By going back to (high) school in this year's draft, the Jays signaled their long-term intentions.
It’s been interesting to see how the Blue Jays have gone about their business of building a sustainable farm system capable of sending waves of prospects up the ladder towards the Major Leagues and, hopefully, an annual shot at the post-season.
This was the way it was between 1985 and 1993 under Hall of Fame GM Pat Gillick, and what made the Blue Jays the envy of the Majors during that time span.
Entering the 2011 MLB Draft, several names were linked to the Jays as they prepared to make seven of the first 78 selections.
Some early reports had them taking Dallas high school outfielder Josh Bell (chosen 61st by Pittsburgh). They were also linked to Georgia Tech left-handed pitcher Jed Bradley (15th by Milwaukee), and North Carolina shortstop Levi Michael (30th by Minnesota). The Blue Jays didn’t go completely off the board with their 21st overall selection, just a little deeper into the Top 100 prospects when they tabbed Massachusetts prep school right-hander Tyler Beede.
On several websites, Beede was described as pitching with "an advanced college arm," and one of the top prep school arms to come out New England in a couple of decades. High praise indeed.
Now comes the hard part.
It’s been well documented that Beede has a commitment to pitch next year at Vanderbilt University. Both his camp and the Blue Jays are saying all the right things for public consumption.
As general manager Alex Anthopoulos told Sportsnet Radio the Fan 590’s Jeff Blair, "We did a lot of homework on him and all indications are that he wants to play professional baseball."
Translation: the Jays are going to have buy out Beede’s college years.
And with a rumoured cache of money earmarked for this draft it’s seems that they will have a very good shot at inking the 18-year-old high schooler. If not, then the Jays will pick again in the same slot in next year’s draft, but the team seems very committed to bringing Beede into the organization.
Based upon the way that the draft unfolded, with the Jays choosing 21 high school players among their first 25 picks (15 pitchers), it appears that the Jays are looking to create a second wave of prospects to fill up the low minors behind the current crop (Brett Lawrie, Anthony Gose, Travis d’Arnaud, Adeiny Hechavarria, Deck McGuire), to sustain a high level of players arriving on an annual basis. This will give them an excellent shot at becoming a perennial contender, something that Anthopoulos has promoted in his two years as general manager. And with the backing of ownership through team president Paul Beeston, this appears to be a doable game plan.
Fan 590 MLB Draft Audio: Alex Anthopoulos | Canadian pitcher Thomas Robson
Others players of note that the Jays drafted through the first two days were left-hander Daniel Norris out of Tennessee who was ranked No. 33 in ESPN draft guru Keith Law’s top 100 (Jays got him at 74), outfielder Dwight Smith (his dad Dwight played in the majors with the Cubs, Orioles and Braves, 1989-96) and the highest rated Canadian, right-handed pitcher Tom Robson of Ladner, BC.
But the one that caught my untrained eye the most was Texas A&M right-hander John Stilson, who was rated as high as 20th but whose stock dropped after it was reported that he needs surgery to repair a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder. Stilson regularly hit 96-98 on the gun, pre-surgery of course, but with the team still without a bonafide closer, I’m hoping that the plan will bring him along in the minors with the ninth inning in mind. That’ll be several years down the road, though.
HARPER IN THE NEWS
Last year’s first overall choice in the MLB draft, Bryce Harper, found himself surrounded by controversy the other day after video of him blowing a kiss at a pitcher after hitting a home run off him, hit the internet.
It’s unanimous that Harper will become a very good Major League player, but what everyone needs to remember is that he’s just 18 years old.
Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt said it right when he told ESPN that Harper needs to "tone it down and play the game."
Words of wisdom from one of the legends of the game. Harper has been tearing up low single-A this season with a .342 average, 14 home runs and 43 RBI in his first 57 professional games, and as a result of being the best player at every level he has encountered during his baseball life, a level of conceit is quite normal.
But if he doesn’t tone it down, it’s guaranteed that opposition pitchers will soon start pitching him up-and-in on a regular basis.
