mix, though, as in the BA top 200, there are a small amount of players, like outfielder Quentin Holmes of New York and prep righty Matt Tabor from Massachusetts, that are even top-50 type of players.

Next: Braves Minor League Database

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