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Atlanta Braves MLB Draft: Top 5 college bats to target

By Jake Mastroianni

BREWSTER, MA - AUGUST 13: Hunter Bishop, right, and AJ Graffanino of the Brewster Whitecaps celebrate in the seventh inning during game three of the Cape Cod League Championship Series against the Bourne Braves at Stony Brook Field on August 13, 2017 in Brewster, Massachusetts. The Cape Cod League was founded in 1885 and is the premier summer baseball league for college athletes. Over 1100 of these student athletes have gone on to compete in MLB including Chris Sale, Carlton Fisk, Joe Girardi, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. The chance to see future big league stars up close makes Cape Cod League games a popular activity for the families in each of the 10 towns on the Cape to host a team. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BREWSTER, MA - AUGUST 13: Hunter Bishop, right, and AJ Graffanino of the Brewster Whitecaps celebrate in the seventh inning during game three of the Cape Cod League Championship Series against the Bourne Braves at Stony Brook Field on August 13, 2017 in Brewster, Massachusetts. The Cape Cod League was founded in 1885 and is the premier summer baseball league for college athletes. Over 1100 of these student athletes have gone on to compete in MLB including Chris Sale, Carlton Fisk, Joe Girardi, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. The chance to see future big league stars up close makes Cape Cod League games a popular activity for the families in each of the 10 towns on the Cape to host a team. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 08: The Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot poses for a photo with fans prior to the 2019 NCAA men’s Final Four National Championship game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Texas Tech Red Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 08: The Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot poses for a photo with fans prior to the 2019 NCAA men’s Final Four National Championship game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Texas Tech Red Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

3B – Josh Jung – Texas Tech

The next two players we’ll look at are potential targets for the Atlanta Braves 21st pick.

I know it doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Braves to select a college third baseman with the way Austin Riley is excelling, but in the MLB Draft you take the best available player and find a spot for him if he’s pushing for the big leagues.

Josh Jung is one of the best hitters in all of college baseball, and if he’s available to the Braves at 21, they have to consider drafting him.

The right-handed hitter has one of the purest swings at the collegiate level and there is very little worry about his chances of success in the big leagues.

His freshman season in 2017 he hit .306 with a .395 OBP in 245 at-bats with 6 home runs and 43 RBI. Last year he had an incredible season for the Red Raiders hitting .392 with a .491 OBP in 263 at-bats with 12 home runs and 80 RBI.

He’s missed some time in 2019 for Texas Tech but has still put together another solid season with a  .333 average and .471 OBP in 186 at-bats to go along with 9 home runs and 49 RBI.

Like Bleday, Jung features a very mature approach at the plate with more walks (121) than strikeouts (111) in his career at Tech.

Right now he’s playing shortstop for Texas Tech, but he profiles more as a third baseman and that’s where most evaluators believe he ends up.

The fact that he’s playing shortstop for a high ranking college baseball team tells you he’s capable of playing all over the field.

Jung’s hit tool is very special, and if he’s available to the Atlanta Braves at 21 in the upcoming MLB Draft, I would be ecstatic if they select him. I wouldn’t even be upset if they take him at nine.

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