Top baseball recruit drafted by Atlanta Braves

By Steve Lansdale

AUSTIN, Texas — Now the waiting game begins.

The University of Texas baseball team has quite a summer ahead. Not only do the Longhorns have to hire a new head coach after Augie Garrido stepped down in order to become a special assistant to the athletics director, but now they also have to wait to see if their top recruit will ever suit up in Austin.

Kyle Muller, the pitcher/outfielder from Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas who was named the 2015-16 Gatorade National Player of the Year, now has options for his future after being drafted[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)] in the second round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.

The 44^th overall selection, Muller now has the option of enrolling at UT or signing with the Braves to begin his professional career. Many believe the Braves are willing to spend above the slotted amount in order to convince Muller to go pro.

Some published reports suggest that the Braves so admired Muller’s hitting that they considered him as an outfielder or first baseman, but power pitchers with Muller’s talent are a prized commodity, and the Braves reportedly intend to keep him on the mound if they can sign him.

Muller’s talent and arm strength are beyond question. What does appear to be a source of confusion. Most MLB scouting reports list him at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds — which is two inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter than UT’s press release about him earning the national player of the year award. The Braves think he’s somewhere in between.

“He’s an animal,” Braves scouting director Brian Bridges said of Muller. “He’s 6-foot-6, 230 pounds and it’s not fat. He’s just a big Texan.”

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