When any baseball team makes its picks in a given draft, the goal is to find at least a couple of guys who can meaningfully contribute in the majors. You need to hit on some guys to not only bolster the active roster over time, but also to be able to accumulate trade capital to address other areas of the roster as needed. Unfortunately, the Atlanta Braves do not appear to have gained much from their 2023 MLB Draft class, but there is still hope.
The headliner from Atlanta's 2023 draft picks is easily Hurston Waldrep, and the jury is still out there. Waldrep didn't look particularly strong in his first look at the majors, looked great last season, and has dealt with injuries in two of the past three years now. For the moment, we will put a pin in this pick with some cautious optimism while Waldrep rehabs from his shoulder procedure. The Braves have also traded away both Sabin Ceballos and Mitch Farris
However, the rest of the Braves' 2023 draft class is not playing well at all this season, for the most part, with the notable exception of Isaiah Drake.
Isaiah Drake is one of the few hopes the Braves' 2023 MLB Draft class has left
Look, no draft class has a 100% hit rate or even close to it. Hell, you are lucky to get your first pick to the major leagues at all without some setback or difficulty, as the Braves are finding out with Waldrep right now. It is also true that it is still pretty early, and all of these guys can change their narratives relatively quickly for the better. However, the vaunted arms that the Braves did pick up in that draft class have...left a lot to be desired with their performance this season.
Player | 2026 ERA | 2026 FIP |
|---|---|---|
Drue Hackenberg | 3.60 (currently rehabbing) | 2.97 (currently rehabbing) |
Cade Kuehler | 4.31 | 6.40 |
Garrett Baumann | 5.86 | 5.47 |
Lucas Braun | 5.45 | 5.00 |
Now, those numbers aren't terrible per se, but they are far from ideal. Hackenberg has the "best" numbers, but the vast majority of that production has come on rehab assignment against rookie ball hitters. Kuehler has had some good moments this season, but he isn't missing bats enough to make his current profile sustainable, hence his rough FIP this season. Both Baumann and Braun have shown promise in the minors, but neither are pitching well this season at all as they have gone against more advanced hitters.
If that wasn't bad enough, the Braves also have failed to hit on any of the lottery ticket types that they picked later in the draft. If not for Drake's rebound this season, where he has put up a .124 wRC+ through 45 games at high-A Rome, 2023 would have a very, very strong argument to be one of the worst modern Braves drafts period, and that could still easily happen.
All of this underscores the importance of the Braves' upcoming draft class. They have a top 10 pick as well as an additional first-round pick thanks to Drake Baldwin's ROY win. Atlanta simply cannot afford to screw this opportunity to reload their farm system, as it appears they may have back in 2023.
Add us as a preferred source on Google