What to know about the Braves first two MLB Draft picks

The first two rounds of the MLB Draft took place last night, and the Braves did what they normally do early in the draft, taking two pitchers with high upside.

With the 24th pick, the Braves selected 17-year-old high schooler Cam Caminiti, who is already being praised as a steal so late in the first round. Experts refer to Caminiti as the best high school arm in the entire draft, with one even comparing him to Max Fried.

“As for Caminiti, he was the best high school pitcher in the draft class, and it’s a Max Fried starter kit. Atlanta developed the actual Max Fried into an ace. Now they’ll try to do it again with Caminiti. He was rumored to be in the mix for a top 10-13 pick or so,” writes Mike Axisa of CBS Sports. 

Caminiti’s fastball sits in the mid-90s and is already touching 97, incredible for a guy who’s not even 18-years-old. He’s also made strides with his curveball over the last year, which is the reason for the comparisons to Max Fried. Like every young arm, he’ll have to develop a couple of more reliable secondary offerings to reach his full potential, but it’s a solid starting point. Caminiti will go a long way in helping replenish the lower levels of the minors along with JR Ritchie and Owen Murphy, two high school arms that were taken in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

In the second round, the Braves went to the college ranks, drafting left-handed pitcher Carter Holton out of Vanderbilt. Holton was a three-year starter for the Commodores. His numbers last season were not exactly sexy, posting a 5.19 ERA over 69.1 innings. However, his career 4.10 ERA over 200.0 innings is much more palatable, and he averaged 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

Holton is a Georgia native and another guy who can hum it into the high-90s at times. He pairs that fastball with a slider and changeup that improved each year while at Vanderbilt. As a college arm, he’ll be a guy to watch out for over the second half of the season as he gets his first taste of professional baseball.

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Photo: Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire