A couple of months ago, I bought some lucky packs from a sports card shop. After opening some packs, I found a Nate Pearson jumbo patch card from Topps Triple Threads. It’s a low-numbered card and for me, it’s great to add it into my collection.
Nate Pearson was selected by the Blue Jays in the first round of the 2017 draft. While seeing this card, I was thinking about those players who were selected by the Blue Jays in the first round. Did the Blue Jays make the right decisions?
Well, I’m not going too far. So, let’s look back at the last decade. From 2010 to 2019, the Blue Jays selected 23 players in the first round (including compensatory and competitive balance round) of the MLB drafts. Among those 23 players, 16 of them were pitchers, 3 of them were infielders, 3 were outfielders and the Blue Jays only selected 1 catcher in the first round last decade. But, not all of them decided to join the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays selected Tyler Beede in the first round of the 2011 draft and chose Phil Bickford in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft. They didn’t sign with the Blue Jays.
For those players who decided to join the Blue Jays, do they really make an impact on the team? Among those 21 first-rounders who signed with the Blue Jays, only 6 players made it into the big leagues in the Blue Jays uniform. Aaron Sanchez was selected by the Blue Jays in the 2010 draft and he made his MLB debut in 2014. From 2014 to 2019, Sanchez made 92 starts and 54 relief appearances. He tossed 571 innings for the Blue Jays, posting a 3.96 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He was an All-Star in 2016 and in that season, he earned 15 wins and took only 2 losses. In July 2019, Sanchez was traded to the Astros. The Blue Jays selected Dwight Smith Jr. in the 2011 draft and he made his MLB debut in 2017. Smith Jr. only spent 2 seasons with the Blue Jays. From 2017 and 2018, he was hitting .293/.365/.467 with 2 home runs and 9 RBI in the Blue Jays uniform. He was traded to the Orioles in March 2019. In addition, Marcus Stroman was selected by the Blue Jays in the 2012 draft. Stroman made his MLB debut on May 4, 2014. Stroman was a key player in the Blue Jays rotation from 2014 to 2019. He posted a 3.76 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP over 789.2 innings from 2014 to 2019. He was selected to the All-Star game in 2019, but in July 2019, Stroman was traded to the Mets. Furthermore, T.J. Zeuch was selected by the Blue Jays in the 2016 draft and he made it into the big leagues in 2019. Zeuch tossed 49 innings for the Blue Jays from 2019 to 2021, posting a 4.59 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. And, in 2017, the Blue Jays selected Nate Pearson with the 28th overall pick. Pearson made his MLB debut in 2020, but due to injuries, he didn’t pitch in 2022. Finally, in 2019, the Blue Jays selected Alek Manoah in the first round. Manoah made his MLB debut on May 27, 2021. He made 20 starts last season, posting a 3.22 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP over 111.2 innings. This season, he was selected to the All-Star game for the first time in his career. Manoah owned a great 2.24 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP over 196.2 innings. An ERA of 2.24 ranks 4th in the majors and Manoah earned 16 wins in 2022. Looking back at the Blue Jays’s choices in the MLB draft from 2010 to 2019, Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman each had played an important role in the rotation, but, by far the best decision is probably that they chose Alek Manoah in 2019. Manoah has an outstanding 2022 season and it’s no doubt to call him the ace of the Blue Jays. However, a player’s health is always the top priority. If Manoah stays healthy, he’s surely one of the most dominant pitchers in the MLB. Moreover, after missing the entire 2022 season, it will be important to see whether Nate Pearson will come back healthy and contribute to the Blue Jays.
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