Blue Jays select Jordan Groshans with No. 12 overall pick
By Cam Lewis
5 years agoThe newest Large Adult Son to join the Toronto Blue Jays is Jordan Groshans, an infielder (3B and SS) out of Mangolia High School in Texas.
This comes as somewhat of a curious selection given the fact highly-touted pitchers Brady Singer and Matthew Liberatore slid down to Toronto’s selection at No. 12. Despite having a need for arms in their system, the Jays ultimately went with a high school infielder. The Jays went pretty off the board with this pick as Groshans came into the draft ranked 38th by Baseball America and 31st by MLB Pipeline.
The immediate thought with this off-the-board pick is that the Jays are actively looking to get under-slot value for their high pick to give them more money to sign players later on in the draft. For those not familiar with the MLB Draft, you can often grab a player in the late rounds with signability concerns and try to lure them away from a college commitment with a big signing bonus. That said, Groshans is committed to Kansas.
The immediate scouting report on Groshans is that he possesses big power from the right side. He played short in high school but it seems that he projects to be a third baseman as he goes along. He’s been graded as Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50, which is very solid overall.
Listed at 6-4, 190, Groshans was born November 10th, 1999. Power is his best raw tool, generally receiving 55-60 grades although that actually might be an under-estimate. He gets to his power in games more often than many young hitters. His pure hitting skills and pitch discipline have reportedly improved this spring and he’s got a chance to be a complete hitter down the line.Groshans plays shortstop in high school but as a pro he’ll likely move to third base. Like his power, his arm gets 55-60 grades and it should work at third base. His overall athleticism is solid, he runs pretty well, and I think it a good bet that he’ll be an asset at third. His makeup is another positive and with a November birthday he’s not one of the older preps in the class.
Strengths:A big strength of Groshans is his hitting ability. Jordan has a smooth swing and hits the ball out front, which allows him to hit the ball hard to the pull side of the field. It is believed that Groshans can hit for both power and average in the future.Jordan had the following to say about hitting:“I love to hit baseballs a long way. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I love to go up to the plate looking for a fastball and stuff to drive.”Weaknesses:Previously Groshans was told that he had issues with his range and arm strength, coming into this season though Jordan stated that he had polished up his range and arm strength. Groshans had the following to say about the weaknesses that had been stated and how he had improved.“A lot of the issues people were telling me with range and arm strength, I have polished those up pretty well. I believe I can stick at shortstop at the next level, whether it’s college or professional.”A possible weakness can be a future position change because of his size some scouts believe that he will be moved to third base because of the size. He did get some playing time though at third base, shortstop, and second base during the showcase circuit last summer.
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