ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves went with advanced pitching depth as a theme for the first night of the MLB Draft on Sunday, taking college pitchers with each of their first three selections in the draft's first 70 picks.
It marked a night in which two local products from metro Atlanta high schools also went inside the top-40.
Here's a breakdown of the Braves' draft so far, with further analysis below:
- 24th pick: Hurston Waldrep, right-handed pitcher, University of Florida
- 59th pick: Drue Hackenberg, right-handed pitcher, Virginia Tech University
- 70th pick: Cade Kuehler, right-handed pitcher, Campbell University
Monday afternoon (Day 2 of the Draft) update:
- 94th pick: Sabin Ceballos, shortstop, University of Oregon
- 126th pick: Garrett Baumann, right-handed pitcher, Hagerty HS (Florida)
We also saw local talents go drafted:
- 30th pick (Seattle Mariners): Tai Peete, Trinity Christian HS (Sharpsburg)
- 32nd pick (New York Mets): Colin Houck, Parkview HS (Lilburn)
Monday afternoon (Day 2 of the Draft) update:
- 83rd pick (Boston Red Sox): Antonio Anderson, North Atlanta HS
Atlanta Braves draft picks
- Hurston Waldrep, right-handed pitcher, University of Florida, 24th pick: Waldrep, a south Georgia native out of Thomasville, was considered one of the more exciting arms in the draft, perhaps at the top of a second tier just below where earlier college starters Paul Skenes, Rhett Lowder and Chase Dollander were drafted. He was ranked 19th on MLB.com's top draft prospects list, and ESPN's mock draft had him going 18th, so the Braves were probably pretty happy he was still there at 24. The 21-year-old is coming off a season where he struck out 156 batters in 101.2 innings for the Gators, though he comes with control issues that will need ironing out - 57 walks in that same time period, with 12 homers allowed that left him with a 4.16 ERA this season. The stuff is there, though, with scouting reports giving him a high-90s fastball, a well-regarded split-change and a high-80s slider with bite on it. At 6-foot-2 with a simple pitching motion, and with the way he makes the ball dive and dance rather than overpowering batters for strikeouts, he's a little bit evocative of Tim Hudson.
- Drue Hackenberg, right-handed pitcher, Virginia Tech University: Same height as Waldrep (6-2), with a similarly compact pitching motion. He has a bit less zip than the first Braves pick (reports have him in the low-mid 90s) but a similar emphasis on breaking pitches, with MLB.com's report describing him as a "sinker-slider guy with the chance to be a durable workhorse-type of starting pitcher." Hackenberg lodged a 5.80 ERA this year in 85.1 innings for the Hokies and was only considered the 200th-best prospect in the draft by MLB.com, but if you're looking for what the Braves see in him, their success this year with Bryce Elder is an obvious model to follow.
- Cade Kuehler, right-handed pitcher, Campbell University: Standing 6-foot-0 with a shot-putty motion, the Braves certainly had a type this year. Kuehler works in the mid-90s and can reach the upper-90s, and he might project better in the future as a reliever who can fully tap into all his stuff - which includes a sweeping curve and a hooking cutter - more effectively. MLB.com's scouting report noted he had "some of the best fastball metrics in the Draft, generating outstanding spin rates and carry." That translated to a 2.71 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 73 innings for Campbell. Underscoring how broadly MLB draft evaluations can run after the top tier of prospects, MLB.com had him ranked far ahead of Hackenberg at 59th overall.
As for local guys:
- Tai Peete comes out of Trinity Christian down in Coweta County. He's a speedy infield prospect who sports a very pretty left-handed swing and was committed to Georgia Tech. ESPN's mock draft actually nailed his draft position at 30th to Seattle.
- Colin Houck is a product of Matt Olson's Parkview High in Gwinnett County, and actually fell a bit farther than he was expected to go - MLB.com had him the 12th-ranked prospect in the draft, and ESPN mocked him at No. 19. There was some thought the Braves might be interested - instead he goes to the rival Mets. Like Peete, he's an infielder with a pretty swing - very balanced, short and easy, and more powerful than you might think.