Braves go with pitching with their first-round pick in major league draft

The Atlanta Braves selected Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright with the fifth overall selection in Monday’s Major League Baseball amateur draft.

Just a few days ago, Wright was projected to be the first overall pick in the draft by the Minnesota Twins. Then rumors floated Friday night the Twins would take Louisville two-way star Brendan McKay. But when the Twins selected California high school talent Royce Lewis instead, Wright slid even more down the draft board right into the Braves’ lap.

Wright was 5-6 in 16 starts in his junior season with the Commodores. He had a 3.40 ERA, with 82 hits allowed in 103.1 innings, 31 walks and 121 strikeouts. As a sophomore in 2016, Wright was 8-4 with a 3.09 ERA in 16 starts, with a 1.76 ERA in the SEC.

The 21-year-old Wright is a 6-4, 220-pounder from Huntsville, Alabama. His bio on the Vanderbilt website lists the Braves as his favorite team.

MLB.com listed Wright as the third-best prospect in the draft. Scouting reports have Wright with a mid-90s fastball and a solid curveball. Baseball America named Wright as a second-team All-American.

The Vanderbilt website included this information in a press release Thursday:

Wright has been dominant down the stretch for the Commodores, allowing opponents to hit just .169 while striking out 79 batters over 64.2 innings of his last nine starts. The big right-hander began his dominance with a shutout of Florida in mid-April, punching out a career-best 13 Gators and scattering just three hits. He followed up with seven one-hit, scoreless innings at Georgia the next week to push his streak to three straight starts without an earned run. He matched his career-best with 13 strikeouts over nine innings against Missouri before beginning a streak of three straight wins with seven scoreless innings at Arkansas in mid-May. He fanned 11 Razorbacks and struck out 11 against Alabama the next week to push his three-start total to 35 over 23.1 innings against Missouri, Arkansas and Alabama.

Wright will join an impressive list of pitching prospects that has given the Braves the best farm system in baseball, according to most analysts. Sean Newcomb made his debut last Saturday, and more pitching prospects are expected to come up in the next few years.

This is the third straight year the Braves, under scouting director Brian Bridges and special assistant to the GM Roy Clark, have drafted a pitcher in the first round. They took high schoolers Kolby Allard (14th overall) in 2015 and Ian Anderson (3rd overall) last year.

The Braves last took a college pitcher in the first round four years ago, when they selected Jason Hursh from Oklahoma State. Hursh is now in Atlanta’s bullpen.

This story was originally published June 12, 2017 at 8:09 PM with the headline "Braves go with pitching with their first-round pick in major league draft."