We are less than a month away from the 2024 MLB Draft and things are starting to come into focus. The top 8-9 prospects in the draft are pretty well established even if the exact order that they will be picked is up in the air and we are starting to see the same names overall in consideration in the first round. For the Atlanta Braves who pick at #24, it would normally be true that they would be resigned to get their board ready and just react to what happens ahead of them on day one of the draft.
However, a weird amount of consensus is starting to reveal itself regarding the Braves’ pick. Sure, The Athletic’s Keith Law went off script with his latest mock draft and has the Braves taking high school arm Braylon Doughty on an under slot deal. However, two of the more prominent draft media outlets, MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, have the Braves zeroing in on Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt with their first round pick which would be a pretty stark departure from their most recent draft strategy.
Braves News: Multiple mock drafts have Atlanta connected to college outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt
In a vacuum, Waldschmidt would be a fine choice at the 24th pick in the first round. Not only has he put big time numbers at Kentucky at the plate this year, but the more advanced data models love him as a guy with a strong approach at the plate, great bat-to-ball skills, and who hits the crap out of the ball when he makes contact. His future defensive home is an open question, but the Braves would be buying his bat here and could figure out the rest later and Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo has gotten enough feedback about the Braves-Waldschmidt connection that he has mocked him to Atlanta in his last two mock drafts.
However, it would certainly be a pretty big shift from what Atlanta has done in recent years in the draft. The Braves’ are thoroughly confident in their ability to develop pitchers and then use their pitching depth to trade for the hitters they want/need with nine of their last 11 first round picks being arms including the last five. While adding a quality college bat would be welcomed by a lot of fans, these mocks may need to be taken with a grain of salt.
In all likelihood, the Braves are likely maintaining the same strategy they always have in taking the best player available when they pick and it is possible that they are gassing up Waldschmidt to try and get teams ahead of them to consider him. The idea here is that if a team ahead of the Braves in the first round take him, it could push their true target to them. Anthopoulos’ front office just doesn’t leak very often and if Waldschmidt name is getting out there, there is probably a reason for it.
We’ll know soon enough. The Braves didn’t think that Hurston Waldrep was going to be available last year when they picked last year, but he was and they were thrilled. It is certainly possible that Waldschmidt is their guy right now, but teams’ best laid plans can get thrown out the window pretty quickly once the draft unfolds in front of them.
