2022 MLB Draft Tracker: The Blue Jays have signed top pick Brandon Barriera

1 year ago

Follow along with updates about the Toronto Blue Jays’ selections from the 2022 MLB Draft…

Brandon Barriera (23rd overall):

It took a while, but the Jays first rounder has officially signed for $3,597,500, well above the allotted slot value of $3,076,900 for this pick.

Now that their first rounder has officially signed, it begs the question how much do they have left? From my count, they’ve gone into the overage and have about $79,605 remaining. This means that they’ll likely be able to sign a later selection (perhaps Nolan Perry, see the rumour section), but I’d be pleasantly surprised with a second prep player signing!

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $5,193,205

Josh Kasevich (60th overall):

On Monday morning, it was announced that Josh Kasevich signed for a bonus of $997,500, below the slot value of $1,220,000 for this pick. This means that the Jays saved $222,500 by selecting Kasevich.

The shortstop slashed .310/.383/.445 in 277 plate appearances with Oregon. Although he never hit for power (11 homers in 569 college plate appearances), some scouts believe it could come.

With Kasevich, the Jays are getting a guy that can hit, and is a great defender at short.

The Jays have gotten all other top 10 round picks signed up, and they have around $3,258,500 of bonus pool remaining without overage. With overage (the 5% overage is taxed), they have around $3,677,105 remaining, which is certainly enough to sign Barriera.

The question is whether or not they’ll be able to afford those day three high school arms. Barriera would have to sign at slot value for them to be able to sign two or three of them.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $4,195,705

Tucker Toman (77th overall):

It’s official, Tucker Toman, who’d of been a first-rounder, has signed with the Blue Jays for a signing bonus of $2,000,000. The slot value for the 77th overall pick is $846,900, meaning that Toman was over-slotted for over $1,153,100.

Doing some quick math here, and with the savings from the rest of these picks, the Jays still need to save $311,000 from under slotting their day 2 picks before they’re back on track. Furthermore, there’s a 5% overage allowed (or $418,000), meaning that the Jays could signed everyone at the same slot and be fine. Here’s fellow BJN writer Brendon Kuhn explaining it.

Toman is a switch-hitting third baseman with great bat speed from both sides of the plate. His defensive home could shift around in the future, but he has the work ethic to stick at third.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $2,195,705

Cade Doughty (78th overall):

Doughty, who plays third base and second base, was the first of the day one draftee to sign his contract. The total amount taken from the bonus pool is $831,100. The $2,500 will still be given to him, it’s just a contingency.

The 21-year-old infielder played for Louisiana State University, posting a .298/.393/.567 slash line with 15 homers in 282 plate appearances in 2022.

He does a great job timing the ball and could play either third or second. Jim Callis notes that it could be a potential steal for the Jays, as Doughty was rated as the 55th best draft prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

If I had to guess, I’d say he’d likely start his professional career with the Low A Dunedin Blue Jays, but it’s possible he has a few at-bats with the High A Vancouver Canadians.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $1,364,605

Alan Roden (98th overall):

According to Carlos Collazo, the Blue Jays have signed corner outfield/first baseman Alan Roden to a signing bonus of $497,500. The slot for the 98th overall pick is $623,500, meaning the Jays saved $126,000 with drafting Roden.

Alan Roden slashed .387/.492/.598 with four homers in 242 plate appearances. He walked 29 times, and only struck out eight times in those 242 plate appearances.

For his Creighton career, he slashed .383/.484/.640 with 14 homers in 418 plate appearances. He had a K% of 6.46 and a BB% of 11.72.

If you want to read more about Roden (as well as the rest of these players), check out my post draft article here.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $867,105

Ryan Jennings (128th overall):

The first update to this article! According to Jim Callis, reliever Ryan Jennings signed with the Blue Jays for $70,000. However, there is a contingency bonus which knocks of $2,500, leaving Jennings bonus towards to bonus pool at $67,500, well below the 128th overall slot of $465,600. This saved the Jays $398,100.

He posted an ERA of 3.59 in 90.1 innings with Louisiana Tech University. Jennings had a BB/9 of 3.69 and a K/9 of 9.46.

