Laika

right his defense has not been as steady/good as I had hoped not sure if he just has some inconsistencies or actually has the yips and is error prone

Clement's full season pace is already better than 1 WAR. Something like 1.8

Can you call it luck if they keep doing it? lol Boring boot cut fan Ross Atkins, leave it to him to create the most boring farm system ever, which just kind of pathetically and unceremoniously drips AAAA players into the big leagues where they have surprisingly good projections and performance Add Clement to the list too Excited for 2025 when Barger and Wil Robertson emerge in June as 2 WAR talents

nice argument, no argument

not sure Mitchell is a punt but who knows sounds like 60 hit, 60 speed, 60 defense, 40 arm, 30 power it's like the ol' brett gardner package without elite defense of course he won't get out of A+ because this is Toronto

"for more money" man it was not even a material increase in salary I agree that signing a guy after a strong season can be a bad idea, but that is because they tend to cost a lot more. KK did not even cost more. The Jays signed the 6th best projected FA outfielder (by fWAR) for much less money than most of the players projected for similar WAR totals, other than Harrison Bader. They signed him for half of his expected contract. And you can't even make a valid "should have signed X instead" for $10M because all of the good hitters went for like 1/$23M or 3/$42M You know? Go take $10M and find a good hitting left fielder last offseason. Even with the perfect benefit of hindsight it's f***ing hard. Pham is back to replacement level, Duvall is under replacement level. Hicks sucks. Heyward and Taylor are role players. You've got like... Jesse Winker and Jurickson Profar. Not exactly names that anyone wanted. It's just a reasonable signing that didn't work out. Sigh. Also, they could bench or cut him right now if Davis Schneider was hitting enough to just take the LF job but he isn't anymore so.

Mitchell spent two seasons dominating at Western Illinois before transferring to Indiana for his junior year. Mitchell’s best tool is easily is his tool which is a plus. He has short swing with not much of a load that allows him to have elite contact rates (he had a 92% in-zone contact rate last season). He doesn’t chase much and he has a great approach walking as much as he struck out at WIU and on the Cape last season. He’s a good defender in the outfield but due to a below average arm he is probably just a left fielder. Mitchell has below average power hitting only 5 home runs last year and that is something that will need to improve for him to go higher in the draft.

The Jays paid 10M for KK after a bad, 1 WAR season And then paid the same price for him after a good, 2.8 WAR season that's not "a terrible signing from the start" it's just a signing that did not work out. you can say that it was bad strategy because of player type or whatnot but c'mon there are actual criticisms of Atkins to deploy, don't be dumb

And then 136... the comp pick for Matt Chapman... Nick Mitchell, College OF After playing his first two college seasons at Western Illinois, Mitchell transferred to Indiana and batted .335/.458/.512 despite missing the first six games of the season with a broken hand. He'll flash plus-plus speed but isn't a prolific basestealer and has spent more time in college in right field than center. He's a smaller-framed guy with a quick left-handed swing and an understanding that his primarily role is to get on base. He has performed well with wood bats, earning all-star honors in the summer Northwoods and Cape Cod leagues.

Sean Keys had the highest OPS in the 2023 cape cod league. Better than Bazzana, and everyone else. He only played 10 games vs 30+ for all the elite prospects but still, 4 homers in 10 games there.

Nah they think this guy has some juice. Horwitz was a 24th rounder who was like an .830 to .860 OPS guy in college I dunno how the conferences compare but Sean Keys has video game numbers

Pick 125 Sean Keys - College "3B" from a weird school Bucknell University in Pennsylvania has had just one player get drafted and reach the big leagues -- right-hander Eric Junge, a 1999 draftee -- and has had just two players get taken in the top 10 rounds in school history. Keys put himself on the map with a solid sophomore season for the Bison in 2023, followed by posting a 1.254 OPS in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League and slashing .385/.422/.769 in 10 Cape Cod League games last summer. He followed it up with a huge junior year, finishing with a .405/.535/.798 line to go along with 13 homers en route to winning Patriot League Player of the Year honors. Big and barrel-chested, Keys is a left-handed hitter who likely will be an analytics darling. He's improved his approach, walking more than he struck out in 2024, and makes consistent hard contact. He rarely swings-and-misses or chases and showed the ability to handle all kinds of stuff, particularly punishing fastballs. He's hit 26 homers the last two years combined at Bucknell, and while some scouts aren't sure the power will play at the next level, his pop with a wood bat in the summer leagues does provide a little more confidence. There's less surety about where Keys will play defensively at the next level. He's been a third baseman throughout his college career, but he's not athletic or agile enough to stick at the hot corner, and he made 11 errors there in 2024. A move to first is the most likely outcome, and there will undoubtedly be teams on Day 2 willing to roll the dice that his left-handed bat will play professionally.

he's more of a bootcut jeans guy I think The Gap

LFG ROSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ATKINSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS save the franchise! pick seven Davis Horwitzes in a row here

I think ppl are overreacting to this. We already knew how Atkins/Toronto operated. They keep communication open with everybody as long as possible. On their specific choices: 1) can't fault them for choosing IKF over Chapman for the money, in light of IKF's performance. 2) Can absolutely fault them for choosing KK over a different OF addition, specifically a more offensive-oriented corner OF. However, not fair to think of Teoscar as a discrete decision since he cost so much more. Toronto would have needed to let Green walk and not sign KK in order to get him. Or not sign Yariel? That gets them close. Yes in hindsight, should have not signed KK and should have let Green walk, and ponied up for Teoscar, but that's a little too complex to be a valid complaint. 3) Can absolutely fault them for choosing Turner of Pederson now, in light of this new info. And this one is tougher to perform apologetics on because it is basically a pick 'em situation for about even money. It seems like all of the reasons to prefer Justin Turner were just kind of stupid. Like, veteran presents and the fact that he still owned an old 3B glove.

probably something like that leadership and s*** I just don't know how you can look at Turner's age and want any part of him when there were other options

jesus f***ing christ Pederson was the no-brainer choice! younger, left handed, more power

Yeah he seems like a finished product for sure Makes me think of Nick Pivetta. But with a lab splitter so perhaps without all the early career issues Pivetta had because he was trying to throw changeups and sinkers when he never had those pitches. I believe Pivetta is all spin and FB now. Has spread out his arsenal with multiple breaking balls and a cutter.

Will be interesting to compare these two choices to the College arms Toronto had been taking before 2023. 2019 11 - Manoah 2020 42 - CJ Van Eyk 77 - Trent Palmer 106 - Nick Frasso 2021 19 - Hoglund 2022 - nobody really. Ryan Jennings at 128 was more of a wide arsenal, pitchability guy. 2023 89 - JWB

The more I read about Trey Yesavage the more I like him. He has some jump on the FB + amazing IVB and a bit of a funky release point It sounds like he is basically a modern pitching lab product, gyro slider and split-change... And then it sounds like he has decent control and stamina Khal Stephen's sitting velo is underwhelming. I am a bit disappointed to see 92.9 which wouldn't even be average MLB RHP SP velocity (I don't think). But I guess that kind of prospect is fine at pick 59. Apparently he also has good FB shape a sneaky good FB, and all the pitches and pitchability/command. Maybe they can coach up the velo a grade. Everyone in Blue Jays fan circles is too quick to throw "Deck McGuire" or "Chad Jenkins" or "Jon Harris" at every lower upside College RHP the team ever takes.

He just seems to have more upside Some ppl prefer to chase upside

Reading that Yesavage has 22.2 IVB on his FB Big if true!

Turns out it was both BPA and need

Seems like good value at #20 Unless they have to go overslot for him or something

I think round 2 as well 75 picks or something