USATSI_8972464_168381442_lowres

MLB Draft: Reports and Videos on Blue Jays Picks in Rounds 11-25

by Gideon Turk

The Blue Jays have made some more picks in the MLB Draft today as they get set to wrap up the 2017 festivities. Here’s a look at the picks made in rounds 11 through 25, with 26 through 40 coming later today. One thing to keep in mind with these players is that they do not count towards the designated pool of money for the draft unless they are signed for over $100,000, so some of these players may be tough signs, especially high school and junior college players who have more leverage. We’ll provide scouting reports and video on each of these players as long as that information is available.

The Blue Jays took a bunch of those high ceiling, tough signs in rounds 11-25. However, by selecting so many they increase their odds of convincing one or two players to take their money and forgo school. If they can buy a couple of these guys out of college, like the Ontario native Cooper Davis (round 25), their draft class starts to look a lot deeper than it would have otherwise.

Round 11, Pick #339

RHP – Donnie Sellers – Wake Forest (JR)
5’11” 180lbs DOB: 07/26/95

Baseball America rated Sellers as their 260th best prospect in the draft this year, and had this report on him:

“Sellers can touch as high as 96 mph with plus running movement, but his fastball lives more comfortably at 90-92. He added a low-80s changeup to his repertoire coming into the spring to prepare for multiple trips through batting orders, and the pitch has average potential. Though inconsistent, Seller’s slider can show hard and tight break and be a swing-and-miss pitch when it’s on. A true athlete, Sellers has appeared in the outfield for Wake Forest when needed. He has a slight crouch to his delivery—much like the pitchers at Virginia generally use—and uses his legs well. Sellers has learned to pitch this year as opposed to just throwing, but his stuff still does play up in shorter stints. To maximize his effectiveness, Sellers best projects as a reliever at the next level.”

Round 12, Pick #369
RHP – Matt Shannon – Angelo State (JR)
6’3″ 220lbs DOB: 05/31/95

Round 13, Pick #399
LHP – Brody Rodning – Minnesota St U Mankato (JR)
6’1″ 185lbs DOB: 01/14/96

Baseball America rated Rodning as their 484th best prospect in the draft, and said this about him:

“While he’s been a starter for the Mavericks, the 6-foot-1 lefty projects as a lefty specialist at the next level. He generates deception with a cross-fire delivery that makes it hard for lefthanded hitters to pick up his 88-91 mph fastball, which he can run up to 93 at times. He mixes in a slider and curve but both are slurvy and need refinement, as does his changeup.”

Additionally, Steve Givarz of the Baseball Prospects prospect team had eyes on him, and wrote the following report:

Here is video of Rodning:

Round 14, Pick #429
1B – P.K. Morris – Steinbrenner HS
6’1″ 195lbs DOB: 11/30/98

Scouting report via Prep Baseball Report (June 2016):

“Uncommitted junior standing at 6-foot-1 185-pounds as a left handed hitter. Morris was balanced in the box with a slightly open set up with good rhythm. He has a short, quick swing with a slightly uphill path with good hand eye coordination. There is some current power in the swing and as he continues to get stronger there will be more to come.”

Round 15, Pick #459
OF – Ryan Noda – Cincinnati (JR)
6’3″ 230lbs DOB: 03/30/96

Video of Noda from 2080Baseball:

Round 16, Pick #489
RHP – Ty Tice – U Central Arkansas (JR)
5’9″ 170lbs DOB: 07/04/96

Although no scouting report is available on Tice, he does have some Blue Jays connections according to his Twitter account. He has a lot of respect for Jose Bautista, and he buys into Marcus Stroman’s brand:

Round 17, Pick #519
C – Kobie Russell – Waipahu HS
6’0″ 195lbs DOB: 11/10/99

Round 18, Pick #549
LHP – Jordan Barrett – Elon U (SR)
6’3″ 215lbs DOB: 06/24/95

Round 19, Pick #579
C – Cordell Dunn Jr. – Center Hill HS
6’0″ 190lbs DOB: 06/25/99

Baseball America rated Dunn Jr. as their 415th best prospect in the draft, and said this about him:

“Dunn is a righthanded hitter with impressive bat speed and strength, and he’s capable of doing damage offensively, but hands are a bit stiff and he struggles to make late adjustments as a result. He’s a decent athlete behind the plate and has the agility and hands to stay behind the plate with continued work. Dunn’s arm grades as a 45 or 50 on the 20-to-80 scale and should be good enough for him to keep baserunners honest. He is committed to Texas Tech.”

