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.

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 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.