Top Braves pick showing Wright stuff

Kyle Wright made a meteoric rise for a pitcher who hadn't been drafted out of school, going to the Braves as the fifth overall pick this year with a club-record $7 million bonus.
By building on his size and strength at Vanderbilt, the Braves No. 4 prospect added velocity and revealed a vast well of untapped potential. 

In the brief opening to his professional career, Wright has shown the stuff that made him a premium pick and also that he's quick on the uptake. The 21-year-old logged his third shutout start in four outings, striking out two and walking one over two hitless innings Tuesday in Class A Advanced Florida's eventual 5-2 win over Dunedin at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.
Gameday box score
The organization put Wright on a two-inning limit for each start since he threw over 103 innings for the Commodores this year. With a 1.13 ERA in eight innings over those outings, MLB.com's No. 35 overall prospect hasn't found the transition to be too taxing.
"So far, it's been good, I've been put in a position where I've been able to ease my way into pro ball," Wright said. "I feel like I'm kind of pitching the same way as I have in college. I think that's the main thing to learn about right now, pitch to my capabilities, learn more and more and kind of adjust from there."
Overall, he's pitched 13 2/3 innings in the Minors, recording a 1.59 ERA in three starts at the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League to get his feet wet before his big jump to the Florida State League. In all, he's struck out 13 and walked only four. Even with the small sample size, his talent hasn't gone unnoticed or unappreciated.
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"You can tell he's got a special arm," Fire Frogs pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn said. "Heavy fastball, sharp breaking ball and a pretty good changeup. He's a strike thrower with good stuff. Just has a good feel for what he's doing, I would say he's advanced."
Wright put himself on scouts' radars in college as he reportedly brought his fastball from the high-80s range into the mid-90s, topping out at 97 mph. He struck out 121 batters while walking 31 at Vanderbilt this season, after fanning 107 in 93 1/3 innings the year before.

The right-hander has a fluid and repeatable motion, leveraging his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame for a strong and compact overhand delivery. When he arrived at Vanderbilt, he was listed an inch shorter and over 20 pounds lighter, so there's room for physical growth as he continues to expand his pro game.
"I can continue to gain strength, that was a big thing for me in college," Wright said. "I didn't play summer ball. I lifted and worked out every day and that was a big contributor to being able to gain velocity. That's kind of the plan, to pick up another mile an hour or two. I still feel like there's some room left to grow."
Raymar Navarro (2-2) followed Wright with four innings of two-hit ball to pick up the win while Adam McCreery struck out the side in the ninth to notch his third save.
Second baseman Alay Lago and first baseman Carlos Castro homered for the Fire Frogs.