The MLB draft launched in 1965, with Dick Grant representing the first pick in Braves history (12th overall). Since then, Atlanta has selected three Hall of Fame talents in the amateur draft (with the potential for more).
With the Major League Baseball draft all set for Monday through Wednesday, 11Alive Sports offers a listing of the Atlanta Braves' 15 most intriguing draft picks of the last 53 years.
The MLB amateur draft launched in 1965, with Rick Monday (Athletics) representing the first overall selection and Dick Grant serving as the Braves' inaugural pick in franchise history (12th overall).
It's worth noting: All 15 players on this countdown saw time in the major leagues; but that wasn't the original plan.
In the 13th round of 1982, the Braves were impressed with the athletic potential of a hard-nosed preps shortstop from Ashtabula, Ohio ... who would eventually become one of the established kings of the college football universe.
The draftee's name: Urban Meyer.
The honorable mention include: Steve Bedrosian, Jay Buhner, Tim Salmon, Ben McDonald (future No. 1 overall pick), Brandon Belt, Brett Butler, Charlie Morton, Evan Gattis, Adam Wainwright and Jeff Francoeur.
THE BRAVES' 15 MOST INTRIGUING DRAFTEES SINCE 1965
1. CHIPPER JONES
DRAFT: 1990 (DeLand, Florida)
ROUND: 1st (1st overall)
MLB STATS: 468 HR, 1,623 RBI, 1,619 runs, 150 steals, .303 batting, .401 OBP, .930 OPS
LEGACY: Hall of Fame (2018), 1999 NL MVP, 8-time All-Star, NL Batting title (2008)
a) Strangely, Jones was a controversial 1/1 pick in 1990.
Back then, high school pitcher Todd Van Poppel was hailed as the consensus scouting favorite among the '90 class. In fact, when the Braves opted for Jones at the top spot ... it was originally viewed as a cost-savings move.
For the record, Van Poppel logged an 11-year career in the majors, despite winning only 40 games (career ERA: 5.58).
b) You cannot rattle off the short list of baseball's greatest switch hitters without uttering Jones' name. At the very least, Chipper ranks fourth overall in that category ... after Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose and Eddie Murray.
c) According to Baseball Reference, Jones ranks 51st in career WAR (85.2).
d) Among third basemen, Jones belongs in that first wave of hot-corner legends, along with George Brett, Mike Schmidt, Eddie Matthews, Alex Rodriguez, Wade Boggs, Adrian Beltre and Brooks Robinson.
2. TOM GLAVINE
DRAFT: 1984 (Concord, Massachusetts)
ROUND: 2nd (47th overall)
MLB STATS: 305-203, 3.54 ERA, 2,607 strikeouts, 25 shutouts, 5 20-win campaigns
LEGACY: Hall of Fame (2014), 2-time NL Cy Young (1991, 1998), 10-time All-Star, 1995 World Series MVP
a) Glavine easily stands as the second-greatest left-handed pitcher in Braves history (after Warren Spahn).
b) Of the Braves' three Hall of Fame pitchers of the 1990s and 2000s (along with Greg Maddux and John Smoltz), only Glavine was an original club draftee.
c) Glavine and Randy Johnson have notched 300 career victories over the last 11 years. It might be a while before another MLB pitcher hits the hallowed '300' threshold.
d) The NHL's Los Angeles Kings drafted Glavine in the fourth round in 1984, ahead of future Hall of Famers Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille.
3. DALE MURPHY
DRAFT: 1974 (Portland, Oregon)
ROUND: 1st (5th overall)
MLB STATS: 398 HR, 1,266 RBI, 1,197 runs, 161 steals, .265 batting, .346 OBP, .815 OPS
LEGACY: Two-time NL MVP (1982, 1983), 7-time All-Star, 5 gold gloves
a) Since 1950, only six players have captured National League MVP honors in back-to-back campaigns–Ernie Banks, Joe Morgan, Mike Schmidt, Dale Murphy, Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols.
b) For Murphy's two MVP seasons, he absurdly averaged 36 homers, 115 RBI, 122 runs, 26 steals, along with .291 batting and a robust on-base percentage of .386.
c) There's still hope for Murphy reaching the Hall of Fame someday, via the Seniors' Committee. From 1980-87, Murphy finished in the top-12 voting for NL MVP six times.
