MLB Pipeline projects SS Walker Martin to Braves in mock draft
Jonathan Mayo dropped the second iteration of MLB Pipeline’s mock draft for the 2023 MLB draft, and he put out a new name that they have not connected to the Braves. The Braves will be picking at 24th overall, where Mayo has them taking shortstop Walker Martin out of Eaton High School in Colorado. Martin is one of the older prep players in this class as he is already 19 years old, but that hasn’t discouraged many scouts. Martin is a strong left handed bat with a solid swing and good bat speed, with most believing he can hit both for average and for power. The biggest question will be whether Martin sticks at shortstop long term, a common refrain among shortstop prospects in the Braves system. Another commonality with the Braves type: Martin is a two-sport player who also starts at quarterback for his high school. Martin has a commitment to Arkansas but seems unlikely to keep it at this stage. Martin ranks 41st on Pipeline’s top draft prospects list and 30th on Baseball America’s.
In Jim Callis’s mock draft a couple of weeks ago Pipeline had the Braves taking two-way player Bryce Eldridge who in this mock goes one pick later to the Padres. Charlee Soto is a prep pitcher with intriguing stuff and athleticism who Mayo projects to go at 27 in this mock draft to the Phillies. The last offensive player and last shortstop that the Braves have taken in the first round was Braden Shewmake in 2019. The last time the Braves took a prep infielder in the first round was Josh Burrus in 2001, with Austin Riley being the last chosen in an early compensation round.
Source: Battery Power
