If you are an Atlanta Braves fan, you've seen the team add some extremely talented prospects over the past few years. They surprised everyone last year with a slightly different draft strategy. Rather than being pitching heavy, they added a good amount of position players. There were a few shortstops in the mix, and they all have a shot at helping the team down the road.
However, Atlanta's second pick in the 2025 draft may have an impact sooner than the others. Alex Lodise was a superstar at Florida State, and it was a bit of a surprise that the Braves landed him.
Lodise hasn't had a major impact at the minor league level yet, and he's a bit overlooked compared to some of Atlanta's other top prospects. Lodise is doing everything he can to change that in 2026. He has been excellent for Low-A Augusta. Recently, Atlanta's 5th-ranked prospect showed out with his first career two-homer game against the Cannon Ballers on April 28.
Alex Lodise to left-center 💥
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 28, 2026
Alex Lodise to right 💥
The @Braves' 2025 2nd-round pick out of @FSUBaseball collects his first career two-homer game while driving in 5 runs for the @GreenJackets. pic.twitter.com/0rx6N1rkbo
Alex Lodise's two-homer game is a huge step in the right direction
Lodise ended the game 2-for-4 with 2 HR, 5 RBI, and 2 K. He still has some work to do with strike outs, but his swing is looking a lot better. Lodise carries a .280/.346/.441 slash line this season with 26 hits (one triple, three homers, four doubles), three stolen bases, 13 RBI, 8 BB, 28 K, and a .737 OPS. There's still a lot of room for improvement, but that will play at any level.
In his pro debut last year, Lodise struck out 38% of the time. That is not very encouraging. He's at about 27% this year. While this is a slight improvement, he still needs to work on this area before he's MLB-ready.
Regardless, it is encouraging to see that he is starting to figure things out. Lodise has good range at shortstop , and he is a decent baserunner. If he can get a hold on his plate approach, he could easily be an everyday shortstop.
![Florida St. infielder Alex Lodise (1) reacts to his double at second base during the first inning of an NCAA college baseball matchup Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. FSU rallied to defeat UF 8-4 off a walk-off grand slam from Alex Lodise in the ninth inning. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Florida St. infielder Alex Lodise (1) reacts to his double at second base during the first inning of an NCAA college baseball matchup Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. FSU rallied to defeat UF 8-4 off a walk-off grand slam from Alex Lodise in the ninth inning. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_2078,y_94,w_3922,h_2206/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/17/01kqbhhde6cb5g0e65g4.jpg)