Taking a closer look at the Braves 2025 draft class.
The 2025 MLB Draft is now finished, which means it is time to take a closer look at the Braves 2025 draft class. This 21 man class, thanks to the comp pick received for Max Fried signing with the Yankees, is now complete and represents a very different looking draft than what the Braves have had in recent years. The first three picks, and four of the first five, were middle infielders – and the top pick was actually a high school hitter for the first time since Braxton Davidson all the way back in 2014 (Austin Riley was a first in 2015, but the Braves second first rounder in that draft).
My thoughts on this draft are that it is a very solid draft. Out of the Braves first seven picks, I would say six of them were guys I really liked for the Braves in the lead up to the draft. The one who didn’t make that list is Cody Miller, who only missed because he popped a little late in the Cape over this summer, after that list was made, or he too would have been on the list.
The Braves added talent. There is some power, speed, contact ability, middle infielders, intriguing relievers, a big time arm, and some lottery ticket arms for the player development staff to work with. Considering they had one of the smaller bonus pools in the league to work with, it’s hard to ask for much more than what the Braves did with their 2025 draft class.
1.22- Tate Southisene, SS, Nevada HS
While Southisene may have felt like he came off the radar to some, he is a very talented player who was in the mix to be drafted by teams with higher first round picks than the Braves. He’s got an excellent feel for contact, emerging power in his bat, above average speed, and should be able to either stick at short or move to center defensively. He’s a kid with good bloodlines – his brother was the Cubs fourth rounder last year, and feels like a kid who is going to put in the work to be good.
He is a different player than his brother Ty with the Cubs, as a bigger framed kid with more raw power, and that power showed up in the form of hard hit balls for exit velocity and distance at the combine. Southisene may not have the name brand appeal as a Wehiwa Aloy, but there isn’t a ton that separates their talent and he is expected to come at a discount – which is going to help the Braves afford some of their other talent in this draft.
2.60- Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State
Lodise was a bit of a surprise pick in this draft because if he came off the board in the 20s, no one would have been surprised. The incredibly deep shortstop class helped push him down all the way to 60 for the Braves. He’s a bat first shortstop with potentially above average power potential and at least a fringy hit tool. Defensively he will have a real chance to stick at short, but has a high floor as a bat first utility player. The funny thing about this pick is that if you told people that Lodise was taken #22 and Southisene was drafted #60, no one would even question that.
3.96- Cody Miller, SS, East Tennessee State
Miller came out of no where this year with his breakout at East Tennessee State, and followed that up with a strong performance in the Cape Cod League. While he is a likely underslot pick that wasn’t ranked most places, the tools are certainly intriguing – almost like a Nacho Alvarez rise a couple of years ago. Miller has an excellent feel for making contact, though it does come with swing and miss. He has a chance to get to above average power too, and does it with 70-grade speed. There are some questions about if he can stick at short, but with his speed there is a good chance he could also be an impact defender in center if he moved off short.
4.127 – Briggs McKenzie, LHP, North Carolina HS
The first arm the Braves selected was an overslot prep arm in North Carolina prep arm Briggs McKenzie. He’s athletic and projectable, and is already up to 95 MPH from the left side. The curve is a big spin pitch that gets up to 3,000 RPM, and he has a potentially average changeup. Mix in the fact that he throws strikes and should get to average command, and it’s easy to see what the Braves liked in him. McKenzie is a kid who no one would have blinked if he came off the board in the comp part of the first round, and now becomes yet another high upside arm in the Braves system.
4.136 – Dixon Williams, 2B, East Carolina
Dixon Williams was announced as a second baseman by the Braves, after playing second, short, and elsewhere in college. He’s a former football player who only started to see his game take off in 2024, and capped that off by winning MVP of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He continued the breakout this year by improving upon his career highs in homers and walks, and has defensive versatility already. Williams is one of those players still new to baseball full time, and could still have further room for growth as a pro with big league player development. The solid player we saw in college might actually end up being even better as a pro.
5.157 – Connor Essenburg, OF, Illinois HS
One of my favorite players in this draft. He’s a legit two-way talent who could have been drafted as a pitcher as well, but prefers hitting. Essenburg is a high upside athlete from a cold weather state, as he has significant power potential, even taking a 99 MPH fastball from Jack Bauer for an opposite field homer. He is going to need to refine the hit tool, but that’s not a surprise for a player with his cold weather two-way background. Essenburg is an overslot choice, but could end up being a steal in the fifth round.
6.187 – Landon Beidelschies, LHP, Arkansas
Landon Beidelschies transferred into Arkansas from Ohio State this year. He opened the year as a starter, but got moved to the bullpen after a drop in velocity. When he’s at his best he has an upper 90s fastball and slider that can be plus. Even if the velocity does return, he still lacks a third pitch at present with a well below average change, so the reliever risk is very real. He could be a fast moving impact lefty reliever though.
7.217 – Zach Royse, RHP, UTSA
Zach Royse is a college starter who is very likely to end up a reliever in pro ball. His fastball can touch 97 MPH and he has a not fully consistent, but borderline potentially plus slider. He’s similar to Beidelschies in the college starter with the big fastball and slider combo, but look like relievers in pro ball due to lack of a third pitch.
8.247 – Carter Lovasz, RHP, William & Mary
Carter Lovasz is the Braves first senior sign. He’s a college reliever who is coming off a rough season, but did have a good 2024 season. He’s got a solid pitch mix and can post big strikeout totals, with a potentially plus change being his best pitch. He has had solid command historically, but his downfall this year was losing his command. Once he regains his command he looks like an interesting reliever option, though more as a middle reliever than late-inning guy.
