The best draft picks in Atlanta Braves history | More

The Major League Baseball draft is unique among professional sports drafts. All 30 organizations select teenagers and college students who won’t join their major league clubs for years, if ever.

These athletes will spend that time honing their craft in the minor leagues, where long bus rides and tiny salaries are the norm. A few will quickly rise through the ranks, seizing playing time opportunities to advance their careers and make their names known to scouts, fans and other observers around the country.

Some of the best players will become MLB stars, but the correlation with draft position is minimal. Four of the top national draft picks were selected after hundreds of other Diamond darlings, and only two were first overall picks.

There are also a handful of players who didn’t do much for the teams that drafted them, including superstars like Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith and Randy Johnson. Each of these players was traded before making it to the Hall of Fame.

Still, calling the draft a “crapshoot” might be going too far. College players have a “slightly better chance” than high schoolers of reaching the revered major league stadiums, and players picked in the third round have a better chance than those picked in the fifth round, for example, though the margins are slim, as Vice reported. Teams aren’t just making picks based on projections made years in advance, but also on their ability to draft players, a step that must be taken before these young players begin playing professionally.

To see how clubs have fared since the inaugural draft in 1965, ATS.io compiled a list of the best draft picks in Atlanta Braves history using data from Baseball Reference. Players were ranked by career wins above replacement, so no recent picks were named. Unsigned picks were not counted, and players who were traded as picks were credited to their acquiring teams. Data is as of June 5, 2024.

#24. Charlie Morton (tie)

– Draft: 95th overall pick in 2002

– Position: Pitcher

– Games played: 364

– Career stats: 133 wins, 4 earned runs average, 1.30 walks plus hits per inning

– Wins above replacement: 16.8

#24. Wayne Garrett (tie)

– Draft: 104th overall pick in 1965

– Position: Shortstop

– Games played: 1,092

– Career stats: 61 home runs, .239 batting average, .691 on-base plus slugging

– Wins above replacement: 16.8

#23. Mike Minor

– Draft: 7th overall pick in 2009

– Position: Pitcher

– Games played: 295

– Career stats: 83 wins, 4.25 earned runs average, 1.25 walks plus hits per inning

– Wins above replacement: 18.4

#22. Austin Riley

– Draft: 41st overall pick in 2015

– Position: Third goal

– Games played: 654

– Career stats: 137 home runs, .272 batting average, .837 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 19.1

#21. Glenn Hubbard

– Draft: 473rd overall pick in 1975

– Position: Second baseman

– Games played: 1,354

– Career stats: 70 home runs, .244 batting average, .677 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 19.2

#20. Zane Smith

– Draft: 63rd overall pick in 1982

– Position: Pitcher

– Games played: 362

– Career stats: 100 wins, 3.74 earned runs average, 1.34 walks plus hits per inning

– Wins above replacement: 20.2

#19. Jermaine Dye

– Draft: 488th overall pick in 1993

– Position: outfielder

– Games played: 1,763

– Career stats: 325 home runs, .274 batting average, .826 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 20.3

#18. Bob Horner

– Draft: 1st overall pick in 1978

– Position: Third goal

– Games played: 1,020

– Career stats: 218 home runs, .277 batting average, .839 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 21.9

#17. Craig Kimbrel

– Draft: 96th overall pick in 2008

– Position: Pitcher

– Games played: 804

– Career stats: 53 wins, 2.42 earned runs average, 0.99 walks plus hits per inning

– Wins above replacement: 23.7

#16. Ryan Klesko

– Draft: 116th overall pick in 1989

– Position: Pitcher

– Games played: 1,736

– Career stats: 278 home runs, .279 batting average, .870 on-base plus slugging

– Wins above replacement: 26.7

#15. Yunel Escobar

– Draft: 75th overall pick in 2005

– Position: Shortstop

– Games played: 1,434

– Career stats: 90 home runs, .282 batting average, .736 on-base plus slugging

– Wins above replacement: 26.8

#14. Jason Schmidt

– Draft: 205th overall pick in 1991

– Position: Pitcher

– Games played: 323

– Career stats: 130 wins, 3.96 earned runs average, 1.32 walks plus hits per inning

– Wins above replacement: 29.5

#13. Kevin Millwood

– Draft: 320th overall pick in 1993

– Position: Pitcher

– Games played: 451

– Career stats: 169 wins, 4.11 earned runs average, 1.33 walks plus hits per inning

– Wins above replacement: 29.8

#12. Brian McCann

– Draft: 64th overall pick in 2002

– Position: Receiver

– Games played: 1,755

– Career stats: 282 home runs, .262 batting average, .789 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 32.0

#11. Ron Gant

– Draft: 100th overall pick in 1983

– Position: Shortstop

– Games played: 1,832

– Career stats: 321 home runs, .256 batting average, .803 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 34.1

#10. Dusty Baker

– Draft: 504th overall pick in 1967

– Position: outfielder

– Games played: 2,039

– Career stats: 242 home runs, .278 batting average, .779 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 37.0

#9. Andrelton Simmons

– Draft: 70th overall pick in 2010

– Position: Shortstop

– Games played: 1,225

– Career stats: 70 home runs, .263 batting average, .678 on-base percentage plus slugging

– Wins above replacement: 37.1

#8. David Justice

– Draft: 94th overall pick in 1985

– Position: First goal

– Games played: 1,610

– Career stats: 305 home runs, .279 batting average, .878 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 40.6

#7. Jason Heyward

– Draft: 14th overall pick in 2007

– Position: outfielder

– Games played: 1,721

– Career stats: 176 home runs, .258 batting average, .749 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 41.2

#6. Adam Wainwright

– Draft: 29th overall pick in 2000

– Position: Pitcher

– Games played: 478

– Career stats: 200 wins, 3.53 earned runs average, 1.24 walks plus hits per inning

– Wins above replacement: 45.2

#5. Dale Murphy

– Draft: 5th overall pick in 1974

– Position: Receiver

– Games played: 2,180

– Career stats: 398 home runs, .265 batting average, .815 on-base plus slugging

– Wins above replacement: 46.5

#4. Brett Butler

– Draft: 573rd overall pick in 1979

– Position: outfielder

– Games played: 2,213

– Career stats: 54 home runs, .290 batting average, .753 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 49.7

#3. Freddie Freeman

– Draft: 78th overall pick in 2007

– Position: First goal

– Games played: 1,947

– Career stats: 328 home runs, .301 batting average, .902 on-base and slugging percentage

– Wins above replacement: 58.2

#2. Tom Glavine

– Draft: 47th overall pick in 1984

– Position: Pitcher

– Games played: 688

– Career stats: 305 wins, 3.54 earned runs average, 1.31 walks plus hits per inning

– Wins above replacement: 80.7

#1. Chipper Jones

– Draft: 1st overall pick in 1990

– Position: Shortstop

– Games played: 2,499

– Career stats: 468 home runs, .303 batting average, .930 on-base plus slugging

– Wins above replacement: 85.3

This article features data reports from Karim Noorani, written by Mike Taylor, and is part of a series using data automation across 30 MLB teams.

This story originally appeared on ATS.io and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.