Who will the Blue Jays select with their two first round picks tonight?

The text in quotes below the player name comes directly from the source article, and click on the player’s name (if applicable) to go to our extensive scouting report feature on them.

Baseball America:

No. 17: Lucas Giolito, RHP, Harvard-Westlake HS (California)

“After resisting the urge to simply guess and put Giolito somewhere in our first three projections, we’ll put him here. Toronto has five of the first 60 selections, so if the Giolito negotiations don’t work out, it can just collect the No. 18 pick in 2013 as compensation and still get plenty of talent this year. The Blue Jays’ financial muscle in this draft also could lead them to McCullers or Seager. They’re hot for high-ceiling athletes such as Mississippi high school outfielder D.J. Davis, who might not make it to their next choice at No. 22.”

No. 22: Joey Gallo, IF, Bishop Gorman HS (Nevada)

“Toronto has interest in Cecchini and Davis if available. If not, Gallo’s tantalizing power could play very nicely at Rogers Centre.”

In Keith Law’s chat today, he opined that Gallo should have enough contact ability to unleash his power:

Alex (Nevada):
Do you think Gallo can stick as a hitter or is he destined for the mound?

Law:
I think he’ll hit enough to get to the crazy power.

ESPN:

No. 17: Gavin Cecchini, SS, Barbe H.S. (Louisiana)

“I had them with Giolito last time and still think they’d take him. They’re also on Dahl and Stryker Trahan, and they would consider a college starter who fell, shifting to higher-upside prep kids with the next pick. They’re among the few teams still in on Smoral in the first round.”

No. 22: D.J. Davis, OF, Stone County H.S. (Mississippi)

“Everyone says the Blue Jays intend to continue to draft for upside wherever possible, figuring that average players won’t get it done in the AL East. I’ve heard that Brian Johnson has been discussed if they wanted one college guy in the bank before resuming their relentless quest for ceiling.”

Baseball Prospectus:

No. 17: Lance McClullers, RHP, Jesuit H.S. (Florida)

“Most believe that the Blue Jays will continue to be both creative and aggressive in the draft. Giolito makes sense here, but that might require some maneuvering that is difficult to figure out. McCullers has one of the best pure arms in the draft, and is not considered the easiest of signings.”

No. 22: Clint Coulter, C, Union HS (Washington)

“There are a number of dynamics in play with this pick. The second of Toronto’s two in this round, the Blue Jays could go with a conservative quick sign here both to save money, and because there is no compensation for not signing the player selected here. It won’t be a crazy reach, and Coulter is one of many players mentioned here as moving a few slots above where their talent might suggest.”

Seedlings to Stars:

No. 17: Lance McClullers, RHP, Jesuit H.S. (Florida)

“At least in this mock, the Blue Jays get their man. The Jays have always been a pure upside team, and from a pure upside standpoint it is hard to beat McCullers and his triple-digit fastball. If he is on the board at the 17th overall, pending some crazy circumstances, he will be the Jays’ pick.”

No. 22: Courtney Hawkins, OF, Carroll HS (Texas)

“After getting McCullers with their first pick the Blue Jays will look for upside again here. A player that sticks out is Carroll High School outfielder Courtney Hawkins. Hawkins needs a lot of work but has the ability to be a big-time home run hitters. He’s a project the Jays would love to take on.”

- JM

Shortly after the list went live, Goldstein hung around on Twitter and answered questions until just before 4 a.m. I was still wide awake and working at that time, so I plucked the Jays-related questions and have included the screen caps of them below.

He also hosted an official live chat on the BP website earlier this afternoon at 1 p.m., though there were less Jays questions there than during his early Twitter Q & A this morning. With the live chat well in the books, I opted to consolidate all of the Blue Jays bits from the Top 101 Prospects into one convenient article.

