The Atlanta Braves opened the 2024 MLB Draft by nabbing high-school lefty Cam Caminiti out of Saguaro High School in Arizona. Coming into the draft, the Braves were linked to several different college players, but passed up the chance to draft Caminiti, who was projected to be off the board by the time the 24th pick arrived.
“I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a little kid. It’s unbelievable,” Caminiti told reporters via Zoom.
Braves director of amateur scouting Ronit Shah said the team has had its eye on Caminiti for some time and has really liked the way he has developed as a pitcher this season.
“I think he’s grown a lot,” Shah said of Caminiti. “I think we’ve been there all year from start to finish and he’s definitely made a big jump. With each start, you could see that it was getting steadily better. I think just the controls and the commands and stuff too, just pulling it deeper into the games.
Caminiti was rated as the 13th best prospect by ESPN and No. 15 for MLB Pipeline before the draft. Most outlets expected him to possibly fall within the first 20 selections. Caminiti said he was unsure where he would land in the draft, but was happy to be selected by a good team like the Braves.
“Honestly, I didn’t know where I was going in the draft. “I’m very excited to have fallen on such a great ball club,” Caminiti said. “They’re really good at developing left-handed pitchers. Right now they have two great left handed pitchers. They are an exciting young baseball team, so I’m excited to continue moving in that direction.”
It is unclear whether the Braves actually thought he would be available to them at No. 24, but Shah said they discussed several possibilities and were excited to have him as an option.
“You never know, and I think make sure you plan for all possible scenarios of who might fall, who might not fall,” Shah said. “I think you’ll be a little surprised at how different teams’ boards can vary from team-to-team because we all have our own processes. We have our own scouting staff. We have our own research and development. I think there’s a lot of variation in what you’re reading online now.”
When asked what Caminiti brings to the table, Shah cited a good work ethic and a big hand. He is also just 17 years old and still has a lot of room for development,
“He’s incredibly hard-working, super athletic.”
“He has a great arm. You will see him sitting in the mid-90s throughout the outing, Shaw said. “I know when I saw him a couple times, he was pitching 96, 97 in the seventh inning of high school games, which is pretty impressive. I think the part that stands out to me is how easily he does it, especially on the left side.”
Caminiti’s fastball has hit 98 mph which is impressive for a 17 year old, but he went into the season knowing he needed to develop his secondary pitches to raise his stock. He’s noticed the improvements he’s made with his slider and has the confidence to throw it in any count.
“I think my slider. I have the best handle on it,” he said. “I have the utmost confidence in it, and I can put it on any count I want. 3-1, 3-2, 0-2, 3-0, throw it for a lot of attacks, absolutely overconfident.”
Whenever a high school player with first-round pedigree slips, concerns arise about his signing potential. Caminiti committed to play for LSU next season. He said he had not heard much from his advisers yet about a potential deal, but said he expected a signing soon.
“Yes, I do. I mean, I still need to discuss it some more with my advisor and my family and the team, so I haven’t heard a lot yet, but maybe,” Caminiti said.
The expectation would be that Caminiti would require an oversold signing bonus, but Shah did not confirm this.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that. I believe in terms of the mock draft and all that, we’re not really reading all that much,” Shah said. “I think at the end of the day, he’s grown to our liking and we’re looking forward to having him join the organization.”
The Braves used their second pick of the first day to select Vanderbilt lefty Carter Holton. Shah said he liked how competitive Holton is on the field and cited his good fastball and power slider.
“We love how competitive he is on the field. Absolutely a Bulldog,” Shah said. “He’ll hit 93-98 mph with a fastball. Show you a power slider. He can flip to a curve ball and also has an above average changeup. Just absolutely attacks the zone.
“E is really athletic. We scouted him out of high school and had a lot of interest in him. Coming out of high school, he was a two-pronged guy. He had some power at the plate. I think it shows how athletic and how talented he is.”
The draft continues with Rounds 3-10 on Monday at 2 PM ET.
