𝐀𝐏’𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝! ✅ With the 187th pick in the 6th round of the #MLBDraft, the Toronto Blue Jays select Aaron Parker! #GoChos | #ChosInThePros
Blue Jays selected Aaron Parker with the 187th overall pick in the 2024 draft
Photo credit: Jeff Liang UCSB
Jul 15, 2024, 16:08 EDTUpdated: Jul 22, 2024, 23:22 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays selected their first catcher of the day on Monday,
Out of any position in the organization, catcher is seen to be the weakest for the Jays, as they have just one catcher on their top 30 prospect list. Well, with their sixth-round pick (187th overall), the Blue Jays selected Aaron Parker.
Standing at just 5’9, 208 lb, the 21-year-old spent all three collegiate seasons at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He only appeared in 11 games with eight plate appearances in his freshman season, but broke out in his sophomore season. In 2023, he slashed .312/.415/.551 with 10 homers in 219 plate appearances, along with an 11.4 BB% and a 15.1 K%.
Parker’s 2024 season was even better, as he slashed .379/.460/.632 with 12 home runs in 224 plate appearances. The 21-year-old’s BB% increased slightly to 12.1%, while his K% sat at 17%. For his summer ball career, he slashed .274/.374/.478 with six homers in 131 plate appearances, along with 17 walks and 28 strikeouts.
AP BLAST 💥 Aaron Parker adds insurance with a solo shot to left field to make it 7! B6 | Bulldogs 3 - Gauchos 7 📺 Watch Live: bit.ly/3yQye2Y #GoChos
There isn’t much in the way of a scouting report for the 21-year-old catcher. From what I’ve gathered, he’s a solid defender with average receiving and an average arm. The bat is where he excels, as he has good raw power helped by high exit velocities. He’s always hit for average as well, but most college drafted prospects do, so we’ll see how that translates to the professional game.
Blue Jays 6-187: Aaron Parker, C, UC Santa Barbara -- honey badger RHH thumper behind plate, size (5'9/210) sneaks up on you w/ impressive bat spd & pwr production, frequent/hard contact give offensive upside, if stature doesn't limit he has solid future as C/2B bench projection
You never draft for need, but the Blue Jays really need a catcher to break out in their farm system soon. There are some interesting catching prospects like Phil Clarke, Zach Britton, and Luis Meza, but their only top 30 catching prospect is Franklin Rojas.
The slot value for the 187th overall pick is $323,400, and I expect Parker to sign for the slot value, potentially even under it. As it stands, the Jays have $8.987 million in available signing bonus pool money.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
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