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Atlanta Braves roll with Florida HS pitcher for Round 1 of MLB draft

At 6-foot-6, Carter Stewart ranked as the No. 5 talent on MLB.com's Prospect Sheet, citing his advanced fastball and curveball.

ATLANTA–You can never have enough power arms in the pipeline.

On Monday night, the Atlanta Braves selected Florida prep pitcher Carter Stewart with the No. 8 overall pick in Round 1.

Leading up to the draft, the 6-foot-6 Stewart ranked as the No. 5 talent on MLB.com's Prospect Sheet, citing his advanced fastball and curveball.

"I like to model myself after Justin Verlander a little bit, with his intensity and his ability to pitch," Stewart told MLB.com on Monday. "I've been watching him for a long time, and I feel like that's one guy who I can definitely model myself after."

The vast majority of clubs draft with the long term in mind, knowing most prospects need 2-4 years of seasoning before reaching the major leagues–if they make the stage altogether.

Despite various executives calling the shots on Draft Night (Frank Wren, John Hart, John Coppolella, Alex Anthopoulos), Atlanta has invested heavily in hurlers since 2015, spending six straight Round 1 picksincluding compensation stageson pitchers (Carter Stewart, Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Joey Wentz, Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka).

Within that realm, the Braves arguably have baseball's best and deepest corps of 26-and-under pitchers, a listing which includes Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Luiz Gohara, Max Fried, Touki Toussaint and Kyle Muller, along with the aforementioned Soroka, Allard, Wentz, Anderson and Wright (last year's top selection).

Back to the present. Here's the MLB.com scouting report on Stewart:

"The kid has been as lights-out as any prep arm in the country, coming out of the gate up to 98 mph and touching 96-97 mph in just about every start and easily sits 92-94 mph. He has one of the best breaking balls in the class, a power curve that is now a mid-80s hammer. While his changeup is behind right now, and he occasionally slows his arm down, he has feel for it and it should be a solid pitch in the future.

While some have expressed mild concern with a deep arm action in the back, Stewart has shown he can fill up the strike zone with two current plus pitches. The Mississippi State has moved into the top of the first round conversation, with some thinking he would be a candidate to go 1-1 if it weren't for the fact a high school right-hander has never been taken with the top pick."

The Braves opted for positional balance in Round 2, investing the 49th-overall selection on Wichita State outfielder Greyson Jenista. For his final season with the Shockers, Jenista accounted for nine homers and a .309 batting average. He was also a Cape Cod League MVP, which undoubtedly got the attention of Atlanta's front office last summer.

The 6-foot-4 Jenista was a college teammate of Alec Bohm, the No. 3 overall selection on Monday, or five spots ahead of the Braves' inaugural pick (Carter Stewart).

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