4. RANDY JOHNSON
DRAFT: 1982 (Livermore, California)
ROUND: 4th (89th overall)
MLB STATS: 303-166, 3.29 ERA, 4,875 strikeouts, 100 complete games, 37 shutouts
LEGACY: Hall of Fame (2015), 4-time ERA champion, 5-time Cy Young (1995, 1999-2002), 10-time All-Star, 2001 World Series MVP
a) Let's start with the local angle: The Braves drafted baseball's last two 300-game winners (Johnson, Tom Glavine) ... and just two years apart; and neither player hailed from the South. Talk about excellent scouting!
b) Johnson was reportedly offered $50,000 to sign with Atlanta out of high school. He then committed to USC for college baseball, before signing with the Montreal Expos in 1985.
c) Let's play this 'What If?' game: Can you imagine if Johnson had teamed up with Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux and Steve Avery in the 1990s? The Braves likely would have won multiple championships during that decade.
d) Johnson dominated baseball from 1999-2002, taking home four consecutive NL Cy Young trophies (Arizona Diamondbacks). During that prodigious period, The Big Unit averaged 20.3 wins, a 2.48 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 364 strikeouts.
5. DAVID JUSTICE
DRAFT: 1985 (Thomas More College)
ROUND: 4th (94th overall)
MLB STATS: 305 HR, 1,017 RBI, 929 runs, 53 steals, .279 batting, .378 OBP, .878 OPS
LEGACY: NL Rookie of the Year (1989), 3-time All-Star
a) Justice was the first homegrown star to emerge from the pack of Braves who would dominate the 1990s.
b) In 1993, Justice erupted for 40 homers, 120 RBI, 90 runs and an on-base percentage of .357. It was good enough for third place in NL MVP voting.
For that season, Barry Bonds collected 24 of the 28 first-place ballots.
c) In Hollywood terms ... Justice was once married to future Best Actress winner Halle Berry. His persona was also featured prominently in the 2011 baseball movie, Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt.
d) For Game 6 of the 1995 World Series, Justice's solo homer proved to be the title-clinching moment for the Braves. To this day, it remains the only major-sports championship in Atlanta history.
6. FREDDIE FREEMAN
DRAFT: 2007 (Fountain Valley, California)
ROUND: 2nd (78th overall)
MLB STATS: 175 HR, 626 RBI, 626 runs, 32 steals, .292 batting, .379 OBP, .878 OPS
LEGACY: Two-time All-Star
a) Freeman's well on his way to becoming a Braves legend. He has finished in the top-6 voting for NL MVP twice already.
b) Over the last six seasons, Freeman owns robust tallies with batting average (.302), on-base percentage (.395) and OPS (.913).
c) Freeman's off to a flying start this year, so much that he might threaten to repeat the greatness of two years ago (34 HR, 91 RBI, 102 runs, .302 batting, .402 OBP).
d) Check out the Braves' amazing draft in 2007: Jason Heyward, Freeman, Craig Kimbrel and San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt.
7. BRIAN MCCANN
DRAFT: 2002 (Duluth, Georgia)
ROUND: 2nd (64th overall)
MLB STATS: 267 HR, 964 RBI, 707 runs, .264 batting, .338 OBP
LEGACY: Six-time Silver Slugger, 7-time All-Star
a) From 2006-16, McCann was the most bankable catcher in baseball. For that 11-year period, the Georgia native averaged 22 homers, 24 doubles, 79 RBI, 57 runs and a batting average of .266.
b) McCann finally got a taste of the World Series last year, helping the Astros claim their first championship in franchise history.
8. CRAIG KIMBREL
DRAFT: 2007/08 (Wallace State Community College)
ROUND: 33rd (1,006th overall in 2007) / 3rd (96th overall in 2008)
MLB STATS: 27-19, 1.81 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 310 saves, 808 strikeouts
LEGACY: NL Rookie of the Year (2010), 6-time All-Star
a) Kimbrel was the best closer in baseball from 2011-14 with the Braves, posting a 1.51 ERA, 436/92 K-BB rate and averaging 46 saves per year.
b) The Braves actually selected Kimbrel in back-to-back years. Check out the disparity with both drafts. In 2007, more than 1,000 prospects were taken ahead of the Alabama native. The following spring, Kimbrel cracked the top 100.
