Atlanta Braves Best and Worst MLB draft picks of the “modern” format

Best Picks

**1. Chipper Jones, SS, 1990** – It’s not easy for a #1 overall pick to make this list, let alone top it – but Chipper Jones wasn’t ordinary by the standards of the top overall selection. The Hall of Famer, and one of the faces of the Braves dynasty run was an MVP, Batting Champion, and World Series winner who hit .303/.401/.529 with 468 homers as a career-long Brave. **2. Freddie Freeman, 1B, 2007** – It’s easy to forget that Freddie Freeman wasn’t the Braves top pick in the 2007 class, or even the most hyped prospect out of that group thanks to . However the Braves second rounder has carved out a future Hall of Fame career, hitting .299/.385/.509 with 370 homers, an MVP, Gold Glove, and 3 World Series rings – including one World Series MVP. Though he if now in his fifth season with the , Freeman’s contributions to the Braves and helping lead them from rebuilding organization to 2021 World Series champs won’t be forgotten anytime soon. **3. , C, 2002** – The second round pick in 2022, Brian McCann took over the Braves catching job in 2005 and held it through the 2013 season, before leaving to sign with the . He returned home to play his final season as a Brave in 2019, posting a career .262/.337/.452 slash with 282 homers. The seven-time All Star even won a World Series ring with the 2017 Astros. McCann reached the Hall of Fame ballot in the 2025 voting, but was removed after receiving just 1.8% of the vote. **4. , RHP, 2000** – The 29th pick in the 2000 draft never saw Atlanta, thanks to being traded to the for JD Drew after the 2003 season. Still he deserves to be ranked high on this list as a player who will be getting considered for a possible spot in the Hall of Fame. Waino spent his entire career in , going 200-128 with a 3.53 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 2202 strikeouts over 2668.1 innings. He might have had even better counting stats, but missed all of 2011 and parts of 2015 and 2018 with injuries, along with the shortened 2020 season. He retired after the 2023 season at the age of 41. **5. , RHP, 2008** – Craig Kimbrel was actually drafted out of his Alabama JUCO twice by the Braves, though he didn’t sign as a 33rd round pick in 2007. He did sign as a third rounder in 2008, and went on to become arguably the greatest closer in franchise history. A current Met, he has a career 2.63 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 440 saves, and 1293 strikeouts over 830 innings pitched. Out of his 440 saves, 186 came in a Braves uniform, and he pitched to a 1.43 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with the team. He was traded to the Padres just before Opening Day in 2015, right at the start of the Braves rebuild – a move that netted the Braves another member of this list with the Competitive Balance Round A pick that was part of his return. He will likely be considered for the Hall of Fame once that time comes for him. **6. Kevin Millwood, RHP, 1993** – An 11th round pick in 1993, Kevin Millwood reached the bigs in 1997, and had his breakout in 1999 when he finished third in Cy Young voting. He was a bit more up and down over the next three seasons with the Braves, before they flipped him to the after the 2022 season for catcher Johnny Estrada. Overall he went 169-152 with a 4.11 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 2083 strikeouts in 2720.1 innings, earning 29.8 bWAR. Millwood was an All Star just once, in 1999, but twice received Cy Young votes, and led the AL in ERA with in 2005. **7. Jason Schmidt, RHP, 1991** – An eighth round pick in 1991, Jason Schmidt became a top prospect for the Braves. He hadn’t quite broken out yet in 22 big league games, when the Braves flipped him to the Pirates in 1996 for Denny Neagle. Schmidt ended up going on to win 130 games with a 3.96 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and 1758 strikeouts over 1996.1 innings. He was a three-time All Star, and led the NL in ERA in 2003 when he finished second in the Cy Young voting with the Giants. Overall he posted 29.5 bWAR, which turned out to be a steal in the eighth round. **8. , SS, 2010** – Andrelton Simmons was taken in the second round in 2010, and by 2012 had become the Braves starting shortstop. Although he was a career .263/.312/.366 hitter with 70 homers, he was a highlight machine that became the best defensive shortstop – and possibly even player, in baseball. That led to Simmons posting 36.5 bWAR. Like Kimbrel he was traded in 2015, after the season, to the Angels as the Braves got further into their rebuild. **9. Jermaine Dye, OF, 1993** – A 17th round pick in 1993, Jermaine Dye quickly became a top prospect for the Braves. They brought him up in 1996 and saw him slash .281/.304/.459 with 12 homers in 98 games. Unfortunately the Braves were in win-now mode at that time, and after the year sent him to the Royals in the deal that brought in Michael Tucker and Keith Lockhart. Dye went on to slash .274/.338/.488 with 325 homers in 14 big league seasons with four teams. He was a two-time All Star that finished fifth in AL MVP voting in 2006, when he hit 44 homers with 120 RBI for the . Dye, who put up 20.3 bWAR, also won a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and was the World Series MVP in the White Sox 2005 title run. **10. , 3B, 2015** – The player acquired with the Competitive Balance pick received in the Craig Kimbrel trade is Austin Riley. The 41st pick in the 2015 draft, a former two-way high school star, Riley has been a two-time All Star and Silver Slugger, as well as winning the 2021 World Series. For his career Riley is hitting .267/.332/.486 with 174 homers – and won’t turn 30 until the start of next season. He has already produced 22.5 bWAR for the Braves. **11. Ryan Klesko, LHP, 1989** – A fifth round pick in 1989, future Braves slugger Ryan Klesko is actually listed as being drafted as a left-handed pitcher. That is because he was seen as a guy with real potential on the mound, though his impressive power ended up continuing his development as a bat. Klesko slashed .279/.370/.500 with 278 homers over parts of 16 big league seasons. The one-time All Star, who won a ring as a member of the 1995 Braves, put up 26.9 bWAR – a number that would surely be higher if not for his well below average defense bringing that total down. Klesko hit 20+ homers in four of the five seasons he played 100+ games with the Braves, before being traded to the Padres after the 1999 season in the deal that brought Reggie Sanders, Wally Joyner, and Quilvio Veras to Atlanta. **12. , CF, 2019** – The third round pick in 2019 rose quickly through the minors out of high school to win the Rookie of the Year in 2022 – despite losing his 2020 season to the Covid shutdown. After posting OPS marks of .853 and .808 in his first two years, injury and issues with his swing resulted in marks of .722 and .678 in his next two years. Harris did come back on in the second half of last year, and presently has a .841 OPS this year, while also being one of the top defensive centerfielders in the league. For his career he is a .275/.309/.454 hitter with 80 homers, and is still in just his age-25 season with 15.2 bWAR produced. **13. , RHP, 2020** – A fourth rounder in that weird 2020 draft, Spencer Strider has quickly established himself as one of the best pitchers in the game. After finishing second in the Rookie of the Year to a teammate, and fellow member of this list in 2022, Strider finished fourth in the Cy Young voting in 2023. Unfortunately Tommy John hit him after just two starts in 2024, and he spent 2025 trying to get himself back into form. An injury has kept him to just one start, which had to be at Coors Field, so far this year as we wait to see what version of Strider is really in there right now. Overall he is 39-24 with a 3.77 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 632 strikeouts in 458.1 innings.