Atlanta Braves 2024 MLB Draft Round-Up

With the conclusion of the 2024 MLB Draft, every MLB organization welcomes a plethora of new faces to their organization. This is an exciting time for baseball as the start of the careers of the future stars of the game is now underway.

The Atlanta Braves have served themselves well in the MLB Draft as of late. Superstar talent on the MLB roster that came from the draft include players like Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, and Spencer Strider.

More recently, the drafting of players like Hurston Waldrep, Spencer Schwellenbach, and AJ Smith-Shawver has given Atlanta a boost of young arms in their organization.

So who could be the next stars suiting up for the Braves soon? Let’s take a look at their first 10 draft picks selected in this year’s draft and get to know the new faces joining the organization.

Round 1, Pick 24: LHP Cam Caminiti (Saguaro HS, AZ)

Caminiti is a left-handed pitcher out of Arizona. The Braves were not in the running for him in any mock drafts because nobody thought he’d drop all the way to pick No. 24. However, he did and Braves fans should be excited.

I wasn’t quite as high on Caminiti when I made my draft boards as some other writers and analysts were. However, I’m on board since gaining access to his pitch movement profiles.

The fastball is a two-plane mid-90s offering that crashes into LHHs and runs away from righties. The pitch has an above-average ride and run, with the vertical break playing up from the lower release slot.

The slider is an upper-70s sweeping breaker that yielded remarkable results for Caminiti in high school. Cam sets up on the first base side of the rubber and with his crossfire delivery, I’m shocked any time I see a lefty make contact with the pitch.

The third offering, a power changeup, rounds out his repertoire nicely. It sits in the upper 80s and has touched 90 MPH. The movement is absurd on this pitch. He gets nearly a foot and a half of arm-side run and a foot of induced vertical break.

Caminiti wound up signing on July 19th. Surprisingly, it was at the exact slot value for the pick, $3,556,300. This really makes you think about why/how he dropped this far in the draft.

I’m certain that the Braves will add another offering into the mix but for now, as a 17-year-old, Caminiti is an exciting arm who will be a top-five prospect in their organization.

Round 2, Pick 69: LHP Carter Holton (Vanderbilt)

The Braves went with back-to-back Southpaws with their first two selections.

Holton is a 5’11”, 200-pound starter who posted a career 4.10 ERA in 200 collegiate innings for the Commodores across three seasons. He’s short for a pitcher but has a filled-out frame which gives him more strength on the mound than expected.

Holton operates a 4-pitch mix: a fastball in the mid-90s, a curveball in the upper 70s, a slider in the mid-80s, and a changeup in the low-to-mid-80s.

The fastball compares similarly to Hogan Harris’ four-seamer. The pitch gets a solid amount of ride, at around 17 inches. However, you can expect that number to drop because of the transition to the MiLB baseballs. His fastball will likely be an average major league pitch, if not slightly below.

The slider is the breaking ball of choice for Holton vs. LHHs. It’s a gyro-shaped slider that generated an impressive 41% swing and miss rate this season. It has characteristics that mirror the Reid Detmers slider.

His curveball performed the best of any pitch in his repertoire. The sweeping curve limited hitters to a .575 OPS.

The final offering is a changeup, which excelled at getting whiff but was only thrown 11% of the time. It’s likely a tick below average in its current state.

None of his pitches stand out as elite, although the consistency of his pitches gives him a reasonable floor. Holton signed for $1,350,000, which was under slot by $35,000.

Round 3, Pick 99: RHP Luke Sinnard (Indiana)

Sinnard dropped this far in the draft due to health. Sinnard didn’t pitch in the 2024 season because he underwent elbow surgery. The righty was a stud for the Hoosiers in 2023. He broke the single-season strikeout record, K’ing 114 hitters in 86.1 innings of work.

Finding MLB comparisons to Sinnard is very difficult due to his outlier release height. Sinnard stands at a towering 6’8″, 250-pounds with a release point north of 7 ft. With this high of a release point, you’d expect that he can’t get down the mound well.

That isn’t the case with Sinnard. He averaged an extension of about 6.3 ft. This would put him into unicorn territory for his release characteristics.

The righty offers a six-pitch mix. The fastball sits in the low 90s and gets a ton of ride from the over-the-top release point. He did an excellent job of locating the fastball up and away from righties. The hefty amount of ride earned him a solid whiff rate on the offering.

He also has a well-developed cutter that I’m excited about. He won’t have to worry about learning a new pitch, rather, he’ll simply have to make some adjustments to it. The cutter got an absurd 42% whiff rate and allowed a sub-.600 OPS.

