Braves Briefing: A look at the rest of Atlanta's MLB Draft
Atlanta found a trend early in the 2023 MLB Draft - take college right-handed pitchers.
After selecting Florida's Hurston Waldrep, Virginia Tech's Drue Hackenberg, and Campbell's Cade Kuehler, the Braves have eight more selections in the 2023 MLB Draft.
Here's an updated look at their selections.
Round 1 Pick 24 Overall - Hurston Waldrep/RHP Florida
Round 2 Pick 59 Overall - Drue Hackenberg/RHP Virginia Tech
Round 2c Pick 70 Overall - Cade Kuehler/RHP Campbell
Round 3 Pick 94 Overall
Round 4 Pick 126 Overall
Round 5 Pick 162 Overall
Round 6 Pick 189 Overall
Round 7 Pick 219 Overall
Round 8 Pick 249 Overall
Round 9 Pick 279 Overall
Round 10 Pick 309 Overall
NL East Standings
At the All-Star Break, Atlanta has an 8.5-game lead in the division.
| Team | Record | GB | Action Today |
|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta | 60-29 | - | Off |
Miami | 53-39 | 8.5 | Off |
Philadelphia | 48-41 | 12.0 | Off |
NYM | 42-48 | 18.5 | Off |
Washington | 36-54 | 24.5 | Off |
We wrote it
Braves Today's Lindsay Crosby hosted the Locked On Podcast Network's live MLB draft coverage from the Locked On MLB Prospects YouTube page. When Atlanta selected Waldrep in the first round, he was very high on the selection. He wrote about it in the first night's recap as well.
I said it on the Locked On MLB Prospects livestream - Waldrep's splitter might be the best pitch from a pitcher that isn't 1st overall pick Paul Skenes in the entire draft.
It's a ridiculous arsenal - the fastball sits in the mid-to-upper 90s with three secondaries that could all be above-average to plus, led by that splitter but including a two-plane breaking slider and a vertical breaking CB.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that Hurston Waldrep has the stuff to be a #1 or #2 in a rotation. That said, there's things to work on: Control of the fastball is a struggle - he walked 12.7% of batters in 2023 at a 5.0 BB/9 rate. The delivery is surprisingly violent, and I suspect those two things are connected - work out some smoother mechanics and the control probably gets better.
Atlanta's got some really talented clay here - I'm confident that they already have an idea of changes Waldrep can make to locate better, minimize the violence in the delivery, and better reach his potential as a frontline starter on a championship team.
Check out the full night one recap of the Braves draft.
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