# List of Atlanta Braves first-round draft picks

The Atlanta Braves are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Atlanta, Georgia. They play in the National League East division. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur clubs to its franchises. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. Since the establishment of the draft in 1965, the Braves have selected 56 players in the first round.
Of those 56 players, 27 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 15 of these were right-handed, while 12 were left-handed. The Braves have also selected eight outfielders, seven shortstops, five catchers, four third basemen, three first basemen, and two second basemen in the initial round of the draft. The franchise has drafted nine players from colleges or high schools in the state of Florida, more than any other state. Eight more selections have come from their home state of Georgia. Two selections have come from outside the 50 United States: Luis Atilano (2003) is from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Scott Thorman (2000) is from Ontario, Canada.
Four of these players have won a World Series championship with the Braves—Kent Mercker, Steve Avery, Chipper Jones, and Mike Kelly—all as part of the 1995 championship team. The team's 1974 selection, Dale Murphy, won consecutive National League Most Valuable Player Awards (NL MVP) in 1982 and 1983, the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1985, and the Roberto Clemente Award in 1988. Bob Horner, the Braves' 1978 selection, won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in the same year. Chipper Jones, drafted by the Braves in 1990, won the NL MVP Award in 1999. The Braves have held the first overall pick twice; in 1978 they used it to select Horner, and in 1990 they chose Chipper Jones.
Atlanta has made 13 selections in the supplemental round of the draft. They have also received three compensatory picks since the first draft in 1965. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the previous off-season, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year. The Braves failed to sign 1995 selection Chad Hutchinson, for which they received the 35th overall pick in the 1996 draft, which they used to draft Jason Marquis.

## Key

| Year | Each year links to an article about that year's Major League Baseball Draft. |
| Position | Indicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play |
| Pick | Indicates the number of the pick |
| * | Player did not sign with the Braves |
| § | Indicates a supplemental pick |
| † | Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
| '95 | Player was a member of the Braves' 1995 championship team |
| '21 | Player was a member of the Braves' 2021 championship team |

