Atlanta's Spanish pick

With the 1,498th (and last) pick of the 2004 First Year Player Draft, the Atlanta Braves selected Eric Gonzalez, a 17-year old player from the Canary Islands who is a member of the Spanish Junior National Team. Gonzalez, who also plays at Cochise Community College in Arizona, is already 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, and throws up to 86 mph.

The Braves picked Gonzalez as a so-called "draft and follow". This means they will not sign him right away; instead, they will follow him for the next year, and sign him just before next year's draft if they are still interested.