As the calendar flips to May the draft looms off in the distance, and with that comes the steadily increasing influx of mock drafts. Over at MLB Pipeline Jonathan Mayo put together his first mock draft of the year. In this the Braves catch a college bat sliding down to them at 24th in California Golden Bears catcher Caleb Lomavita. Lomavita is ranked as Pipeline’s 14th-best draft prospect, and Mayo notes in his write up that he could end up going before the Braves pick at 24. Similarly Baseball America projected catcher Walker Janek to go to Atlanta in their recent mock draft, so the only that we can be certain of is that the Braves won’t be drafting a college catcher in the first round.
Lomavita is an incredible athlete for a catcher, possessing rare footspeed and the potential to play some outfield at the next level as well. He has shown consistent ability to make hard contact as well as some home run pop, though the major concern is with his approach. Lomavita is incredibly aggressive and often chases out of the zone, and this season has run a walk rate of just 5.1%. Lomavita needs to improve his swing decisions and refine his defensive game, but receives check marks in most other categories including having success in the Cape Cod League with an .868 OPS last summer.
