Turns out, the one year that UVA Baseball got out of AJ Gracia, the #9 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, was an AJ Gracia playing with a bum shoulder.
Odd that the reports on Gracia undergoing labrum surgery don’t say which shoulder was involved, but anyway.
This is almost certainly why the Atlanta Braves, who took Gracia in the first round of the draft, gave him significantly less than his bonus slot value – he signed for $3,997,500, against a slot value for the #9 pick at $6,675,300.
Word is, Gracia underwent surgery on Wednesday, and is expected to need 7-10 months to rehab the injury, which would take him into the latter part of the spring.
All things considered, Gracia is to be commended for what he did in his one season at Virginia – he hit .354 BA/1.121 OPS with 14 homers and 48 RBIs with a bum shoulder.
Wait ‘til he’s fully healthy, right?
The Braves might have gotten a steal here.
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Chris Graham
