2023 MLB Draft Tracker: Scouting Reports and Analysis on all of the Blue Jays’ draft picks
2 months ago
The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft has concluded.
Below are all 19 selections made by the Toronto Blue Jays with scouting reports and analysis on each player. To read the article about an individual player they selected, click on the player’s name.
First round – No. 20 overall: SS Arjun Nimmala
Here’s a pre-draft report on Nimmala from Keith Law of The Athletic…
“Nimmala is one of the youngest players in the entire draft class, certainly the youngest on my Big Board, as he won’t turn 18 until November, which will appeal to all the teams that value age in their draft models. But he’s also very talented and would still be a first-rounder even if he were 18 already. Nimmala is a lean 6-1 and already shows above-average power with a strong swing that makes excellent use of his hips to generate that contact quality. He’s a rangy shortstop with good hands and an easy plus arm, and although he’s probably just an average runner in the end, he’s certain to stay at the position long term. Where he falls short of the high school hitters above him is in his present hit tool, as he’s shown more propensity to swing and miss than his peers but seems to hit velocity fine. If he didn’t have that, he’d be in that uppermost tier of players, since he’d have the hit tool, power and defense at a critical position. Instead, he offers the potential for that sort of player with a slightly longer timeframe and greater risk around his ability to hit when he enters pro ball.”
Second round – No pick
The Blue Jays did not have a second-round pick in this year’s draft because they signed Chris Bassitt as a free agent during the off-season. Bassitt had been qualified by the New York Mets and the team that signed him had to forfeit a pick.
Third round – No. 89 overall: RHP Juaron Watts-Brown
The 21-year-old right-handed pitcher is insanely athletic, having played baseball, football, and basketball in high school. He also played on the gridiron in college, leading to a shoulder injury which made him miss the 2021 baseball season. In terms of his stats, he had a 5.03 ERA in 82.1 innings pitched, appearing in 17 games and starting 15 of them. Moreover, he had a 33 K% and a 12.8 BB%.
Fourth round – No. 121 overall: RHP Landen Maroudis
He was a two-way prospect in high school as he also played shortstop. However, he was announced as a pitcher, which will likely be his professional position. The fastball touched 96 mph, but sits in the low-90s. The velocity dropped as the season went on, but this was to be expected with him also playing shortstop. Maroudis’ changeup is his best secondary pitch with 10 mph of separation from the fastball and has some fade and sink. He also throws a slider which can be considered a slurve that sits in the low 80s. All three pitches have the chance of being plus, and the 18-year-old is also incredibly athletic.
Fifth round – No. 157 overall: LHP Connor O’Halloran
Last season at the University of Michigan was his best, as he posted a 4.11 ERA in 103 innings pitched. He had a 25.5 K% and a 6 BB%. His stuff won’t wow you. The left-handed pitcher sits in the high-80s to low-90s, but tops out at about 93 mph. It has an interesting angle and when paired with his deception in the windup, it’s a solid pitch.
Sixth round – No. 184 overall: OF Jace Bohrofen
The left-handed batting outfielder has a great swing, and has drastically improved at making contact this season. He has great strength and good raw power, which generates high exit velocities. As mentioned, there is some swing and miss in his game, but he could hit for both power and average in the future.
Seventh round – No. 214 overall: SS Nick Goodwin
Goodwin is more of a power-over-hit guy, as he hit 33 home runs in 770 plate appearances in his three collegiate seasons. He did improve his strikeout numbers in his junior year, as he went from 57 strikeouts in 247 plate appearances in 2022 to just 37 in 274 in 2023. He produces good exit velocities as well, an encouraging sign.
Eighth round – No. 244 overall: OF Braden Berry
With the 244th overall pick, the selected West Virginia’s Braden Barry, a 6’4”, 190 lbs outfielder. As of now, there is very little information on the 21-year-old right-handed batter in terms of scouting reports. This will surely be an under-slot signing for the Blue Jays.
Ninth round – No. 274 overall: SS Sam Shaw
On the MLB Pipeline panel, they noted that Shaw has good contact skills, but doesn’t have a lot of impact with the bat. However, ESPN’s Kiley Daniel, who ranked him as his 139th best draft prospect, noted that Shaw is a “Canadian-born masher with unclear defensive home, akin to Edouard Julien.”
10th round – No. 304 overall: RHP Josh Mollerus
He has a fastball, changeup, slider mix, with the fastball sitting around 91-95 mph. The slider plays well off the fastball when he locates, but he’ll need to improve his command and control as he turns professional. This looks like another under-slot pick for the Blue Jays.
11th round – No. 334 overall: RHP Grant Rogers
Grant Rogers had a 1.82 ERA in 103.2 innings pitched with McNeese State University, along with 12 wins in just 15 games for a W-L% of .923
12th round – No. 364 overall: RHP Chay Yeager
Yeager played in NCAA Division II, but is a Georgia State commit. He was a two-way player but was announced as a pitcher when selected by the Jays. He had 13.24 K/9 in 69.1 innings pitched, Fastball/Changeup/Slider mix.
13th round – No. 394 overall: 1B/OF Brennan Orf
A fellow Brennan! The Jays selected Brennan Orf in the 13th round, and this has a real chance at being a steal. He hit 19 homers and walked more than he struck out for the past two years, and only had an 8% chase rate. Good stuff.
14th round – No. 424 overall: RHP Joe Vogatsky
Vogatsky was the second reliever draft, and he features a low-90s fastball, and two breaking balls (slider, curveball). It’ll be interesting to see if the Jays stretch him out as they did with Devereaux Harrison, Pat Gallagher, and Ryan Jennings
15th round – No. 454 overall: RHP Kelena Sauer
Sauer has an interesting arm action with a low-90s fastball and good command of his pitches. Could be an interesting reliever to keep an eye on in the minor leagues this season and next.
16th round – No. 484 overall: C Jackson Hornung
Is a catcher that slashed .424/.560/.803 with 12 homers in 175 plate appearances with Division III school Skidmore College. It’s possible that he was/is going to transfer to Kansas State University. He also played hockey in high school, scoring 45 goals and 75 points.
17th round – No 514 overall: 1B/OF Sam Kulasignam
The Jays really like their hit-for-average first baseman, as Kulasignam hit for the third-highest average in all of NCAA baseball, tied with second-overall pick Dylan Crews. While Kulasignam was in a weaker conference, this has the chance to be a steal of a pick.
18th round – No. 544 overall: OF Chase Brunson
The 18-year-old outfielder was the only prep player chosen by the Blue Jays on Day 3 of the draft. With a slot value of $150,000, it may be hard to pull him away from his commitment to Loyola Marymount University. Interestingly, the Jays selected five prep players on day three of the 2022 draft.
19th round – No. 574 overall: RHP Aaron Munson
The Blue Jays picked four college starters on Tuesday, but I think they hit on at least two of them. First off was Grant Rogers who became the ace of the team. The other was Aaron Munson, who had a 3.63 ERA in 101.2 innings pitched, along with a 27.6 K% and a 6 BB%. The strikeout and walk splits are what intrigue me the most.
20th round – No. 604 overall: LHP Kai Peterson
The last pick of the draft for the Jays was Kai Peterson. He pitched for Sierra College, a junior college, and posted a 3.86 ERA in 84 innings pitched. He struggled with walks, but had a 13.61 K/9, and features a fastball/curveball/changeup mix.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D. Thanks for reading Blue Jays Nation’s draft content! Next up is the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline, so stay tuned!
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