House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves draft day two: Pitchers, infielders, and others… “oh my”

By Fred Owens

The Atlanta Braves selected Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets utility man Justyn-Henry Malloy with their sixth pick in the 2021 MLB Amateur Draft. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves selected Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets utility man Justyn-Henry Malloy with their sixth pick in the 2021 MLB Amateur Draft. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
atlanta braves
The Atlanta Braves selected Southeast Missouri State pitcher Dylan Dodd with their third pick in the 2021 Amateur draft.  Syndication: LafayetteIN /

A pitchability lefty plus

The Atlanta Braves third pick went to Dylan Dodd (ESPN number 173,  MLB Pipeline number 177), a left-handed pitcher out of Southeast Missouri State.

FASTBALL  50  CURVEBALL 45   SLIDER 50  CHANGEUP 60  CONTROL  60  OVERALL 40

Dodd played both ways for Kankakee (Ill.) CC, when they won the 2017 Division II JuCo World Series, moving to pitcher permanently for SE Missouri State.  The Braves love high-spin-rate pitchers and Dodd’s four-seam fastball fits the bill.

It sits in the low 90s, but late-life allows it to play up and miss bats. His secondaries include a plus changeup he’ll throw in any count to any batter and an average mid-80s slider that need a bit more bite, and throws an upper 70’s curve that needs work.

Year Age ERA G IP HR BB SO WHIP BB9 SO9 SO/W
2019 21 5.33 14 76 13 22 77 1.355 2.6 9.1 3.5
2020 22 3.38 4 26.2 1 7 36 1.088 2.4 12.2 5.14
2021 23 3.17 15 96.2 10 17 120 1.055 1.6 11.2 7.06
4.02 33 199.1 24 46 233 1.174 2.1 10.5 5.07

Dodd’s mechanics are simple and repeatable, helping him throw strikes consistently. In his start against the number one ranked Arkansas Razorbacks, Dodd threw six innings allowing two runs and striking out 10. He’s an advanced arm who should move quickly.

Did someone say, shortstop?

The Atlanta Braves moved away from pitchers in the fourth round to select switch-hitting shortstop Cal Conley (BA Number 185) out of Texas Tech.

Conley’s a 5’-10, 185-pound, switch-hitting shortstop, ranked as the number 14 prospect in Texas this year by BA.

He never gives away an at-bat and shows the ability to take a pitch the other way when needed. He’s flashed pull power in college but will need to work to adapt to a wooden bat and projects as an average gap-to-gap hitter.

Defensively, Conley has a fine-tuned internal clock and makes plays to his left with ease, but will probably have to move to second base because he lacks the arm strength to throw from deep in the hole while moving away from first.

The Atlanta Braves returned home to grab their next two picks.

Home/Braves Draft