It’s way too early for all of this talk, but the draft is sneaking up on us coming in June, and Baseball America has an interesting pick for the Braves:
One month into the 2023 season, here is Mock Draft V 1.0.
It's shaping up like a strong draft class with a group of four college players battling it out at the very top:https://t.co/ehuCP8MIPT
— Carlos Collazo (@CarlosACollazo) March 16, 2023
Carlos Collazo has the Braves taking another high school pitcher, similar to their strategy in 2022:
24. Braves — Travis Sykora, RHP, Round Rock (Texas) HS (24)Â
Drafter: ScoutCarlos’ Take: I was curious which high school pitcher would come off the board next, whether that was Charlee Soto or Sykora or Thomas White.
Scout’s Take: Soto and Sykora are really close. The profile is still similar to last summer. He has looked good. The body has looked a bit tighter, the delivery a bit better, especially where there is less effort out front. He’s been more stable on the front side so you feel a bit better about the command and chance to start. The stuff is obviously pretty ridiculous with a chance for two plus secondaries as the slider/cutter has continued to tick up and he’s also still showing high-end velocities. For a risk-seeking team he could go earlier than this, but kind of looking around and seeing who was available and how the Braves last year went far and away the heaviest on high school pitching I wondered if they would continue that and Sykora could fit that mold. Even though the guys they took were smaller bodied compared to Sykora.
The Braves are obviously looking to refill the lower levels of their minor league systems. They cleared out some of the logjam of pitching they had in AAA and grabbed a couple of high-potential, but less ready arms in the 2022 draft. It makes a lot of sense; they don’t need a ton of guys that will be ready by next year, and they need to replenish a barren farm system that has been ravaged by trades and graduations. It’s too early to tell if Sykora will be the pick, but I’d be willing to bet the Braves are going to be very interested in some high school arms in June.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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