Braves Pick Vanderbilt Star Mike Minor in 1st Round

Scouts always say that you can’t have enough solid left-handed pitching. That’s why I found it curious that none of the first 6 picks of the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft were southpaw slingers. The Braves broke the trend with the selection of Mike Minor, a LHP out of Vanderbilt. Minor is not a fastball pitcher, but he commands his pitches well and could develop into a crafty lefty in the same mold as Tom Glavine or Jamie Moyer. He probably won’t be as good as either of those guys, but on the plus side he probably won’t be spending 4 or 5 years in the minors either. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Minor in an Atlanta Braves uniform next season as either a starter to fill out the rotation or as a long reliever.