After selecting catcher Riley Adams and shortstop Kevin Smith in the third and fourth rounds, the Blue Jays continued their work during the second day of the draft by selecting William and Mary second baseman, Cullen Large, with their fifth round selection, 159th overall.
A 6-foot, 175 pound sophomore, Large is sporting 45 runs, six homers, 39 RBI and a slash line of .338/.419/.517 while also boasting a .978 fielding percentage through 56 games in 2017. The switch hitting second baseman was named to the All-CAA Third Team last season.
Baseball America ranked him 285th overall in this year’s class while MLB Pipeline didn’t have him in their top 200.
Baseball America had this to say about Large:
“…[H]e is a solid athlete whose calling card is his bat. Some scouts give him above-average raw power, and he has a chance to get to it because of his feel for hitting. He’s comfortable working deep counts, isn’t afraid to draw a walk and can drive balls to both gaps… He’s a switch-hitter with sneaky pop from the left side. Large’s range and hands are fringy and he should become an an average defender at second.”
Here’s some video of Large taking batting practice with the La Crosse Loggers of the Northwoods Baseball League:
The slot value for this pick is $302,100. The Blue Jays will pick next with selection 189 in the sixth round.