2007 Post-Draft Tidbits

by gondeee on Jun 10, 2007 6:37 PM EDT in Minor League News Comment 0 comments

The 2007 MLB Draft is now in the history books, and the reviews of the Braves' picks have been very positive. The consensus seems to be that we pretty much stole Jason Heyward with our first pick, getting some of the best value for the position we picked at. Here is a list of all the Braves picks with links to video's and detailed scouting reports.

-A- Baseball Prospectus calls Jason Heyward one of the best value picks in the first round.

-A- Apparently there was not much doubt that the Braves would select Heyward with their first pick, especially after Florida passed on him with the 12th pick.

-A- More praise for the Braves selection of Jason Heyward in the first round. John Sickels calls Heyward the best value pick of the draft:

Best Value Pick: Jason Heyward at 14. I think he's an outstanding prospect and right up there with Moustakas and Vitters...I like him a bit better overall actually. Getting him at 14 is a real coup for the Braves.

-A- Prospect guru Kevin Goldstein ranks our first round pick, Jason Heyward, as the eighth best prospect in the draft. He gives this assessment of Heyward:

Pros: Best athlete in the draft with plus power, plus speed, and a muscular six-foot-five frame; good outfielder with a right field-caliber arm. ?
Cons: A raw talent who hasn't played much against top competition; high-reward/high risk talent who has equal chances of stardom or pure bust.

-A- Here is a good review of the young third-baseman we picked up with our supplemental first round selection:

As expected the Atlanta Braves selected Iowa's Jon Gilmore (Iowa City High) at the 33rd pick of the supplemental first round. Gilmore ranked as the 84th best prospect in our Draft Preview is now the highest Iowa high schooler ever drafted, with the previous mark being held by righthander Zach Hammes when the Los Angeles Dodgers took him as their 51st selection overall in 2002.

Gilmore, a Wichita State signee, broke into the national spotlight with his performances off the nation's top high school pitchers at national showcases and the Aflac-All-American game. Gilmore showed his powerful bat when he hit a rocket double to the wall off Michael Main at the Aflac Classic. So far, the Braves have shown that they are going after powerful bats with selecting Gilmore and Jason Heyward.

-A- Our third round pick, Brandon Hicks, is considered one of the best value picks by Baseball Prospectus. His profile reminds many of another shortstop the Braves recently acquired, Brent Lillibridge. With Hicks being taken with the 108th selection this year and Lillibridge being selected with the 121st pick in 2005, both players seem to have similar value out of the draft.

-A- While the Braves selected two college relievers with their first six picks, the Mets selected four relievers from eight picks they had in the first five rounds. They gained dishonorable mention from Baseball Prospectus for having the second worst draft. Indeed the write-ups at the official site don't give glamorous reviews for many of their selections.

-A- Can the Braves make a deal with Uncle Sam? Here is another interesting selection:

Midway through the 24th round, the Braves, White Sox and Yankees rolled the dice on high-end talent.The Braves took Mitch Harris, the talented righthander from Navy who has a military obligation that will preclude him from signing, in all likelihood. He was up to 94 mph this season, and ranked No. 156 in our pre-draft rankings.

-A- The Braves re-drafted a player they had selected last year, this time taking him one round earlier. Here is the write-up from BA:

Atlanta has had a pipeline of prospects from Walters State (Tenn.) JC recently, and the Braves chose another product of the Juco power in the 27th round, popping raw, toolsy outfielder Adam Milligan.They drafted Milligan last year in the 28th round, but were unable to sign him prior to this year's draft, but weren't willing to give up on him just yet.

Milligan is built like Greek god. He originally planned to play football as a defensive back at Austin Peay, but began to show more potential as a baseball player as a senior in high school and opted to attend Walters State after being drafted. He's an exceptional athlete, with surprising speed for such a big man. He's raw in all phases of the game, but shows plus raw power and is the type of athlete scouts like to dream on.

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