Atlanta used their Day One picks to bolster the pitching ranks. In Day 2 the Braves were on the hunt for upside early, grabbing a young collegiate bat with an above average hit tool and a couple of prep stars before going into pool-saving senior signings.
Other Entries In This Series:
Day One (Rounds 1-2)
Day Three (Rounds 11-20)
Third Round
Sabin Ceballos, SS
Age: 20
School: University of Oregon
Hometown: Rio Grande, PR
Ceballos has been on big league radar since emerging from baseball hotbed San Jacinto College. Drafted by the Angels in the 14th round in last year’s draft, he instead enrolled at the University of Oregon where he exploded at the plate to the tune of hitting .333/.426/.643 with 18 homers while playing third base for the Ducks.
The Braves announced him as a shortstop and they will no doubt try him out there — they’ve had good success with Ignacio Alvarez who made a similar third-to-short move after being drafted by the Braves last season — but at 6’3″ and 225 pounds at not-quite 21 years old it’s more likely he will find a defensive home in a corner in the long term. The main attraction of Ceballos though is the bat, and he has a hit/power combo that could rapidly rise to the top of the Braves organization if it develops pretty much at all.
Fourth Round
Garrett Baumann, RHP
Age: 18
School: Hagerty High School
Hometown: Oviedo, FL
Baumann is a mountain of a young man, with a 6’8″ frame that easily carries his 245 pounds. He has a big arm with a fastball that sits in the low-90s but has hit as high as 97. He also has a change and slider now, but he’s a very raw talent that represents something of a project for Braves player development. The Braves will work to get more spin into the slider so he has a swing-and-miss weapon and work on getting all the moving parts of his large frame working together more efficiently, which will likely bring more velocity.
Fifth Round
Isaiah Drake, OF
Age: 17
School: North Atlanta High School
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Despite being one of the youngest players in this year’s draft, Drake gets strong marks for his athleticism. Already tagged with 80-grade speed he should develop into a plus defensive outfielder with experience and coaching.
The upside here will be in the bat. Drake has only a rudimentary approach at the plate and is pull-happy, but he also shows quick hands and the ability to turn on velocity. Drake has a Georgia Tech commitment, but its unlikely Atlanta would have selected him here without a good idea that they would be able to sign him. The last time the Braves went local in Day Two for a toolsy prep outfielder, that turned out pretty well (third round, 2019, Michael Harris II).
Sixth Round
Lucas Braun, RHP
Age: 21
School: Cal State – Northridge
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
The first senior sign by the Braves, Braun started the last two seasons for Northridge, throwing to a 3.97 ERA in 165.2 innings while striking out 177 batters.
Braun looks to throw a 91-94 rising 4-seamer and a slider with good vertical tilt that falls out of the zone and generates swing-and-miss. Braun keeps the ball around the zone and looks to be someone the Braves can plug into the back end of a minor league rotation.
Seventh Round
Justin Long, RHP
Age: 21
School: Rice University
Hometown: Kingwood, TX
It’s no secret that the Braves like low-mileage arms, so it makes sense that they’d take a flyer on a player like Long, who was primarily a catcher his first two seasons with Rice. Converted to the mound his junior year, Long appeared in 21 games and tossed 45.2 innings, striking out 38.
Long has a fastball that sits in the 93-95 mph range and a rudimentary off-speed pitch. Long only had two starts for Rice last season and would seem to be a reliever going forward, but with the Braves you can’t be too sure, as evidenced by another position player who switched late to the mound, 2021 third-rounder Spencer Schwellenbach.
Eighth Round
Cory Wall, RHP
Age: 23
School: College of William & Mary
Hometown: Covington Township, PA
Wall was the second senior sign by the Braves in Day Two, and the first of a string to finish out the day. Wall was a graduate athlete for William & Mary after pitching four seasons at Fordham. In his fourth season with Fordham he suffered an injury and missed almost the entire season. In 15 appearances (5 starts) for the Tribe in 2023, Wall pitched to a 3.98 ERA in 52 innings, striking out 63 and only walking 11.
Wall has a 4-seamer that sits in the low 90’s but gets to hitters quickly with a low and extended release point. His strikeout pitch is a tight mid-80s slider. He also shows a curve and change-up, but both are more rudimentary. He’s likely a reliever in the pros, but I suspect the Braves think he may have more velo in the tank as he gets further away from his injury.
Ninth Round
Riley Gowens, RHP
Age: 23
School: University of Illinois
Hometown: Libertyville, IL
Gowens is a somewhat rare senior sign with some pre-draft buzz around him. While the results at Illinois weren’t always pretty, the metrics have him with a plus 4-seamer that sits in the low-90s but with a lot of ride from a low arm slot that can generate swing-and-miss. His slider has decent lateral break from the low slot, and his change-up works as well with a reverse break from his fastball.
Gowens dealt with some injuries in 2023 that likely contributed to the mixed results his senior year (6.30 ERA, 10 home runs, 7 hit batters), but his K/BB ratio was still very good and Gowens seems like a good risk at this point in the draft.
Tenth Round
Pier-Olivier Boucher, OF
Age: 23
School: Southern Illinois University
Hometown: Saint-Joseph-de-Bauce, QB
Like most Canadian boys, Boucher grew up playing hockey and only discovered baseball later, taking it up his junior year of high school. He played JUCO ball at Indian Hills Community College and helped the team to get to the JUCO World Series in 2021. Boucher batted .328/.417/.580 with 24 homers and 29 stolen bases in two seasons for Southern Illinois, earning All-Missouri Valley Conference honors both years.
Boucher has an sneaky-quick left-handed swing that generates loft. Defensively Boucher was limited to only left field and DH duty at Southern Illinois, but Braves assistant director of scouting Ronit Shah indicated after the pick that they believed Boucher could play all three outfield spots.
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