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TORONTO — As Toronto Blue Jays decision-makers were busy choosing the long-term future on the second day of the MLB draft Thursday, GM Ross Atkins tackled a question relating to the club’s near future that needs to be answered in the coming days.

Will the Jays be able — if there’s a season — to play home games in Toronto this year?

With the federal government’s 14-day quarantine rules putting the Jays in a tough spot as the lone Canadian team in Major League Baseball, newly-renovated TD Ballpark in Dunedin has always been seen as the easy and logical home for the club during a shortened 2020 season.

But where all 30 teams play and how travel looks are parts of the plan that are far from finalized as owners and players fight over the financial aspect of it all.

That’s the first step.

The next will be logistically piecing together a schedule, including the stadium plan, once the monetary pie is divvied up.

“It’s not in our control completely,” Atkins said of where the Jays will play home games this year. “Major League Baseball will be involved, potentially other major league teams will be involved. We know that we can play in Dunedin, we just want to make sure that we exhaust all of our alternatives as we consider and we need to do that in partnering with Major League Baseball.”

Declining to go into detail, Atkins mentioned three contingency plans that the club has talked about internally.

“The options are either playing in Florida (Dunedin), playing in another major-league stadium, or playing in a minor-league facility,” he said. “There could be other alternatives. Those are the ones that we have considered.”

Barring some sort of hub city plan that would land them in another team’s major-league ballpark or the geographical need to use, say, Triple-A Buffalo’s Sahlen Field, Dunedin will be the location if things don’t change in Toronto.

But with rumblings the federal government is willing to work with the NHL to find a solution that would allow them to use Canadian cities as hubs, those in the Jays’ front office remain hopeful Rogers Centre will eventually be an option.

“We’ll see,” Atkins said. “I think there’s certain hurdles that need to be passed. I certainly hope so. I will remain hopeful and optimistic. There’s not a member of this organization that doesn’t want that.”

Meanwhile, Jays players are still scattered at various outposts, as well as a group of players training at the Dunedin complex.

Once again, they’re simply trying to stay prepared.

“It’s all contingency planning,” Atkins said. “It’s all keeping our players and staff as ready as possible given the potential scenarios that could play out.”

MLB DRAFT: JAYS GO PITCHING HEAVY ON DAY 2

With fifth-overall pick Austin Martin’s slot value recommendation sitting at almost $6.2 million, the Jays theoretically had about $3.5 million left to work with heading into the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft on Thursday.

But that number was most likely even less, as Martin’s adviser, Scott Boras, could seek a signing bonus approaching the $7.8 million recommended slot for the second pick in the draft, which was where he was pegged to land before the Baltimore Orioles went in a different direction.

Atkins is encouraged by the early conversations with the Boras camp.

“We were prepared for that and worked through that scenario and have had dialogue with his representation, as well,” Atkins said. “We felt very good about making the selection.”

That could still leave the Jays in a bind if they want to get the four players selected in rounds two through five signed, so some board strategy and communication with advisers regarding asking prices was needed Thursday.

It led to a college-heavy, high-floor Day 2 with a bevy of arms.

To start the evening, the Jays took a college pitcher at No. 42 overall, nabbing a player many in the industry liked as a potential first-rounder in C.J. Van Eyk, a right-hander out of Florida State.

Using a three-pitch mix with a curveball, changeup and 95-mph fastball, Van Eyk profiles as a potential mid-rotation starter.

According to MLB Pipeline, who had Van Eyk ranked at No. 39, he’ll have to focus on the command as a pro: “The Florida State ace is capable of being a complete pitcher because of his willingness to pitch in with his fastball, his ability to throw his breaking ball at any point in the count and his feel for mixing his pitches to keep hitters off-balance, though issues with his command persisted over his first four starts in 2020.”

Director of amateur scouting Shane Farrell went with another high-floor college arm in the third round at No. 77 overall, selecting Jacksonville University right-hander Trent Palmer, who was ranked No. 114 overall by MLB Pipeline.

