Atlanta Braves 2017 Draft Review

The Braves had the fifth overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft after the team went 68-93 the previous season.

Atlanta kept its theme of going with pitching in the rebuild with their top pick, Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright.

John Hart lobbied for UC Irvine infielder Keston Hiura, while rumors had the Braves in love with North Carolina high school outfielder Austin Beck.

The draft opened up a bit the Friday before the draft when Minnesota decided to not pick Wright with the first pick. The Reds had already zeroed in on Hunter Greene with the second pick, while the Padres were in love with MacKenzie Gore for the third pick.

The Rays thought about Wright at four, but they believed two-way player Brendan McKay would be a better option for the American League. That left Wright, who just days earlier some believed would go first overall, to fall in the Braves lap at five.

Some would say Wright has been a disappointment. His minor league career ERA is 3.70 in 57 games (54 starts) in 267.1 innings. Then in Atlanta, Wright has gone 0-3 with an ERA of 7.71 in 25.2 innings.

However, we should not give up on Wright. He was different in spring training this past March, and it’s a crying shame the season did not start on time. He identified a mechanical flaw in his delivery, and while he wasn’t yet feeling completely comfortable in spring training, his results were very good and he knew he might have turned the corner.

With the season likely to resume this summer, Wright will have an excellent chance at contributing to Atlanta this season.

The Braves took Atlanta-area high school outfielder Drew Waters in the second round. The Braves liked Waters so much they even considered taking him with the fifth overall pick in the first round.

Waters has not disappointed with the high expectations. Waters has hit .298 with a .354 on base percentage in his 1185 minor league at bats. At only 20 years old, Waters was the best player in the Southern League last season.

Waters still must cut down on his strikeouts, but the Braves are confident he will continue to develop once the sport resumes. His defense is outstanding, and the Braves envision Waters to join fellow prospect Cristian Pache and Ronald Acuna, Jr. in the outfield for the rest of this decade.

The Braves picked Freddy Tarnok in the third round. MLB.com rates Tarnok as Atlanta’s 15 best prospect. He pitched in 106 innings last season in 22 starts and really pitched well. The Braves may have him in Double-A whenever they can have a prospect in Double-A.

Fourth-round pick Troy Bacon is a relief prospect. Last year, Bacon had a 2.48 ERA in his 32 games between three affiliates.

The Braves used fifth-round pick Bruce Zimmermann in the trade with Baltimore to get Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day.

Eleventh rounder Drew Lugbauer has shown power, with 16 home runs in High-A Florida last season, but he can expect to survive with a .222 minor league average through three seasons.

One late-round pick to keep in mind is right-handed reliever Connor Johnstone, who was taken in the 21 round out of Wake Forest. Johnstone was in major league camp for the Braves this past spring after pitching in Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett last year.

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