He has a pair of breaking balls, a slider, and a curveball. He prefers throwing the curve to lefties and the slider to righties. Both of the pitches returned above-average swing and miss rates. Personally, I like the curveball more. From such a high release point, the pitch’s near-11 inches of vertical drop gets perceived as having far more break than that.

He’s also flashed a changeup/splitter at times. He rarely throws it and the results haven’t been overwhelmingly positive.

Sinnard’s massive frame and above-average raw stuff are enough to make you understand why the Braves went ahead and took him in the third round despite the injury risk.

To top off his profile, he does a tremendous job getting the ball in the strike zone. For a pitcher with this kind of body type, it’s uncommon to see such a solid display of command. Sinnard walked just 6.8% of batters in 2023. Good enough to give the big righty a 24% K-BB rate.

Round 4, Pick 129: LHP Herick Hernandez (Miami)

The Miami Junior, Hernandez, spent two years at JUCO before transferring to the ACC. This season he posted a 6.14 ERA, 28.7% K-rate, and 10.9% BB rate. The stats on paper aren’t great. This was clearly a money-saving pick because of the expected bonus that will be shelled out to Caminiti at the top of this draft.

Hernandez is just 5’10”, but his frame is filled out at 192 lbs. He consistently sat above the college average in velocity across all of his pitch types. Due to his shorter legs, he doesn’t get down the mound well.

The fastball averaged over 20 inches of iVB at Miami and after ticking that number down to adjust to the new ball, his fastball is pretty similar to Dylan Lee’s. His outlier movements don’t stop there. His changeup wasn’t very effective at getting whiff but there’s something to work with. The offering averaged 87 MPH and 15 inches of arm-side run.

His pair of breaking balls, a 77 MPH curveball, and an 82 MPH slider, round out his arsenal. Together the pitches averaged whiffs 40% of the time.

His most likely outcome is in the bullpen as the command isn’t great and he averaged just 4.2 IP per start. There are things to pray on, the mix from a stuff standpoint isn’t bad. The execution just needs to develop.

Round 5, Pick 161: C Nick Montgomery (Cypress HS, CA)

Montgomery stands at a towering 6’4″, 210 lbs. The frame alone allows him to generate a ton of power. He has a calm, still, approach at the plate with little movement in his hands prior to the throw. His swing is insanely fast, although it can get a bit long at times.

Montgomery’s hands line up just above his chin. He cocks his wrists back, opening up his bat path prior to swinging. Then, he ignites his body towards the ball and when he connects, it’s loud.

The California prep bat surprisingly has no problem taking pitches. It’s nice to see a high schooler with Nick’s level of power stay disciplined at the plate and wait on a pitch to drive.

The swing-and-miss projections have to be baked in due to the swing length and pace of the motion itself. He’ll likely run up the strikeout totals as he enters pro ball. The hit tool will happily take a backseat in lieu of the potential for plus-pop.

If he continues to grow, his future could be at first base. For now, he’s solid behind the dish.

Round 6, Pick 191: Ethan Bagwell (Collinsville HS, IL)

Bagwell is another big framed pitcher standing at 6’4″ and 230 lbs. The righty is now officially an Atlanta Brave, signing on July 18th for $822,500, roughly $510,000 over the slot value.

He operates out of a lower 3/4 arm slot that gives his fastball more perceived ride. His fastball has run up to 96 MPH and sits comfortably in the low to mid-90s. “Comfortably” may be a poor description of his high-velocity fastball, though.

While it consistently sits in an impressive velo range, Bagwell puts a lot of effort into it and can pull down through his motion too much.

His poor command was on full display a couple of weeks ago at the combine. On paper, his raw stuff is fantastic. Although, he hasn’t yet proved to be able to consistently command the strike zone.

He also offers hitters a slider and change-up. The slider sits in the low 80s and thanks to his electric fastball, it tunnels nicely. The change-up is a powerful offering that he doesn’t quite have a feel for yet. When he does locate it, it’s straight-up filthy.

Bagwell will be a project but hopefully, a fun one to track.

If the Braves can fix his motions to make his delivery have a bit less effort in it while maintaining the velocity, Bagwell can develop into a solid arm.

Round 7, Pick 221: RHP Brett Sears (Nebraska)

The last Braves pitcher to be selected out of Nebraska was TWP Spencer Schwellenbach. That 2021 second-round draft pick seems to be working out nicely as Schwellenbach has pitched his way firmly into the Braves’ big-league rotation.

