MLB Draft Day Two: Atlanta Braves Updates

Day one of the 2023 First-Year Player draft has come and gone and the Atlanta Braves made some great selections. In case you missed out on all the action from day one, you can catch up on it here, thanks to HTHB's own Trent, who had great coverage of Sunday's picks.

Atlanta selected RHP Hurston Waldrep from the University of Florida in the first round as the 24th overall pick. The Braves took another RHP in the second round as they selected Drue Hackenberg as the 59th overall pick in the draft.

If you couldn't pick up on the pattern yet, the Braves selected yet another pitcher with the 70th overall pick in the draft. This pick was the compensatory pick for Dansby Swanson signing with the Cubs this offseason. They selected Campbell University pitcher Cade Kuehler as their final pick of the evening.

That leads us into day two of the draft and there will be many picks made throughout the day today. We will be covering every single pick and updating it throughout the day.

Stay tuned to House That Hank Built for further updates during day two of the MLB Draft!

Round 3, Pick 94 - Sabin Ceballos (SS) - University of Oregon

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 30 | Arm: 55 | Field: 40 | Overall: 45

Ceballos is a Puerto Rican native who spent two years at San Jacinto Junior College in 2021 and 2022 where he hit .341 over two seasons. He was selected by the Angels in the 14th round of the 2022 MLB Draft but decided not to sign.

He then decided to play for the University of Oregon and continued to impress offensively where he batted .333/.426/.643 with a 1.069 OPS over 58 games with 71 hits including 18 HR and 70 RBI. In the field, he had a .968 fielding percentage with 79 assists.

He clearly makes a lot of contact and that is a plus for the Braves. What is most impressive about him is his plate discipline has improved and he's starting to drive the ball the other way. According to MLB.com, "He doesn’t miss many fastballs and his power has started to show up more as his approach has gotten better, especially to the pull side."

He is listed as a third baseman but Atlanta clearly has that spot covered for a few years and it appears Ceballos was drafted as a SS which would make sense with Orlando Arcia only contracted for two more seasons. I'd assume he's an option for that position in the next couple of years if he can continue to hit well.

Round 4, Pick 126 - Garrett Baumann (RHP) - Hagerty HS (FL)

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

Atlanta hasn't shied away from picking pitching in this year's draft so far as they select yet another arm with high school pitcher Garrett Baumann. Baumann is an imposing figure on the mound as he is 6' 8" and 245 pounds.

Baumann apparently has a lot of arm strength and that is one of the things that impressed scouts at Perfect Game's All-American Classic.

His fastball topped out at 97mph last season but typically sits around 93 mph and has sinking action to it. Baumann's changeup is his best secondary pitch and is described as being in the mid-80s with "decent fade and sold with arm speed" according to his MLB.com player profile.

The slider that he features will need some work as it is considered inconsistent and lacks depth. It seems that teams believe he needs to work on his arm action and refine his mechanics to improve command. All in all, a very high-upside pick here for the Atlanta Braves.