9.277 – Logan Braunschweig, OF, UAB
The Braves love to draft hit tool/on base guys, and Logan Braunschweig is that guy. Braunschweig has a good feel for contact and takes his walks, and has 70-grade speed. The reason he is being drafted as a senior sign is the fact he has very well below-average to almost non-existent power in his game. He should be able to do enough damage with the hit tool and speed to move up a few levels in the lower minors fairly quickly.
10.307 – Kade Woods, RHP, LSU
Kade Woods is the Braves third and final senior sign this year. He started his career at Alabama, and transferred to LSU – though hasn’t pitched much there the past few years as he hasn’t been healthy. Despite his lack of game experience the last few years, he went to the MLB Draft League and looked good out of the bullpen there in a short sample size. He’s previously been up to 97 MPH and has feel for a solid curve, but hasn’t been up there recently. The command needs to be improved for sure and he needs to get some lost innings in, but he is an interesting senior sign for sure.
11.337 – Colin Daniel, RHP, UAB
The Braves went back to UAB to take Colin Daniel in the 11th round. He posted a very strong year as a starter this year, and that certainly helped his cause. Daniel has had his success despite having more modest stuff as he has plus command and pitch ability. The Braves have to be hoping he can gain a little more to his stuff in a pro program, but taking a chance on a successful starter with good traits isn’t a bad option when the money is running low in the bonus pool.
12.367 – Jay Woolfolk, RHP, Virginia
Jay Woolfolk was a top recruit a few years ago who also got some run as a quarterback for Virginia. He started his career as a reliever, but recently dropped football and moved into the rotation. His results were not as good as a starter, though he has a four-pitch mix including a fastball up to 97 MPH which fits as a starter. The slider is actually his best pitch. Command can be decent. He fits best in the pen, but there are some interesting traits for the Braves to work with.
13.397 – Logan Forsythe, RHP, Louisiana Tech
Logan Forsythe isn’t the former big league utility player but a reliever who came to Louisiana Tech from Mississippi State for this year. He brings high level stuff with an upper 90s fastball and a swing and miss slider, but he also has real command issues. This was his first year where he got significant innings, and he posted big strikeout numbers – but also walked 6.5 per nine. He’s got late inning stuff, but will need to harness the command to reach his upside.
14.427 – Mathieu Curtis, RHP, Virginia Tech
Curtis came from USC Upstate this year and also transitioned into relief from starting. He’s a three-pitch pitcher who can touch 95 with the fastball. Similar to Forsythe command is also an issue. Curtis doesn’t quite have the stuff of a late inning guy, but a middle relief role is possible if he can fix the command.
15.457 – Dallas Macias, OF, Oregon State
Macias was a candidate to go quite a bit higher coming into the year, as he had a very good year for the Beavers. Unfortunately he right this year as he got off to an early slump and lost his starting job, and never got going in 2025. At his best he has a feel for contact, gap power, and the instincts to steal some bases. He was planning to start over at TCU next year to rebuild his draft stock, but this likely changes his plans.
16.487 – Nico Wagner, RHP, West Valley College
Wagner began his career at Nevada and moved to West Valley this year. He was solid in his time as a starter there, but where he went and opened eyes was in the MLB Draft League. He is already able to touch 95 MPH and has a developing slider and change, and has projection left on his large frame. The one thing that will really need work is his command, but young, large pitchers typically have that issue.
17.517 – Brody Fowler, RHP, North Greenville
Brody Fowler is a big 6’7, 240-pounder with a two-way background, though his future is on the mound. He saw his command pick up this year and had a solid year pitching in D2, striking out more than one per inning as a starter in his redshirt sophomore year. Fowler isn’t just big, but he’s also athletic and has had some big exit velocities in the past. He is a kid whose character is praised by those around him. The hope is the Braves can take this big, athletic kid and coach him up in the pro development system.
18.547 – Aiven Cabral, RHP, Northeastern
A slightly undersized pitcher without a ton of projection remaining, Cabral is a solid pitcher with above average command and pitchability. He knows what he is doing out there, though he doesn’t have the biggest stuff. His fastball tops out at 94 and he has a slider and change, but none of his offerings are plus. He had a big year pitching for Mike Glavine’s team as a starter and had a successful Cape last summer. He feels more like a reliever, but with some gains with the Braves development staff he could get a chance to start. Cabral represents great value at this point in the draft.
19.577 – Ryan Heppner, RHP, U British Columbia
A bit of an unknown coming from Canada, but Heppner feels like an interesting sleeper. He’s more of a low 90s guy with a four pitch mix, but he hasn’t begun to really tap into his projectability yet. He’s a strike thrower as well, so the hope is that he physically develops and can be coached into more. His stat lines from UBC don’t tell the whole story as he wasn’t fully healthy the past two years and it did have some minor effects on his performance. The kid is also an excellent fit for the Braves system, as I’ve had people rave about his character and work ethic. This is an interesting pick from a small Canadian school who seems to have some untapped potential for the Braves to work with – and you can’t ask for more in the 19th round.
20.607 – Hayden Friese, OF/1B, Western Carolina
Friese is a player with good feel for plate discipline and walks more than he strikes out. He increased his power this year by more than doubling his homer total to nine, and there is some thought that he could have a little bit more untapped power in there. After the season he went to the Coastal Plain League and continued to show excellent on base ability, though the increased power hasn’t shown up for him there. Defensively he has split time between first and the outfield, and you’re hoping he can stick in left field.