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ATLANTA -- As the Braves won five National League pennants during the 1990s and 14 consecutive division titles from 1991-2005, they showcased the value of securing and developing quality homegrown talent.
Here is a list of the top five players drafted and developed by Atlanta:
1) Chipper Jones, 1990 (first overall)
While honoring Hank Aaron during a recent memorial service, Jones recalled learning that, as the Braves prepared for the 1990 Draft, Aaron told a group of the team’s scouts, “You better take the Jones boy.”
Whether it was their belief in Jones or Todd Van Poppel’s unwillingness to sign, Atlanta certainly made the right choice when it made Jones the top overall pick. Van Poppel, a hard-throwing high school pitcher from Texas, drew most of the hype leading up to the Draft. But Bobby Cox, Atlanta’s general manager at the time, and legendary scout Paul Snyder opted to take a chance on a switch-hitting shortstop from Florida.