Unsurprisingly, the highest-ranked Jays prospect was catcher Travis d’Arnaud at No. 16, just under Tigers pitcher Jacob Turner and ahead of Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor. I tried asking Goldstein what specifically earned d’Arnaud a higher ranking in his eyes over two other standout catching prospects, Devin Mesoraco (No. 24) and Yasmani Grandal (No. 38), though the question went unanswered, likely because of the 100-plus questions he probably received in just under an hour.

D’Arnaud was the second-highest catcher on the list only to Mariners slugger Jesus Montero, and given the holes in Montero’s defensive game (mentioned in the pictured question to the right), it’s safe to say that d’Arnaud is considered the top all-around catching prospect in baseball right now. Not bad for who some considered the throw-in portion of the Halladay deal, no?

The next Jays prospect up on the list was center fielder Jake Marisnick at No. 28, making Goldstein the latest to rank him higher than Anthony Gose. Marisnick was ranked the seventh-highest outfielder on the list, behind obvious guys like Bryce Harper and Mike Trout but other notable names like Gary Brown and Wil Myers. Even though Royals outfield prospect Bubba Starling ranked just one spot above Marisnick at No. 27, I thought it was a bit odd that he was higher considering Goldstein called Starling risky and “sushi-level raw”.

Goldstein’s Top 101 list didn’t include any scouting reports or additional comments at all, but he was asked one question about Marisnick’s power in the Twitter Q & A.

Up next on the list at No. 54 was the Jays’ standout second-round pick from the 2011 draft, left-handed pitcher Daniel Norris. While I’m just as high on Norris as anyone else, I did think it was interesting that Goldstein ranked him the highest out of all of the Jays’ pitching prospects, and even more so given the omission of both Drew Hutchison and Aaron Sanchez. I tried asking Goldstein in the Twitter Q & A–from three different accounts–why Hutchison was left off of the list, but the right-hander was never brought up in both the improvised Q & A or the BP live chat.

Next up on the list at No. 68 was Anthony Gose, sandwiched between Pirates outfield prospects Starling Marte at No. 56 and Robbie Grossman at No. 76. When asked in the live chat who would be a good MLB comparison for Gose, Goldstein replied with a familiar player to Jays fans: Devon White. White hit .270 with a .327 on-base percentage in his five years with the Jays, averaging 31 doubles, seven triples and 14 home runs per season with five consecutive Gold Gloves, so it’s an astute comparison for Gose especially when you look at White’s stolen base and strikeout totals with the Jays as well.

Rounding out the Jays contingent on the list at No. 93 was big right-hander Noah Syndergaard, who, in the Twitter Q & A, Goldstein wound up saying could become a top 40 prospect next year.

Below are some miscellaneous Jays tidbits from the live chat on the left and the Twitter Q & A on the right, touching on Tyler Beede, Deck McGuire and Adeiny Hechavarria‘s MLB slash line, among other things.

Jake (GR): If Kipnis was eligible where do you think you would put him on the list?

KG: Lots of questions like this for Kipnis, Lawrie, etc. They’re very hard to answer because I’m basically missing what would have been their minor league data and scouting reports from their time in the big leagues.

Ziggy (PHX): Gary Brown is 24 this season. If Marisnick is neck and neck with him right now, how soon do we see Marisnick surpass Brown, and by how much?

KG: If I was convinced Marisnick would surpass him, wouldn’t I have ranked him higher?

Stacy (Vancouver): I’m very new to following prospects in baseball. Are there any players I should be keeping my eye on this summer from the Vancouver Canadians?

KG: You’ll probably see some of the 2010 draftees, especially Daniel Norris from the Top 101, but mostly it will be 2012 draftees that we don’t know.

Sally (Seattle): Why are you so high on Travis D’Arnaud? His caught stealing rate is average and he doesn’t do a good job of controlling the strike zone.

KG: Great. Now tell me all the things he does well.

LD (PEI): Thanks for the genuine responses to all questions. Quick scenario: Escobar goes down with ACL tear on opening day and Hechavarria plays every day for all of 2012 — triple slash please.

KG: .228/.270/.339.

-JM

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