Ah, Day 3 of the draft. The day when teams go looking for the guys who could come from out of nowhere. The biggest name to come from rounds 16-20 in recent years is Dalton Pompey who was a 16th-round pick in 2010. Brady Dragmire, currently in New Hampshire, was a 17th-rounder in 2011 and Shane Dawson was a 17th-rounder in 2012.

 

Round 16 brought the Blue Jays Dominic Taccolini, a 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher out of Arkansas, taking him 13 rounds after his teammate Zach Jackson. Taccolini had a blood clot problem in his arm in 2015 but worked his way back this season to throw 72 innings with 61 strikeouts but a 5.75 ERA in the SEC. Baseball America reported that his stuff had taken a step back and I’m sure the Blue Jays are looking for the guy who was pitching in 2014 and 2015 to reemerge.

 

 

The Blue Jays selected a Canadian, outfielder Clayton Keyes from Bishop Carroll High School in Calgary, in the 17th round. Keyes is still fairly young, having turned 17 in January and could return to high school or go to college at Washington State. he’s a solidly built 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds with average speed. If he signs, Keyes is going to be a project for the Blue Jays.

18th rounder Bradley Jones of the College of Charleston joins some of his former teammates, Carl Wise and Gunnar Heidt, in the Blue Jays organization. Baseball America doesn’t think his tools are as loud as Wise’s (although Wise has struggled to find his rhythm in the pros) but he has some power and can play corner infield positions. He has hit 11 home runs in each of the past two seasons and has hit .309/.394/.586 and .280/.385/.486 in his sophomore and junior seasons respectively.

In the 19th round, the Blue Jays selected Spencer Van Scoyoc, a high schooler from Jefferson High School in Iowa who has a commitment to Arizona State. Van Scoyoc is seen as a projectable lefty who just touches 90 mph at this point but he’s 6-foot-4 and has room to fill out.

The Blue Jays selected junior righty Angel Alicea from Alabama State University in the 20th round where he also played the infield. The Puerto Rican threw mainly out of the bullpen and had a 1.47 ERA over 36 2/3 innings, walking 15 and striking out 51.

 

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