The Atlanta Braves draft philosophy remains a mystery. After taking MLBPipeline’s ninth-ranked player at number nine and surprisingly Pipeline’s #27 ranked prospect – an infielder, not a pitcher – at #21, they went off the board.
When I say off the board, I mean way off it.
The highest ranked prospect taken outside of the first round, came in round 8: Rickey DeVito Pipeline #162, Baseball America #114.
The next lowest ranked (and a personal favorite of mine) came in the thirteenth round: Tyler Owens, ranked #199 by Pipeline and #182 by BA.
What kind of madness infected the draft team to cause such wild deviations from the norm?