The Atlanta Braves have taken a pitcher with their first pick in the MLB Draft four straight years. The last time they didn’t, they selected a high school hitter in Braxton Davidson — and that was a 32nd overall pick.
Taking high school players early in the MLB Draft is always risking, but even more so for hitters as they’re almost impossible to project against Major League pitchers.
With high school pitchers you can typically get a good idea by their mechanics (are they repeatable) and their stuff (how hard they throw and can they command their off-speed pitches).