## Picks

| Year | Name | Position | School (location) | Pick |
| 1965 | Dick Grant | First baseman | Watertown High School (Watertown, Massachusetts) | 12 |
| 1966 | Al Santorini | Right-handed pitcher | Union High School (Union Township, New Jersey) | 11 |
| 1967 | Andrew Finlay | Outfielder | Luther Burbank High School (Sacramento, California) | 12 |
| 1968 | Curtis Moore | Outfielder | Denison High School (Denison, Texas) | 7 |
| 1969 | Gene Holbert | Catcher | Palmyra Area High School (Palmyra, Pennsylvania) | 12 |
| 1970 | Ron Broaddus | Right-handed pitcher | Brazosport High School (Freeport, Texas) | 21 |
| 1971 | Taylor Duncan | Shortstop | Grant Union High School (Sacramento, California) | 10 |
| 1972 | Preston Hanna | Right-handed pitcher | Escambia High School (Pensacola, Florida) | 11 |
| 1973 | Pat Rockett | Second baseman | Robert E. Lee High School (San Antonio, Texas) | 10 |
| 1974 | Dale Murphy | Catcher | Woodrow Wilson High School (Portland, Oregon) | 5 |
| 1975 | Donald Young | Catcher | Dos Pueblos High School (Goleta, California) | 18 |
| 1976 | Ken Smith | Third baseman | East High School (Youngstown, Ohio) | 3 |
| 1977 | Tim Cole | Left-handed pitcher | Saugerties High School (Saugerties, New York) | 4 |
| 1978 | Bob Horner | Third baseman | Arizona State University (Tempe, Arizona) | 1 |
| 1979 | Brad Komminsk | Outfielder | Shawnee High School (Lima, Ohio) | 4 |
| 1980 | Ken Dayley | Left-handed pitcher | University of Portland (Portland, Oregon) | 3 |
| 1980 | Jim Acker | Right-handed pitcher | University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas) | 21 |
| 1981 | Jay Roberts | Outfielder | Centralia High School (Centralia, Washington) | 12 |
| 1982 | Duane Ward | Right-handed pitcher | Farmington High School (Farmington, New Mexico) | 9 |
| 1983 | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick |
| 1984 | Drew Denson | First baseman | Purcell Marian High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) | 19 |
| 1985 | Tommy Greene | Right-handed pitcher | Whiteville High School (Whiteville, North Carolina) | 14 |
| 1986 | Kent Mercker '95 | Left-handed pitcher | Dublin Coffman High School (Dublin, Ohio) | 5 |
| 1987 | Derek Lilliquist | Left-handed pitcher | University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia) | 6 |
| 1988 | Steve Avery '95 | Left-handed pitcher | John F. Kennedy High School (Taylor, Michigan) | 3 |
| 1989 | Tyler Houston | Catcher | Valley High School (Las Vegas, Nevada) | 2 |
| 1990 | Chipper Jones$^†$'95 | Shortstop | Bolles School (Jacksonville, Florida) | 1 |
| 1991 | Mike Kelly '95 | Outfielder | Arizona State University (Tempe, Arizona) | 2 |
| 1992 | Jamie Arnold | Right-handed pitcher | Osceola High School (Kissimmee, Florida) | 21 |
| 1993 | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick |
| 1994 | Jacob Shumate | Right-handed pitcher | Hartsville High School (Hartsville, South Carolina) | 27 |
| 1995 | Chad Hutchinson* | Right-handed pitcher | Torrey Pines High School (San Diego, California) | 26 |
| 1996 | A.J. Zapp | First baseman | Center Grove High School (Greenwood, Indiana) | 27 |
| 1996 | Jason Marquis | Right-handed pitcher | Tottenville High School (Staten Island, New York) | 35§ |
| 1997 | Troy Cameron | Shortstop | St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) | 29 |
| 1998 | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick |
| 1999 | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick |
| 2000 | Adam Wainwright | Right-handed pitcher | Glynn Academy (Brunswick, Georgia) | 29 |
| 2000 | Scott Thorman | Third baseman | Preston High School (Cambridge, Ontario) | 30 |
| 2000 | Kelly Johnson | Shortstop | Westwood High School (Austin, Texas) | 38§ |
| 2000 | Aaron Herr | Shortstop | Hempfield High School (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) | 40§ |
| 2001 | Macay McBride | Left-handed pitcher | Screven County High School (Sylvania, Georgia) | 24 |
| 2001 | Josh Burrus | Shortstop | Joseph Wheeler High School (Marietta, Georgia) | 29 |
| 2001 | Richard Lewis | Third baseman | Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia) | 40§ |
| 2002 | Jeff Francoeur | Outfielder | Parkview High School (Lilburn, Georgia) | 23 |
| 2002 | Dan Meyer | Left-handed pitcher | James Madison University (Harrisonburg, Virginia) | 34§ |
| 2003 | Luis Atilano | Right-handed pitcher | Gabriela Mistral High School (San Juan, Puerto Rico) | 35§ |
| 2003 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | Catcher | Royal Palm Beach High School (Royal Palm Beach, Florida) | 36§ |
| 2004 | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick | no first-round pick |
| 2005 | Joey Devine | Right-handed pitcher | North Carolina State University (Raleigh, North Carolina) | 27 |
| 2005 | Beau Jones | Left-handed pitcher | Destrehan High School (Destrehan, Louisiana) | 41§ |
| 2006 | Cody Johnson | Outfielder | A. Crawford Mosley High School (Lynn Haven, Florida) | 24 |
| 2006 | Cory Rasmus | Right-handed pitcher | Russell County High School (Seale, Alabama) | 38§ |
| 2006 | Steven Evarts | Left-handed pitcher | Thomas Richard Robinson High School (Tampa, Florida) | 43§ |
| 2007 | Jason Heyward | Outfielder | Henry County High School (McDonough, Georgia) | 14 |
| 2007 | Jon Gilmore | Third baseman | Iowa City High School (Iowa City, Iowa) | 33§ |
| 2008 | Brett DeVall | Left-handed pitcher | Niceville High School (Niceville, Florida) | 40§ |
| 2009 | Mike Minor | Left-handed pitcher | Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee) | 7 |
| 2010 | Matthew Lipka | Shortstop | McKinney High School (McKinney, Texas) | 35§ |
| 2011 | Sean Gilmartin | Left-handed pitcher | Florida State University (Tallahassee, Florida) | 28 |
| 2012 | Lucas Sims | Right-handed pitcher | Brookwood High School (Snellville, Georgia) | 21 |
| 2013 | Jason Hursh | Right-handed pitcher | Oklahoma State University–Stillwater (Stillwater, Oklahoma) | 31§ |
| 2014 | Braxton Davidson | Outfielder | T. C. Roberson High School (Asheville, North Carolina) | 32§ |
| 2015 | Kolby Allard | Left-handed pitcher | San Clemente High School (San Clemente, California) | 14 |
| 2015 | Austin Riley '21 | Third baseman | DeSoto Central High School (Southaven, Mississippi) | 41§ |
| 2016 | Ian Anderson '21 | Right-handed pitcher | Shenendehowa High School (Clifton Park, New York) | 3 |
| 2016 | Joey Wentz | Left-handed pitcher | Shawnee Mission East High School (Prairie Village, Kansas) | 40§ |
| 2017 | Kyle Wright '21 | Right-handed pitcher | Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee) | 5 |
| 2018 | Carter Stewart* | Right-handed pitcher | Eau Gallie High School (Melbourne, Florida) | 8 |
| 2019 | Shea Langeliers | Catcher | Baylor University (Waco, Texas) | 9 |
| 2019 | Braden Shewmake | Shortstop | Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas) | 21 |
| 2020 | Jared Shuster | Left-handed pitcher | Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) | 25 |
| 2021 | Ryan Cusick | Right-handed pitcher | Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) | 24 |
| 2022 | Owen Murphy | Right-handed pitcher | Riverside Brookfield High School (Riverside, Illinois) | 20 |
| 2022 | JR Ritchie | Right-handed pitcher | Bainbridge High School (Bainbridge Island, Washington) | 35§ |
| 2023 | Hurston Waldrep | Right-handed pitcher | University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida) | 24 |
| 2024 | Cam Caminiti | Left-handed pitcher | Saguaro High School (Scottsdale, Arizona) | 24 |

