MLB Draft Day Two: Atlanta Braves Updates

Round 5, Pick 162 - Isaiah Drake (OF) - North Atlanta HS (GA)

Drake is listed as 5' 10" and 180 pounds and is apparently known for his power and elite speed. He was apparently impressive in the Draft Combine in Arizona and his performance in the MLB Draft League.

Isaiah is the younger brother of Baltimore Ravens running back and former Alabama Crimson Tide star, Kenyon Drake. Isaiah is also a Georgia Tech commit and the only question surrounding him is if he will be able to cut down on the swings and misses and become a more consistent hitter.

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution spoke with Hudson Graham who is the scouting director for Prep Baseball Report for the state of Georgia. He thinks Drake has a lot of power potential and that he helped his stock by performing well in the Draft Combine.

“... He’s doing pretty well (in the draft league), so I think his Combine performance along with his draft league performance is really, really upping in his stock.”

He has the potential to be one of the most exciting hitters in the Atlanta Braves system and could become an impact player for the team in the future.

Round 6, Pick 189 - Lucas Braun (RHP) - Cal State Northridge (CA)

Braun is another college pitcher selected by the Braves. He was excellent in 2022 for Cal State Northridge with a 2.91 ERA but that ballooned on him a bit in 2023 as he carried a 4.83 ERA. That brings his career ERA to 3.97 over those two seasons. Braun was 6-5 through 91.1 innings with 30 walks and 100 strikeouts.

Lucas has also pitched in the summer leagues over the years. In 2020 and 2021, he was with the La Crosse Loggers and earned a 2.27 and 3.76 ERA respectively. He was with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in 2022 and posted a 0.75 ERA through 24 innings with 2 walks and 28 strikeouts.

The LA native was named to the All-Big West Second team in 2022 and 2023. His 100 strikeouts in 2023 were the third most in the conference and he produced eight quality starts during the season as well.

Round 7, Pick 219 - Justin Long (RHP) - Rice University

Justin Long is from Kingwood, Texas, and graduated from Kingwood High School in 2020. He originally started as a true freshman catcher at Rice in 2021 and performed pretty well in the role with a .257 average.

He started 30 of the first 35 games at the catching position to start the 2022 season but played at third base for 9 of 16 remaining games and finished with a .227 average on the year.

Long was moved to the pitching position in 2023 and made 21 appearances including two starts. He was 3-4 with a 4.93 ERA over 45.2 innings pitched overall. His relief ERA sat at 4.35 across 19 appearances which include 41.1 IP, 39 H, 22 R, 13 BB, and 35 K.

8th Round, Pick 249 - Cory Wall (RHP) - William & Mary University

Wall is from Pennsylvania and attended North Pocono High School before heading off to pitch at Fordham University in New York. He transferred to William & Mary as a graduate student in 2023 and made 15 appearances and 5 of those were starts.

He struck out 63 batters and walked just 11 of them over 52 innings in 2023. He had four wins and two saves with a 3.98 ERA on the season. Wall was named CAA pitcher of the week in March 2023 for his performance during a six-day time period where he earned a win and a save.

His win came against George Mason where he allowed just two hits over three innings in relief. The save came from a 4-inning performance where he struck out 8 batters to seal the team's win over Canisius.

His season-long outing in 2023 was in the CAA Tournament where he went 5.2 innings and struck out seven batters in their game against Charleston. Wall appears to be an option the Braves will likely consider for the bullpen in the future.

Round 9, Pick 279 - Riley Gowens (RHP) - Illinois University

Gowens is another RHP college arm for the Braves and features a fastball that sits in the low 90s range and a curveball that is considered one of his best pitches as well.

He struggled a bit in 2023 as he was 2-3 with a 6.30 ERA over 12 starts. He was hit hard but there are enough impressive metrics there that the Braves would be silly not to take a chance on him. His walk-to-strikeout ratio is fantastic as he walked 16 batters while striking out 75 through 60 innings.

He had been sidelined due to Tommy John surgery through the 2019 and 2020 seasons. His first year on the mound for Illinois was in 2021 and he found himself a part of history as you'll find in the clip above. Gowens started a game that became a combined no-hitter and that was the first for Illinois since 1985. His line for that game was 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 BB, and 6 K.

There is plenty of upside with this pick and he could be a great addition for the Atlanta Braves in the next couple of years.

Round 10, Pick 309 - Pier-Olivier Boucher (OF) - Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Boucher is a Canadian-born player who grew up playing hockey and is still relatively new to baseball. Sounds similar to Mike Soroka and Tom Glavine who played hockey and ended up being great at baseball. He went to Indian Hills Community College in 2020 and 2021.

He then transferred for his last two years at Southern Illinois University where he put up strong numbers. He hit .335 in 2023 with 24 home runs and 76 RBI. He’s known for having a great mix of speed and power as you can see from those numbers. He stole 19 bases in 2023 which led the team for that season.

He does have a lot of swings and misses with 92 of them combined across 2022 and 2023. However, with him still getting his legs under him as it pertains to baseball, there's a lot of room for growth in that area. This is a pick we will want to keep our eyes on.