Braves draft a familiar name in Caminiti
Mark Bowman
@mlbbowmanFORT WORTH, Texas -- Former National League MVP Ken Caminiti had a short stint in Atlanta near the end of his career. His cousin Cam Caminiti is hoping to enjoy a long, illustrious career with the Braves.
¡°I know they¡¯re a great organization and they win a lot of games,¡± Caminiti said. ¡°They¡¯ve got a lot of great young talent. I¡¯m excited to be a Brave.¡±
The Braves added to their pitching stable when they took Caminiti, a 17-year-old high school left-hander, with the 24th overall selection in the MLB Draft on Sunday night. They then took Vanderbilt University left-handed pitcher Carter Holton with their second-round pick, No. 62 overall.
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¡°[Caminiti] has got a huge arm,¡± Braves scouting director Ronit Shah said. ¡°You¡¯ll see him sit mid-90s, and I¡¯ve seen him gear up to throw 96 or 97 at the end of a high school game, which is super impressive. I think what impresses me most is how easy he does it.¡±
Caminiti, MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 15 Draft prospect, was one of two high school players named to the 2024 Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list -- the other was top overall prep prospect Konnor Griffin, who was taken by the Pirates with the ninth overall selection.
There was an incredible sense of joy on Caminiti¡¯s face as he made his way toward the stage at the Fort Worth Cowtown Coliseum. He was one of the draftees on hand to soak in the energetic environment.
¡°It¡¯s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,¡± Caminiti said. ¡°The environment is awesome here.¡±
Caminiti reclassified to the Class of 2024, graduating a year early. Despite his youth, he throws 98 mph and was an outstanding two-way player in high school. At 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, the sky's the limit for Caminiti as he fills out his frame.
¡°He¡¯s an extremely hard worker who is super athletic,¡± Shah said. ¡°He really, really treats this at the age of 17 like it¡¯s a professional job.¡±
Caminiti¡¯s high school dominance was notable -- he struck out 16 consecutive batters in an early March game with scouts in attendance. He then led his high school, Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., to its first state championship in 13 years.
When did he get the sense he might be a first-round selection?
¡°At the beginning of my high school season, when I was just dominating out there,¡± Caminiti said. ¡°I was throwing a lot more strikes and feeling more like a pitcher, not just a thrower.¡±
Caminiti idolized Madison Bumgarner and spent many years training to be a big leaguer. He had the same personal hitting coach as Tigers catcher Carson Kelly, and he has interacted with journeyman outfielder David Dahl and Giants right-hander Alex Cobb.
But his lineage to the big leagues goes through his cousin Ken, the 1996 NL MVP and three-time All-Star who played in Atlanta during the final couple months of the 2001 season.
¡°He was a great big league baseball player,¡± Cam Caminiti said. ¡°He¡¯s done a lot of incredible things for my family and Major League Baseball. I¡¯ve met a lot of great people who knew him along the way.¡±
Second round: Carter Holton
The Braves are banking on the upside of Holton, who would have been taken within the first three rounds of the 2021 MLB Draft if he wasn¡¯t firm with his commitment to Vanderbilt.
Holton earned a rotation spot with Commodores, but was shut down late last season with an undisclosed injury. The left-hander¡¯s velocity dropped again during his final regular-season start, and he missed the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Some scouts have expressed concern about Holton¡¯s 5-foot-11 frame. But size certainly didn¡¯t deter the Braves when they took Spencer Strider in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
As for injury concerns, the Braves took Spencer Schwellenbach in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft knowing he needed to undergo Tommy John surgery.
"The sky is the limit for him, at the end of the day," Shah said. "I think just being proven, a cutthroat competitor, a bulldog on the mound and a left-hander with a four-pitch mix is really exciting. It's just up to him to see what he can do for us."