Here’s part 3 on the Atlanta Braves Draft Day 3 signings. All of these players are unranked but have a tool that caught the team’s eye. Sometimes I wonder what.
There are six players in this post and, as before, I’m piecing together scouting information from multiple sources, including Baseball America (BA), MLB Pipeline, Perfect Game (PG) and the Baseball Cube — as well as schools and online news pages.
Some players have more data available than others; the farther a player is from the 500 best prospects I get, the harder it is to find anything.
As I get to the end, it’s possible all I’ll have is a name and school data.
For those you who want to see a list of every player drafted, I’ve included a link to MLB’s’ draft tracker.
We are now 23 players deep in the Atlanta Braves 2019 draft, yet surprisingly some talent appeared. Not much, and it was scattered, but it’s there. If they sign will it be enough?
Bryce Ball 1B Hits L/Throws R; 6′-6″, 235; Not Ranked @bryceball_05
Round 24 overall pick 727 Dallas Baptist (TX)
Big Fly! Bryce Ball launches his third home run of the night over the scoreboard!
— DBU Baseball (@DBU_Baseball) March 9, 2019
DBU 11, ORU 5, Top 7 pic.twitter.com/0eBCuUNg27
Ball earned all-state honors at Newman Catholic High School, before moving on to North Iowa Area CC where he displayed a strong hit tool during his two-year tenure.
As a Freshman, he garnered First Team All-Region and All-District Team honors, posted the eleventh highest hit total among NCJAA Division II players.
He continued to rake in his sophomore season, leading his team in homers and continued to show superb plate discipline totaling 87 walks against 93 strikeouts in 470 PA.
| NAICC | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 2016-17 | 58 | 253 | 203 | 49 | 85 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 52 | 47 | 37 | .419 | .534 | .640 | 1.174 |
| 2017-18 | 54 | 217 | 170 | 46 | 50 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 44 | 40 | 56 | .294 | .433 | .606 | 1.039 |
| Totals | 112 | 470 | 373 | 95 | 135 | 33 | 1 | 21 | 96 | 87 | 93 | .362 | .487 | .625 | 1.112 |
Ball played for the Lafayette Aviators in the Prospect League in the summer of 2018, appearing in 58 games, posting a .268/.399/.436/.835 line that included nine homes and ten doubles while walking 47 times and striking out 69 in 267 PA.
He ranked fifth in homers and RBI for that league and earned a spot on the Prospect League All-Star Team.
Ball Transferred to Dallas Baptist for his Junior year and earned a job as their starting first baseman/designated hitter and kept on hitting, something emphasized by his selection as National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Player of the Week for May 6-12.
". . . Bryce Ball . . .went on a tear to power the Patriots to a 4-0 week against Stephen F. Austin and nationally ranked Indiana State . . . blasted five home runs in four games, finishing the week 7-for-15 (.467) . . .plate with a 1.600 slugging percentage . . . drove in 13 runs and scored seven times as the Patriots moved into a tie for first place in The Missouri Valley Conference standings."
| Year | G | PA | AB | 2B | HR | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | wOBA |
| 2019 | 54 | 248 | 197 | 12 | 17 | 44 | 47 | .320 | .435 | .640 | 1.096 | .543 |
Ball led his team in walks, homers, and slugging, placed second in hits and RBI and fifth in doubles. He also led the Missouri Valley Conference in home runs, RBIs and walks.
Water’s wet, the sun rises in the east, and Bryce Ball can hit. He’s hit at every level and looks like he’ll hit at any level. Maybe I see something that isn’t there at a high level, but the young man walks almost as much as he strikes out, and produced at every level, leading his team or ranking highly as well.
He’s calm in the box with a solid base, his swing looks smooth and under control, and his consistent home runs indicate there’s significant power. I like him, could you tell?