Blue Jays select RHP Sean Wymer in 4th round

With the 118th overall pick of the 2018 MLB Draft, the Blue Jays selected right handed pitcher Sean Wymer in the 4th round out of Texas Christian University. Having just taken a TCU commit in the previous round, the Jays went straight to the well itself for their third 2018 draftee out of Texas out of four.

Wymer pitched for three years at TCU, the first two out of the bullpen before moving into the rotation for his junior year. Over those first two bullpen years, he worked 88.1 innings, with a 3.06 ERA and 105 strikeouts against 25 walks. In particular, he emerged as a key reliever down the stretch last year during TCU’s run to Omaha that fell just short of the College World Series final.

TCU struggled this spring, and Wymer ended up in the rotation, where he made 10 starts of 15 appearances. He threw 74 innings, with a solid 3.65 ERA and 69 strikeouts against 14 walks. Not surprisingly, his peripherals ticked down in the rotation, from over a strikeout an inning to below it.

In the rotation, Wymer’s used a sinker in the high-80s to low-90s, but with the ability to dial it up and touch higher at times, presumably in shorter spurts more when he’s coming out of the pen. In addition, he throws two breaking balls in both a curve and slider, as well what’s described as a solid change-up by MLB.com.

With a four pitch mix, the Blue Jays will likely give him every chance to start, and if the command is good enough of a wide arsenal, he could profile as a backend starter. But it would not be surprising if he ultimately ended up the bullpen. And he could be a pretty good one if he’s command three good pitches as he was doing last year.

Wymer fits the mold of college pitchers the Blue Jays have drafted the few years: not guys with huge raw stuff, but rather more polished pitchers with a well rounded arsenal of multiple secondaries they are usable pitches. With a consensus ranking near the back of the top 100 draftees (85th on MLB.com’s list, 89th on Baseball America’s, 91st on Perfect Game’s), this could be a nice value pick for the Jays as he should sign more or less at slot.