The MLB draft changes rules at round 11. Anyone drafted in this range can get a $125,000 signing bonus without pulling from the team’s draft pool allowance. Any bonus over $125,000 will count against the pool, dollar-for-dollar over the standard $125,000.
Top high school prospects that have not been selected by this time will likely not be picked, or will not be expected to sign, and will instead honor their college commitments. Most of the picks after the 11th are college players, typically juniors, who will likely sign before they lose the last of their negotiation leverage as a senior.
Previous Entries In This Series:
Day One (Round 1-2)
Day Two (Rounds 3-10)
11. Jake Higginbotham, LHP, Clemson University
Higginbotham is a Buford High School (GA) alum. He was forced to redshirt the 2016 and 2017 seasons after suffering a stress fracture in his left elbow, a similar injury that effected current Braves reliever Dan Winkler. Higginbothan now pitches with screws in that elbow. He returned to the Clemson rotation this season to pitch 80.1 innings in 16 starts to a 3.47 ERA, holding opponents to a .236 batting average.
12. Nolan Kingham, RHP, University of Texas
Kingham is the younger brother of Pirates reliever Nick Kingham. Kingham has been one of the more durable pitchers in the Big 12, and pitched into the 8th inning in Texas’s Saturday win over Texas A&M in the NCAA tournament. He has a four pitch repertoire of fastball, slider, change-up. and sinker, but a drop in fastball velocity this season likely caused his draft stock to drop.
13. Brendan Venter, 1B, Auburn University
Venter transferred to Auburn for his junior year and hit .308/.388/.529 in 240 at-bats with 12 home runs in his first exposure to SEC pitching. 6′-2″ right-handed power-hitting first baseman are seldom a something teams seek out in the draft, but Venter rates out high in the intangibles as well as performance. Venter was born in South Africa and immigrated with his family to Texas when he was a young boy, but still is an avid cricket follower.
14. Victor Vodnick, RHP, Rialto High School (CA)
One of only four high schoolers drafted by Atlanta on Day Three, and the only one likely to sign, Vodnick reportedly has a live arm that throws a fastball into the mid-90s, plus a self-taught slider. Coming from an impoverished area of the country, Vodnick has had almost no quality coaching and represents an intriguing project for Braves instructors.
15. Greg Cullen, 2B, Niagara University
Cullen lead all Division I college baseball in batting average in 2018 with a .458 average, and was second with a .556 on-base percentage and is the MAAC Player of the Year.
16. Ty Harpenau, RHP, Texas Tech University
The second Texas Tech pitcher taken this draft after righty Ryan Shetter was selected in the 9th round, Harpenau was a reliable middle reliever for the Red Raiders who has a low 90’s fastball as well as a curve and a change-up and an idea of what to do with them.
17. Justin Dean, OF, Lenoir-Rhyne University
Dean was an All-South Atlantic Conference first-team selection after hitting .398/.498/.640 with 26 extra-base hits including 6 homers, 14 stolen bases, and walking 31 times while only striking out only 29 times. Dean, 5′-9″ and 170 pounds, is another undersized offensive player selected by Atlanta.
18. Cameron Kurz, RHP, University of California- San Diego
Named a D2 second-team regional All-Star, Kurz dominated as a closer for the Tritons in his 2018 senior season. Kurz struck out 54 batters in 30.2 innings, pitching to a 0.88 ERA and 9 saves. Kurz was left off his college postseason roster his junior year because of confidence issues; he came back for his senior season re-committed to his craft and earned the closer job by the end of the year. In the championship game, Kurz pitched a career high 3.2 innings, facing the minimum number of batters.
19. Zach Daniels, RHP, University of Iowa
Daniels lead the Hawkeyes in relief innings and struck out 9.66 batters per 9 innings. Like Kurz, Daniels has a low three-quarters delivery that is almost sidearm. Even so he sat low 90’s with the fastball and what could become an above average slider. Daniels has already indicated that he will sign with the Braves.
20. C.J. Alexander, 3B, State College of Florida – Manatee-Sarasota
A big left-handed hitter with athleticism, Alexander was the D2 Suncoast Conference Player of the Year after hitting .413 with 15 home runs, despite missing several weeks in April after being struck in the face. Alexander has a commitment to Central Florida, so he may be a difficult sign.
21. Tanner Lawson, LHP, St. Edwards University
Lawson is a solidly built power lefty who transferred from the University of Houston after his freshman year to get more innings. Lawson has a fastball/sinker/curve mix, with the curve a possible above average pitch.
22. Ray Soderman, C, University of Oregon
A glove-first transfer junior who stepped in after both main Oregon catchers left school, leaving the team in a lurch. Soderman has almost no bat to speak of, but earns rave reviews for quickly getting up to speed with the Oregon pitching staff and earning the everyday catching job for the Ducks.
23. William Woods, RHP, Dyersburg State Community College
Woods is a 6′-4″, 190 pound first-year JUCO player who was the 2017 All-West Tennessee Baseball Pitcher of the Year for Peabody High School in Trenton, TN. Wood compiled a 3.69 ERA and struck out 56 for Dyersburg in 70.2 innings. Still only 19 years old.
24. Rusber Estrada, C, Faulkner University
Happy birthday to Young Mister Estrada, who turned 23 years old on Tuesday. Estrada hit .313 with 7 HR for Faulkner as a junior, while winning the Southern States Athletic Conference Gold Glove award for catching.
