In late 2015, the Toronto Blue Jays underwent some changes in their front office, with general manager Alex Anthopoulos heading to the west coast with Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro joining the organization as general manager and CEO/president respectively.

With these changes, and the Atkins/Shapiro era inheriting a more veteran squad, I thought it would be interesting to take a trip down memory lane and look at the first draft this dynamic duo was at the helm for in 2016, but focusing on the players who chose not to sign. If you’ll recall, back then, there were still 40 rounds to the MLB Draft, meaning an uptick in prep players choosing to pursue post-secondary programs instead of transitioning to pro baseball.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the players the Blue Jays drafted in 2016 and choose not to sign, seeing where they are now in their baseball careers.

Hailing from Rancho Verde High School in Moreno California, Chris Lincoln decided to not sign with the Jays and took his talents to the Univesity of California, Santa Barbara instead. He would later be drafted by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round of the 2019 MLB Draft, improving his draft stock. He saw a handful of games following his draft year but missed the 2020 (COVID shutting down the MiLB season) and the 2021 (injury) seasons, returning in late 2022. As a reliever, the right-hander posted an 11.57 ERA in the Arizona Fall League through four games.

A product of Sugarland, Texas, Dominic Taccolini decided to not sign with the Jays and returned to the University of Arkansas instead, hoping another season in college would improve his draft stock. He would later be selected by the Padres in the tenth round of the 2017 MLB Draft.

He spent the 2017 and 2018 campaigns in Rookie League ball, authoring a combined 7.36 ERA through 16 appearances. He would be released at the start of the 2019 season and now works as a geologist.

A product of Calgary, Alberta, Clayton Keyes decided to not sign with the Blue Jays and tested his luck in 2017 by returning to high school for an additional fifth year, climbing up two rounds and being selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He didn’t sign with them as well, instead heading to Central Arizona College. He later transferred to Southeastern University in the NAIA and posted a .683 OPS through 34 games with one home run, winning the NAIA Baseball Championship with the program.

For the 2023 season, Keyes will be joining the Hamilton Cardinals of the Intercounty Baseball League.

After not signing with the Blue Jays as a senior at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Spencer Van Scoyoc decided to honour his commitment to Arizona State before transferring to the University of Central Oklahoma. He would later be selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 19th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, signing with the club.

While he didn’t play in 2020, Van Scoyoc spent the 2021 season split between Rookie League and A-Ball, making seven starts on the year through 12.1 innings and posting a 2.19 ERA. He did not pitch in 2022 as he recovers from an injury.

Legumina was drafted three times before eventually signing, improving his draft stock at Gonzaga which eventually saw the right-hander being taken by the Minnesota Twins in the eighth round of the 2019 MLB Draft. Last season, the right-hander advanced to AA and authored a 4.80 ERA through 33 appearances (16 starts) with a 9.6 K/9. This offseason, Legumina was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for second baseman Kyle Farmer.

After not signing with the Jays, right-hander Ben Anderson went on to State University of New York at Binghampton and improved his draft stock, with the Texas Rangers using their 13th round pick from the 2019 MLB Draft on the 6’4″ right-hander.

Since the draft, Anderson has advanced to High-A and amassed a 3.51 ERA through nine starts last year with the Hickory Crawdads, missing a large portion of the 2022 season on the IL.

After the 2016 MLB Draft, Blake Ebo went to Indian River Community College and has transferred to a few different programs over the past five years. With stops at South Georgia College and the University of Kansas, Ebo made the move to Palm Beach Atlantic University for the 2021 season. He missed the campaign due to injury but returned to the diamond in 2022, appearing in 29 games and posting a .572 OPS with three home runs and eight RBI as a graduate student. As per his LinkedIn, Ebo currently works as a Production Manager/Sales.

After the 2016 MLB Draft, Marcus Still decided to take his talents from Scottsdale Community College to New Mexico State, where the outfielder would spend the next two seasons. There is no record of him playing baseball after graduating from New Mexico State.

The Jays used their 34th-round pick on catcher Shea Langeliers, likely aware that the Portland, Oregon product was heading to Baylor. He would increase his draft stock to be one of the top catchers in the country, with the Atlanta Braves using their ninth overall pick of the 2019 MLB Draft on the righty-batter. He would work his way through the Braves organization and became a top prospect within the farm system heading into last season.

Langeliers would be moved to the Oakland Athletics prior to the 2022 season as part of the trade package for first baseman Matt Olsen, with the catcher starting the year in AAA. He would make his MLB debut in mid-August, splitting time behind the plate and also in the DH spot while authoring a .218/.261/.430 slash line through 142 at-bats while also adding six home runs.

Drafted by the Jays as a high school senior, Dustin Skelton went on to honour a commitment to Mississippi State University, later being drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft.

He had a cup of coffee in Rookie Ball following his draft year and spent all of 2021 in High-A with the Beloit Snappers, appearing in 51 games and authoring a .598 OPS through 192 at-bats while throwing out 27% of base runners. The Marlins would release him prior to the 2022 season. Skelton is currently the head coach of Marshall Academy located in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

Following the 2016 MLB Draft, left-hander Alex Segal went on to Wichita State and was selected by the Braves in the 22nd round of the 2019 MLB Draft. Following the 2019 season, Segal missed the 2020 and 2021 seasons and returned in 2022, making 21 appearances (one start) while advancing to High-A and amassing a collective 2.08 ERA to the tune of a 1.308 WHIP on the year.

Born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Carter Loewen was the last pick for the Blue Jays in the 2016 MLB Draft and the Junior National Team alum decided to not sign and instead head west to the University of Hawaii. In mid-2020, Loewen signed with the San Diego Padres on a MiLB contract and has spent the past two years in their organization.

Last year, the right-hander started the year in Rookie Ball and progressed to Single-A with Lake Elsinore, making only four appearances on the year after missing the back half of 2021 and the start of 2022 due to Tommy John surgery.