Blue Jays: Looking back at the top draft picks under Alex Anthopoulos

Prior to Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro joining the Blue Jays organization, Alex Anthopoulos was at the helm from the end of 2009 to just after the 2015 season.

During his tenure, A.A. increased the Blue Jays scouting department as well as made some pretty substantial trades, one involving the Miami Marlins back in 2012, acquiring R.A. Dickey from the Mets, and trading for Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies. While he also made some memorable trades during his tenure, Anthopoulos sold quite a bit of the farm system to go in for a playoff run in 2015 but would eventually fall short in the ALCS, leaving the team for the Los Angeles Dodgers just a month later.

During that time, the Blue Jays were able to add some pretty influential players in the first round and beyond but also came up empty-handed with some of their higher picks in the amateur draft.

Here’s where the top overall picks under A.A. fared and where they are now.

2010 – Deck McGuire
11th overall

Drafted out of the Georgia Institute of Technology, right-hander Deck McGuire has the honour of being Alex Anthopoulos’s first selection as general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Virginia native would spend parts of four seasons in the Jays minor league system, making it all the way to AAA. His best season would come in 2011, as he would pitch to a 3.02 ERA in both A and AA ball. After that season, McGuire would struggle with command and keeping runs off the board, failing to pitch below a 4.50 the next three seasons.

In 2014, McGuire would be traded to the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations and would be designated for assignment later that season. After bouncing around with various teams, the righty would make his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2017. For his big league career, he owns a 5.23 ERA with 27 appearances, throwing 28 walks and 44 strikeouts through 51.2 innings pitched with the Reds, Blue Jays (coming full circle), and the Los Angeles Angels.

In 2019, McGuire would take his talents overseas with the Samsung Lions in the Korean Baseball Organization, returning to the United States in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Rays but was cut from the club before the season began. He is currently with the Rakuten Monkeys in the Chinese Professional Baseball league.

2011 – Tyler Beede

21st overall

A high school student at the time, A.A. decided to use the first pick of the draft on Tyler Beede, a right-hander out of Lawerence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts.

The pick was risky given he was committed to Vanderbilt University at the time of being drafted, but Anthopoulos decided to pull the trigger on Beede and came away without a top prospect. The pitcher would not sign with the Blue Jays and would eventually be drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2014 at 14th overall.

He would make his major league debut in 2018 and has bounced between AAA and the big leagues over that time. Through 26 appearances (24 starts), Beede sports a 5.27 ERA with 54 walks, 122 strikeouts, and a 1.524 WHIP over 124.2 innings pitched.

The Massachusetts native is currently on the 60-day IL after undergoing Tommy John surgery in early 2020 and has been sidelined since. He is currently slated to return to throwing towards the end of this season.

2012 – D.J. Davis

17th overall

Anthopoulos decided to go back to high school for the first pick in the 2012 draft, selecting outfielder D.J. Davis out of Stone County High School in Wiggins, Mississippi.

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Davis would spend seven years in the Blue Jays minor league system, beginning in the Rookie League and advancing to Advanced-A ball in Dunedin, never reaching AA or beyond. Through 599 games, Davis slashed .242/.315/.348 with 32 triples, 31 home runs, 207 RBI, and 134 walks to the tune of a .663 OPS.

The outfielder would be released in mid-2018 and never made an appearance at the major league level. He is currently a free agent but has not formerly retired nor played anywhere else at this time.

2013 – Phil Bickford

10th overall

Drafted 10th overall, pitcher Phil Bickford was A.A’s third year of selecting a high school player with the first pick in the draft.

Although he was apparently offered above the slot value of $2.92 million, the Blue Jays could not sway the 17-year-old to forego his commitment to Cal State Fullerton and he was the second top pick in three years to not sign with the organization. The San Francisco Giants would later select the pitcher in 2015 with the 18th selection, signing for approximately $2 million. Bickford would be traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017 with catcher Andrew Susac in exchange for pitcher Will Smith.

He would spend five years in the minor leagues before making his major league debut last season with the Milwaukee Brewers. He would be designated for assignment earlier this season and would be picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he currently pitches. Through 10 games, Bickford sports a 6.00 ERA with one save through 9.0 innings pitched with two walks and 12 strikes.