Braves focus on drafting power pitchers

85; 2; Victor Caratini; C; Miami Dade CC; 6-0; 205

102; 3; Carlos Salazar; RHP; Kerman (Calif.) HS; 6-1; 205

133; 4; Tanner Murphy; C; Malden (Mo.) HS; 6-2; 215

163; 5; Mikey Reynolds; SS; Texas A&M; 5-9; 160

193; 6; Stephen Janas; RHP; Kennesaw State; 6-5; 205

223; 7; Ian Stiffler; RHP; Somerset Area (Pa.) HS; 6-1; 175

253; 8; Kyle Wren; CF; Georgia Tech; 5-10; 175

283; 9; Dylan Manwaring; 3B; Horseheads (N.Y.) HS; 6-3; 205

313; 10; Ian Hagenmiller; 3B; Palm Beach Central (Fla.) HS; 6-1; 215

The Braves wanted power arms in the draft and nabbed two with their first three picks. After taking Oklahoma State right-hander Jason Hursh with the 31st pick Thursday, the Braves selected right-hander Carlos Salazar from Kerman (Calif.) High School in the third round.

Salazar, 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, is considered one of the better arms among high school pitchers, according to Baseball America.

“(His fastball) is mid-90s, a little better sometimes, with a really good breaking ball,” said Braves scouting director Tony DeMacio. “We’re really happy to get him.”

The Braves like his upside as a high school pitcher they can develop, and they feel the same about Hursh and another right-hander they project as a power pitcher, Kennesaw State’s Stephen Janas. Both Hursh and Janas, their sixth-round pick, are coming off Tommy John surgery, which means they’ll continue to get stronger.

Janas, a 6-5, 205-pounder and Atlanta native, threw in the upper 80s this season but was plenty effective, setting an Atlantic Sun Conference record with a 1.14 ERA, while going 9-1.

“He’s got a nice, loose, easy delivery, and we think he’s going to throw a lot harder,” DeMacio said.

Hursh hasn’t logged many innings because he missed last season recovering from surgery, and he didn’t start pitching until his senior year in high school. He converted from shortstop on a suggestion he got at a professional showcase. Three years later he was drafted into the pitching-rich tradition of the Braves.

“It’s crazy. I would never have dreamed it,” Hursh said. “I would never have thought it could happen, but I’ve worked hard for it.”

Drafting Wren: The Braves have a pretty good idea of what they're getting with their eighth-round pick. They drafted Georgia Tech center fielder Kyle Wren, son of Braves general manager Frank Wren.

Wren acknowledged it was a little awkward, knowing perception would be that the Braves drafted his son based on nepotism. But as Kyle Wren’s name was called Friday afternoon, Baseball America’s Jim Callis pointed out he projected Wren as a seventh-round pick.

The speedy left-handed leadoff-type hitter led the ACC in hits during the regular season as a freshman and a junior. He hit .360 (98-for-272) with 11 doubles, six triples, two home runs, 28 RBIs and 50 runs scored in 64 games this season.

He was draft-eligible as a sophomore, and the Reds took him in the 30th round after an off-year on offense (batted .256). Wren returned to Tech his junior year and improved his stock with a season more in line with his freshman year. Wren was named both first-team All-ACC and a freshman All-American after hitting .340 with a team-high 90 hits.

“Selfishly we’re getting a player with talent, so I feel good about that,” Frank Wren said. “But I think it’s going to be a little tougher on him than probably anyone else. That’s the (hard) part that as a dad, just knowing going in that he’s going to have endure some of that.”

Wren recused himself from conversations Braves scouts had about Kyle as they prioritized their prospects on the draft board. But he was in the draft room Friday when they drafted Kyle. He called his son shortly thereafter, deferring first to his wife, Terri, who called as soon as she heard Kyle’s name on the broadcast.

“I was happy for him,” said Wren, who had asked Kyle ahead how he would feel if the Braves drafted him. “He said ‘I would love that.’ That’s his favorite team; it better be his favorite team. I didn’t want to put him in a spot where he would be overly uncomfortable, and he wasn’t at all.”

Eye on catchers: The Braves took two catchers with their top four picks: Victor Caratini from Miami Dade Community College in the second round and Tanner Murphy from Malden (Mo.) High in the fourth round.

No catcher was drafted as high as Caratini by the Braves since Brian McCann in the second round in 2002. Like McCann, Caratini is an offensive-minded catcher. Caratini, a native of Puerto Rico, hit .377 (66-for-175) this season with 12 doubles, six home runs and 66 RBIs in only 45 games. He also went 10-for-11 in stolen bases. He is a switch-hitter.

“We really like his bat and the fact that he’s a young kid, he’s only 19,” DeMacio said. “We saw him early and liked him at the very beginning.”

Murphy is a two-way player who can pitch, but the Braves like him as a power-hitting catcher.

“Our guys really like Murphy as a catcher,” DeMacio said. “Catchers are hard to find.

Family ties: It might seem the Braves have some convincing to do to sign right-hander Ian Stiffler, their seventh-round pick from Somerset Area (Pa.) High School. He has signed at VCU, where his brother Shawn is the head coach. But DeMacio is optimistic the Braves can sign him, as well as about what he brings to the organization.

“Gene Kerns, our area scout who signed (Brandon) Beachy, really likes this kid,” DeMacio said. “And when Gene likes a guy, you take him.”

The Braves’ ninth-round pick, third baseman Dylan Manwaring, is the son of former Giants catcher Kirt Manwaring.