25. Michael Mateja, 3B, North Central College
Mateja was the College Conference of Illinois (D3) Player of the Year after hitting .444/.534/.691 with 4 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Mateja had 28 extra base hits in only 162 at-bats, including 20 doubles. Another undersized player at 5′-11″, 190 pounds, Matejia played all over the diamond, but seems most at home at third base.
26. Zach Guth, LHP, Hartford Community College
A Maryland recruit, Guth transferred to Hartford CC after one season in order to get more playing time. This season he started 11 games and pitched to a 2.57 ERA while striking out 65 batters in 49 innings. Guth has a solid fastball/curve/change-up mix, with the curve flashing above average.
27. Zach Seipel, RHP, University of Minnesota – Crookston
Seipel is a low-mileage, cold weather arm that the Braves tend to like in this area of the draft. Seipel was recruited as a catcher, but was converted to pitching quickly his freshman year. In 2018, his junior year, Seipel pitched to a 2.70 ERA in 36.2 with 8 saves and was named to the All-NSIC First Team. Seipel is the first ever player from Minnesota Crookston to be drafted in the MLB draft.
28. Derek West, RHP, University of Pittsburgh
West pitched to a 3.24 ERA in 50 innings as a swingman for Pitt in 2018 while holding opponents to a .200 batting average against. West had to readshirt his freshman and sophomore seasons due to UCL replacement surgery and knee surgery respectively. West looks to have a fastball/curve/slider/change-up mix, with the curve being a solid offering.
29. Ray Hernandez, 3B, Alabama State University
Hernandez is a big-bodied 6′-3″ and 220 pound power hitter, who holds the Alabama State single season record in homers and RBI. This season he hit .379 with 11 homers and 45 RBI in 50 games played. Also, his team does a dugout dance when someone hits a home run and I don’t know why this isn’t a thing everywhere.
30. Mitch Stallings, LHP, Duke University
An Atlanta native and alum of The Lovett School, Stallings is a 4-year senior who logged 240.1 career innings for the Blue Devils, mostly as a starter the last two seasons. The most recent season has been the toughest for Stallings as he pitched to a 6.01 in 17 starts and he experienced control issues that caused him to walk 41 batters in 88.1 innings. He partially battled this by striking out 97. Stallings had his biggist start of the season on Monday, pitching Duke to an 8-4 upset over Georgia to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals.
31. Gabriel Rodriguez-Santiago, OF, Miami-Dade Community College – South
Rodriguez is a 19-year-old first-year JUCO who hit .252 with 2 home runs in 2018 for Miami-Dade CC. He’s 6′-2″ and solidly built, with projectionable power. The Twins drafted Rodriguez out of high school in the 11th round last season, so he’s far from a certainty to sign.
32. Trey Harris, OF, University of Missouri
A Powder Springs, GA native and McEachern HS alum, Harris hit .316/.413/.516 with 11 homers as a senior for Mizzou. Harris is yet another undersized selection for Atlanta, as Harris measures to only 5′-10″, though he carries around 220 pounds. This gives him a solid base of power, but limits him to the outfield, moving out of his infield high school position. Harris was a popular teammate at Mizzou, described as a sparkplug type of player.
33. Mason Berne, 1B, University of North Carolina – Wilmington
Another 4th-year senior, Berne had a big year at Wilmington, hitting .335/.422/.547 with 12 homers earning All-CAA First Team honors. Berne is 6′-3″, 225 pounds and has a strong pull-side power stroke.
34. Zack Hess, RHP, Louisiana State University
One of the least likely selections by the Braves to sign, Hess was a draft-eligible sophomore and expected to be taken at some point in the first four rounds. Hess is 6′-6″ and 200 pounds and he uses that height well to bring his mid-90s fastball quicker to the plate. He also has a plus slider that is his primary strikeout pitch. While used as both a starter and a reliever at LSU, he seems likely to end up as in the bullpen in the pros where he as the stuff to be a top-notch high leverage reliever.
35. Logan Brown, C, University of Southern Indiana
The son of former Rangers and Blue Jays catcher Kevin Brown, Logan hit .338/.412/.470 with 2 home runs for the Screaming Eagles. Brown has indicated that he will sign with Atlanta and forgo his senior year.
36. Victor Cavalieri, LHP, Houghton College
Cavalieri becomes the first baseball player to be drafted from Houghton, and another low-mileage, cold weather arm for the Braves. Cavalieri earned All-Region New York honors after pitching to a 3.15 ERA and striking out 100 hitters in 60 innings as a starter, setting a Houghton single-season strikeout record.
37. Alex Camacho, RHP, Vanguard University
Camacho worked as Vanguard’s closer in 2018, pitching to a 3.13 ERA and earning 6 saves in 23 innings., striking out 27 and walking 9. Camacho is 6′-7″ and 250 pounds, but looks to carry the weight well.
38. Franco Aleman, RHP, Alonso HS (FL)
Aleman has a college commitment to Florida International and may be a difficult sign, but the soon-to-be 18 year old already is 6′-6″. 215 pounds and throws his fastball to the mid-90’s. Would be a high-upside project if he joined the Braves.
39. Jack Perkins, RHP, Kokomo HS (IN)
Perkins will almost certainly honor his Louisville commitment. Perkins is 6′-2″, 208 pounds with a low-90s sinking fastball with a hard curve to match.
40. Micky Mangan, C, Pinecrest Academy (GA)
The Braves honored their longtime head groundskeeper Ed Mangan by drafting his son with the 40th and final selection. Mangan is attending Mississippi State to study building construction.
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