The Jays Sign All 13 Picks From Top 7 rounds

While Shaun Marcum was playing the “anything you can do I can do better” game with Brandon Morrow, Ricky Romero, and Brett Cecil, by coming very close to a no-hitter in a 3-1 win over Oakland, Alex Anthopolous was putting the finishing touches on what has turned out to be the pitcture perfect draft class of 2010.

First, kudos to Marcum who brought the Jays to within 9 games of both the wild card and the AL East lead. Second, congrats to Anthopolous who continues to get the job done in an extremely encouraging manner.

Here’s a rundown of the last minute signings completed by Alex and the Jays:

1st rounder Deck McGuire, $2 million ($209,000 million over MLB’s recommended slot amount)

I do not make any pretention of believing Deck McGuire will be anything greater than a great #3 starter with a slight possibility of being a number 2 if everything falls into place and his experience makes him better. His stuff just doesn’t play that highly. However, his floor is high, meaning that the Jays are pretty well assured of getting a #4 starter at a minimum, which makes the cost of signing him inevitably higher.

2nd rounder Griffin Murphy, $800,000

This was a crucial signing for the Jays as Griffin was the top LHP they got in this draft class and a real talent who has top of the rotation potential. He’s already a blogger-prospect favorite for the Jays writers and will surely make BA’s top 30 Jays prospect list in 2011.

4th rounder Sam Dyson, $600,000

The 5th RHP to be drafted by the Jays in the top 4 rounds, Sam gets a nice bonus for a 4th rounder but will have to fight off a bunch of talented guys to get any sort of shot at being a starter in The Show for the Jays. He’s also the smallest of the 5 RHP drafted in the first 4 rounds, making him the immediate underdog.

5th rounder Dickie Thon, $1,500,000

Many scouts believe that Dickie Thon would have gone in the 1st rd or the sandwich pick round if his commitment to College wasn’t so high. Everyone knew he was going to ask for 1st rd money, and that’s pretty much what he got from the Jays who made him the biggest overslot player of this draft for them by far.  Thon, along with Shane Opitz who could also have been a major overslot bonus receiver since terms have yet to be disclosed, profiles to be an above average SS with soft hands and a quick bat. He’s a lot more raw than Shane Opitz is and has less power in the tank than his fellow draftee, but he does have above average speed and profiles to remain at SS or 2B, whereas Shane could wind up a 3B. With these 2 additions, the additional drafting of Christopher Hawkins who signed quickly after being drafted in the 3rd rd – 93 rd overall,  and the acquisition of Adeiny Hechavarria, the Jays are quickly putting an end to years of ignoring the left side of the infield (aside from the disasters that were/are Kevin Ahrens and Justin Jackson).

The Jays also signed 2 other top 20 picks:

15th rounder Zak Adams

Adams is another LHP that is extremely young (18), stands 6’2″ 190 lbs, is raw and will need plenty of time to develop.

17th rounder Myles Jaye

Myles is a little older, as he turns 19 in December, but is just as raw. He’s a little taller at 6’3″ than Adams, but is also skinnier at only 170 lbs.

The Jays (unless announced today) missed out on only 5 of their top 26 picks, thos remaining unsigned are as listed below:

• 8th rounder Logan Ehlers, LHP, 6’1 190 lbs
• 10th rounder Tyler Shreve, RHP, 6’4″ 215 lbs
• 12th rounder Omar Cotto, CF, 5’11” 180 lbs
• 13th rounder Tyler Painton, LHP, 6’5″ 195 lbs
• 18th rounder Kristopher Bryant, 3B, 6’4″ 200 lbs

Considering the disaster that was the 2009 draft for the Jays, you have to love what Alex Anthopolous completed in this draft. The Jays put money where their mouths are by trusting their scouts and paying those that scouts identified as the best possible to help the Jays win in future years. Considering all of the help the Jays got in terms of pitching, middle infield and outfield prospects in this draft, I have to give Alex and his group a big fat A+ grade for this draft.