Grading the Atlanta Braves’ 2019 draft: picks 41-31
It will be several years until we can fully appreciate the Braves’ 2019 draft, but it’s the perfect time to look back at each draftee’s performance this past season.
The Atlanta Braves broke the mold of pitcher-heavy drafts in 2019 — at least in the early rounds — and selected six position-players within the team’s first ten picks. Drafting several hitters early in the draft may not come off as very notable, but for the Braves, selecting one as a first pick hadn’t happened since 2010, when the team chose shortstop Matt Lipka.
Did this new approach work? It’s really too early to tell… but we’ll let you know what we think so far.
Considering the already elite group of pitchers in the organization, going a different route for once should, in theory, even out the talent within the Braves’ minor league system. If nothing else, it breaks a streak of six consecutive pitchers taken as the top pick for the Braves, which let’s be honest, isn’t exactly what this organization needs right now.
The truth is it will take several years before we know exactly how successful the 2019 MLB Draft was for the Braves. In fact, the Braves are still realizing the impact of past drafts, with Mike Soroka (2015) breaking out this past season and Ian Anderson (2016) now right on the cusp of contributing to the major league club. Depending on how fast players develop, these drafts have a way of lingering for many years.
Though it’s still too soon to accurately give out an overall grade for the Braves’ 2019 draft, there are still ways to keep tabs on the most recent class of players, which is what we’re going to look at over the next couple of weeks.
In this series, we will look at each and every player drafted (and signed) by the Braves in 2019, though to break this up a bit we’ll cover the class in four pieces, with today’s column covering the Braves last 11 picks (pick 41 down to 31).
Obviously, not all of these players signed with the Braves, but we’ll include them as well to keep each post consistent in size; plus, we may see a few of those unsigned players in the 2020 MLB Draft.
The Method
Each group of ten (or 11 for today) will include a table featuring each player’s last minor league level reached, and most importantly — as a way to characterize each player’s 2019 performance — I will give each player a grade:
- A: excelled
- B: held his own
- C: struggled
This may seem like an oversimplified way to go about such a thing, but the focus here is less about the actual grading rubric and more about simply determining how each player performed in their first professional season.
Choosing A, B and C obviously allows for only three different grade outcomes, which is plenty for such a small sample of results (most of these players played no more than 30-35 games).
We must remember that these players were drafted for a reason and giving a struggling 18-year-old an ‘F’ in his first taste of minor league baseball probably doesn’t accurately represent his actual skills on a baseball field. So don’t interpret each grade as a description of the player’s talent level.
Braves 2019 Draft: picks 41-36
| PLAYER | LAST LVL | GRADE |
|---|---|---|
| 2B, Cade Bunnell | GCL | C |
| DNS | — | |
| DNS | — | |
| LHP, Davis Schwab | GCL | B |
| DNS | — | |
| DNS | — | |
| OF, Willie Carter | Danville | B |
| RHP, Justin Yeager | Danville | A |
| 2B, Cody Birdsong | Danville | B |
| RHP, Greg Leban | Danville | B |
| C, Mitch Calandra | Danville | B |
DNS: Did Not Sign
No. 41, Cade Bunnell, 2B
Grade: C
2019 stats: 26 games, .141 AVG, 1 home run, 1 double
The Braves’ final pick in the 2019 draft (1,207 pick overall), the expectations most likely weren’t too high to begin with for Bunnell. At 22-years-old — 2.5 years older than the average GCL player — his average definitely doesn’t look all that inspiring, though Bunnell drew 25 walks in just 64 at-bats while in rookie ball, allowing for a solid .385 on-base percentage. Even with a rough start, Bunnell’s age means he’ll most likely be in full-season ball in 2020.
No. 40, Joshua Rolling, SS
Did not sign
Rolling was the Braves 39th round selection in 2019, out of Bishop Manogue High School in Reno, Nevada. As expected, the son of NFL linebacker, Henry Rolling, did not sign with the Braves. Rolling is an athletic infielder with a ton of athleticism, so expect to see him back in the 2020 MLB Draft.
No. 39, Grant Mathews, OF
Did not sign
Matthews was the Tulane teammate of highly sought after 2019 pick Kody Hoese, though obviously not as talented. Still, in his junior season the outfielder hit 10 home runs with a .319 AVG. Mathews turns 24-years-old next May, giving him a bit of a disadvantage amongst college players. He’ll have to have an even better 2020 season at Tulane to garner much more attention in the next draft… unless teams look at that age first.
