Briggs McKenzie News: Picked in fourth round by Atlanta

Atlanta has selected McKenzie with the 127th overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft.

A skinny 6-foot-2 prep southpaw from North Carolina, McKenzie could have pitched his way into the first 20-30 picks this year if he'd shown more potential with his fastball this spring. However, while he would sometimes sit in the low-90s and touch 95 mph, he also sat in the upper-80s in some starts and struggled to hold his velocity deep into games. McKenzie has a dastardly curveball that could be a plus-plus pitch in time, with the pitch already registering spin rates north of 3,000 rpm. His changeup lags behind but should be a fine third pitch if he can get his fastball up into the low-to-mid-90s more consistently in the coming years.