Day 2 of the MLB Draft has completed and despite not having a third round pick the Braves still had a very strong day with some incredible value. Based on the calls alone you could tell the front office was very thrilled to add some of these players and there is a very good reason they felt this way - let’s recap today. Round 4 - Tristan Beck, Stanford Perhaps one of the biggest surprises was the Braves being able to grab Tristan Beck in the fourth round (112). The Braves have been tied to Beck for quite some time and were able to nab him with the 112th pick - much to the happiness of draft room which burst out in applause upon the announcement of the pick. Beck, whose value dropped essentially only because of a back injury, throws three pitches for strikes including a great fastball/changeup combo, and a very solid curveball. He is a first/second round talent that the Braves were able to draft in the fourth and couldn’t be happier to add his arm to the mix. Beck came in at 35 on MLB Pipeline’s top 200 and gave him an overall grade of 50. Round 5 - Trey Riley, John A Logan College Riley is an extremely intriguing arm that has an extremely good fastball/slider combo, both of which are graded at a 60, and a solid changeup. To me Riley profiles as a dynamic reliever should the Braves decide to go that route, but I’m sure they will keep him as a starter as long as possible. Riley’s fastball sits in the mid-90s and can touch 97, and then a slider that comes in, in the mid-80s. Riley came in at 76 on Pipeline’s top 100 and getting him at 142 is some tremendous value. Riley finished this season with a 1.85 ERA and a 13.56 K/9 rate - showing how dynamic his arm can be. Round 6 - Andrew Moritz, UNC Greensboro (NC) Braves once again went to UNC Greensboro to pick up an intriguing bat in Andrew Moritz. While he doesn’t hit for much power, what he does do is hit. In his three years in college Moritz’s lowest OPS was .963 - his Sophomore year where he hit .392/.450/.513. He’s coming off his junior year that saw him hit .428/.492/.637 with a 10.7 SO%, and 11.1 BB%. While he doesn’t possess elite speed, he has great instincts in the field and should be able to stay in center and provide good defense while possessing a plus hit tool. Round 7 - Brooks Wilson, Stetson University ATHLETE ALERT. Brooks Wilson was a two-way player with Stetson University who appeared in 31 games where he had an 11.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 2.13 ERA along with an .887 OPS (.307/.418/.469). Unconventionally, and rather cool, Brooks has a strong fastball/splitter combo with his splitter being his real swing-and-miss pitch. He could be a relatively quick prospect that ascends his way up the system because there is a ton to like about this pick. Round 8 - AJ Graffanino, Washington The son of former major leaguer Tony Graffanino, AJ makes his money off of his defense. AJ did hit .329/.420/.434 his Junior year, with a microscopic 6.59 SO%, but his billing is his fielding ability. He’s a big body, coming in at 6’2”, but he moves extremely well and provide plus defense up the middle. While his bat doesn’t project for much power, and it remains to be seen if he can hit at a high level, his floor is still a very good defensive shortstop and with the Braves pitching plethora - his addition is valuable to the organization. Round 9 - Ryan Shetter, Texas Tech Shetter, announced as a starting pitcher, had a great year at Texas Tech going 5-0 with an 2.97 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, and 3.7 BB/9. Shetter sits in the low 90s with his fastball with a solid curveball and breaking ball. Despite the walk rate he’s a known strike thrower and has seen some solid development each year with improving numbers. Round 10 - Brett Langhorne, Carson-Newman College The run on college seniors in the 10th round didn’t end with the Braves as they select the third baseman out of Carson-Newman college. After struggling at Tennessee for two years, Langhorne transferred to the Division 2 school and hit .323/.433/.509 in 52 games. Langhorne also went 17-of-20 in the stolen base department. Langhorne also took on the Cape Cod league in 2016 where he hit .250/.318/.300. Overall, this was a fantastic day two for the Braves who got a ton of value despite not having a single pick in the third round. The trio of Beck/Stewart/Jenista that the Braves got in the first four rounds are all first/early second round value picks and it’s clear the Braves went with best available and then decided to go with intriguing pitchers to help stay within the budget. There is a ton to like and we are only on day two! Check back tomorrow for more coverage of the 2018 MLB Draft.<doc-sep>Day one of the 2018 MLB Draft has come and gone. The Braves made a pair of selections on the first day with high upside prep pitcher Carter Stewart with the 8th overall pick followed by Wichita State outfielder Greyson Jenista with their second round pick. Here is the required reading on both of those fine gentlemen. The Braves select Carter Stewart 8th overall In-depth scouting report on Carter Stewart The Braves select Greyson Jenista with the 49th overall pick Getting to know Greyson Jenista (pre-draft interview) Brian Bridges discusses the selection of Wichita State OF Greyson Jenista We are on to day two of the 2018 draft with the Braves not set to pick until the 4th round due to the penalties put in place from Major League Baseball as a result of their investigations into the dealings of John Coppolella and other Braves officials. We will be putting everyone the Braves pick in this thread, so come join us as we discuss the draft as it unfolds over the course of the afternoon/evening. Round 4 - Tristan Beck, RHP - Stanford Round 5 - Trey Riley, RHP - John A. Logan College Round 6 - Andrew Moritz, CF - UNC-Greensboro Round 7 - Brooks Wilson, RHP - Stetson Round 8 - AJ Graffanino, SS - Washington Round 9 - Ryan Shetter, RHP - Texas Tech Round 10 - Brett Langhorne, 3B - Carson-Newman<doc-sep>ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 19: A detail of a rosin bag is seen on the