At 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, Palmer pitched well as a reliever in the Cape Cod League last summer, but a 1.30 ERA across four starts to begin this year — not many scouts saw those starts — have some believing he can stay in the rotation.

“While not a prototype for a starting pitcher size-wise (6-foot-1, 230 pounds), some scouts do feel he has the chance to stick in a rotation because of his ability to maintain velocity and have a three- or four-pitch mix,” MLB Pipeline wrote.

In the fourth round at pick No. 106, the Jays plucked a third college arm, drafting Loyola Marymount right-hander Nick Frasso.

Frasso was shut down with forearm soreness this spring, but MLB Pipeline describes the 6-foot-5, 190-pounder as a potential starter: “Very thin with a herky jerky delivery, Frasso is athletic enough to repeat it consistently and throw a good amount of strikes, even if he's not a pinpoint command guy. Had he been able to prove he could start, he would have likely made a jump up draft boards. The injury clouded things further, though he was reportedly throwing and working his way back when the season stopped.”

With their fifth and final pick at No. 136, the Jays reverted back to a college bat, selecting Louisville outfielder Zach Britton to round out their 2020 draft class.

The 6-foot-1 left-handed hitter has posted strong exit velocities, per Baseball America, and was ranked as the No. 192 prospect available by the publication.

CAISSIE EARNS TOP CANADIAN TITLE

It’s not a banner year for Canadian talent, but the crop ended up being selected a little bit earlier than the industry expected.

Outfielder Owen Caissie is 2020’s top Canadian after the San Diego Padres selected the Burlington, Ont., product 45th overall.

That landing spot was well above MLB Pipeline’s No. 75 ranking, and blew Baseball America’s No. 180 ranking out of the water.

Caissie starred for the Junior National Team, but the local connection to this pick and the Padres is Oshawa native and former New York Yankees draft pick (34th round, 2001) Chris Kemlo, who the club hired as its new Canadian scout a few months ago.

Caissie has a huge ceiling, with off-the-charts pop from the left side once his 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame fills out, and that package was one the Padres couldn’t pass up.

With Josh Naylor and Cal Quantrill already on the big-league roster, the Pads haven’t shied away from investing in the province of Ontario, and they’ve continued that both in the draft and its scouting department hires this year.

The second Canadian off the board was Toronto-born Rice University shortstop Trei Cruz at No. 73 to the Detroit Tigers, followed by Maple, Ont., outfielder David Calabrese at No. 82 to the Los Angeles Angels and Ottawa-born Michigan outfielder Jordan Nwogu at No. 88 to the Chicago Cubs.

Logan Hofmann, a 5-foot-10 right-handed pitcher from Saskatoon, Sask., was the final Canadian selected, chosen 138th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Northwestern State.

WHERE MARTIN FITS IN JAYS’ TOP 15

When you add a top-five pick, one who was even talked about as high as first overall, that player usually lands amongst the top 50 or so prospects in the game once he’s mixed in with those already in the minor-league ranks.

Austin Martin is no different, and it got me thinking about my top 50 prospects list from back in January.

Despite being fully on board with Jordan Groshans and Orelvis Martinez as prospects, both of them move down a spot with Martin’s arrival, as he’s tucked in right behind Nate Pearson, who shouldn’t be a prospect much longer if they ever get to playing baseball.

Here’s how a revised top 15 looks, with Van Eyk sliding in at No. 10.

1. RHP Nate Pearson, 23
2. SS/CF Austin Martin, 21
3. SS/3B Jordan Groshans, 20
4. SS Orelvis Martinez, 18
5. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, 19
6. RHP Alek Manoah, 22
7. LHP Anthony Kay, 25
8. C Alejandro Kirk, 21
9. C Gabriel Moreno, 20
10. RHP C.J. Van Eyk, 21
11. 2B Miguel Hiraldo, 19
12. RHP Kendall Williams, 19
13. RHP Adam Kloffenstein, 19
14. RHP Eric Pardinho, 19
15. OF Griffin Conine, 22