MLB Draft Day Two: Atlanta Braves Updates

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.