The Atlanta Braves have added another pitcher to their organization.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers announced on social media Monday right-hander Drew Christo signed as an undrafted free agent with the Braves. Christo reposted the announcement on his own social media channels.
“Drew Christo has signed with the Atlanta Braves,” the official Nebraska baseball Instagram account wrote with a hand-signing emoji. “Congrats, Sto!”
Christo will join the Braves organization after pitching four years for the Cornhuskers. In his college career, the right-hander posted a 7-7 record with a 4.98 ERA.
During the 2025 season for the Big Ten program, Christo went 3-2 with a 5.61 ERA. He struggled with walks, registering a 5.8 BB/9 rate. That led to a 1.636 WHIP.
But Christo also had a 8.9 K/9 rate, posting 51 strikeouts in 51.1 innings across 31 relief appearances.
The right-hander was mostly a starter during his junior season at Nebraska. In 2024, he went 3-3 with a 4.62 ERA, 8.1 K/9 rate and 1.193 WHIP in 60.1 innings. Christo made 17 appearances, 10 of which were starts.
Christo started 13 games overall at Nebraska. He made 51 relief appearances.
The 22-year-old, who is a Eklborn, Nebraska native, had the best success of his post-high school career during a small sample in a collegiate summer league last year. He went 0-1 with a 2.37 ERA in five appearances, four of which were starts. Christo also had a 11.4 K/9 Rate and 1.211 WHIP in 19 innings.
Braves Add Another Pitcher to Undrafted Free Agent Class
According to Baseball America, the Braves have signed 11 undrafted free agents this summer. Five of those undrafted free agents have been pitchers.
Most notably, the Braves signed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets star pitcher Jaylen Paden to an undrafted free agent contract on July 22.
Atlanta has a few pitchers who are highly regarded in its minor league system. Those pitchers could make an MLB impact in the coming years.
Undrafted free agents face a long road to the MLB. If Christo progresses in the Atlanta organization, it will likely be several years before he could a factor at the MLB level.
Adding pitchers, though, is never a bad idea. The Braves have learned the hard way this summer that teams can never have enough pitching.
All five of Atlanta’s starting pitchers from 2025 Opening Day are on the injured list. That forced the Braves to acquire two starting pitchers before the MLB trade deadline despite the team not being in the playoff race.