Jennings has started 30 games in 38 appearances for the university since 2021. He could be stretched out as a starter with the FCL Jays, or jump straight to the High A Canadians as a reliever.

Jennings has hit 99 mph as reliever, and sits in the low 90s as a starter. He also has good breaking stuff, according to Callis.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $799,605

Mason Fluharty (158th overall):

The reliever was drafted with the fifth-round pick on the second day of the draft. This pick had a slot value of $347,000, but Fluharty only signed for $222,500, or $124,500 less than the slot value. Expect players selected from rounds 3 to 10 to be signed for less than slot value, as Tucker Toman will be way over slot.

Fluharty pitched solely as a reliever with Liberty University. This season, he posted a 2.84 ERA in 50.2 innings pitched. He had a K/9 of 14.7 while limiting his BB/9 to just 1.8. For his entire collegiate career, he had a 3.47 ERA in 80.1 innings pitched, with a K/9 of 12.1 and a BB/9 of 2.6.

He has a low-90s fastball with cutting action, as well as a sweeping slider per Jim Callis.

I could see Fluharty starting his professional career with the Vancouver Canadians, as he’ll be turning 21 years old in mid-August.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $577,105

T.J Brock (188th overall):

The last confirmed signing (as I write this) is reliever T.J Brock. Jim Callis reports that the 22-year-old reliever signed for a bonus of $72,500, well below the slot value of $268,500 for the 188th overall pick. The Jays saved $196,000 with this pick.

This recent season, Brock posted a 3.78 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched with Ohio State. He has a K/9 of 12.4 with a BB/9 of 5.4. For his collegiate career, he had a 5.68 ERA in 77.2 innings pitched with a K/9 of 10.4 and BB/9 of 5.8.

He pitched well in summer ball, posting a 2.16 ERA in 8.1 innings pitched. This saw his BB/9 drop to 2.2 while his K/9 increased to 16.2.

His fastball sits in the mid-90s, and some sites believe he has one of the best sliders in the draft.

As he’ll soon be 23 years old, I could see him getting a promotion directly to New Hampshire, but as low as Low A to work on his command.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $504,605

Peyton Williams (248th overall):

Peyton Williams was my personal favourite pick from the second day of the draft. Like with all day two draft picks, Williams signed under his slot value, as his bonus of $197,500 was $13,000 below the slot value of $210,500 for this pick.

This season with the University of Iowa, the 6’5 first baseman slashed .335/.464/.622 with 13 homers in 261 plate appearances. For his entire collegiate career, he slashed .317/.455/.593 with 21 homers in 492 plate appearances. He also struck out 83 times while walking 77 times, great numbers.

My best bet would be a start in High A with the Vancouver Canadians.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $307,105

Dylan Rock (248th overall):

Although I couldn’t find a tweet for it, Baseball America has been updating draftee’s numbers. According to the Baseball America, Dylan Rock signed for a bonus of $22,500, well below the slot of $173,900 for the 248th overall pick. This gave the Jays a saving of $151,400 to put towards Tucker Toman’s bonus.

The over aged outfielder transferred to Texas A&M this past college season, slashing .318/.468/.641 with 19 homers in 297 plate appearances. He had more walks (BB% of 17.51) than strikeouts (K% of 16.50).

For his entire collegiate career, he slashed .319/.431/.520 with 37 homers, most of which coming with the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Turning 24-years-old on August 21st (I’m four days younger than him), Rock showed he can perform for Texas A&M in the most recent College World Series.

If I had to guess, he’d start at higher level, such as High A or even Double A.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $284,605

Devereaux Harrison (278th overall):

Next to Brandon Barriera, the 21-year-old righty was the last draftee in the first two days to sign. Harrison signed for a bonus of $122,500, below the slot value of $158,600 for this pick. That means that the Jays saved $36,100.

With Long Beach State, Harrison posted a 6.15 ERA in 33.2 innings pitched in 2022. He had K/9 of 8.6 and a BB/9 of 4.5. For his collegiate career, he has a 3.42 ERA in 81.2 innings pitched, with a K/9 of 10.1 and a BB/9 of 3.9.

