BlueRocky

This is actually pretty funny. I’m thinking most years there’s two or three guys that separate themselves and teams that pick #5 end up settling for the next best thing. Luckily there’s five or six guys this year that seem to be really good and could probably make top 3 in most other drafts. But even in past years, there’s usually a stud to appear right behind the 5th pick, so it’s not like blue chippers were not on the table. Couple quick examples: 2019: CJ Abrams #6 (stud, probably top 4 if re-draft, some argue #2) 2018: Jarred Kelenic #6, Grayson Rodriguez #11, Jordan Groshans #12 2017: Adam Hasley #8, Keston Hiura #9, Jo Adell #10 2016: AJ Puk #6, Cal Quantrill #8, Matt Manning #9 2015: Andrew Benintendi #7 2014: Aaron Nola #7 2013: Austin Meadows #9 2012: Addison Russell #11 2011: Anthony Rendon #6, Francisco Lindor #8, Javier Baez #9, George Springer #11

I think both scenarios would be a win for the Blue Jays at #5. If you get a #2 starter behind Nate Pearson or a corner bat giving you 4-5 WAR every year you've won in the draft. There's no way to accurately project the future, so it's pretty much a guessing game on both performance and health. We're more trying to avoid this scenario: Teams don't want to be the one that took Nick Gordon/Alex Jackson/Jeff Hoffman/Max Pentecost (ouch) when Aaron Nola, Trea Turner, and Matt Chapman were still on the table. It's easy with hindsight, but this practically happens every year. Landing that 3-6 WAR player vs the org guy that doesn't make triple-A can make or break a rebuild. And yeah there's still a likelihood Zac Veen can arrive much sooner than 4 years if he rakes in the minors. But I agree I prefer Hancock and Meyer over Asa Lacy if we are taking college pitching.

The case for drafting college pitcher at no. 5 makes a lot of sense as the draft landscape currently stands. And this front office has already demonstrated in the past of leaning towards college pitching (e.g. Alek Manoah) when good hitters were still on the board (e.g. Brett Baty, Corbin Caroll). They drafted Zeuch well ahead of Bichette. They also took a bunch of second and third tier college pitchers in the later rounds recently, and this is their first chance to land a top tier arm. But if we were drafting in our usual spot 11 or 12 there’s little chance Zac Veen would be available, similar to 2018 when I really wanted Jarred Kelenic and he went 6th. He’s not leaps and bounds a better prospect (right now) than Austin Hendrick or even Robert Hassell and Pete Crow-Armstrong, but he’s the most projectable due to a combination of his swing, size, and as metafour pointed out he played (and raked) this season unlike his peers, and against the top competition available in prep (Florida). PCA also did well for himself to recover some draft stock in this short season by showing much better power than last summer. If you look back at past drafts, there’s a lot of teams that regret not taking upside and settling for lesser unknowns, this might be one of those cases. Zac Veen is not a prop up guy, his draft stock certainly rose a lot this year. But the kid has been living on baseball fields since he was like 12 yrs old and has been dubbed a hitting prodigy for quite some time, scouts have been watching him for years now.

Here are some scouting grades released by Baseball America in their recent prospects showdown series: Infield: Lefties: Righties: On a side note, I've seen Hancock's grades higher from other sources with FB 65, CU 70, SL 60. Which makes some sense as his FB regularly touches 97-98 and has topped at 99. But the command is what separates him IMO from other top arms.

Randal Grichuk Ryan Borucki Trent Thornton Tanner Roark Travis Shaw Jordan Romano Derek Fisher Elvis Luciano Yennsy Diaz

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/blue-jays-2020-mlb-draft-preview-torontos-in-an-enviable-situation/

I’ve seen David Cone comps to Max Meyer on Pipeline, also heard Stroman comps. The main issue with Meyer is his ceiling, it’s lack of track record. He’s only started a handful of games in college, so no idea if his body can hold that stuff as a starter for whole season, although he played very good in 2020. The gamble might be easier to stomach for a team picking 8-15. Jared Kelley, Mick Abel, Garrett Crochet have all hit triple-digits in bullpen sessions, and Hancock have hit 99mph in bullpen and 98mph in games. Max Meyer mostly sits 94-97 mph on Fb. Scouts are more enamoured with Meyer’s slider, which has been clocked 91-93 mph with nasty movement, a scout source from BA said “it’s the best amateur breaking ball they’ve ever seen.” That’s like a Jacob deGrom slider. Meyer is also very athletic build and has played some outfield/dh as a two-way player. http:// https://www.mlb.com/news/2020-mlb-mock-draft-jim-callis-picks-1st-round?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage Btw guys Jim Callis also mocked us with Zac Veen

That’s a mini-showcase a week before the draft

Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis briefly discusses their mock draft on MLB Pipeline Video: https://www.mlb.com/video/mayo-callis-top-20-draft-picks Mock: http:// https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-pipeline-2020-mlb-mock-draft Further comment from Mayo: https://www.mlb.com/news/pipeline-inbox-mock-draft-discussion

Blue Jays Central @ Home featuring Jamie, Joe, Buck, and Dan. Link above

Can I interest anybody in a Emerson Hancock game from 2019? This was Georgia's second last game of the season where he finished 8-3, 1.99 ERA, 97 K/18 BB, 0.8435 WHIP, .185 OBA in 90.1 IP. It’s not easy to find replays of Georgia games. It wasn't even close to one of his best games and yet his stuff was pretty jaw-dropping. I thought you guys bored at home might have interest since there's a chance we'll be drafting this kid on June 10. By the way, LJ Talley hit cleanup for Georgia last year, which was 2019 Blue Jays' 7th round pick. Link: Note: That 0 for 40 vs his changeup is ridiculous.. and that’s his 3rd pitch. 37% chase rate on SL and 33% on CU. Both throws for strikes paired with high-octane FB and curveball for 4-pitch mix.

1. Tigers - S. Torkelson 2. Orioles - A. Martin 3. Marlins - A. Lacy 4. Royals - Z. Veen 5. Blue Jays - E. Hancock 6. Mariners - N. Gonzales 7. Pirates - A. Hendrick 8. Padres - M. Meyer 9. Rockies - G. Mitchell 10. Angels - E. Howard 11. White Sox - J. Kelley 12. Reds - H. Kjerstad 13. Giants - C. Wilcox 14. Rangers - R. Detmers 15. Phillies - N. Bitsko 16. Cubs - G. Crochet 17. Red Sox - R. Hassell 18. Diamondbacks - M. Abel 19. Mets - C. Van Eyk 20. Brewers - P. Crow-Armstrong 21. Cardinals - P. Bailey 22. Nationals - M. Winn 23. Cleveland - T. Soderstrom 24. Rays - C. Cavalli 25. Braves - J.T. Ginn 25. Athletics - C. McMahon 26. Twins - J. Foscue 27. Yankees - T. Burns 28. Dodgers - D. Cabrera Blue Jays 2nd rd pick - Dylan Crews Blue Jays 3rd rd pick - Petey Halpin Note: Torkelson or Martin would’ve had to fall to pry Hancock away from Mason tbh lol

Which team is good?

link:

I heard this morning games up until May 31 can be refunded or credited towards future games, but I cannot confirm

Jonathan Mayo mocked the Blue Jays picking Nick Gonzales: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-pipeline-2020-mlb-mock-draft?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

lol @ Rowdy challenges Vlad to hit the scoreboard during his debut batting practice. Anybody that missed his debut batting practice:

Bichette might actually win this thing

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-draft-mailbag-comparing-top-2020-prospects-to-the-2019-class/

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