Blue Jays take balanced approach to draft, diversify prospect portfolio

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays’ approach to the draft is akin to managing a well-balanced wealth portfolio – take a few shots at upside, mitigate the risk with some more conservative picks and draw from all available asset pools.

This year, with third-rounder Juaron Watts-Brown still pending, their draft class looks like this:

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

• Safer college picks including 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 seven are position players (two infielders, four outfielders and a catcher), with three high-schoolers, two junior collegians and 10 players out of four-year programs.

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“I think (diversification) was accomplished,” Blue Jays amateur scouting director Shane Farrell said 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 strong four-pitch mix if he can tame some command issues, would add another high-ceiling play, this one out of the college ranks, should he sign.

The Blue Jays have roughly $1 million to work with between the remaining room in their bonus pool of $6,529,700 and overage spending of up to five per cent without forfeiting a future draft pick. Assigned value for pick No. 89 is $771,500 and the decision essentially 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,” said 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, of course, Nimmala, the gifted shortstop with emerging power who at 17 with a birthdate of Oct. 16, 2005, was one of the youngest players eligible this summer.

He’s already begun his introduction to pro ball at a camp for new draft signees, and his age relative to that of his peers is something the Blue Jays will be watching, even if it’s something he’s very much used to due to his later birthday.

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“It impacted a lot,” Nimmala said this week of always being behind others in size and strength among 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 younger end of a cohort tend to project well in certain draft models employed by clubs and Farrell said 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 also signed three undrafted free agents in lefty J.J. Sanchez, catcher Nate Larue and Bryce Arnold, a middle infielder from Grimsby, Ont., who made it three Canadians in the talent infusion.

Notably, all three Canadians participated in the Blue Jays’ annual prospect tournament, the Canadian Futures Showcase. An important event for highlighting local talent and connecting them to collegiate coaches and other MLB organizations, it’s also an opportunity for the club to build inroads with players and a connection to the club may have provided the tipping point in landing Shaw.

The outfielder had a commitment to Xavier University and didn’t go as early as expected, but the Blue Jays were able to rework their bonus pool to sign him for $282,500, well above the 274^th pick’s assigned value of $175,900.

“What really stood out to us was the bat-to-ball skills,” said 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, won’t turn 21 until Sept. 1 and has already shown he can haul innings at Michigan, throwing 92.2 frames last year (plus 12.2 more in the Cape Cod League) and another 103 this year, when he was named Big 10 Pitcher of the Year.

Baseball America put 50 grades (on the 80-scouting scale) on each of his fastball, slider and changeup with a 55 on his command and without big-time velocity, he needs to leverage his ability to locate.

What attracted the Blue Jays, said 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 games with Campbell University this year and caught the Blue Jays’ eye during his three seasons in 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,” said Farrell. “Just the consistency overall and year over year in his performance really drew us to him.”

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