We are 12 days away from the 2024 MLB draft, and I can tell you that we are no closer to figuring out what the Atlanta Braves are going to do with the 24th overall pick. The good folks over at Baseball America have done a much, much better job of trying to figure that out than I have, and they have frequently seen Kentucky left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt as a potential pick for Atlanta. In the fifth version of their mock draft series they once again projected Waldschmidt to be drafted by the Braves.
Waldschmidt is an interesting player at 24th and certainly one who would fit with the Braves, as a hitter with high end physical traits and plenty of ability to hit. Waldschmidt is not a guarantee to make it down to 24 as there are connections with other teams even higher than this. Specifically model-oriented teams, of which the Braves are one, will find plenty to like within Waldschmidt’s profile.
Carlos Collazo notes that this isn’t necessarily a projection of a specific player for the Braves, but rather what is left over within a pool of players that could be targets for Atlanta. Among those include Carson Benge and Jurrangelo Cijntje, though there is also a scenario in which all of these players are off the board by 24th. The only certainty is that no one really knows exactly what the Braves are thinking, as they typically come away with players rarely connected to them prior to the draft. The Braves will draft someone at 24th, and they’ll probably sign them, but everything else is up to the imagination.