There’s definitely something within him that the Jays like.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $162,105

Ian Churchill (308th overall):

This was another draftee that wasn’t tweeted out, but was found on Baseball America’s Draft Database.

According to that site, Ian Churchill signed to a bonus of $7,500, well below the slot value of the 308th pick of $150,400. The Jays saved $142,900 with this pick using it towards Toman’s signing bonus.

The Jays are within $17.000-$14,000 of what they would be if all players signed for slot value. Perhaps Williams and Harrison sign for below slot value so that they Jays could pick up a few of those prep players on day three?

With the University of San Diego, Churchill posted a 4.17 ERA in 54 innings pitched. He also had a K/9 of 9.5 and a BB/9 of 2.

For his entire collegiate career (he pitched for Arizona before transferring to San Diego), he posted a .476 ERA in 79.1 innings pitched. He had a 9.5 K/9 and BB/9 of 3.3.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $154,605

Day three signings:

Originally, this section was named “rumoured signings”, but those numbers have been updated according to Baseball America’s MLB Draft Database. Unlike the first ten rounds, the day three rounds (11-20) have a slot limit of $125,000 for every pick. If a player does sign for over $125,000, it’s taken out of their remaining bonus pool.

Pat Gallagher (338th overall):

According to Baseball America’s live draft database, Pat Gallagher signed for $125,000, the maximum amount without hitting the bonus pool.

He posted a 3.41 ERA in 103 innings pitched, starting all 17 games he appeared in. For his entire collegiate career, he posted a 3.77 ERA in 164.2 innings, while his K/9 sat at 10.2 and his BB/9 at 3.1.

I could see him starting in the Low A, before eventually ending up with the Canadians by the end of the season.

Bo Bonds (398th overall):

One of the rumoured signings, Baseball America notes that Bo Bonds signed for a bonus of $125,000.

Bo Bonds recently underwent Tommy John surgery, but the Jays clearly liked what they saw with him, so they signed him to the maximum amount without digging into their bonus pool.

He’ll likely resume pitching in 2024.

Sammy Hernandez (428th overall):

The other original rumoured signing, Sammy Hernandez was chosen out of high school and had a commitment to the University of Houston.

According to Baseball America’s draft tracker, the 18-year-old catcher signed for a bonus of $200,000. This means that $75,000 will be taken out of their bonus pool.

My guess is he would start in the FCL this season or next.

Bonus pool (with overage) remaining: $79,605

Michael Turconi (458th overall):

The Jays also signed shortstop Michael Turconi to a bonus of $75,000.

The shortstop slashed .314/.419/.587 with 15 homers in 292 plate appearances as a senior at Wake Forest. He had a K% of 16.44 and a BB% of 14.38.

He spent four years at university, slashing .302/.395/.483 with 26 homers in 777 plate appearances.

Seems like a solid pickup.

Ryan Chasse (518th overall):

Another college arm, Chasse signed for a bonus of $50,000, meaning that his bonus won’t count towards the bonus pool.

The 22-year-old lefty had a 2.81 ERA in 41.2 innings pitched with Campbell University in 2022. He posted a K/9 of 13, but had a rather high BB/9 of 5.6.

In his collegiate career, he had a 3.58 ERA in 196.1 innings pitched. His K/9 sat at 8.8 while his BB/9 sat at 3.9. In the 2019 and 2021 season, Chasse pitched as a starter.

His stock rose in summer ball, where he posted a 1.23 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched. His K/9 increased to 16.6, but his BB/9 rose to 7.4.

My best bet is that he starts in Vancouver.

Rumoured draftees:

On Nolan Perry’s (368th overall) Instagram, his bio stats that he’s in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. While it isn’t official yet, I’ll be curious to see if the Jays actually signed him.

Undrafted Free Agent signings:

An undrafted free agent can sign for a bonus up to $125,000. The thread below details the four undrafted free agents the Blue Jays have signed thus far.

As more signings unfold, be sure to check in with this article, as I’ll be continuing to update it!

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D. I’ll be updating this article with each signing, so stay tuned!