## Footnotes

* $^V$ Through the 2012 season, free agents were evaluated by the Elias Sports Bureau and rated "Type A", "Type B", or not compensation-eligible. If a team offers arbitration to a player but that player refuses and subsequently signs with another team, the original team may receive additional draft picks. If a "Type A" free agent leaves in this way his previous team receives a supplemental pick and a compensation pick from the team with which he signs. If a "Type B" free agent leaves in this way his previous team receives only a supplemental pick. Since the 2013 draft, free agents are no longer classified by type; instead, compensatory picks are only awarded if the team offered its free agent a contract worth at least the average of the 125 current richest MLB contracts. However, if the free agent's last team acquired the player in a trade during the last year of his contract, it is ineligible to receive compensatory picks for that player.
* $^a$ The Braves gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1980 from the Montreal Expos for losing free agent Rowland Office.
* $^b$ The Braves lost their first-round pick in 1983 to the New York Mets as compensation for signing free agent Pete Falcone.
* $^c$ The Braves lost their first-round pick in 1993 to the Chicago Cubs as compensation for signing free agent Greg Maddux.
* $^d$ The Braves gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1996 for failing to sign 1995 first-round pick Chad Hutchinson.
* $^e$ The Braves lost their first-round pick in 1998 to the Colorado Rockies as compensation for signing free agent Andrés Galarraga.
* $^f$ The Braves lost their first-round pick in 1999 to the St. Louis Cardinals as compensation for signing free agent Brian Jordan.
* $^g$ The Braves gained a compensatory and a supplemental first-round pick in 2000 for losing free-agent Russ Springer to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
* $^h$ The Braves gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2000 for losing free agent José Hernández.
* $^i$ The Braves gained a compensatory and a supplemental first-round pick in 2001 for losing free-agent Andy Ashby to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
* $^j$ The Braves gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2002 for losing free agent Steve Karsay.
* $^k$ The Braves lost their original first-round pick in 2003 to the Kansas City Royals as compensation for signing free agent Paul Byrd. They gained a supplemental first-round pick for losing free agent Tom Glavine.
* $^l$ The Braves gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2003 for losing free agent Mike Remlinger.
* $^m$ The Braves lost their first-round pick in 2004 to the Texas Rangers as compensation for signing free agent John Thomson.
* $^n$ The Braves gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2005 for losing free agent Jaret Wright.
* $^o$ The Braves gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2006 for losing free agent Kyle Farnsworth.
* $^p$ The Braves gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2006 for losing free agent Rafael Furcal.
* $^q$ The Braves gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2007 for losing free agent Danys Báez.
* $^r$ The Braves lost their original first-round pick in 2008 to the New York Mets as compensation for signing free agent Tom Glavine. They gained a supplemental first-round pick for losing free agent Ron Mahay.
* $^s$ The Braves lost their original first-round pick in 2010 to the Boston Red Sox as compensation for signing free agent Billy Wagner. They gained a supplemental first-round pick for losing free agent Michael Gonzalez.
* $^t$ The Braves lost their original first-round pick in 2013 to the Tampa Bay Rays as compensation for signing free agent B.J. Upton. They gained a supplemental first-round pick for losing free agent Michael Bourn.
* $^u$ The Braves lost their original first-round pick in 2014 to the Los Angeles Angels as compensation for signing free agent Ervin Santana. They gained a supplemental first-round pick for losing free agent Brian McCann.
* $^v$ The Braves acquired the 41st pick from the San Diego Padres along with Carlos Quentin, Cameron Maybin, Matt Wisler, and Jordan Paroubeck in exchange for Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton, Jr.
* $^w$ The Braves acquired the 40th pick from the Miami Marlins in a three-team trade. The Braves also traded Bronson Arroyo, Luis Avilán, Jim Johnson, José Peraza, and Alex Wood to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Héctor Olivera, Paco Rodriguez, and Zach Bird. The Marlins traded Mat Latos and Michael Morse to the Dodgers for Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham, and Kevin Guzman.
* $^x$ The Braves acquired the 35th pick from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Drew Waters, Andrew Hoffman, and CJ Alexander.