Braves’ biggest steal in 2026 MLB Draft

While the Atlanta Braves ponder their trade deadline path, they’re hoping for more good things from a rookie. Also, they’re looking forward to a good future based on their biggest steal in the 2026 MLB draft.

With the organization riding the high of a first-place standing in the NL East, the Braves and Walt Weiss hoped to strengthen their farm system in the recent draft.

General Manager Alex Anthopoulos helped make it happen, as the Braves took two big steps in that direction. One came in the form of a rock-solid first-round pick. The other was a third-round steal.

Braves get highly regarded SP Jensen Hirschkorn in 3rd round

When the Braves got the green light in the third round, they were probably tickled to see Hirschkorn’s name still on the board. He was considered to be a top-50 guy, maybe better.

But he remained in play at pick No. 84 because of one reason, according to ESPN.

“Hirschkorn started the spring as a late first-rounder, but his velocity wasn’t as high as scouts were hoping for,” Kiley McDaniel wrote. “So he moved into the tough-sign category as his bonus price didn’t change much even though evaluations moved into the comp-to-early-second area for teams that want a little more now stuff.”

However, Hirschkorn may reward the Braves handsomely down the road.

“Hirschkorn might be the best projection gamble in the draft, though, with a 6-foot-7 frame, clean delivery and outstanding command along with strong summer performance,” McDaniel wrote. “If he can get his velo back to the 93-96 mph he showed in shorter outings last summer, there’s a lot of upside here. I’d expect the Braves to tweak his breaking ball shapes, similar to how Cam Caminiti has had to tweak his a bit.”

Just to note, Caminiti has become the Braves’ No. 1 prospect.

Hirschkorn ranks No. 56 on the list of MLB’s top draft prospects, according to MLB.com.

“He didn’t enter the summer that high on radars, but he certainly ended it firmly on the map, especially with outstanding performances at Perfect Game National and the Area Code Games, showing off a combination of size, athleticism and projection,” MLB.com wrote. “Hirschkorn is an athletic right-hander with the chance to have a legitimate three-pitch mix. It’s easy gas, up to 95-96 mph with very little effort, and it plays well at the top of the zone.”

Partly because of his frame, Hirschkorn has the potential to get bigger and stronger. Scouts haven’t been afraid to project triple-digit fastballs. And there’s more.

“He backs it up with a very good low-80s slider that misses a ton of bats,” MLB.com wrote. “There is some feel for a mid-80s changeup, but he hasn’t thrown it a ton yet.”

The Braves are very excited, according to MLB.com.

“There’s not a whole lot [Hirschkorn] can’t do,” Braves vice president of amateur scouting Ronit Shah said. “He’s athletic. He’s a big-time basketball guy. We’re really excited to see what he can do. He throws a ton of strikes. We saw him in the summer at a big-time event, the Area Code Games. He struck out nine guys in three innings. It’s hard to do better than that.”

High hopes seem to come across the board for Hirshckorn, as evidenced by Baseball America.

“Hirschkorn has thrown both a four-seam and two-seam fastball, and primarily complements his fastballs with a slider and changeup. Both pitches have flashed plus,” Carlos Collazo wrote. “His slider is a consistent swing-and-miss weapon against right-handed batters with 10-to-4 shape, spin rates in the 2,200-2,400 rpm range and solid biting action. His upper-80s changeup is already a miss pitch against lefties and good enough to mix in versus righties as well. Hirschkorn has toyed with a cutter, but it’s not a key piece of his arsenal.”

How did the Braves do overall in the draft?

They made a sharp choice with the No. 9 pick, getting outfielder AJ Gracia. And they made wise use of their slot money, according to MLB.com.

“Gracia’s willingness to accept a signing bonus that was well under the assigned slot value for the ninth overall pick allowed the Braves to give Hirschkorn the largest signing bonus ever given to a player taken after the second round in MLB Draft history,” Mark Bowman wrote. “His $3,997,500 bonus persuaded him to back out of his commitment to pitch for LSU.”

It looks like the Braves have restocked their farm system nicely.