Hi everyone. Thanks so much for all your well wishes. Being a papa again has been fun. Everyone is doing well at home and we are enjoying the time.
Now that the draft is over, SB Nation's draft guru, Andy Seiler, is releasing detailed reviews of each pick for each team. His Jays review just came out, and contains a ton of information about the Jays' 2010 draft class. You should definitely check it out. Here's his look at the Jays' first-round pick, the unfortunately named Deck McGuire:
1. Deck McGuire, RHP, Georgia Tech, #11 Overall, 6'6''/220, Seiler Rating 1B1: McGuire was supposed to be a top ten pick in most scenarios leading up to the draft, but because of his lack of a high ceiling, he fell just a bit and the Blue Jays got a steal. With four above-average pitches, McGuire could be a #2 starter if things all pan out, and he's not too far away from being able to contribute in the Majors. This was an excellent pick, as they took advantage of a good player falling to them, and he shouldn't get too much above slot in order to sign.
Seiler does a great rundown of all the Jays picks, from McGuire all the way to Kelly-Norris Jones, the British Columbian catcher that the Jays selected with the fifteen-hundred and sixth overall pick. His overall assessment of the Jays:
Now that you've read the 56 profiles on the Blue Jays' draft picks, here's why I gave them a Grade B+ for their draft class and ranked them 5th overall in the entire league. First of all, it's hard not to like the amount of talent that the team added. By my count, they added 11 potential mid-rotation starters in the first 15 rounds, as well as a potential setup man, starters for third base (two of them), shortstop, right field, and center field. That's significant. They didn't skimp on the talent, and I applaud them for that. They also executed a strong draft plan in there, getting Deck McGuire when maybe they shouldn't have, as well as getting Aaron Sanchez, Asher Wojciechowski, Griffin Murphy, and Sam Dyson at potential bargains. Add in the fact that they've already signed Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard, Wojciechowski, Hawkins, and Knecht very quickly for affordable amounts, and I think they executed their plan very, very well. Lastly, they really did add some balance, even with the large number of arms they added. I'm okay with adding a number of arms compared to bats, as the attrition rate is higher for arms, and they didn't fail to add potential starting bats while adding all the arms. So I give them an A- for talent, a B+ for execution, and a B+ for balance, giving them a high-level B+ total, which is why they were the highest-rated B+ team. I really like this draft class, and I'm glad to see the Blue Jays jumping back into the greater draft pool with balance and talent.