Braves select Ian Anderson with 3rd overall pick

With the third overall pick in the draft, the Braves have selected Ian Anderson from Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, New York. The touted draft pick was predicted to go 14th overall by Baseball America, while ESPN’s Keith Law had him at 13th and MLB.com’s Jim Callis had him at 12th.

Anderson rose up draft boards late in the game, being tied to the Braves for most of the day Thursday. His selection is expected to come with an under-slot deal, allowing Atlanta to save some money to spend elsewhere on other high-ceiling picks.

According to Law, Anderson missed a lot of starts, either due to weather, an oblique injury, or pneumonia, but the starts Anderson did make showed enough flashes of stuff. The best fastball Perfect Game has recorded is a 95 MPH average fastball. Currently, Anderson is committed to Vanderbilt University.

Anderson was ranked 11th in the Baseball America Top 100 Draft Prospects list prior to the draft, while MLB.com’s Prospect Watch had him at 13th on their list.

Before the draft, Anderson did a Q&A with our Chris Cotillo.