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ryan008 · 10-17-2007, 09:43 AM

Blue Jays Grab Youth In Draft:

The Annual First Year Player Draft was held today as teams attempt to find the next superstar in a sea of College and High School age players. The Draft is 15 rounds and this season the Blue Jays will select 12th overall.

My Draft philosophy is fairly simple. I like to draft the best player available. I tend not to gravitate more to College or High School age players, although more often than not College players tend to get to the Majors much faster. I tend to draft a lot of pitchers simply because the more arms you have the better the chance one of them will survive all of the talent changes and hits and make it to the Big Leagues. I also tend to grab a MR or CL or two late in the draft that could possibly be starting material just because you never know how they may develop down the road. It is also good to pick up some good bullpen help as having a good bullpen is paramount when trying to succeed at the Major League Level.

Toronto Blue Jays Picks:

I am not going to list all 15 picks. But here are my top 3.

3B Dave 'Rascal' Chambers
19 Years Old, 6'4", 210 lbs
Sarasota High School, Florida
Potential Ratings:10/10/10/10/9 Defense @ 3B: 6 Arm: 7
Comment: A very good looking switch hitting offensive third baseman. He could become a superstar. He should hit for power and average and has a very good eye. The only knock on him is that he is only average defensively but he could be moved to first base if he struggles at third.
Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2011-2012. I think he will need at least 4 or 5 years of development and I have no intentions of rushing him along. He will have to prove himself at every level before he is promoted.

C Llyod Matthews
22 Years Old, 6'0", 210 lbs
Georgia Tech, Georgia - College (NCAA)
Potential Ratings:10/10/8/8/7 Defense @ C: 9 Arm: 8
Comment: A defensive catcher who can also hit. He looks like he has the potential to be a No. 1 catcher in the Major leagues and could hit for average as well as power. He hit .319 with only 2 HR in 50 games for Georgia this year and it would be nice if he could develop a little more power.
Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2008-2010. I think he could find himself in the majors as early as next season depending on how quickly he can move through the system. He will start out for Class A Auburn and I will keep an eye on him from there.

SP Antonio Perez
19 Years Old, 6'1", 185 lbs
Sacramento High School, California
Potential Ratings:8/7/6
Comment: A hard throwing left hander with a 96-98 MPH fastball. He features 3 pitches: a fastball, slider and change up and really needs to improve his control if he ever wants to make it to the Majors. In 11 starts he struck out 71 batter while walking 27 and managed a 3-3 record.
Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2012-2013. Like my 1st round pick Dave Chambers Perez is very young at only 19 and I think it takes young pitchers longer to develop than hitters. Perez will start out with the Pulaski Blue Jays of the Appalachian Rookie leage.

Blue Jays Draft Summary:

Pitchers Taken: 6 (4 SP, 1 MR, 1 CL)
Position Players Taken: 9 (1 3B, 2 C, 5 OF, 1 SS)
College Players Taken: 8/15
High School Players Taken: 7/15

General Manager's Comments:
Well all in all I think it was a good draft. I believe that all 3 of my top picks have a chance to make he Majors some day. I felt like we really addressed the fact that the Toronto Organization really had no top prospects heading into this season and we added at least 2 top flight infielding prospects in 3B Dave Chambers and C Lloyd Matthews. It really wasn't a deep draft in terms of Starting Pitching Prospects but we did manage to nab one who I think has the potential to be a #4 or 5 starter in the MLB in SP Antonio Perez. I also grabbed a CL in the 4th round named Steve Perkins who has tremendous stuff and is only 19 with a few years of development he could be a force.

The draft is always a gamble and we won't know if my picks pan out for at least 3-5 years.

10-17-2007, 09:43 AM	#13
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Grab Youth In Draft: The Annual First Year Player Draft was held today as teams attempt to find the next superstar in a sea of College and High School age players. The Draft is 15 rounds and this season the Blue Jays will select 12th overall. My Draft philosophy is fairly simple. I like to draft the best player available. I tend not to gravitate more to College or High School age players, although more often than not College players tend to get to the Majors much faster. I tend to draft a lot of pitchers simply because the more arms you have the better the chance one of them will survive all of the talent changes and hits and make it to the Big Leagues. I also tend to grab a MR or CL or two late in the draft that could possibly be starting material just because you never know how they may develop down the road. It is also good to pick up some good bullpen help as having a good bullpen is paramount when trying to succeed at the Major League Level. Toronto Blue Jays Picks: I am not going to list all 15 picks. But here are my top 3. 3B Dave 'Rascal' Chambers 19 Years Old, 6'4", 210 lbs Sarasota High School, Florida Potential Ratings:10/10/10/10/9 Defense @ 3B: 6 Arm: 7 Comment: A very good looking switch hitting offensive third baseman. He could become a superstar. He should hit for power and average and has a very good eye. The only knock on him is that he is only average defensively but he could be moved to first base if he struggles at third. Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2011-2012. I think he will need at least 4 or 5 years of development and I have no intentions of rushing him along. He will have to prove himself at every level before he is promoted. C Llyod Matthews 22 Years Old, 6'0", 210 lbs Georgia Tech, Georgia - College (NCAA) Potential Ratings:10/10/8/8/7 Defense @ C: 9 Arm: 8 Comment: A defensive catcher who can also hit. He looks like he has the potential to be a No. 1 catcher in the Major leagues and could hit for average as well as power. He hit .319 with only 2 HR in 50 games for Georgia this year and it would be nice if he could develop a little more power. Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2008-2010. I think he could find himself in the majors as early as next season depending on how quickly he can move through the system. He will start out for Class A Auburn and I will keep an eye on him from there. SP Antonio Perez 19 Years Old, 6'1", 185 lbs Sacramento High School, California Potential Ratings:8/7/6 Comment: A hard throwing left hander with a 96-98 MPH fastball. He features 3 pitches: a fastball, slider and change up and really needs to improve his control if he ever wants to make it to the Majors. In 11 starts he struck out 71 batter while walking 27 and managed a 3-3 record. Estimated Arrival in the Majors: 2012-2013. Like my 1st round pick Dave Chambers Perez is very young at only 19 and I think it takes young pitchers longer to develop than hitters. Perez will start out with the Pulaski Blue Jays of the Appalachian Rookie leage. Blue Jays Draft Summary: Pitchers Taken: 6 (4 SP, 1 MR, 1 CL) Position Players Taken: 9 (1 3B, 2 C, 5 OF, 1 SS) College Players Taken: 8/15 High School Players Taken: 7/15 General Manager's Comments: Well all in all I think it was a good draft. I believe that all 3 of my top picks have a chance to make he Majors some day. I felt like we really addressed the fact that the Toronto Organization really had no top prospects heading into this season and we added at least 2 top flight infielding prospects in 3B Dave Chambers and C Lloyd Matthews. It really wasn't a deep draft in terms of Starting Pitching Prospects but we did manage to nab one who I think has the potential to be a #4 or 5 starter in the MLB in SP Antonio Perez. I also grabbed a CL in the 4th round named Steve Perkins who has tremendous stuff and is only 19 with a few years of development he could be a force. The draft is always a gamble and we won't know if my picks pan out for at least 3-5 years.