Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs dropped their 2nd mock draft today. In their first mock back in May, they had the Braves taking Ohio State catcher Dillon Dingler. While Dingler is a good catcher with athleticism (not a word usually associated with catchers), it was always doubtful they’d spend another 1st round pick on a catcher.
In FanGraphs mock 2.0, they adjusted their pick for the Braves by having them take the righty Bryce Jarvis from Duke. Eric Longenhagen even mentioned Cole Henry, RHP from LSU, could be an option in the 3rd round. This is surprising because by all accounts Henry is a top 75 prospect in the draft (top 50 on Baseball America and MLB Pipeline).
We’ve discussed Bryce Jarvis before. He was a control pitcher that had a 50 FV fastball his sophomore year with average breakers and above average to plus change. Jarvis then went to Driveline and saw his velo jump about 5 mph while seeing a big improvement to his slider and curve. Now he has four pitches that grade above average to plus. Even with the jump in velo, he has maintained his top notch control.
Cole Henry is someone we haven’t discussed much on here. He’s a draft eligible sophomore who has put up some really good numbers his first two season at LSU. He’s posted strikeouts rates over 10 while maintaining walk rates under three batters per nine. Henry is 6’4 and looks like he’s at least 220 lbs. His fastball sits in the mid 90’s and has a plus curve with an average change-up. In his freshman season, he was shut down due to arm discomfort, but was healthy to start this season before everything stopped. Talent wise, he’s easily a second round talent and could have moved higher with a full season.
Here’s what FanGraphs has to say about Henry:
Henry will be a draft-eligible sophomore in 2020 and made huge improvements as a freshman at LSU. He turned down some money out of high school as an out-of-control projected reliever with head violence to where he had trouble keeping his hat on pitch-to-pitch. He’s now got a real chance to turn into a mid-rotation starter, but was shut down with arm discomfort late last spring and his velocity still varies. At his best, he’s regularly into the mid-90’s with a plus curveball and solid average changeup along with starter traits.
With this mock draft, the Braves have potential to get some big savings by selecting Jarvis, so theoretically it could allow them to float Henry to the back end of the 3rd round while getting 2nd round type money. Still, Cole Henry could be a tough sign if there isn’t a pretty firm agreement in place already.
FanGraphs also plans one more mock draft that will come out Wednesday morning before the draft, so stay tuned for more.