The MLB Draft Lottery announcement has now come and gone and with the dust settled we now know the Braves will have the No. 9 selection overall.
While this was a bit of a disappointment (with the Braves having a good chance at landing one of the prized shortstops with a top 4 pick) there are still tons of high quality players that will be available at ninth overall. Let’s take a look at five who stand out today.Drew Burress, OF – Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
Drew brings the tools
with an excellent hit tool, good power, good speed, and an excellent arm to go with a great approach and excellent pitch recognition. While he sits 5’9”, there’s no denying his excellent bat speed and pure talent. As a true freshman, Drew hit .381/.512/.821, and followed that up with a sophomore campaign that saw him hit .333/.469/.693.
Tyler Bell, SS – University of Kentucky
Tyler was drafted in 2024 by the Rays in the second round where he decided to bet on himself and go to college and managed to increase his draft stock. In his single season with the Wildcats, Tyler hit .296/.385/.522 in a strong SEC. Tyler has the tools to stick and play a strong shortstop, while providing potential plus power at the position. He has excellent bat speed to go with a solid approach, but the 22% strikeout rate is a bit of a risk.
Eric Becker, SS – University of Virginia
Eric possess a very strong bat and approach resulting in two outstanding years at the University of Virginia where he slashed .366/.459/.637 in 95 games. Eric has an outstanding hit tool and approach which resulted in a walk rate that sat around 10%, and a sub 20% strikeout rate. He doesn’t possess much speed, and his arm isn’t the strongest so it’s unknown if he will stick at short or not, but the offensive upside is tough to overlook.
A.J. Gracia, OF – University of Virginia
A.J. possess enormous offensive upside because of his hit tool, approach, and outstanding power potential. Across two seasons at the Duke. A.J. has hit .299/.449/.558, with a 1.007 OPS his sophomore season. A.J. had an astronomical 20% walk rate while striking out just 12% of the time. If drafted, he would likely start his career as a centerfielder but profiles better as a corner outfielder.
Sawyer Strosnider, OF – Texas Christian University
Another intriguing prospect with large offensive upside is Sawyer Strosnider out of TCU. By every definition of the word, Sawyer is an athlete with plus power and plus speed. In his single season at TCU, Sawyer hit .350/.420/.650 with 11 homers, 10 triples, and 13 doubles. The approach is decent enough that his 8% walk rate would likely be on the lower side of his projections but the fact that it was that low is a little worrying. That said, after starting his collegiate career off awfully, Sawyer came into his own and managed to finish the year with a sub 20% strikeout rate despite the mammoth power he possesses.
