Atlanta Braves’ selections in rounds 11 and 12 are arms with outstanding potential but signing might be a problem.
Round 11 saw the Atlanta Braves select lefty Jake Higginbotham from Clemson. They continued the ranked pitching theme by taking Nolan Kingham, a RHP from Texas.
Both players ranked highly enough to go in earlier rounds and get higher bonus checks but fell to the Braves.
Both players are juniors with a year of eligibility left and don’t have to sign.
Both players have issues that caused them to drop in spite of their talent.
@jake_higg (Jake Higginbotham) gets drafted to the Atlanta @Braves in the eleventh round for the 322nd overall pick as an LHP!! #ClemsonFamily 🐅💪 pic.twitter.com/dINIXXKcac
— CarPanMan (@CarPanMan09) June 6, 2018
Jake Higginbotham 22-years-old 6-Foot 175-pound LHP from Buford Ga.
Eight games into his freshman season Higginbotham suffered a stress fracture in his left elbow. The fracture required surgery and a rehab that lasted until the 2018 season.
Higginbotham made 15 starts for the Tigers this year, throwing 77 innings with a 3.27 ERA, 1.23 WHIP striking out 62 and walking 30. His Baseball America scouting report shows why he’s an interesting selection.
". . . 90-93 mph with his fastball and touching 94 mph with a loose arm . . . creates some deception with his delivery . . . (spins) an average, upper-70s breaking ball and serviceable, low-80s changeup . . . control is ahead of command. . . loses his release point and gets underneath the ball, creating some Jekyll and Hyde innings."
A lefty who touches 94 and spins a nice bender is always good to have around. He has a year of eligibility left so he could return to Clemson and hope for a better year with a bigger bonus.