The Blue Jays director of amateur scouting feels that Toronto struck an important balance at this year's Major League Baseball draft.
Shane Farrell said Toronto did well to get younger talents fresh out of high school and some more seasoned college prospects in the draft on July 9. The Blue Jays announced on Thursday that they have signed 15 of their draft picks as well as three non-drafted free agents.
"I think that balance was accomplished, looking at a couple of our picks," said Farrell in a Zoom call from Cape Cod, Mass. "Obviously, Arjun Nimmala in the first round, Landen Maroudis in the fourth, and then balancing it out with some college guys in the middle of Day 2.
"Then taking another swing at a high-school player we like in Sam Shaw a little bit later on that second day."
Nimmala, a 17-year-old shortstop out of Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, Fla., was signed on Monday. The signings of the other 17 prospects were announced Thursday.
The new signings include pitchers Maroudis and Connor O'Halloran, selected in the fourth and fifth rounds.
Outfielder Jace Bohrofen, shortstop Nick Goodwin, outfielders Braden Barry and Sam Shaw as well as pitcher Josh Mollerus, selected in the sixth through 10th rounds, agreed to deals.
Pitchers Grant Rogers and Chay Yeager, outfielder Brennan Orf, pitcher Kelena Sauer, catcher Jackson Hornung and pitchers Aaron Munson and Kai Peterson also signed from the draft class.
Non-drafted free agents Bryce Arnold (second baseman), Nate LaRue (catcher), and JJ Sanchez (pitcher) agreed to deals, too.
Toronto did not have a second-round pick and pitcher Juaron Watts-Brown, taken in the third, has yet to agree on terms with the Blue Jays. MLB teams have until July 25 to sign their draft picks.
"We're having continuous conversations with Juaron," said Farrell. "We're optimistic that we get everything sorted out by the deadline.
"We'll kind of wait and see how that evolves over the next couple of days."
O'Halloran, Shaw, and Arnold are all Canadian.
"With O'Halloran. I think it was the pitch ability, the durability, somebody that's managed higher workloads at the collegiate level," said Farrell. "With Sam, I think what really stood out to us was the bats-on-ball skills. Somebody we've been watching for a couple of years now.
"Bryce it's just the consistency in performance (...) playing in the middle of the field, showing some versatility, probably can move him around the infield as needed as a pro."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2023.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
