Schwellenbach pitched and played shortstop but Braves searching director Dana Brown made it clear that the group sees him as a pitcher going forward and were excited to get him.
We got him on our radar in the spring, however we finally saw him in a fall and early this year, we truly hunted him a load.”
” One of our one of our scouts invested a lot of times seeing Texas Tech and got a possibility to see him in numerous games and he got an opportunity to see some power,” Brown stated of Conley. We think we get him in a professional environment and hes got a possibility to take off. Hes a great body guy, got some advantage to some strength and possibly hes got a possibility to come into some power.
The Atlanta Braves finished up day 2 of the 2021 MLB Draft Monday by picking nine more players, 7 of which were college players. Atlanta started the day picking a two-way gamer, Spencer Schwellenbach out of Nebraska in the 2nd round with the 59th pick overall. Schwellenbach pitched and played shortstop however Braves hunting director Dana Brown made it clear that the group sees him as a pitcher moving forward and were delighted to get him.
” The strategy was, of course, as constantly to take the finest player offered,” Brown stated. “We were in fact really ecstatic, because we had some preliminary numbers on Schwellenbach and he was there in the 2nd round so we were really delighted to get him.”
” I enjoy to get college shortstops that wind up on the mound since of their athleticism, their arm strength for the position, their body control. So we actually started to talk about him last fall. We got him on our radar in the spring, but we finally saw him in a fall and early this year, we actually hunted him a ton.”
We feel like hes going to be a starter for us,” Brown included. I was so excited to get this guy.”
Brown likewise stated that they made it clear to Schwellenbach that while they liked him as a shortstop, they think his future is as a pitcher.
” We like you at shortstop, however we like you better on the mound and we think youre going to do fantastic things for this company.”
The Braves took left-hander Dylan Dodd out of Southeast Missouri State with their 3rd pick and then grabbed Texas Tech shortstop Cal Conley in the 4th round.
” One of our one of our scouts invested a lot of times seeing Texas Tech and got an opportunity to see him in multiple games and he got an opportunity to see some power,” Brown stated of Conley. “Hes an aggressive swinger, he can actually run and hes a switch hitter. We think this persons truly got a possibility to do some excellent things for us.”
The Braves then tapped into the regional market preparing Georgia Tech shortstop Luke Waddell and 3rd baseman Justyn-Henry Malloy with their next two choices. Waddell batted.309/.402/.474 with a team-high 71 hits over 56 games in 2021 and
” For Waddell, you have a person that might play shortstop, second base, very great protector, a lot of contact, does not start out,” Brown said. “I saw him a couple years back, when he was having fun with the USA team and he was an exciting gamer.”
Malloy hit.308/.436/.558 with a team-most 43 RBI to help lead Georgia Tech to the ACC Coastal department title.
We think we get him in an expert environment and hes got an opportunity to take off. Hes an excellent body person, got some upside to some strength and possibly hes got a chance to come into some power. Hes actually simply hitting his stride now due to the fact that he was a northeast kid who, they dont get to play as much up in the northeast.
All of those college selects paved the method for the Braves to conserve some money where they might pay for to dip into the high school ranks with their seventh and 8th round selections. Atlanta took right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver with their choice in the seventh round and after that nabbed outfielder Tyler Collins in the eighth.
Smith-Shawver was a two-sport star that was devoted to Texas Tech. Brown stated that they were able to satisfy his number to persuade him to stick to baseball.
We enjoy that hes a two-sport person because we understand that hes truly athletic, excellent, strong physical kid. We believe hes got some benefit to be quite unique.
Collins is a fast outfielder from Texas that Brown said they leapt on early and hunted he greatly.
” We got on him early with a few of our veteran scouts and those men, we are actually delighted about him and we feel extremely fortunate,” Brown stated of Collins. “His cost was a little high, however at the end of the day we conserved some money on some of the college gamers that we took earlier and we had the ability to get him done.”
Atlanta picked catcher Liam McGill from Bryant University in the ninth round and then utilized their last pick of day two on 6 6 right-hander Dylan Spain who arrived at the teams radar after attending a tryout camp.
” This was one of those scenarios where our area scout did a good task. Hes been following this man. We had meetings in California. He brought him out after the conferences. We had like a tryout camp where we had an exercise and this kid can be found in and he was tossing up to 97 on the gun. He threw a tough slider and kind of blew us away.”
Through their first 10 choices, the Braves have actually taken five pitchers, 3 infielders, one outfielder and a catcher. Eight of the first 10 picks were college players. Even much better, Brown stated Monday that they are on track to sign all of their first 10 picks.
” We spoke with their consultants, we talked with the kids and we are on schedule to get them all done,” Brown said. “They are going to come in, they are going to get physicals and we are going to get going.”
We will be back on Tuesday with more coverage from the last 10 rounds of the 2021 Draft so make sure to inspect back.