As the Atlanta Braves continue to try and chase down the New York Mets for first place in the NL East, the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft has snuck up on us and gets started on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
Baseball writer and scout for The Athletic, Keith Law, joined Chris Goforth Wednesday night to give some insight on who the Braves might have on their radar in this year’s draft.
The defending 2021 World Series Champions are obviously in win-now mode, and have made moves over the past four months that reflect that. On March 14 the Braves made a huge trade to acquire Matt Olson that sent right-handed pitching prospects Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes to Oakland along with top prospects Shea Langeliers and Cristian Pache to the Athletics as well.
Also, earlier this week the Braves dealt away more prospects as they traded infielder CJ Alexander, right-handed pitcher Andrew Hoffmann, and another one of their top prospects, outfielder Drew Waters, to the Kansas City Royals for the 35th overall pick in Sunday’s draft. However, now that the World Champions have the 20th and 35th overall picks in Sunday’s draft they can begin to replenish their farm system, and here are the prospects that Keith Law believes the Braves could have on their radar.
1.) Drew Gilbert: Outfielder, Tennessee
Simply put Gilbert was the best hitter on the best team in college in 2022. Gilbert had a monster 2022 season at Tennessee batting .362 with a .455 on-base percentage and a .673 slugging percentage. Gilbert showed off the power as well, hitting 11 home runs and driving in 70. Drew is slightly undersized at 5-foot-9 185 pounds, but with his power it isn’t a concern.
Not only is Gilbert good with his bat, but he’s also good with his glove. Gilbert’s above-average to plus speed, good reads, and nice arm makes him a nice option at center field, unless you already have your 21-year-old phenom playing in center field for you now like the Atlanta Braves do with Michael Harris, but if the Braves do draft Drew Gilbert and all goes well he could be the left-fielder of the future.
2.) Jordan Beck: Outfielder, Tennessee
Jordan Beck is similar to his teammate Gilbert when it comes to a scouting report, but the main thing that separates the two is Gilbert is more consistent when it comes to hitting, but Beck’s power potential is higher. Beck never hit .300 in college, but was very close in 2022 as he finished the 2022 season hitting .298.
However, Beck’s power potential is undeniable. He hit 15 home runs in 2021 and 18 in 2022. However, there is a question of just how much he will hit at the major league level. Gilbert is a guy that struck out a lot and didn’t walk very much in college, so while the potential is there, Beck is nowhere near a polished prospect.
As far as defense goes, again he’s very similar to his teammate Gilbert with above-average to plus speed and a nice arm. Just like his teammate, if all goes well Beck could be a long term left fielder for the Braves.
3.) Chase DeLauter: Outfielder, James Madison
Chase broke onto the scene in the summer of 2021 after having a great year in the Cape Cod League. DeLauter hit for a .298 average in the league, with a .397 on-base percentage, and a .589 slugging percentage. DeLauter also racked up 17 extra-base hits with more walks than strikeouts in 34 games.
Chase is somewhat of a unicorn because he is a big man at 6-foot-4 235 pounds, but he’s actually got above-average to plus speed, which is unusual for someone at that size. Now, even though DeLauter has played center field his arm strength would make him more of a viable weapon in one of the corners, and with Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. now established in center and right field Chase could finish off the future outfield of the Atlanta Braves in left field.
With good power and a good eye at the plate, DeLauter projects to hit for both power and average at the next level, but it must be mentioned Keith Law doesn’t see the Braves drafting Chase with the 20th overall pick saying “I don’t think they really love him enough for that pick…”
Now while Law believes Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves will go with a college hitter with the 20th overall pick, at 35 Law says “I bet they look to get creative.”
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4.) The best High School Player available (most likely a pitcher)
While Law doesn’t have any specific prospects in mind he does say that “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a pitcher, because I think in that range of the draft around 35 there are a lot of high school pitchers I would really like at that pick, who I would pay them first-round money I just wouldn’t necessarily take them with my first pick”
While the Braves are looking to defend the World Series title it should not be ignored what they do during Sunday’s draft because they did get here by drafting and developing guys like Dansby Swanson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Abies, Michael Harris II, Kyle Wright, and oh yea Ronald Acuña Jr.
The Braves have recently made moves that have depleted their farm system some, and now Sunday it will be time to start replenishing it.