Atlanta entered this year’s amateur draft once again with a low-ranked farm system and a small draft pool. Atlanta’s typical draft strategy over the Alex Anthopoulos era has been to try to spread their pool around as much as possible, going with under-slot in the higher rounds in order to have a deeper draft.
Either planned or not, it doesn’t seem like things will play out that way in 2024.
Other Entries In This Series:
Day Two (Round 3-10)
Day Two (Rounds 3-10)
First Round
Cam Caminiti, LHP
Age: 17
School: Saguaro HS (AZ)
Hometown: Scottsdale, AZ
In one of the bigger surprises of the first round of the draft, Caminiti made his way down to the 24th overall pick where the Atlanta Braves couldn’t allow him to drop further. Considered by pundits to be either the top left-handed pitcher or top overall pitcher of this year’s prep class, Caminiti was projected by most draft publications to go somewhere in the teens.
What makes Caminiti stand out is not just his 4-pitch arsenal, but his ability to maintain upper 90’s heat deep into games, something specifically pointed out by Braves Director of Amateur Scouting Ronit Shah to the press after the pick. Caminiti also has an armslot that causes some odd fastball movement that generates very awkward swings. He also has a slider and a curveball, as well as a change-up that has been described as well-developed considering his age. For those that believe in bloodlines, Caminiti is a cousin of former Houston Astro, San Diego Padre, and (in his final season) Atlanta Braves.
After the draft Caminiti indicated that he expected to sign quickly, though he also said there was “some work to do” between his advisors and the team.
Andy’s Thoughts: During the 2017 draft process, the last under of the John Coppolella era, there were rumors that there was disagreement among Braves decision-makers as to who they would take with the 5th-overall pick. Those disagreements were apparently resolved when right-hander Kyle Wright out of Vanderbilt University dropped to them, a player no one predicted would be available at that point. The Braves selected Wright and figured out how to spread the money around later.
We may find out this was planned all along, but here on draft night it feels like something similar may have happened with Caminiti and the Braves here, but if the Braves were going to let someone blow up their draft strategy, Caminiti seems like a good bet. His combination of youth and stuff seems like a picture-perfect alignment with the organization’s developmental strengths.
Second Round
Carter Holton, LHP
Age: 21
School: Vanderbilt University
Hometown: Guyton, GA
Holton has pitched three seasons with Vanderbilt, his best his freshman year. The last two years have each seen him start the season strong before fading down the stretch with undisclosed arm issues. That said, the pitching talent is clear, with an easy low-to-mid-90s four-seam fastball, a slider that is his primary strikeout pitch, a curve, and a change-up with good sink.
Holton is undersized at 5′-11″ and some pundits are skeptical given Holton’s track record the last two seasons that he can hold up to starting work. He gets high marks however for his baseball IQ and competitiveness.
Andy’s Thoughts: The Braves have been successful at grabbing players that fall down draft boards due to health concerns, then get them healthy and reap the rewards. The most recent example of this is 2021 2nd-rounder Spencer Schwellenbach, who was projected to go as a top-15 pick before he required Tommy John surgery in April before the draft. Holton’s issues don’t appear to be that severe, but Atlanta likely needed a player willing to take an under-slot bonus at this point after their selection of Caminiti.
We’ll see how it plays out.
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