Blue Jays take balanced approach to draft, diversify prospect portfolio

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays’ method to the draft is akin to managing a well-balanced wealth portfolio – take just a few pictures at upside, mitigate the chance with some extra conservative picks and draw from all obtainable asset swimming pools.

This yr, with third-rounder Juaron Watts-Brown nonetheless pending, their draft class seems like this:

• Three massive swings at high-upside high-schoolers in first-rounder Arjun Nimmala, fourth-rounder Landen Maroudis and ninth-rounder Sam Shaw of Victoria;

• Safer faculty picks together with Michigan lefty Connor O’Halloran of Mississauga, Ont., Arkansas outfielder Jace Bohrofen and Kansas State shortstop Nick Goodwin;

• Of their 15 draft picks signed, eight are pitchers (six righties, two lefties) and 7 are place gamers (two infielders, 4 outfielders and a catcher), with three high-schoolers, two junior collegians and 10 gamers out of four-year applications.

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“I think (diversification) was accomplished,” Blue Jays novice scouting director Shane Farrell mentioned Thursday. “Look at a couple of our picks, obviously Nimmala in the first round, Maroudis in the fourth and then balancing it out with some college guys in the middle of Day 2 and then taking another swing at a high-school player we like in Sam Shaw a little bit later on that second day. The results from the draft, especially on the second day, emphasize that.”

Watts-Brown, a right-hander out of Oklahoma State who has the makings of a robust four-pitch combine if he can tame some command points, would add one other high-ceiling play, this one out of the faculty ranks, ought to he signal.

The Blue Jays have roughly $1 million to work with between the remaining room of their bonus pool of $6,529,700 and overage spending of as much as 5 per cent with out forfeiting a future draft choose. Assigned worth for choose No. 89 is $771,500 and the choice basically rests with the right-hander, with the deadline July 25 at 5 p.m. ET.

“We’re having continuous conversations with Juaron and optimistic that we get everything sorted out by the deadline,” mentioned Farrell. “We’ll wait and see how that evolves over the next couple of days.”

The jewel of this draft for the Blue Jays is, in fact, Nimmala, the gifted shortstop with rising energy who at 17 with a birthdate of Oct. 16, 2005, was one of many youngest gamers eligible this summer season.

He’s already begun his introduction to professional ball at a camp for brand spanking new draft signees, and his age relative to that of his friends is one thing the Blue Jays can be watching, even when it’s one thing he’s very a lot used to because of his later birthday.

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“It impacted rather a lot,” Nimmala mentioned this week of at all times being behind others in dimension and power amongst his cohort. “When I was younger, I couldn’t always catch up to those bigger guys. But as I developed going through high school, being with older guys in the class and the older competition made me a lot better as a player. It was super-essential in my development.”

Players on the youthful finish of a cohort are likely to mission properly in sure draft fashions employed by golf equipment and Farrell mentioned Nimmala’s youth “can be a bit of a signal.”

“The challenging part is the sample size is so small, so we’re having to weigh the outcomes of maybe 10 or 12 games that we’re seeing on the summer showcase circuit, as opposed to seeing him for 50 games or things like that,” Farrell added. “In the small sample that we did see, we felt like he was it was competitive and showed a lot of the traits that we’re seeing so far in draft camp and as well throughout the spring, the actions defensively, the raw power, things like that.”

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The Blue Jays additionally signed three undrafted free brokers in lefty J.J. Sanchez, catcher Nate Larue and Bryce Arnold, a center infielder from Grimsby, Ont., who made it three Canadians within the expertise infusion.

Notably, all three Canadians participated within the Blue Jays’ annual prospect match, the Canadian Futures Showcase. An essential occasion for highlighting native expertise and connecting them to collegiate coaches and different MLB organizations, it’s additionally a possibility for the membership to construct inroads with gamers and a connection to the membership could have supplied the tipping level in touchdown Shaw.

The outfielder had a dedication to Xavier University and didn’t go as early as anticipated, however the Blue Jays had been capable of rework their bonus pool to signal him for $282,500, properly above the 274^th choose’s assigned worth of $175,900.

“What really stood out to us was the bat-to-ball skills,” mentioned Farrell. “He’s somebody we’ve been watching for a couple of years now, our area scout (Pat Griffin) did a great job in following him and getting to know him and building a relationship where we were able to make that selection a little deeper in the draft and make him feel comfortable with the Blue Jays to make that leap and forgo his college commitment.”

O’Halloran, the son of former big-league catcher and Blue Jays prospect Greg, received’t flip 21 till Sept. 1 and has already proven he can haul innings at Michigan, throwing 92.2 frames final yr (plus 12.2 extra within the Cape Cod League) and one other 103 this yr, when he was named Big 10 Pitcher of the Year.

Baseball America put 50 grades (on the 80-scouting scale) on every of his fastball, slider and changeup with a 55 on his command and with out big-time velocity, he must leverage his skill to find.

What attracted the Blue Jays, mentioned Farrell, “is just the completeness of the pitcher. It’s not really one pitch that is carrying his profile, but it’s a combination of his mix and his ability to move the ball around the zone and attack hitters.”

Arnold posted a 1.050 OPS with 17 homers in 290 plate appearances over 59 video games with Campbell University this yr and caught the Blue Jays’ eye throughout his three seasons within the Big South Conference.

“Playing in the middle of the field, showing some versatility, probably can move him around the infield as needed as a pro,” mentioned Farrell. “Just the consistency overall and year over year in his performance really drew us to him.”

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