The Braves 2011 draft didn’t go all that well, led by the top pick being used on soft tossing/high floor college lefty Sean Gilmartin. The Braves did however find eight eventual big leaguers, led by Nick Ahmed and Tommy La Stella in 2011. Then there is the what could have been with JR Graham, if he never got hurt.
If I was picking as the Braves- at the time of the draft is when I recorded my selections, not in hind sight, things wouldn’t have been too much different in 2011.
Also remember that I had the ability to match any of the Braves picks I wanted for whatever reason- some because I loved the pick, some of the later ones because the depth of my draft knowledge wasn’t quite as strong until 2012.
Here’s a look at how I would have drafted as the Braves back in 2011.
2011
1 - Braves pick: Sean Gilmartin, LHP, Florida State
My pick: Henry Owens, LHP, California HS
Sean Gilmartin had a good career at a top college program, but there was never much doubt for me that he didn’t have the stuff to be a quality big league starter. Outside of a strong year in relief in 2015, he hasn’t had any big league impact. I would have been picking between a pair of players who ended up being drafted by the Red Sox. I would have taken high upside California prep lefty Henry Owens at an overslot amount. While Owens was a pretty significant prospect for a while, he has never quite put it all together. The other guy I nearly picked would have been a home run: South Carolina’s College World Series star Jackie Bradley Jr. On a side note I did love Josh Bell and Daniel Norris, but didn’t consider either player because of the high price tags with them. Both Bell and Norris were Top 10 talents.
2 - Braves pick: Nick Ahmed, SS, UConn
My pick: Andrew Susac, C, Oregon State
The Braves took a gritty shortstop from UConn in Nick Ahmed, who has turned out to be a solid enough utility player. However I would have been focused on a pair of catchers here, and with New Mexico prep Blake Swihart off the board I would have taken Oregon State’s Andrew Susac. Susac hasn’t quite played well enough to be a regular big leaguer, and is more of a third catcher in an organization, so the Ahmed pick did turn out to be the better choice. I thought Susac had potential to be a solid big league starter.
3 - Braves pick: Kyle Kubitza, 3B, Texas State
My pick: Josh Osich, LHP, Oregon State
Kubitza was a bit of a surprise here as he was the lesser regarded brother at the time(brother Austin was a pitcher at Rice), and he carved out a role as a AAAA player. I told you yesterday that Osich’s name would come up again, as I would have taken him in the third round here despite him being a sixth rounder in the actual draft. Osich never lived up to his initial draft hype as he had some injury questions pop up, but he has appeared in nearly 160 game in relief since 2015.
4 - Braves pick: JR Graham, RHP, Santa Clara
My pick: Same
I loved the pick of Graham and would have matched it. Graham was a very promising prospect who was looking like a steal before injury issues got in his way. He really only had one year in the bigs, and produced below average results in the pen, but he was a real prospect for a while before injuries stole his chance to really become something.
5 - Braves pick: Nick DeSantiago, C, Texas JUCO
My Pick: Steve Proscia, 3B, Virginia
I didn’t like the pick at the time and certainly didn’t like it as DeSantiago played 107 career minor league games without a single homer. I wanted to get Georgia Tech slugger Matt Skole here, but he was off the board so I settled for Virginia’s slugging corner infielder Steve Proscia. Proscia, who went in the seventh round, topped out in AA but did have some effective minor league seasons for Seattle.
6 - Braves pick: Mark Lamm, RHP, Vanderbilt
My pick: Ryan Carpenter, LHP, Gonzaga
The Braves took Vanderbilt reliever Mark Lamm, and he stuck around through 2015 but never made it to the show. I took another guy from the seventh round, as I liked Gonzaga’s Ryan Carpenter- a guy who initially had some first round buzz early in the draft year process. Carpenter made his big league debut this year and could still have some chance as a big leaguer in a small role.
7 - Braves pick: Cody Martin, RHP, Gonzaga
My pick: Same
The Braves made a solid pick here with Carpenter’s Gonzaga teammate, and Cody Martin has at least made it to the show. I liked this pick at the time and would have stuck with it.
8 - Braves pick: Tommy La Stella, 2B, Coastal Carolina
My pick: Same
The Braves took a promising college bat in former St. John’s infielder turned Coastal Carolina infielder Tommy La Stella.. I loved his bat potential immediately as well as his college production and saw this as a strong pick this late. La Stella has solidified himself as a solid bench player in the big leagues as a key member of the Cubs bench.
9 - Braves pick: Chase Larsson, OF, Cameron
My pick: Same
This is where my own prospect list ran out and I just went with the players the Braves took. I didn’t know Larsson at the time and he didn’t last very long as he played just 78 games in the organization.
10 - Braves pick: Logan Robbins, SS, Western Kentucky
My pick: Same
Similar story to Larsson, but Robbins played 82 games in the organization over his two years.
Additional Picks: John Cornely (15th), Gus Schlosser (17th)
This wasn’t a strong draft by the Braves, but they did draft and sign eight players who saw the big leagues. My version of the draft wasn’t much better, though it nearly was if I had picked the other guy I was looking at in the first round.