How Braves' future could fare following Draft

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHOENIX -- What was the Braves’ best Draft class over the past 10 years?

Was it the 2015 class that netted Michael Soroka, Austin Riley and A.J. Minter within the first 75 overall selections?

Was it the 2019 class that included third-round selection Michael Harris II? How about if you account for the fact that Shea Langeliers helped land Matt Olson and Vaughn Grissom was used to steal Chris Sale from the Red Sox?

How about the 2020 class? With just four picks, the Braves landed both Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder.

Regardless of which class is deemed the most profitable, it’s obvious that this annual selection process has a significant influence on how an organization could fare over the many years that follow.

The Braves will get another chance to stock their farm system when the 2024 MLB Draft begins Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas. A pregame show will begin at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network and ESPN (as well as MLB.TV, MLB.com and in the MLB App) and carry into the first round, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET.

Monday’s Day 2 (Rounds 3-10) and Tuesday’s Day 3 (Rounds (11-20) will both begin at 2 p.m. ET. These rounds will be shown on MLB.TV, MLB.com and in the MLB App.

The Braves have two picks during the first day, the 24th and 62nd overall selections.

What’s the buzz?

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo recently predicted the Braves will take a college pitcher with their first pick. He thinks they will go with University of Iowa right-hander Brody Brecht, instead of Mississippi State switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje. Mayo also mentioned California high school hurler Braylon Doughty as a possibility.

Brecht (No. 21 Draft prospect) might have been selected in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft had he not made it clear he wanted to be a two-sport collegiate athlete. He spent two years as a wide receiver for the Hawkeyes before placing his full concentration on baseball.

Doughty (No. 36 Draft prospect) wasn’t a highly-touted prospect until he showed off his high-octane fastball at the Area Code Games.

When Mayo’s teammate Jim Callis projected the Braves would take Cijntje (No. 25 Draft prospect) with their first selection, he had this to say about the unique hurler: “I would make him a full-time right-handed pitcher. I think he's basically a right-handed starter and a lefty reliever in one. The idea would be that if you made him a full-time right-handed pitcher, he might get even better because he's focusing on developing those pitches even more.”

If the Braves don’t go the pitching route, they could choose to go with the University of California’s Caleb Lomavita (No. 33 Draft prospect), who is one of this year’s top available catchers. His bat seems legit and his catching skills have improved since he left his native Hawaii to matriculate in Berkley. Taking a chance on a bat-first catcher like Drake Baldwin (Braves No. 11 prospect) has recently benefited this organization.