TORONTO – Safe and steady at 22 before taking on more risk in search of more reward at 28 and 61 is how the Toronto Blue Jays used their first three picks of the 2017 draft Monday, marking an interesting debut for new amateur scouting director Steve Sanders.
North Carolina shortstop Logan Warmoth gives the system a well-regarded middle infielder who can run and has the potential to hit for power. Central Florida Junior College right-hander Nate Pearson shot up the draft board in the past year when he was clocked up to 102 mph and will be given a chance to start, but he’ll end up a reliever if his secondary pitches don’t sharpen up. And Huntington Beach High School star Hagen Danner was scouted by teams as both a catcher and a pitcher, but is viewed as a backstop with a chance to star both at the plate and behind it.
The diversified portfolio is emblematic of the kind of balanced approach the Blue Jays employed last year in the club’s first draft under new president and CEO Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins, run by former scouting director Brian Parker. They went with safer commodities in the first round with right-hander T.J. Zeuch and the second with outfielder J.B. Woodman before swinging for the fences at No. 67 with Bo Bichette, the high-school shortstop tearing it up at low-A Lansing this season.
Whether Sanders – who participated in six drafts with the Boston Red Sox in a variety of roles, most recently as assistant scouting director before joining the Blue Jays – continues to use a measured approach or varies with his remaining picks over the next two days is something that bears watching.
“We took three players from three different demographics, not necessarily by design or what we set out to do. Our goal going in was to take the best player available and that’s what we did,” Sanders said on a conference call. “Three very different players from different backgrounds: Logan obviously a college shortstop in a big conference, the ACC; Nate Pearson a junior college pitcher from Florida whose stuff really trended upwards towards the latter part of the season, and we feel has a chance to come out and pitch with four pitches, big stuff, and has a chance to start; and Hagen Danner, an exceptionally athletic high school player both as a pitcher and a catcher who we’re excited to send out as a catcher, liked his bat and his glove, brings power to the plate.
“Three very different profiles but three players we were excited to get in the spots we were able to get them.”
Their impact on the Blue Jays’ total bonus spending pool of $8,231,000, the 13th largest among the 30 teams, will also be intriguing to watch. As a college junior, Warmoth has limited leverage to go much beyond the No. 22 pick’s slot value of $2,795,200. But Pearson, owner of a commitment to Louisiana State and a surge of interest as his velocity perked up, may have some leverage to work around the 28th pick’s assigned value of $2,302,900.
Danner is committed to UCLA and has to weigh that against the $1,043,200 slot at 61.
“We’re still working through that,” Sanders said when asked if the team had a strong gauge of what the players were looking for. “At this point, we just got done selecting them, wrapping up tonight and getting ready for tomorrow morning, but that will all be part of the process.”
Other factors also weigh in, such as what path Danner envisions for his career, something Sanders said would be a mutual decision while noting the player likes catching. Or, the screw inserted into Pearson’s elbow when he was in high school to stabilize the joint. The 28th pick, received as compensation when Edwin Encarnacion signed with Cleveland, is protected, so if the Blue Jays aren’t able to sign him, they’d receive a pick in its place next year.
“We obviously on all these guys review the medicals and have a thorough process as part of our draft review,” Sanders said in dismissing any potential health concerns.
Still, the three players, if signed, would add the doses of projectable stability and potentially volatile upside that strong and productive farm systems balance effectively. Fair judgment is years away, but area scouts Chris Kline (Warmoth), Matt Bishoff (Pearson) and Joey Aversa Jr. (Danner) and their new boss all have reason to feel good about Day 1 of the draft.
“It ran rather seamlessly,” said Sanders. “Certainly some stressful moments, to be sure. But all in all it was an exciting night for the group and we’re all incredibly happy and pleased with the way things unfolded. We’re looking forward to two more days and adding some more impact players, hopefully, to the organization.”
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