CINCINNATI – No matter how good a scout is, or how advanced analytics become, there will always be an element of crapshoot in the draft, an inevitable by-product of trying to project what young men aged 18-22 will become three or four years down the line. That’s how Mike Trout, arguably the best player on the planet, lasts until pick No. 25 in 2009, selected right after Jared Mitchell and Randal Grichuk. At the time he played for a small high school in New Jersey and hadn’t really been tested in any prominent showcase, allowing the Los Angeles Angels to basically steal him that low. Big whoopsie by a lot teams on that one. All of which brings us to the Toronto Blue Jays and Kris Bryant, the No. 2 overall pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2013 …show more content…
The Blue Jays, in the first year of a new draft philosophy under then new GM Alex Anthopoulos, selected several players considered tough signs early in the draft, and spent a club record $11.6 million in signing them. Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard, Justin Nicolino, Asher Wojciechowski, Sam Dyson, Sean Nolin and Dalton Pompey, along with failed first-rounder Deck McGuire, were among the bounty. There was no more money for Bryant. “No meaningful talks at all,” is how Bryant describes the negotiations with the Blue Jays. “Just being a really good student in high school and the way the draft works, it’s kind of hard for teams to draft a guy when you don’t know if he’s going to sign or not, which I understood completely. Looking back at it, (going to the University of San Diego) is the best decision I’ve made in my life.” Bryant went on to star for the Torero, hitting 31 homers with an OBP of .493 and a slugging percentage of .820 over 228 at-bats in his draft season. Lots of his growth took place during his three years in San Diego, an experience he valued, although he could have been bought out of school for the right