Two years ago the Blue Jays committed to building a strong farm system. The reasoning was simple; to battle with New York and Boston they’d need quality players, and the only way to get ample talent on a tight budget is to get ‘em while they’re young.
If that seems like an obvious route to success, that’s probably because it is.

Every ball club in North America wants a stable of young talent, but few seem quite as hell-bent on building one as the Toronto Blue Jays.

If they Jays had gotten any more aggressive in the 2011 Draft they’d be punching somebody with every pick.  Anthopoulos worked his ass off this winter to ensure his team would have a wealth of high picks, and it paid off – the Jays ended up with 7 of the first 78 selections.

But that was only phase one of the plan. Once they scouted and complied a list of guys they wanted, they’d actually have to draft and sign these guys. Of the three remaining steps, drafting is probably the easiest; you’ve already ranked players in order of desirability, now you just need to sweat and bicker as they’re picked off by other teams, cross your fingers, and hope for the best as you call the name of the best player remaining.
The biggest potential hurdle is signing these guys, that’s why they’re listed in order of “desirability” and not “talent.” Basically, you could draft the best 18-year old on the planet, but if he spurns you for an NCAA pit-stop on the way the majors, you can kiss that prospect goodbye.

It’s pretty common for guys to slip down the draft board if they’re seen as a “signability threat.” This is why the Jays drafted so many college players under the Ricciardi regime, there was very little chance draftees would turn down contracts because they had no real Plan B on the table. It’s a lower-risk, lower-reward strategy.
But Anthopoulos turned that strategy on its’ ear Monday evening, as he selected teenagers with all seven of those aforementioned picks. All of these players are highly-talented, and all of them are committed to quality NCAA schools with solid baseball programs. In summary, each of these guys is going to be very difficult to sign.

On a radio interview Tuesday evening, Alex hinted he’d rather sign 5 out of 8 potential All-Stars than 8 out of 8 players with mediocre talent. When you word it like that it’s a tough stance to argue against, assuming he can actually sign the majority of these guys. However, the plot thickens, because MLB teams have an ace up their sleeves this year and it seems Anthopoulos is one of the few GMs ballsy enough to play it.

As the collective bargaining agreement gets renegotiated next winter, it’s almost a given the draft’s bonus system will be completely re-built. This means players won’t be able to negotiate their bonuses as they do now, instead it will be predetermined based on their draft position. This also means Alex can dangle big bonuses in front of high school players (bonuses that will probably be unavailable after this draft) and persuade them to join the pros. If you had the choice of waking up tomorrow as a multi-millionaire, or going to school for three years, risking injury/poor performance/the likelihood you’ll never get anywhere near that kind of money in your next draft year… which option would you choose?

Rocking Roll High School !!!

Here is the Jays first pick from the 2011 amateur draft

Round 1, the 21 st pick– Tyler Beede, RHP Lawrence Academy (MA)
Beede is the top prospect that New England has produced since the Marlins drafted Jeff Allison 16th overall nearly a decade ago. Like every other pitcher on the Jays’ draft board, Beede’s huge for a teenager at over 6’3 and 200+ lbs. He signed a commitment to Vanderbilt University, but was forthright in a media conference call and said his decision to sign with Toronto will likely come down to dollars.

Tyler has already gone on record as, well, maybe the $$ will have an influence on signing or college

As I have stated in the past, witht he average MLB career topping out at 3 years, guess what, go to college after yopu make some coin.

Lawrence Mass High School