With the draft now in the books, it is time to shift our attention back to the Braves’ minor leagues. There is no question about the fact that there is a lack of depth in the minors currently (although this draft class sure helps the cause), but one name that has caught the attention of a lot of evaluators is RHP AJ Smith-Shawver.
Drafted out of Colleyville Heritage High School in the seventh round by the Braves thanks to a healthy overslot bonus, AJ features a high octane fastball that sits in the mid to upper 90’s with tons of life at the top of the zone along with a hard slider that gets a lot of silly swings and misses.