A pitcher widely believed to be a top high school talent fell into Atlanta’s lap on Day One with their first round selection. Today the Braves made value picks to make sure they had enough room in the draft pool for him.
Other Entries In This Series:
Day One (Rounds 1-2)
Day Three (Rounds 11-20)
Third Round
Luke Sinnard, RHP
Age: 21
School: Indiana University – Bloomington
Hometown: Hendersonville, TN
The Braves spent their third round pick doing a trick they’ve repeated several times in the last few years, drafting a Day 1 talent in Day 2 because of an injury. In Sinnard’s case, he suffered a torn UCL while pitching in the 2023 NCAA Regionals and subsequently missed the 2024 season. That said, his has already returned to the mound in rehab and he should be ready to go in spring of 2025.
Before his injury, Sinnard broke Indiana’s 89-year-old single-season strikeout record, recording 114 punchouts in 86.1 innings. Sinnard is a large young man, coming at you at 6’8″ and 250 pounds. When healthy that length helps the perceptual speed of his low-to-mid ’90s four-seamer. He has two breaking balls, a slider and curve, with the curve having more consistent shape. He also has flashed a change-up that is a work in progress.
Fourth Round
Herick Hernandez, LHP
Age: 20
School: University of Miami
Hometown: Hialeah, FL
Hernandez is another pick that sits comfortably in the Braves’ player development wheelhouse. The lefty has a low-90s riding fastball, a big 10-4 curveball, a decently sharp slider, and a change-up; a deep enough arsenal to generate 95 strikeouts in 70.1 innings for the Hurricanes last season. His command and control were off enough however that it didn’t actually make him particularly effective. Hernandez was a draft-eligible sophomore, so this may not be a huge money-saving pick.
Fifth Round
Nick Montgomery, C
Age: 18
School: Cypress HS (CA)
Hometown: Cypress, CA
Montgomery’s selection here was the highest the Braves have gone for a prep catcher since 2015’s second round selection of Lucas Herbert and he represents a much higher offensive upside. Montgomery towers at 6’4″ and 210 lbs, and there is real concern that he may be too large for the position, but Atlanta has shown patience with large-bodied catchers in the past. The hope here is that the Braves can help him improve his already decent hit skill and allow his prodigious power potential to play up, regardless of where he ends up on the defensive spectrum.
The Braves took a project high school selection in this round the prior year with outfielder Isaiah Drake.
Sixth Round
Ethan Bagwell
Age: 18
School: Collinsville HS (IL)
Hometown: Maryville, IL
One of the more interesting picks in Day 2, Bagwell had an early commit to the University of Missouri, but its unlikely Atlanta would have selected him this soon if his bonus expectations didn’t match up with what the Braves could provide. Bagwell sits in the low-90s with the fastball in most outings, but he raised eyebrows early in his senior season by touching 98 in games. He has a sweeping slider and a rudimentary change-up. He was a duel-sport star for his high school, also playing quarterback for his high school football team.
Seventh Round
Brett Sears, RHP
Age: 24
School: University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Hometown: Westphalia, IA
For the third time in four seasons Atlanta grabs a pitcher out of Nebraska’s bullpen, this time with senior Brett Sears (previously: Spencer Schwellenbach in the 2021 draft, Shay Schanaman last season as an undrafted amateur free agent). Sears was the first of a string of seniors to close out Day 2 of the draft, all of whom can be expected to sign well under-slot. That said, Sears is coming off a season that earned him the Big Ten Conference Pitcher of the Year as he totaled over 100 innings in 17 appearances, pitching to a 2.16 ERA. At the minimum, Sears could be a strong organizational arm for the Braves.
Eighth Round
Logan Samuels, RHP
Age: 22
School: University of Montevallo (AL)
Hometown: Winfield, AL
The second senior drafted, Samuels grew up (say it with me now) as a Braves fan and reportedly showed out well in a pre-draft workout for the team.
Ninth Round
Owen Hackman, RHP
Age: 22
School: Loyola Marymount University
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Another senior, this time a five-pitch starter (fastball, curve, straight change, split change, cutter) with a good glove-side running fastball that pairs well with a curve that bends the other way. Relatively young for a 4-year senior, there’s still some apparent upside here.
Tenth Round
Jacob Kroeger, LHP
Age: 24
School: Maryville University of St. Louis
Hometown: Palmyra, MO
Kroeger is a five-year senior and is coming off his best season as he struck out school-record 117 batters in 90.2 innings for Maryville, pitching to a 3.18 ERA and leading his school to their first Great Lakes Valley Conference championship.
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