Jays Draft Notes and Links

Normally I would do a whole piece on how the draft went for the Jays, but found that just reading this linkgives readers a very good taste of what the Jays got in the second day of the draft. I linked in the scouting videos from MLB.com for the top 9 guys and will sum it up below.

20	Jenkins, Stephen	Kennesaw St U	RHP	R/R	6'04"	235	12/22/1987	JR
37	Paxton, James	U Kentucky	LHP	L/L	6'03"	210	11/6/1988	JR
68	Eliopoulos, Jake	Sacred Heart Catholic HS	LHP	L/L	6'03"	185	5/25/1991	HS
99	Barrett, Jake	Desert Ridge HS (AZ)	RHP	R/R	6'04"	230	7/22/1991	HS
104	Marisnick, Jacob	Riverside Poly HS (CA)	CF	R/R	6'04"	200	3/30/1991	HS
130	Goins, Ryan	Dallas Baptist U	SS	L/R	5'10"		2/13/1988	JR
160	Schimpf, Ryan	Louisiana St U	2B	L/R	5'09"	181	4/11/1988	JR
190	Hobson, Kristopher	Stockdale HS (CA)	RF	L/L	6'02"	205	8/22/1990	HS
220	Smith, Egan	Col of Southern Nevada	LHP	L/L	6'05"	200	3/16/1989	J2
250	Slover, Brian	Cal St Northridge	RHP	R/R	6'03"		6/10/1988	JR
280	Loup, Aaron	Tulane U	LHP	L/L	5'11"	180	12/19/1987	JR
310	Gomes, Yan	Barry U	C	R/R	6'02"	215	7/19/1987	JR
340	Ochinko, Sean	Louisiana St U	C	R/R	5'11"		10/21/1987	JR
370	Namba, Bryson	Pearl City HS (HI)	3B	R/R	6'02"	210	1/31/1991	HS
400	Morgal, Matthew	Southern Nazarene U	RHP	R/R	6'05"	210	9/18/1986	SR
430	Durham, Lance	U Cincinnati	1B	L/R	5'10"	220	2/20/1988	JR
460	Hutchison, Andrew	Lakeland Senior HS (FL)	RHP	L/R	6'02"	165	8/22/1990	HS
490	Sever, David	St Louis U	RHP	R/R	6'04"	195	9/17/1986	SR
520	Turnbull, Steven	U Iowa	RHP	R/R	6'03"	220	11/25/1986	SR
550	Webb, Robert	Northwest Florida St Col	RHP	R/R	6'03"	210	8/18/1989	J1
580	Tepera, Dennis	Sam Houston St U	RHP	R/R	6'01"	180	11/3/1987	JR
610	Nolan, Kevin	Winthrop U	SS	R/R	6'02"	200	12/13/1987	JR
640	Giller, Kurt	Manhattan HS (KS)	RHP	L/R	6'02"	215	2/4/1991	HS
670	Fields, Matt	Gonzaga U	RHP	R/R	6'03"	190	7/10/1986	5S
700	Glenn, Brad	U Arizona	OF	R/R	6'02"	220	4/2/1987	SR
730	Nuzzo, Matt	Brown U	SS	R/R	6'00"	205	3/18/1987	SR
760	Strickland, Samuel	Texas A&M U Kingsville	LHP	L/L	6'05"	210	6/9/1987	SR
790	Loftin, Lance	Texas St U	RHP	R/R	6'01"	205	3/3/1986	SR
820	Justice, Brian	St Marys Col	RHP	R/R	6'02"	190	10/20/1985	5S
850	Outman, Zachary	St Louis U	RHP	R/R	6'02"	185	12/29/1987	JR

For some reason there are a lot of people who think the Jays will have a hard time reaching a deal with James Paxton and were surprised the Jays took him as a result. I don't see it being an issue personally since the Jays should spend any required signing dollars if they plan to compete in the AL East long term. Some quick hits about the Jays draft:

- 6 of the top 10 picks were pitchers, 3 RHP and 3 LHP
- 19 of the top 30 picks were pitchers, 14 RHP and 5 LHP
- 3 of the top 5 picks were High School players, but only 7 of the top 30 were High School players
- only 2 of the picks were outfielders
- there wwas only 1 third baseman and 1 first baseman chosen in the top 30, 370th and 430th overall respectively
- 4 middle infielders were chosen, 3 SS and 1 2B, 2 of them early at 160 and 180, and 2 late at 610 and 730
- only 5 of the 30 picks were listed as being under 6'0" tall
- 18 of the 30 are listed at over 200 lbs

For those interested in #1 Stephen Strasburg, BA has an article about his press conference here.