pitcher's mound prior to the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the Texas Rangers during Game One of the MLB World Series at Busch Stadium on October 19, 2011 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) The second day of the 2018 MLB rule four draft began without the Atlanta Braves as their first pick would be in round four. The Atlanta Braves forfeited their round three pick as part of the punishment for the GM scandal. They started round four with a great pitch: Atlanta Braves Select Tristan Beck RHP, Standford 6-foot-4 and 165 lbs. BA Rank 31 MLB Pipeline #35 Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 55 | Overall: 50 Tristan Beck graduated from Corona High School after a senior year where he posted a 7–1 record with a 0.65 ERA, striking out with 82 and walking 18 in 65 innings. The Brewers liked that and selected him in the late rounds but Beck wanted to pitch for Stanford. New @Braves RHP Tristan Beck missed all last season with a back injury, but returned to lead staff that helped @StanfordBSB earn No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Beck is also like an assistant coach when not pitching. First guy out of dugout to cheer on teammates. https://t.co/FxBAsMWGgp — Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSprD1) June 5, 2018 The Cardinal were glad he did. In his freshman year Beck threw 83 innings in 14 starts posting a 2.48 ERA, 1.03 WHIP striking out 74 and walking 26. Unfortunately Beck suffered a stress fracture in his back and missed the entire 2017 season. That didn’t strop the Yankees from selecting him in the 29th round but Beck chose to return to Standford instead. Beck returned this season and once again made 14 starts for the Cardinal squad. After a year without baseball Beck wasn’t as sharp; his ERA climbed to 2.99 with a 1.22 WHIP, 66 strikeouts and 29 walks in 84 innings. After the successes of Kolby Allard the Braves clearly felt his back issue wasn’t a concern. Pitching profile Beck’s a pitchability pitcher not a strikeout pitcher, though he gets over eight in nine innings. He’s relies on command of his low 90s fastball (90-92 mph) backed up by a best in the draft changeup. A smart pitcher who thinks ahead of the batter, Beck creates some swing and miss by keeping hitters off-balance. He’s shown a slider and a curve that are works in progress. Beck’s size and long levers should create more zip on his heater as he focuses on baseball full-time That’s a Wrap Beck would have gone much sooner had the stress fracture not happened. The fact that he wasn’t a strikeout pitcher and their experience with Allard gave the Braves the confidence to select him in the fourth round. Beck looks like a nice pickup at this stage of the draft.<doc-sep>> MLB.com offered this scouting report: "He has been as lights-out as any prep arm in the country, coming out of the gate up to 98 mph and touching 96-97 mph in just about every start and easily sits 92-94 mph. He has one of the best breaking balls in the class, a power curve that is now a mid-80s hammer. While his changeup is behind right now, and he occasionally slows his arm down, he has feel for it and it should be a solid pitch in the future." > Former major-league pitcher Ron Darling's assessment of the 6-foot-6 Stewart on MLB Network's draft telecast: "When you look at his body of work so far, he's one of those high school pitchers that is long and lean, he's got a great pitcher's body, you know he's going to fill out and even throw harder at some point. He has the command beyond his years, and his breaking ball right now, at his level, against people his age, is almost unhittable. So when you have that kind of stuff, it makes the scouts -- it makes teams and everyone else -- drool."<doc-sep>
As you already know the Atlanta Braves lost their third round draft pick today due to punishments from MLB after the previous front office broke a number of rules. That missing pick would have been the 7th pick of the third round, or 85th overall. Since we already know about the lost bonus pool, I thought now would be a good time to check out some of the best players on the board that the Braves could have taken. I’m including 10 players that the Braves could have wanted there and chose to exclude those who just weren’t affordable (Kumar Rocker, Cole Wilcox). I chose to include 10, because at the very least four of these guys would have remained with the 85th pick. Konnor Pilkington, LHP, Mississippi State As SEC pitchers with great track records dropped on Monday, Pilkington saw himself drop out of the first day all together. He’s got a chance to be a #3 or 4 starter, and as a lefty with success as well as solid stuff there is plenty to like. Nick Northcut, 3B, Ohio HS As a prep power hitter with potential defensive value, Northcut would be a solid pick. Adam Kloffensfein, RHP, Texas HS Kloffenstein is a big right hander with stuff and projection. Tristan Pompey, OF, Kentucky Pompey has good bloodlines and an even better track record for success in the SEC. He could be an impact college bat even though his glove won’t be a strength. Raynel Delgado, 3B, Florida HS Delgado is a power hitter with a chance to be an asset with the glove at third after he moves over from being a prep shortstop. Slade Cecconi, RHP, Florida HS Cecconi has shown huge stuff last summer, but an injury this spring has limited looks at the one time potential first rounder. Mike Siani, OF, Pennsylvania HS Siani is a prep centerfielder who will stick there as a pro thanks to at least four strong tools. I’m not fully bought in on the power, but he’s appealing either way. Trey Riley, RHP, Illinois JUCO Riley has the fastball and slider that make him interesting even though his third pitch needs real work. It’s not hard to project him into a middle of the rotation role with some coaching. Elijah Cabell, OF, Florida HS Cabell has some of the best tools in the outfield class, but there are real questions about his hit tool going forward. Ryder Green, OF, Tennessee HS Green is a real power threat, and that makes him interesting, even with swing and miss.