Braves Projected To Add UNC Catcher In Upcoming MLB Draft

The Atlanta Braves have had a good thing going at the catcher position recently and could be looking to fortify it. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo released his latest MLB mock draft with the Braves taking UNC catcher Luke Stevenson No. 22 overall. The 20-year-old Tar Heels catcher is ranked the No. 20 draft prospect on MLB.com.

He started 63 of the 64 games he played in during the 2025 season, batting .254 with a .977 OPS, 18 home runs and 53 RBIs. His average dipped this season, but he still has a lot of upside with his plate discipline and power. Behind the dish, he had a .996 fielding percentage and threw out nine runners on 26 attempts (34% of all baserunners).

UNC is about to start Super Regional play when they host Arizona for a best-of-three. The winner heads to Omaha for the College World Series. If UNC clinches another trip, it will be the first time they went in back-to-back years since they went in four straight years from 2006 to 2009.

This came as a nice follow-up to his freshman campaign. He was named to the Freshman All-America first team by both D1Baseball and Perfect Game, the first UNC freshman to receive the honor since Tim Federowcz in 2006.

The Braves currently have an All-Star starting catcher in Sean Murphy and a rookie phenom in Drake Baldwin. Nick Montgomery was taken in the fifth round of the 2024 draft and is the team's No. 22 prospect in the system. More talent is never a bad thing, even if the Braves would have to figure out how to make room for Stevenson in the Majors in a few years.

This place in the draft implies the Braves have a strong finish to the season. If they continue at their current pace, they might have some other options to consider with a higher pick in the draft. If that were the case, they have some options at shortstop and left-handed pitching, two positions that could desperately use more depth. The team's top-30 prospect pool is very right-handed pitcher heavy at the moment.

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