Report: Anthony Alford Apparently Chooses Baseball, Blue Jays

And then there was one…sport that is. According to Hugh Kellenberger of the Clarion Ledger, (H/T to Michael Wray for the heads up) Anthony Alford has chosen baseball as his sport. He is leaving football, and Ole Miss behind.

The Toronto Blue Jays drafted Alford in the 3rd round of the 2012 draft. The agreement was that he would be allowed to pursue both sports. Despite that agreement, the Blue Jays seemed to be pushing hard for him to choose baseball. They gave him the $750K slot amount, but did not stop there. According to Alford, Alex Anthopoulos visited him in August and laid out several scenarios for him to quit football. “He [AA] put some deals on the table and made it difficult on me.” Kellenberger tells us that the Blue Jays have made a 5 year offer to the 20 year old. 

It seems the Blue Jays are chomping at the bit to get Alford to commit and begin honing his already impressive skills.

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According to

Fangraphs.com

, Alford could have been a near first round pick, but his signabilty made teams shy away. Apparently, the Blue Jays would have none of it. They like what they see in him. He has tantalizing raw baseball talent, speed in the outfield and some pop. The question mark is whether splitting his attention between the two sports has hindered his development.

This may not be much of a concern now. Fangraphs goes on to say that Alford possesses similar abilities to those of D.J. Davis, who was Toronto’s 17th overall pick in 2012.

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But, they are quick to point out that in just 110 plate appearances since being drafted, the outfielder has shown himself to be further along in his development than Davis who has had 800 PA. Obviously, he’s going to need some intensive instruction and guidance to learn the art of hitting; eventually raw talent won’t be enough.

But, Alford’s raw talent appears set to be groomed. With some intense focus and the right conditions,  could we be looking at a potential Dalton Pompey-esque rise through the system?