Atlanta Braves bring in big haul of in 2020 draft

The Atlanta Braves brought in a nice haul of players during the 2020 MLB Draft on Wednesday and Thursday.

Atlanta selected three pitchers and an outfielder during the five-round amateur draft. The Braves selected Wake Forest ace Jared Shuster in the first round, Michigan outfielder Jesse Franklin in the third round, Clemson pitcher Spencer Strider in the fourth round, and Texas righty Bryce Elder in the fourth round.

There is no doubt that the gem of this draft class is the top pick, Jared Shuster, who was selected at no. 25 overall. The left-handed pitcher out of Wake Forest celebrated two successful seasons as a Demon Deacon and also had a strong showing in last year’s Cape Cod League.

The 6-foot-3, 210 pounder originally from New Bedford, Mass., has “middle of the rotation” potential according to TalkingChop.com.

Due to signing qualified free agent Will Smith last offseason, the Braves had to forfeit their second round pick. This forced them to skip 52 picks from their first selection to their second.

At pick no. 97, Atlanta added rangy outfielder Jesse Franklin out of Michigan. Franklin, a 6-foot-1, 215 pounder from Seattle, Wash., missed all of 2019 due a collarbone injury prior to the season.

Franklin would have returned for the latter part of the Wolverines’ season, but obviously missed out on that due to the COVID-19 shutdown. According to TalkingChop, the third-round draftee has great speed and a good arm, but need to show more consistency at the plate.

The Braves selected Clemson righthanded pitcher Spencer Strider at pick no. 126 in the fourth round. Strider was drafted as a top prospect out of high school in Knoxville, Tenn., but elected to attend Clemson rather than joining the Cleveland Indians.

Strider saw his stock drop due to having Tommy John surgery a year ago. He likely would have seen some action with the Tigers at the end of the 2020 season had the shutdown not occurred.