It’s never too late to draft content, baby.
Once again, the Blue Jays will select the 20th overall pick. They were originally slated by several publications to select 22nd overall, but the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees bypassed the luxury tax penalty causing their selection to drop 10 spots.
This is the second straight season the Blue Jays will select 20th overall. In the 2023 draft, they selected high school senior Arjun Nimmala, who was rated as the 10th best prospect by several scouts.
Not only did the Jays select a better talent than where they were selected, they also offered him a deal worth $3,000,000, well below the $3,750,000 value of that pick. As you can imagine, they used those savings elsewhere on a group of players who were selected lower than where scouts were.
Had the Jays selected 22nd, the signing bonus at that pick would be worth $3,500,000, meaning they would have an additional $250,000 to sign players, which will always become important in the later rounds.
Not only that, but the Jays will receive a fourth-round pick when they sign Matt Chapman, which is worth between $500,000 and $450,000. Of course, if they sign a player with a qualifying offer like Shohei Ohtani, they’ll lose their second-round pick and the bonus package that comes with it, but you’d take that deal any day of the week.
Elsewhere, the Cleveland Guardians won the lottery with a 2% chance of doing so, meaning they would get the first overall pick. The Cincinnati Reds will pick second, even though they have a 0.9% lower chance of winning it all. The Boston Red Sox had the highest pick in the American League East at 12th, while the Rays had 18th, the Orioles 22nd, and the Yankees 25th.
We’re still a long way from the July project, but it’s exciting nonetheless!
