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Blue Jays: History of the 232nd overall pick in the MLB Draft
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Photo credit: © Jonathan Dyer - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jul 6, 2025, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 6, 2025, 05:36 EDT
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The 232nd overall pick has an All-Star who should’ve accomplished so much more in baseball.
In the 2025 draft, it will be the Toronto Blue Jays’ first time in franchise history that they’ll pick 232nd overall.  Only six players picked by the Blue Jays in the eighth round have even made the big leagues, two of whom played 100 or more games. If you missed the last article, we looked at the history of the 202nd overall pick.
By far the most notable player selected in the eighth round by the Blue Jays is Kendall Graveman, who signed for a bonus of $5,000. He was involved in the Josh Donaldson trade late in 2014 and has gone on to have a good career as a reliever. Tim Pugh is the other player selected in the eighth round by the Blue Jays who went on to play 100 or more games, but he didn’t sign with the Jays. 
Nine players selected 232nd overall have gone on to play in the big leagues. One, Mike Vasil, is currently active in the big leagues after being drafted by the New York Mets in 2021. In late 2024, Vasil was picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Rule 5 draft and then traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. He was waived, and the Chicago White Sox picked him up. So far this season, the left-handed pitcher has a 2.73 ERA and 4.70 FIP in 56 innings pitched, usually in a multi-inning role.
Two other players have a bWAR above 0; they are Jim Todd (1969) and Andy Merchant (1972). Mark Davis, Rafael Novoa, Steve Engel, Greg Washburn, and Tim Federowicz all have a bWAR below 0.
Vasil isn’t the only active player in affiliate ball. Randy Flores (2024) plays in the Los Angeles Angels system, Braylen Wimmer (2023) plays in the Colorado Rockies farm system, and Dale Stanavich (2022) is in the Miami Marlins farm system and could be called up at some point this season.
By far the best player who has gone on to have any real success drafted 232nd is Mark Fidrych. He was selected in the 1974 draft by the Detroit Tigers and made his debut two seasons later.
It was a fantastic rookie season, as the right-handed pitcher had a 2.34 ERA and 3.15 FIP in 250.1 innings pitched, with sky low 9.7 K% and 5.3 BB%. Fidrych pitched an incredible 24 complete games, winning the American League Rookie of the Year, heading to the All-Star Game, and finishing as the runner-up in Cy Young voting.
Fidrych’s 2.34 ERA was the lowest in the league for starters, and he accumulated 9.6 bWAR and 7.9 fWAR. It will go down as one of the best rookie seasons in the history of the sport, but it was also the pinnacle of his career, as one injury derailed his career.
The 6’3”, 175 lbs righty pitched well in the 1977 season, posting a 2.89 ERA and 2.50 FIP in 81 innings pitched, earning a second All-Star nomination. Fidrych missed the start of the season due to a knee injury, and in early July, Fidrych unknowingly tore his rotator cuff. He pitched just six and one-third innings before his season ended.
In 1978, Fidrych pitched just three games, going 22 innings with a 2.45 ERA and a 2.9 FIP, but his season was once again ended because of the rotator cuff injury. He pitched just four games in 1979 and nine games in 1980, finishing those two seasons with a 6.86 ERA and 5.37 FIP in 59 innings pitched. 
Fidrych pitched around the minor leagues for an additional three seasons, one with the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A team, and two with the Boston Red Sox’s Triple-A team, retiring after the 1983 season. By the time the rotator cuff was discovered two years after his career ended, it was far too damaged to continue his career.
One of the most beloved players in Tigers’ history, Fydrich tragically passed away on April 13, 2009, at the age of 54.

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