We have arrived at draft day finally and the Atlanta Braves' plans in the 2025 MLB Draft remain somewhat fluid. Picking at #22, Atlanta needs to be flexible given that they have no control whatsoever over who gets picked ahead of them. That flexibility has served them well at times with last year's pick, Cam Caminiti, looking like a bit of a gift at the moment. However, it has also burned them at times with first round pick Hurston Waldrep looking much less exciting these days.
For the moment, it does appear as though the Braves are keeping their options open. There were a lot of mock drafts lately where college arm Gage Wood was featured often, but the mock drafts with the last few days seem to have a few other names entering the fray with the start of the first round just hours away.
Braves seem to be focused on college ranks immediately ahead of 2025 MLB Draft
Wood, a hero for Arkansas during the College World Series, is still getting plenty of mentions across the recent mock drafts with Baseball America's mock draft 7.0 still having him as the Braves' pick. Wood's raw stuff is great, but a shoulder injury earlier this season likely means that his medicals will determine a lot in terms of where in the first round (if at all) he gets picked.
While Wood is mentioned a lot as a potential options, we do have some other arms in consideration. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel has Atlanta taking UC-Santa Barbara righty Tyler Bremner and his really intriguing fastball/changeup combo. MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis added another name that seems to be gaining a lot of steam in Louisville righthander Patrick Forbes who doesn't have a lot of miles on his arm and who has a power fastball/slider-based arsenal.
However, a couple college bats do still seem to be in play if they are actually available when the Braves pick. The Athletic's Keith Law has Atlanta taking Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston, though he also mentions the interest in Wood. In the same mock draft where Callis had the Braves picking Patrick Forbes, his colleague Jonathan Mayo went with Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy who would be a welcome addition to the farm system given Atlanta's woeful shortstop situation.
Ultimately, Atlanta doesn't really control their own destiny at the moment. 21 teams get to make picks ahead of them and the Braves will have to adjust to whatever situation is put in front of them. Based on the latest mock drafts, it does seem like they won't have a shortage of options for their first pick no matter how it goes.