Atlanta Braves lack of pool money drove Rule 4 draft selections
By Fred Owens
Atlanta Braves choice of Strider a lottery ticket
When the Braves selected Spenser Strider, I knew they were scrambling for a few bucks. This isn’t a shot at Strider who, when healthy, is a strikeout pitcher who his coach at Clemson had penciled in as their Friday night starter next year. The reason for concern is his lack of work following his TJ surgery.
He pitched four times this year just 12 months after his surgery, and his velocity looked back to normal. However, like most UCL replacement pitchers, velocity leads location, and there’s no way of knowing if he’ll find the control he had as a freshman. If he does, and that’s my hope, the Braves have another power arm.
Strider’s selection left the Atlanta Braves with one more shot at that high-ceiling prospect. Like most, I was looking for a prep player who had an upside to hang my hat on and wanted to play for the Braves like Ty Floyd or Yohandy Morales, but they chose Bryce Elder.
BA ranked Elder at number 83 on their top 500 list (subscription required) behind both Floyd and Morales, and he’s a college arm with words like “smart on the mound”, and “safe pick” in his draft report. He may become a very good major league player, but nothing in the report says high upside. So, what happened?