Jays head into 'one-of-a-kind' MLB draft with a Top 5 pick

Scott Mitchell

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TORONTO — The last time the Toronto Blue Jays held a top-five draft pick, senior vice president of player personnel Tony LaCava was a 36-year-old scout with the California Angels and still more than five years away from working north of the border.

Fast forward 23 years since the Jays and then-GM Gord Ash selected centre fielder Vernon Wells fifth overall in 1997, and LaCava is now a highly-respected and seasoned front office voice, one helping to guide another vital fifth-overall selection.

“I would say that anytime you’re picking that high in the draft, it’s important,” LaCava said from his home in Pennsylvania, ahead of Wednesday’s first round of the MLB Draft. “We haven’t done that since Vernon Wells. You really have a chance to have access to one of the best players in the country in that year when you pick that high.

“Regardless of where we are in the winning cycle, having access to the best players in a particular draft is everything. You don’t want that to happen too many times because that means you’re pretty lousy, but you want to make sure when you do get a chance to pick that high, you take advantage of it.”

A lot has changed with the draft since the Jays took Wells and most of it has happened in the past three months.

And this draft will be unlike any other in baseball history.

With COVID-19 leaving owners scrambling to save money and leaving no stone unturned in those efforts, the usual 40-round draft process has been pared down to just five rounds.

From 1,217 players selected last year, just 160 will be picked this week over the course of the virtual two-day draft, with the first 37 picks going Wednesday, followed by the final four rounds on Thursday (Live on TSN).

“It’s a one-of-a-kind draft, for sure,” said LaCava, who always has one eye on the draft board and the other on the news these days, with his son working as a doctor at virus-ravaged Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. “Fortunately, I think, we’re better prepared or equipped to handle something like this today than we were even five years ago, and certainly 10 and 20 years ago.”

Other changes include signing bonus deferrals for prospects who do sign, as well as a $20,000 cap on bonuses for the bevy of undrafted free agents that will be looking for homes once the draft is over.

This year’s signing deadline will land on Aug. 1, but that may be a moot point with the minor league season on life support and plans for an expanded developmental fall league still murky.

With no live games to watch and scouts grounded, the process of getting to know this draft class has been made up on the fly by teams this spring, but LaCava believes the Jays’ treasure trove of film will have them prepared.

There’s showcase video of the high school crop from last summer, and a few weeks of data from the start of the NCAA season in February that has a ton of small sample size static, but it’s a fraction of what’s usually available.

It could make for a college heavy early portion of the draft, especially with a deep group of NCAA arms - usually one of the safest cohorts - available early on.

"The kids that didn’t get to really get a fair shot this year — all of them were a little shortchanged — but the ones that were really affected were the high school players in northern climates where they didn’t get a chance to play,” LaCava said.

“I think there’s maybe a little bit more comfort with the college players. I think the edge would go to college players, but they’ve all been affected by this.”

Compounding the unknown nature of this draft for the Blue Jays is the fact they lost director of amateur scouting Steve Sanders, a rising star in the industry and likely a future GM, to the now Ben Cherington-led Pittsburgh Pirates, a team that once passed over hometown candidate LaCava for its GM post in 2007, instead opting for the recently fired Neal Huntington.

Replacing the 32-year-old Sanders is another young executive trying to carve out a name for himself in 31-year-old Shane Farrell, who will be leading a draft for the first time, just as Sanders was in 2017 when they called Nate Pearson’s name in the first round.

Whether it’s his scouting background from his days with the Angels, his player development experience with the Montreal Expos and Cleveland Indians, or his deep-rooted knowledge of Blue Jays’ draft hits and misses over the past 18 years, LaCava is a valuable resource at all times, but none more so than this time of year.

There’s no doubt what LaCava’s role is these days, one he’s fully embraced.

“At the end of the day, I support the scouting director every which way I can,” LaCava said. “I’m available to Steve and now Shane at all times and just try to be there to help them in any way they need. Whether it be dealing with staff or evaluations or planning, things of that type. I really enjoy it and I’m fortunate because Steve is really special and Shane is really good, too.

“I was fortunate enough that people in the past have been really helpful to me and I’m glad to share knowledge and share experiences with those guys. Especially with … guys like that. I was going to call them kids. But guys like that who are really smart and thoughtful and really good people at their core. That makes it easy and fun.”

You know what else makes it easy and fun?

Making good picks and winning ballgames.

The Jays seem to be on the right track these days, but the ability to add a top-five talent is an exciting proposition.

While the MLB draft is unlike any other in the four major North American pro sports thanks to the extended timeline it takes to get to the majors, the expectations for a top-five pick are a little bit different, especially if it’s a college player.

Wells, for instance, arrived in the majors in 1999 as a 20-year-old about 26 months after being drafted out of high school, a relatively quick trip through the minors for a prep player, but he didn’t develop into a regular until 2002.

Lately, players have been showing up quicker and quicker in general, but it’s almost always on an individual, case-by-case basis.

Some players expected to move fast ultimately stagnate, while prospects seen as raw sometimes put it all together faster than anyone could have possibly imagined on draft day. You only need to take one look at the 2018 draft for evidence, as each of the top six picks — five college players, one high school outfielder — are all within a year or so of their major-league debut.

The best player available is the smart route to take and it’s likely the direction LaCava, Farrell  and the Jays will be leaning at pick No. 5 on Wednesday night.

Most teams employ that BPA philosophy, with an element of money also involved as number crunchers navigate the bonus pools and try to get creative.

Some of that goes out the window this year with only five rounds and less overall money to work with.

The Jays go into the draft with the ninth-largest budget, totalling $9,716,500 and five picks (5th, 42nd, 77th, 106th and 136th) to spread that across.

The slot value for the fifth-overall pick alone is $6,180,700.

At this point, there seems to be three choices for the Jays, all distinctly different.

There’s New Mexico State infielder Nick Gonzales, a potential .300 hitter with some pop who could eventually pair with Bo Bichette up the middle and shift Cavan Biggio into more of a super-utility role.

Zac Veen, the top prep player in the draft and a selection that would mirror Wells’ of 23 years ago, could also be an option if the Jays want to roll the dice on a player with a Christian Yelich-type package of skills.

The most likely scenario, however, could be the Jays plucking one of the top college pitchers, a group led by Georgia right-hander Emerson Hancock and Minnesota righty Max Meyer.

There’s also a chance something wacky happens with the first three picks and everything changes. That’s how unpredictable the MLB draft can be. As LaCava tries to recall a draft as unique and potentially unpredictable as the one that’s about to take place, he stops and laughs.

It hasn’t happened yet.

“I’ll give it to ya - it’s going to be next year,” LaCava said. “What’s going to happen is, this draft we have information from a couple months ago and last summer, but next year we’re going to lose a lot of the summer looks we normally get and we’re just going to have the spring. That one will be back-loaded and, I guess, this one is front-loaded.”