After strong '24 Draft, Blue Jays seeking top talent with No. 8 pick

CHICAGO -- Suddenly, there’s a sense of momentum in the Blue Jays’ farm system, and what better way to keep that rolling than the MLB Draft.

The Blue Jays hold the No. 8 pick this year, another opportunity to add a premier piece to a player development system that is in the middle of a very encouraging year. Signing Anthony Santander this past offseason led to the Blue Jays sacrificing their second-round pick, though, so Toronto will need to make its bonus pool count.

Amateur scouting director Marc Tramuta will lead this year’s Draft for the Blue Jays, and while all organizations are chasing athletic, versatile players, everyone has a type. Tramuta sees a class rich with shortstop talent, but he’s also keeping an eye down the road. If a shortstop can play some second, third or bounce out to center field, that only would only increase their potential pathways to the big leagues.

When it comes to pitching, Tramuta was more specific, looking back to his time with the Mets.

“For right or wrong, other than David Peterson in 2017, it was always right-handed pitching,” Tramuta said. “I probably should have mixed in a little more left-handed pitching if I could go back, but I think that when you look at our staff here and the three pitchers we took here last year one, two and three -- they’re big, physical guys. They’re athletes who threw strikes with multiple weapons.”

The Draft is just the start, though. Tramuta is putting a greater emphasis, along with many in the Blue Jays’ front office, of involving the player development group in the Draft process itself. Recently Toronto's Draft group has asked their player development staff to lay out some potential plans for prospects who could be available. This will inform their strategy leading up to the big day.

“It’s really good to involve them so that everyone is invested in the process,” Tramuta said. “We have an idea, and it may factor into some of our decisions [regarding] how they feel about the player. It’s very, very helpful. I don’t think we did enough of that 10, 15 or 20 years ago. I think the most successful organizations are the ones that build continuity and synergy between departments.”

• Day 1 picks: 8, 81
• Bonus pool allotment: $10,314,600, 20th in MLB
• Last year’s top pick: Trey Yesavage, RHP, pick No. 20 … Yesavage has been everything the Blue Jays could have hoped for, already skyrocketing through three levels, with a chance to at least touch Triple-A Buffalo by the end of 2025. Yesavage owns a 3.19 ERA with 111 strikeouts over 67 2/3 innings, and he could be a major piece of the Blue Jays’ rotation in 2026.
• Breakout 2024 pick: Johnny King, LHP, third round … Second-round pick Khal Stephen deserves some of the spotlight here, too, but King rounds out that incredible start to the ‘24 Draft -- and is about to shoot up lists. Still just 18, the young lefty has a 1.86 ERA with 51 strikeouts over 29 innings, and he has immediately established himself as the most exciting development project in this system.

In a perfect world for Tramuta and his team, all of the decisions would essentially be made before the day of the Draft. Teams never want to be caught deciding between a player with a ticking clock, but of course signability issues and money come into play.

Then comes the waiting game. Last year’s trio of Yesavage, Stephen and King are already painting the 2024 Draft as a success, but most times, a little patience is needed. Tramuta points back to Mark Vientos, who the Mets drafted in the second round in 2017 when Tramuta was there. It took a while, but Vientos finally broke out in ‘24 and was part of the Mets’ run.

The No. 8 pick this year won’t need to save the system, which is refreshing. Instead, they’ll be joining a group on the upswing as the Blue Jays look to nail another Draft.