NORTH PORT, Fla. -- When the Braves took Shea Langeliers with the ninth overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, much of the attention was placed on the young catcher’s rocket arm, with which he had already produced elite pop times with his throws to second base.

But having scouted Langeliers while the young catcher played at Baylor University, Braves hitting instructor Greg Walker knew the upside existed beyond the defensive side. So he wasn’t among those surprised when the catcher displayed his power potential while playing at Double-A Mississippi last year.

“You could always see the potential,” Walker said. “He’s an unbelievable kid. You talk about makeup? That’s how you draw it up. He’s just unbelievable.”

Langeliers was among the players who were excited to participate when the Braves began their Minor League Spring Training at their North Port complex on Sunday afternoon. The 24-year-old is preparing to likely open the upcoming season with Triple-A Gwinnett.

Langeliers ranks as the Braves' No. 2 prospect and baseball’s No. 69 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

“We saw him hold his own at the alternate site the summer before. and we saw him hit a lot of balls hard,” Braves assistant general manager Ben Sestanovich said. “So I don’t think the power production was as much of a surprise to those of us who had been around him.”

Projecting Langeliers’ offensive potential coming out of college was challenging. He didn’t do anything jaw-dropping while producing a .793 OPS over 34 games in the 2017 Cape Cod Collegiate Baseball League. But despite missing a few weeks of his junior year with a broken left hamate bone, Langeliers showed some power during each of his three collegiate seasons. He tallied 31 homers in 622 at-bats, which equated to one homer every 20.1 at-bats for the Bears.

Still, nobody was expecting Langeliers’ 2021 production, especially not while he was playing his home games at Mississippi’s spacious Trustman Park. The prospect hit .258 with 22 homers and an .836 OPS over 370 plate appearances at Double-A.

Adding to the impressiveness of his production was the fact this was Langeliers’ first full professional season, after the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown happened the year after he was drafted.

“I feel like I’ve definitely grown,” Langeliers said. “We’re surrounded by a bunch of great players and great coaches. We bring the best out of each other. You just grow along the way and know there is always improvement along the way. You just take that attitude every day.”

Like Austin Riley and many other Braves over the past couple years, Langeliers significantly benefited from working with Mike Brumley, who served as the organization’s Minor League hitting coordinator each of the past four years. Brumley stepped away from the role this year.

But Langeliers still spent time this winter working with the respected hitting guru near their respective homes in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

“It’s a nice little [thing] we’ve got going there,” Langeliers said.

While Langeliers drew more widespread notice last year, he had already gotten the Braves’ attention while playing at the team’s alternate training site in 2020. He consistently held his own while batting against Ian Anderson, Kyle Muller, Sean Newcomb, Kyle Wright and some of the club’s other top pitching prospects. He averaged 95.4 mph with the balls he put in play to the opposite field.

Langeliers gained another beneficial experience last year, when the Braves put him on their taxi squad throughout the postseason. This allowed him to travel with the big leaguers and work out with them on a daily basis through the conclusion of the World Series celebration.

“When you see [a veteran’s preparation] all of the time, it wears off on you and you kind of become that and know what it takes to be there,” Langeliers said.