Sears is a 6’1″, 200-lbs righty who pitched to an impressive 2.16 ERA in 104 innings. His above-average command led to a 20.1% K-BB rate. Sears deals out a four-pitch mix but primarily keeps it to just three.

The fastball can get a little flat and sits at 90 MPH. The slider is depth over sweep and kind of floats its way into the zone. The same can be said about a steeper curveball that he rarely throws.

The changeup is a pitch I have some faith in. He has a great feel for all four of his pitches, throwing each of them for strikes at least 60% of the time. The changeup, though, sticks out in a positive way.

Across the board, he limited hitters to an OPS below .600 and displayed prolific command. Sears was drafted as a fifth-year senior, which was one of the reasons he was signed for just $12,500.

Improved pitch ability will be his road to the majors. The raw stuff won’t get him there if it stays stagnant and at 24 years old, the development won’t be as impactful as some of Atlanta’s other picks.

Round 8, Pick 251: RHP Logan Samuels (University of Montevallo)

The Senior DII RHP out of Montevallo has already signed with Atlanta for $7,500. Samuels pitched to a 5.43 ERA, striking out 68 hitters in 59.2 innings of work this season.

His arsenal is dependent on his above-average ability to throw strikes consistently. He accomplished this, posting solid strike rates throughout his college career. It’s a four-pitch-mix headlined by an upper 70s changeup that got impressive whiff rates this past season.

He also mixes in a 90 MPH fastball that can only be effective when it lives at the top of the zone. His breaking ball of choice is a big looping curveball that averages 76 MPH. He also wields a depth-y slider that can get some ugly swings from opposing hitters.

Samuels has a 6’4″ frame and utilizes a higher release point and downhill delivery. He was an incredibly cheap signing as a senior out of DII school. The profile doesn’t make my eyes get wide but I’m impressed by the strike throwing ability.

Round 9, Pick 281: RHP Owen Hackman (Loyola Marymount University)

Hackman is a 22-year-old righty who offers a decent four-pitch mix. The senior out of Loyola Marymount University signed with the Braves for $2,500.

His velocity and stuff don’t jump out. He had success in college this past season, though. He pitched to a 3.69 ERA with 85 strikeouts and 28 walks in 75.2 IP.

At just 6’1″, 185 lbs, he has a small frame for a pitcher. Considering the fact that he’ll be 23 years old in November, the potential for more growth is unlikely. That means that any jump in velocity will have to come from mechanical adjustments.

His mechanics in their current form are decent. It’s a smooth and low-effort release that comes out of a typical 3/4 arm slot. However, he’ll need to work on keeping his release point more consistent. Hackman tended to raise his arm slot on breaking pitches. This slot change does make those offerings perform better but this habit will allow advanced hitters to pick up on it quickly.

His fastball sits in the low 90s and has a kick of run. The slider is tight, looking similar to a gyro-slider. He’ll need to improve the velocity on the pitch. He threw a changeup and messed around with a cutter but each were thrown rarely.

Round 10, Pick 311: LHP Jacob Kroeger (Maryville Univerisity)

Another DII pitcher in the 10th round for Atlanta. Kroeger posted a 3.18 ERA in an impressive redshirt Senior season at Maryville. He struck out 117 hitters in 90.1 IP. That was good for a 30.2% K-rate and made his above-average walk rate of 9.5% more palatable.

The 24-year-old held hitters to just a .213 batting average and averaged solid whiff rates across his three-pitch arsenal. The velocities don’t jump out on this Southpaw’s page but his 47% whiff rate on the curveball is enticing.

The Rest of the Class and Final Thoughts

Of the 10 draft picks selected after Kroeger, only one has signed. Mind you, they have until August 1st to put pen to paper. Although, all but one of the first 10 selections have already signed their deals.

The lone post-10th-round signee is 15th-round Owen Carey, a high school outfielder from New Hampshire. Carey is committed to Rutgers but signed to the Braves for $150,000.

This class is extremely top-heavy. I love that the Braves will be able to develop another prep arm, especially one that is as talented as Caminiti. Other arms like Sinnard and Bagwell show promise but certainly have their own set of worries attached. Sinnard is already at risk of injury from his recent Tommy John surgery. Bagwell has yet to show any sort of command.

Alex Anthopolous had to cut money at certain picks in order to afford Caminiti. As of July 19th, Atlanta has $805,900 remaining in pool money. The only top-10 pick they have yet to sign is Nick Montgomery, whose slot value is $403,400.