After taking a California high-school left-hander with their first pick in Monday’s draft, the Braves used their second pick to take another 17-year-old high school pitcher, Canadian right-hander Mike Soroka.
They took Soroka with the No. 28 overall pick in the first round of the draft. The hard-throwing, 6-foot-5, 210-pounder is out of Bishop Carroll High in Calgary, Alberta, and former Braves relief pitcher Chris Reitsma was Soroka’s pitching coach on the Canadian junior national team.
That Canadian team faced several major league hitters while playing teams in extended-spring training recently, and Bridges said Braves scouts saw him there and came away impressed.