If the Braves are right about the trade value of pitchers and their assessments of the prospects they’ve acquired, they eventually will have a lot assets to offer in trades for other needs.
As it stands now their system is even more top-heavy with pitchers after the Braves used the first two days of the Major League Baseball amateur draft to add more of them. The Braves drafted pitchers with the first three of their eight picks Friday, a day after they selected pitchers with three of their four picks.
On the draft’s second day the Braves selected University of Louisville left-hander Drew Harrington (No. 80), Hillsborough, N.C., right-hander Bryse Wilson (No. 109) and Gardner-Webb left-hander Jeremy Walker (No. 139). The Braves drafted three high school pitchers Thursday: right-hander Ian Anderson (No. 3 overall), left-hander Joey Wentz (No. 40) and left-hander Kyle Muller (No. 44).
The Braves talked about possibly adding hitters in this draft, and Braves director of scouting Brian Bridges said the team targeted some position players early in the draft. But he said with those players were gone when it was their time to pick, they chose the best available player, and it turned out to be a lot of pitchers.
The Braves say pitching depth is necessary because of potential injuries and believe that they can be traded for other needs if necessary. Bridges said there are some hitters the Braves like who are still on the board for the draft’s final day Saturday, but “definitely we’re still going to stay with the arms.”
“It takes 20 to get one,” Bridges said. “That’s reality. In a perfect world you have a bunch of them you can trade. Everybody stays healthy, and it works out that way. But you’ve got to keep hitting the arms.”
The Braves ended up with six pitchers among their first seven draft picks. University of California catcher Brett Cumberland (No. 76) was the exception.
The Braves selected Wentz out of Shawnee Mission East High in Prairie Village, Kan. The 6-foot-5 lefty, who also is a power-hitting first baseman, committed to play for Virginia.
Bridges said Muller, a University of Texas signee, measures 6-5 and 260 pounds. He improved his fastball velocity from low-to-mid 80s as a junior to 91-95 mph this season.
Baseball America rated Wentz as the 26th-best player in the draft and had Muller at No. 25. Anderson was rated No. 16.
After drafting Anderson higher than expected, the Braves could possibly sign him for significantly less money than the maximum for his “slot.” With the money left over from their bonus pool of about $13 million, the Braves can entice Wentz and Muller to sign by offering more money for their slot after they were drafted later than expected.
The Braves’ system is short on power hitters and catchers, especially at the higher levels. Cumberland could help with both of those areas.
Cumberland led the Pac-12 with 16 home runs this season while batting .344. He’s a switch-hitter who is better from the left side, Bridges said.
“He’s kind of like a Todd Hundley-type,” Bridges said. “The (defense) is just probably going to be average, the arm is going to be average. You are betting on the bat with this guy.”
The Braves selected Georgia Tech senior Matthew Gonzalez with the No. 169 overall pick. He’s played in the outfield and infield for the Yellow Jackets.