9. DUSTY BAKER
DRAFT: 1967 (Citrus Heights, California)
ROUND: 26th (504th overall)
MLB STATS: 242 HR, 1,013 RBI, 964 runs, 137 steals, .278 batting, .347 OBP, .779 OPS
LEGACY: One Gold Glove, 2-time All-Star, 3-time MLB Manager of the Year
a) History acknowledges Baker as the first Braves star of the post-draft era. He broke into the big leagues at age 19.
b) In 1980 with the Dodgers, Baker finished fourth in NL MVP voting (29 HR, 97 RBI, 80 runs, 12 steals, .294 batting). Curiously, Baker didn't make the All-Star Game that season.
c) In baseball's modern era, Baker belongs on the short list of greatest major-league managers that never won the World Series crown.
10. RON GANT
DRAFT: 1983 (Victoria, Texas)
ROUND: 4th (100th overall)
MLB STATS: 321 HR, 1,008 RBI, 1,080 runs, 243 steals, .256 batting, .336 OBP, .803 OPS
LEGACY: Two-time All-Star
From 1990-96, spanning six seasons (one lost to injury), Gant keenly averaged 29 homers, 93 RBI, 91 runs and 27 steals, while establishing himself as one of baseball's best outfielders. But injuries eventually took its toll, perhaps explaining why Gant bounced around with six other franchises from 1997-2003 (Cardinals, Phillies, Angels, Rockies, Athletics, Padres).
11. BOB HORNER
DRAFT: 1978 (Arizona State)
ROUND: 1st (1st overall)
MLB STATS: 218 HR, 685 RBI, 560 runs, .277 batting, .340 OBP, .839 OPS
LEGACY: One-time All-Star, NL Rookie of the Year (1978)
a) A mega-star at Arizona State, Horner was one of baseball's best power hitters from 1978-82, averaging 28 homers during that span. He even cracked 27 homers for 1985 and 1986, prior to becoming a free agent.
b) How's this for rare in modern-day baseball? Horner never spent a single day in the minors, before receiving his major-league promotion in 1978.
c) Horner was greatly affected by baseball's collusion scandal of the mid-1980s. As a result, after not fielding a single MLB offer in 1987, he ended up playing in Japan for one season ... before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1988.
12. ANDRELTON SIMMONS
DRAFT: 2010 (Western Oklahoma State)
ROUND: 2nd (70th overall)
MLB STATS: 53 HR, 314 RBI, 354 runs, 50 steals, .269 batting, .319 OBP
LEGACY: Three-time Gold Glove winner
a) Simmons is universally regarded as the best defensive shortstop in baseball.
b) Last year, Simmons collected a top-8 finish for American League MVP, after posting career highs with RBI (69), runs (77) and steals (19).
c) Through June 2, Simmons has been riding a great wave at the plate, posting elite-level marks with batting (.336) and on-base percentage (.405).
13. JASON HEYWARD
DRAFT: 2007 (McDonough, Georgia)
ROUND: 1st (14th overall)
MLB STATS: 117 HR, 481 RBI, 586 runs, 101 steals, .262 batting, .344 OBP
LEGACY: One-time All-Star, 2-time Gold Glove
a) Heyward likely enjoyed the greatest MLB debut in Atlanta Braves history, crushing a long homer off Carlos Zambrano on Opening Day 2010 at Turner Field.
b) The Georgia native was on the path to greatness after his first three seasons in the bigs, averaging 20 homers, 65 RBI, 75 runs and 14 steals.
However, in recent years, Heyward has largely experienced tangible declines with offensive production.
14. STEVE AVERY
DRAFT: 1988 (Taylor, Michigan)
ROUND: 1st (3rd overall)
MLB STATS: 96-83, 4.19 ERA, 980 strikeouts
LEGACY: One-time All-Star, NLCS MVP (1991)
a) Oh, what could have been for Avery. For his first three full seasons with the Braves (1991-93), the Detroit native racked up two years of 18 wins and a cumulative ERA of 3.17.
So, what changed after that? Injuries slowly deprived Avery of his immense promise.
b) In the 1991 NLCS, Avery was the hottest pitcher on the planet, allowing zero runs over 16.1 innings (two victories against the Pirates).
15. MARK WOHLERS
DRAFT: 1988 (Holyoke, Massachusetts)
ROUND: 8th (190th overall)
MLB STATS: 39-29, 119 saves, 557 Ks
LEGACY: One-time All-Star
We'll keep this one short and sweet:
When the Braves claimed their only Atlanta-based World Series title in 1995, it was Wohlers who recorded the final out, putting the finishing touches on Tom Glavine's zero-run, eight-inning masterpiece from Game 6.
