Home > 2019 > 06/04 > Blue Jays select outfielder Will Robertson with 117th pick
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Blue Jays select outfielder Will Robertson with 117th pick

| Cam Lewis

The Blue Jays are continuing their trend of drafting for positions of need with their top picks. They added two high-upside pitchers on the first night of the draft, and, since then, they’ve used their third and fourth picks on outfielders.

Toronto’s fourth pick netted them Will Robertson, a right fielder from the Creighton Jays. Robertson was ranked as the 81st best prospect coming into the 2019 draft by MLB Pipeline, so the Jays might have found themselves a steal here in the fourth round. Robertson is a big, left-handed hitter who apparently has some of the best power in the draft thanks to a quick, short stroke. He’s known more for his bat than his ability in the field, so he likely profiles as a left fielder.

As a junior, Robertson hit an extra-inning home run to give Fatima High (Westphalia) the 2015 Missouri state Class 3 baseball championship, but he otherwise drew little attention at his small-town school. After a modest freshman season at Creighton, he made a run at the Big East Conference triple crown in 2018 and continued to produce in the Cape Cod League during the summer. He has been streakier at the plate this spring, costing him a chance to join Chad McConnell (No. 13 overall in 1992) as the only Blue Jays position players ever selected in the first round. Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Park is one of the toughest places to hit a home run in college baseball, yet it hasn’t been able to contain Robertson, whose short, quick left-handed stroke and strength give him some of the best power in the 2019 college crop. He lets his home runs come naturally rather than swinging for the fences, making repeated contact that could allow him to hit for average as well. To do so, scouts believe he’ll need to get more upright in his stance like he was in the past before getting too spread out as a junior. Robertson has below-average speed out of the batter’s box but is closer to average once he gets going. He needs to improve his defensive instincts and his arm is merely average, so he could shift from right field at Creighton to left field in pro ball. His all-around profile is similar to that of College World Series hero Trevor Larnach, whom the Twins drafted 20th overall out of Oregon State last June, though Larnach had a more impressive junior season. – Source

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