No. 38, Davis Schwab, LHP
Grade: B
2019 stats: 10 app., 1 start, 22 innings, 3.68 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 1 HR
As a 22-year-old (he turns 23 in late January), Schwab didn’t exactly impress in his first stint with the GCL Braves. However, as a lefty at Missouri State in 2018 and 2019, he never posted big time numbers, either (combined 5.73 ERA in those last two seasons).
Schwab is a big guy (6’2″, 225 lbs.) with a deceptive delivery from the left side, meaning high strikeout totals may be in his near future.
No. 37, Mitchell Jackson, RHP
Did not sign
Like Schwab above, Jackson is a behemoth on the mound; though, unlike Schwab, Mitchell is a righty and didn’t sign with the Braves. The two-way righty (he also played first base in high school) has a lot of size, which really props up his prospect stock, however, reports indicate Mitchell topping out in the mid-80s last year, which isn’t going to cut it. The righty is listed as a freshman for the 2020 Southern Illinois baseball team.
No. 36, Anthony Hall, 1B
Did not sign
Instead of signing with the Braves, Hall decided instead to play for the Oregon Ducks in 2020, after batting .366 and knocking in 33 runs from four homers in high school. The 6-foot-3 first baseman already has a Tommy John surgery in his rearview mirror and is reported to have some decent pop as a more athletic-type corner infielder.
Rounds 35 to 31
No. 35, Willie Carter, OF
Grade: B
2019 stats: 52 games, .242 AVG, 4 home runs, 10 doubles, 27 RBI
Despite being drafted out of the small NAIA school of Weber International University (Florida), Carter appears to be a legit minor league player. His performance in Danville didn’t quite match the .377 average and 19 home runs he produced in his last season at Weber, but the 6-foot, 205-pound outfielder possesses several tools, including decent speed (seven stolen bases with the Rookie-Advanced club).
No. 34, Justin Yeager, RHP
Grade: A
2019 stats: 15 app., 25.1 innings, 3.91 ERA, 13.1 K/9, 5.3 BB/9, 3 home runs
Yeager is another 6-foot-5 hard-throwing righty that really built off a strong final season at Southern Illinois (2.27 ERA, 10.6 K/9) by pitching at two levels within the Braves’ minor league system. After working just a single two-inning relief appearance in the Gulf Coast League, Yeager was moved up to Danville, where he struck out 34 batters in 23.1 innings. His 5.00+ walks per nine isn’t ideal, but it’s clear that Yeager knows how to strike out opposing batters.
No. 33, Cody Birdsong, 2B
Grade: B
2019 stats: 57 games, .234 AVG, 4 home runs, 10 doubles, 22 RBI
After posting a Division 2 All-American season at Quincy University in 2019, Birdsong’s batting average dropped 50 points (.284 to .234), though he wound up with a comparable amount of hits (49) during his 57-game stint with Danville (compared to 52 games at Quincy).
Birdsong was a .321 hitter in college and showed some pop after hitting 14 homers in 2018 and 13 in 2019. It’s still too early to know whether or not some of that production will translate at the pro level, but his age-22 season (turns 23 in January) in Rookie-Advanced was at least respectable.
No. 32, Greg Leban, RHP
Grade: B
2019 stats: 13 app., 22.1 innings, 3.63 ERA, 11.7 K/9, 5.6 BB/9, 1 HR
Command has been an issue for Leban dating back to his days at Austin Peay State (Tennessee), and unfortunately it was a problem during his first season in the Braves’ system. His first stop, with the GCL Braves, Leban walked four batters in 4.2 innings, allowing five earned runs during that three-game stint.
However, he settled back down once with Danville, walking ten batters in 17.2 innings, allowing four runs — not great but a bit better. The power-pitching righty will turn 24 in May.
No. 31, Mitch Calandra, C
Grade: B
2019 stats: 28 games, .271 AVG, 4 doubles, 7 RBI
Calandra is another D2 player, drafted out of Eckerd College (Florida) in the 30th round this past June. The 5-foot-11 catcher is known for an unbelievable ability to hit for a high average, illustrated by his career .349 AVG in college.
Calandra doesn’t wield much power, and he only walked three times in 107 at-bats with Danville in 2019, but it’s hard to knock a catcher for hitting .271 in his first pro season. Unfortunately,
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Calandra will be a 23-year-old in 2020 (turns 23 in January), meaning his excellent contact must continue once he joins a full-season club next season.