By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The fact that a huge chunk of draftees won’t see the bigs for years, if ever, always makes the Major League Baseball draft a little less sexy than the NFL or NBA drafts.

With a less national fanfare and significantly less national visibility for their prospects baseball’s annual selection process tends to attract less attention but that isn’t to say that it isn’t worthy of a deeper dig for baseball fans who are in it for the long haul.

After the acquisition of Matt Kemp last season, the Braves’ offense lifted Atlanta from the scrap heap of squads and placed the Braves’ 2017 draft pick at number five.

It’s hard to get a real sense of what the Braves are planning to do. Do they lean on college players in the hopes that they’ll be able to make an impact sooner than later? Maybe they have enough confidence in their AA and AAA teams that they’ll focus on high school players with the notion of setting them up to rise in the ranks and succeed the current crop of prospects in the coming years.

There are both college and high school prospects out there for the taking. Since there’s no clear and concise feeling for what John Coppallela wants to do or for how the four picks ahead of him with shake out, let’s take a peek at some of the top picks in the draft and how they could make a difference for Atlanta.

Vandy pitcher Kyle Wright and California high school pitcher/shortstop Hunter Greene are two of the players getting plenty of airtime on the MLB Network right now and given their potential it’s unlikely that either will still be on the board by the time the Braves make their first selection. However, if either one is, it’s a safe bet that the Braves will snatch them up.

Wright would likely be closer to the bigs (and is very likely going number one to Minnesota) but Greene figures to be a top of the rotation guy in a few years. Obviously, either one would be a feather in the Braves’ cap.

MacKenzie Gore is a high school lefty from North Carolina who might even be on the level of Greene and Wright. The Braves love young arms and Gore has tons of upside, but his availability will depend heavily on whether or not Cincinnati at number two wants an arm or a bat. If they go with Brenden McKay out of Louisville for his offense, Greene slides down (likely just one spot) and Gore may be available for Atlanta to pluck.

If Gore is gone by the fifth pick, the Braves could look at Royce Lewis, a high school shortstop/outfielder from California, as their top choice. Most of the mock drafts I’ve seen in the past few weeks have seen Lewis as a Brave and he’s got a good chance of reaching his potential. With Dansby in the majors for the foreseeable future Lewis would be brought in as an outfielder.

The aforementioned McKay is an option as well. Like the Reds, Atlanta would likely be looking at him for his bat, though he’s a two-way player and that might continue at first.

He’s a first baseman by trade but with that position blocked for a next several years, the Braves would likely train him up as a corner infielder, a position that will probably be vacated by 2019.

Lewis does seem like the consensus choice for Atlanta, based mostly on availability. You can count on Coppy picking up one of the pitchers if they’re still available, but my money is on a bat.