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The 2021 MLB Draft resumes at 1:00 PM eastern for rounds 2-10, live streamed as usual on MLB.com. It’s a much quicker pace today with one minute between picks, and just Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis in studio for analysis rather than the inimitable Hardold Reynolds and crew.
As a reminder, the Blue Jays do no have a second rounder this year as a result of signing George Springer, so they will not be picking again until the third round, 91st overall. This is the time for the draft board to earn its keep and unearth the talent and future value that is embedded further down the board.
With their first round pick yesterday, the Blue Jays selected Ole Miss RHP Gunnar Hoglund 19th overall and the early reviews are generally quite favourable:
I love this for Toronto. I think Hoglund’s TJ rehab presents his parent club the opportunity to rework his body and maybe coax more velo out of him, the same way the Dodgers did with Walker Buehler. Hoglund’s slider command is incredible. He was carving up the SEC sitting 80-92 — imagine him parked in the mid-90s.
Nice upside play for the Blue Jays here. Hoglund would’ve been a top-10 pick if he hadn’t blown out his elbow in May and required Tommy John surgery. He has a quality fastball and slider and some of the best command in the college ranks. His situation reminds me a little of what Walker Buehler went through. Buehler had his elbow reconstructed shortly after the Dodgers made him a first-round pick in 2015, and then saw his stuff dramatically improve after he went through the rehab process. If that happens with Hoglund, this could be one of the best picks of the Draft