Atlanta Braves: Could team grab a Rule 5 pick?

Bench

One of the surprising players available in the Rule 5 draft is Richie Martin from the Oakland Athletics. Martin was a first-round selection in 2015 out of the University of Florida.

Martin has some power and plus speed, and he just had the best offensive year of his career, hitting .300/.368/.439 at AA for Midland. Martin’s work at short is not “starter” worthy, but he can certainly pass at the position and is very solid at second base, so he could offer the Braves a solid player up the middle.

Drew Jackson has been traded in his career already. He was a 5th round pick out of Stanford. He was traded after his first full season to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jackson has power and speed, limits his strikeouts, but he has a middling contact tool.

Most likely Jackson would be a guy who hit more like .230-.250 at the major league level, but he does draw walks well enough to pull off a .340 OBP with solid power that could threaten double-digit home runs with full-time playing time and 20+ steals.

Jackson has experience in the outfield and up the middle in the infield, so he could be a solid bench piece and allow the team to move Charlie Culberson or Johan Camargo.

Phillies catching prospect Deivi Grullon could be intriguing if the Atlanta Braves choose to add a third catcher to the mix. Grullon has no defensive flexibility, but he is very solid behind the plate, and he hit 21 home runs in AA last year with a .273 batting average.