Atlanta Braves MLB Draft: Top 5 college bats to target

With the 2019 MLB Draft just a couple of weeks away, we focus on five college hitters who the Atlanta Braves should target in the first round.

The Atlanta Braves have taken a pitcher with their first pick in the MLB Draft four straight years. The last time they didn’t, they selected a high school hitter in Braxton Davidson — and that was a 32nd overall pick.

Taking high school players early in the MLB Draft is always risking, but even more so for hitters as they’re almost impossible to project against Major League pitchers.

With high school pitchers you can typically get a good idea by their mechanics (are they repeatable) and their stuff (how hard they throw and can they command their off-speed pitches).

That’s why you typically see college players taken early in the MLB Draft because you have a better idea of how those players will do at the Major League level.

And this year there are a ton of college hitters who are projected to go early in the 2019 MLB Draft.

This is a very good draft for hitters, and it is not very deep with top-end pitchers. I’m not sure if there is a pitcher in this MLB Draft that many think will become a top of the rotation arm some day.

We’re still going to look at the top college arms available next week, but if I were a betting man, I’d put my money on the Atlanta Braves taking a bat at nine — whether high school or college.

I’m going to take the top two college bats out of the equation as I don’t think there is any way Adley Rutschman or Andrew Vaughn will fall as far as 9.

Rutschman, the catcher for Oregon State, is projected to be the first overall pick by just about everyone.

Vaughn likely won’t fall outside of the top five, and he’s better suited as a DH in the American League as he can only play first base and we have a pretty good one of those for a while.

But there are still several other bats at the college level who the Atlanta Braves can target at nine and 21.

OF – J.J. Bleday – Vanderbilt

When you’re named the SEC Player of the Year, as Vanderbilt outfielder J.J. Bleday was, you’re going to draw a lot of attention in the MLB Draft.

Other recent SEC Player of the Year winners include Jonathan India (fifth overall pick in 2018) and Andrew Benintendi (seventh overall in 2015).

Bleday is a three-year starter at Vanderbilt, which is impressive in itself, but he missed part of his sophomore season with an injury, only playing in 39 games.

As a freshman in 2017 he hit .256 with a .384 OBP over 164 at-bats with 2 home runs, 34 walks, and 26 strikeouts.

During that injury-shortened 2018 season, he hit .368 with a .494 OBP to go along with 4 home runs.

Last summer he played 36 games in the Cape Cod League where he really started to see his stock rise after hitting .311 with 5 home runs.

His numbers for Vanderbilt in 2019 are just ridiculous as he’s hitting .346 with a .461 OBP and 25 home runs and 64 RBI. He’s walked 45 times and struck out 45 times.

The left-handed hitter has a very advanced approach at the plate with more walks than strikeouts in his career at Vanderbilt.

Bleday profiles as a typical right fielder with power and a strong arm.

I think the Atlanta Braves would jump all over him if he falls to nine, but I kind of doubt he makes it to them.

OF – Hunter Bishop – Arizona State

A name that has been linked to the Atlanta Braves a good bit for the upcoming MLB Draft is Arizona State outfielder Hunter Bishop.

Like Bleday, he’s a left-handed power-hitting outfielder.

He was selected in the 24th round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of high school by the San Diego Padres.

As a freshman with the Sun Devils, he hit .301 in 153 at-bats with 5 home runs and 25 RBI. In his sophomore season, his average dropped to .250 and his power numbers stayed the same.

Bishop also played in the Cape Cod League this past summer and put up decent numbers by hitting .233 with a .369 OBP in 120 at-bats with 4 home runs.

This year with Arizona State he’s been on fire hitting .356 with a .482 OBP in 202 at-bats with 22 home runs and 61 RBI.

The biggest difference between Bleday and Bishop are the walks and strikeouts. While Bleday has walked more than he’s struck out in college, Bishop has walked just 75 times at Arizona State with 150 strikeouts.

But Bishop is also considered to be the more athletic and toolsy player of the two as he’s a former top football prospect out of high school and is capable of playing center field.

While I would still prefer the consistency of Bleday, if Bishop is available at nine — and Bleday is not — I could see the Atlanta Braves selecting him.

C – Shea Langeliers – Baylor

Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers was considered a top-five pick when the college baseball season began, right there with Rutschman. But a hand injury at the beginning of the season set him back and his draft stock took a hit.

The Atlanta Braves could use another catching prospect behind Alex Jackson and William Contreras. Jackson feels more like a back-up catcher at this point, and there really isn’t anyone in the system behind Contreras to push him.

Langeliers is considered a defensive first catcher with a strong arm and good agility behind the plate, but he’s hit pretty well in his career at Baylor.

As a freshman, he hit .313 with 10 home runs and 28 RBI in 211 at-bats, and then as a sophomore he hit just .252 but had 11 home runs and 44 RBI.

After coming back from injury this season he’s hit .311 with a .376 OBP to go along with 6 home runs and 28 RBI in 161 at-bats.

In his career at Baylor he’s walked 74 times and struck out 106 times.

Langeliers is considered a top 10 talent in this draft as his floor is a defensive catcher who can give you 20-plus home runs a year. If his bat develops into anything more than that, he could be an All-Star catcher someday.

I don’t know if the Atlanta Braves share that same opinion of Langeliers or not. I’m sure they’d rather consider him at 21 than nine, but if those first two names are off the board at nine, then I think they have to at least consider Langeliers.

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.