Kiley McDaniel projects LSU righty Ty Floyd to the Atlanta Braves in latest Mock Draft

The 2023 MLB Draft will get underway Sunday and the Atlanta Braves will be featured prominently with three picks on the first day. The Braves hold the 24th pick, the 59th pick and the 70th pick, which is a compensation pick for Dansby Swanson signing with the Chicago Cubs.

Early mock drafts have had the Braves tied to position players for their first pick, but we have seen some pitchers working their way into the mix of late. ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel released a full two-round mock draft Friday morning and projects LSU right-hander Ty Floyd to Atlanta at No. 24.

I don’t think the Braves are looking at over-slot options here, and they are mostly on position players. As mentioned in my updated rankings, there’s a faint whiff of Spencer Strider to the Georgia native Floyd’s operation on the heels of his College World Series heroics, so the savings here (Floyd was eligible last year and this is about as high as he projects to go, floor around pick 40-50) would give the Braves flexibility down the board to take multiple over-slot swings.

As McDaniel points out, the move would be an underslot pick and would give the Braves flexibility for their later picks. Floyd racked up 120 strikeouts in 91 innings during the 2023 season. He of course set a College World Series record with a 17 strikeout performance in Game 1 against Florida. He is ranked as the 44th best prospect in Baseball America’s updated Top 500.

McDaniel projects UCLA third baseman Kyle Karros to the Braves in the second round and Louisiana Lafayette outfielder Carson Roccaforte to Atlanta with the 70th pick.