Jays will pick in top five for just eighth time
No pressure, right Shane Farrell? It’s your first year overseeing the amateur draft for the Toronto Blue Jays and you are operating under the challenges of a global pandemic that tosses out many of the tried and true scouting tools that normally would be at your disposal.
Not only that, by virtue of a tank of a 2019 season, your Jays are selecting fifth overall on Wednesday, the highest pick for the franchise since Vernon Wells was taken at the same spot in the 1997 draft.
But Farrell, the 31-year-old who replaced Steve Sanders as the Jays amateur scouting director, says the potential of snagging a high-end prospect outweighs any of the heat associated with his first official move in the position.
“Certainly, opportunity,” Farrell said in a conference call to discuss the upcoming draft. “The pressure gets limited a bit just by taking comfort in the work I know our staff has done since the shutdown.
“To have a chance to pick fifth overall, to have a slightly better pool of players available ... in the grand scheme is really exciting and an opportunity.”
Working the high end of the opening round is a potential luxury for the Jays, given the limitations on evaluation since the COVID-19 crisis shut down the sports world back in March. It stands to reason, however, that there is a greater volume of information available on the players most likely to go near the top.
Day 1 of the draft begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET with the first 37 picks followed by the remaining 160 selections slated for Thursday night. Because of the pandemic and teams’ move to save close to a combined $30 million U. S. in signing bonuses, the draft has been slashed from 40 rounds to a puny five.
Other than missing the opportunity to stockpile prospects and being forced to rely more on video and past scouting looks, Farrell said the mini draft won’t alter the Jays approach when it comes to selection time. The Jays will pick in the top five for just the eighth time in franchise history.
“It doesn’t really change much in terms of approach or strategy,” Farrell said. “It’s really focusing again on the best players available on the board in the moment.
“Unfortunately we only have five opportunities to make selections this year, but whether the draft is five rounds or 40 rounds we’re going to acquire the best player we can in that round.”
The baseball development process — being different than the other major pro sports — means that drafting for need isn’t always high on the priority list. The Jays have selected a pitcher in the first round in six of the past seven drafts and because of his team’s approach, Farrell won’t rule that out on Wednesday.
But several mock drafts projecting this year’s activity have position players in the mix when Toronto gets moving at No. 5.
Zack Veen, a 6- foot- 4, 190- pound high school outfielder from Florida and Nick Gonzales, a second baseman from New Mexico State (who led the NCAA in homers this year with 12 in 16 games), are two players that are generating some buzz around the Jays slot on the draft board.
A beast at the plate, there is a consensus that Veen is the top high school prospect in the draft, so much so that the Kansas City Royals are said to have some interest in him at the No. 4 pick.
Wherever the Jays land, they should be able to acquire a potential high-impact player. With the shutdown of all things baseball, Farrell has not only relied on his own staff but has had more input from other areas of the organization including coaches with the big league team.
“Drafting for organizational need or diversity of position players and pitchers isn’t really an area that we’ve talked about much,” Farrell said. “Just the volatility in baseball prospects — drafting for need isn’t really an area we tend to go down. Focusing on the best player available is key for us and be open-minded to all the players that are in the draft pool this year.”