Braves take two pitchers with final two picks
With their fourth-round pick in the MLB Draft, the Atlanta Braves selected Clemson right-handed pitcher Spencer Strider, a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder who was a draft-eligible sophomore.
Strider made four starts this season before the pandemic killed the season. Strider pitched in 12 innings, allowed 13 hits, had three walks and 19 strikeouts. While Strider did not have a record, Clemson won all four games he started.
He was not ranked by Baseball America or MLB.com, most likely because he missed all of the 2019 season with Tommy John surgery.
In 2018, Strider was a freshman All-American. He was 5-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 22 games (six starts). Strider allowed 40 hits in 51.0 innings, with 35 walks and 70 strikeouts. Strider led Clemson in strikeouts in his first season with the Tigers.
Strider had been drafted out of Christian Academy of Knoxville in Tennessee in the 35 round by the Cleveland Indians and chose to attend Clemson instead.
In the fifth round, the Braves selected University of Texas right-handed pitcher Bryce Elder with pick 156 overall.
Elder is 6-foot-2, 220 pounds and is 21 years old. MLB ranked him as the 109 best prospect heading into the draft, and draft analyst Jim Callis believed the Braves got a great value pick for someone he projected going in the third round.
Callis said Elder has one of the “highest floors” for pitchers in this draft and a “high reliability he’s going to be at least a back-end starter.”
Elder, who is originally from Decatur, Tex., reportedly has an excellent slider. He’s a sinker, two-seam fastball pitcher with ordinary velocity that ranges from 88-95 mph. Callis listed Elder as having one of the four best sliders of the pitchers in this year’s draft.
In four games this season for the Longhorns, Elder was 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA. He allowed six earned runs on 18 hits in 26.0 innings, with seven walks and 32 strikeouts.
Last season, Elder pitched and started in 13 games. He had a 2-4 record with a 2.93 ERA. He allowed 70 hits in 83.0 innings, with 33 walks and 86 strikeouts.
As a freshman in 2018, Elder was 6-1 with a 5.55 ERA in 22 games (one start) and had 18 walks and 31 strikeouts in 35.2 innings.
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