By and large, the Atlanta Braves have gotten good reviews for their work in the 2026 MLB Draft. They added one of the better bats in the class in AJ Gracia, then went over slot to add multiple top-end high school pitchers after their first couple of picks. Time will tell us soon enough as to whether or not the Braves picked the right players to bet on, but the logic itself isn't that difficult to understand or appreciate.
At least, it SHOULDN'T be difficult to understand or appreciate it, anyway. Recently, The Athletic's Braves beat writer Jesus Cano wrote an article about how low some draft bonuses Atlanta handed out were. While most of it was an explanation of how the draft bonus pools work, there were several quotes from anonymous outside sources that blasted the Braves for the practice. Those sources, at best, misunderstand what is actually happening and, at worst, are trying to disparage the Braves for their own benefit.
The Braves' underslot draft strategy isn't anything new, and anyone pretending otherwise is lying
Now, it is important to note that Cano is simply reporting what is being said by other people. He doesn't appear to take much of a position on the strategy beyond perhaps thinking that the Braves' strategy was a bit extreme. After that, it is just an explanation of why the Braves would manage their draft bonus pool in this way, identifying the players the Braves used the bonus pool space on, and how NIL money has impacted the draft (hint: NIL has made things a lot harder).
However, there are some quotes from anonymous figures from around the league that aren't as innocent. One unnamed scout director said, "Those signings were shocking to the industry." An anonymous agent said, "Is it illegal? Nope. Do others act in better faith? Sure. They know (college seniors) have no leverage, and it is good business for them to maximize the pool.”
No one is accusing the Braves of any real wrongdoing, and all seem to agree that Atlanta is just using the system that is available to them. However, the backhanded nature of these comments is pretty irksome. One, they basically ignore that all draftees can be entitled to a $2,500 contingency signing bonus that does not count against a team's bonus pool. The Braves give that money to guys, while several teams do not. Unfortunately, "Braves only gave $3,000 to college seniors who probably wouldn't be drafted otherwise" isn't nearly as sexy a headline or accusation.
More than that, though, is that the Braves are far from the only ones that have given way-underslot bonuses in the top 10 rounds of the draft. Cano's identifies half a dozen teams that gave out bonuses below 2.5% of a draft slot's value. Some are likely to be even lower than what Atlanta actually paid their guys when you factor in that the Braves give their draftees that extra $2,500 contingency bonus. Go through rounds 6-10 the last few years, and you will find a slew of under-slot picks that few even batted an eye at.
What this feels like is a segment of baseball that is just jealous the Braves were able to pull the strategy off. NIL money has complicated under-slot shenanigans, even with college seniors who still have eligibility left. Atlanta was just the team that identified players they liked that they could save a bunch of money on the best, and then executed their strategy. Of course, opposing teams will be annoyed, and agents who want the Braves to pay more. They all have skin in the game, and they apparently have no trouble dragging Atlanta through the mud to get their way.
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