Braves’ Cam Caminiti Does It Easy
The Braves were thrilled to land Arizona high school lefthander Cam Caminiti with the 24th pick in the 2024 draft. They expected he might be drafted earlier than that.
After a bout of forearm tendinitis sidelined him this spring, the 18-year-old Caminiti dazzled in his first start for Low-A Augusta on June 7. He struck out eight and allowed one run across five innings.
A focal point for Caminiti this season will be honing a four-pitch mix that is highlighted by his mid-90s fastball that has topped out around 98 mph.
His easy delivery, which he previously said was aided by Pilates, earns routine praise.
“That’s the part that stands out most to me, how easily he does it,” Braves scouting director Ronit Shah said. He lauded Caminiti’s professionalism and work ethic, two paramount qualities to help project a player so young.
Caminiti’s fastball is ahead of his other pitches, command-wise, but he also offers a slider, curveball and changeup. His slider is the best of his secondary pitches and could become a devastating out pitch as he develops.
Caminiti also admires Madison Bumgarner and hopes to illustrate the same killer instinct on the mound. “He wants you to be scared of him,” Caminiti said of the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Bumgarner.
With so many Atlanta position players signed to long-term deals, the Braves will need young cost-controlled pitchers to help them maintain flexibility over the next decade.
The organization has spent a lot of early-round draft capital on pitchers, including Spencer Schwellenbach in 2022, Owen Murphy and JR Ritchie in 2023, Hurston Waldrep in 2023 and Caminiti in 2024.
Caminiti is nowhere near MLB ready, but he’s in the organization that summoned Michael Soroka at age 20 because of his performance and maturity.
SHORT NOTES
— The 22-year-old reliever Jhancarlos Lara is raw, but he posts strikeout numbers that could earn him a look. The righthander ran up an 11.47 ERA through 24.1 innings this year at Double-A Columbus and Triple-A Gwinnett, but his strikeout rate bordered on 30%. Lara’s fastball velocity has hit triple digits.
Lara started five of six games he pitched in Double-A, but he worked exclusively as a reliever in Triple-A. His control is erratic, but his fastball/slider combo might make him an intriguing MLB bullpen option at some point.
— Righthander Blake Burkhalter, the former Auburn closer, had a 22.6% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate as a starter Double-A Columbus. The 24-year-old made 10 starts and pitched 51 innings after missing the 2023 season to Tommy John surgery and pitching about half a season in 2024.
It’s easy to envision Burkhalter moving back to the bullpen if it helps him reach the big leagues. He has a four-pitch mix and lives around 94-95 mph. Burkhalter isn’t electric, like Lara, but the 24-year-old could be a fast riser if he continues to succeed in Columbus.