Round 20, Pick #609
CF – Tanner Kirwer (Canadian) – Niagara U (JR)
6’0″ 160lbs DOB: 03/15/96

Round 21, Pick #639
RHP – Turner Larkins – Texas A&M (JR)
6’3″ 200lbs DOB: 11/06/95

Round 22, Pick #669
SS – Gunner Halter – Seminole St Col (J1)
6’2″ 180lbs DOB: 03/18/98

This is a scouting report from Nathan Rode of Prep Baseball, though it is from last year.

Here is video on Halter from Jeff Zimmerman of FanGraphs:

Round 23, Pick #699
RHP – Daniel Ritcheson  – Bishop Alemany HS
6’4″ 175lbs DOB: 02/10/99

MLB Pipeline rated Ritcheson as their 131st best prospect in the draft, with the following scouting report:

“Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

One of the concerns in the scouting industry in today’s game is that young pitchers are throwing too much. With that in mind, when a good arm comes along without a lot of mileage on it, scouts get excited. Such was the case with Ritcheson in Northern California, who has a lot to learn but a lot to work with.

There is little question about Ritcheson’s arm strength, as he was throwing his fastball up to 93-95 mph this spring. He’ll flash a very good slider as well, and while his changeup is below-average right now, he does show some feel for it, with hope that it eventually will be a third Major League-average offering for him. A former catcher, Ritcheson is still learning how to pitch. He has a tendency to come out of the gate full-tilt, running out of gas as he gets deeper into starts.

Right now, Ritcheson looks more like a power fastball-slider guy, and that might make some feel that he profiles better in the bullpen. But everything works well delivery-wise, giving him a good chance to start at the next level once he cleans some things up. A team that feels he can do that could take him early enough to keep him from staying in SoCal and heading to San Diego State.”

Baseball America rated Ritcheson as their 187th best prospect, and said this about him:

“Ritcheson experienced a whirlwind spring, rising quickly up draft boards when his previously 88-90 mph fastball touched 95 mph as a senior, but then falling back down after critical reports on his makeup. A converted catcher who has only pitched for two years, Ritcheson stands 6-foot-4, 210 pounds and operates 92-95 mph with his fastball out of a high three-quarters delivery, although it lacks deception or plane. He shows feel to spin a plus breaking ball but is inconsistent. Despite those promising building blocks, Ritcheson often ran into trouble on the mound because he lost concentration and did not handle adversity well, throwing his glove and shouting obscenities when things didn’t go his way. Evaluators largely like Ritcheson’s stuff but feel he should go to college to mature. He is committed to San Diego State.”

And some notes from various prospect evaluators:

Video from MLB Pipeline:

Round 24, Pick #729
RHP – Colin Brockhouse – Ball State (JR)
6’3″ 194lbs DOB: 07/23/95

Here’s a scouting report from Steve Givarz of the Baseball Prospects prospect team:

Round 25, Pick #759
CF – Cooper Davis (Canadian) – St. Aloysius Gonzaga SS (HS)
5’9″ 165lbs DOB: 05/07/99

Baseball America rated him their 368th best prospect and wrote the following report on him:

“As an underclassman, Davis earned recognition early and often as one of the top prospects in Canada. He’s developed into a solid prospect, with the ability to put the ball in play consistently and let his plus speed play. Davis has a simple swing with a flat bat path that’s geared for contact and line drives. He has well below-average power but can shoot doubles to the gaps, and his above-average speed plays well on the bases. He shows promise defensively but faces profile questions as he’s not a lock to play center field at the highest level and doesn’t show the kind of power usually found in a corner outfielder. He’s committed to Vanderbilt, and he could be a productive college player for the Commodores and further prove himself in the Southeastern Conference.”

Here’s video from MLB Pipeline:

That concludes this post that covered rounds 11 through 25. We’ll have another post covering rounds 26-40 after those are completed.

Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Tags: , |
Gideon Turk
read more from Gideon Turk
Related Articles

Leave a comment

Use your Baseball Prospectus username