Without further ado, we continue the draft report with the Blue Jays second Canadian drafted.
Round 21: C Mike Reeves (22) – Hailing from Peterborough, Ontario, Reeves played his college ball at Florida Gulf Coast University, and had a strong season at the plate despite not hitting for much power. Reeves played in 57 games for FGCU, hitting .330/.417/.389 and threw out only 7 of 41 would-be base stealers. UPDATE: Reeves is reported to have signed.
Round 22: RHP Sam Tewes (18) – A native of Waverly, Nebraska, Sam Tewes got scouts’ attention early. The 6’2″ 205 lb righty could hit the low 90s on the radar gun early in the game but backed it off to work in the high-80s range. He’s signed to play for Wichita State and it’s doubtful that the low bonus a 22nd round pick will be enough to lure him away from college. He’s a highly rated prospect (175th by Baseball America) and selecting him here, with the 655th overall selection probably means that the chances of him joining the Blue Jays organization are slim.
Round 23: OF Brendan Kalfus (21) – Kalfus made some noise this year in his senior year at St. Mary’s in California, even taking a West Coast Player of the Week award — one that Kris Bryant (who went second overall) won at least three times this year. Kalfus also had a 36-game hitting streak this season, garnering even more attention and helping him win the West Coast Conference batting title with a .381 mark. He doesn’t seem to have much power or speed, but could be a very nice organizational player even if he doesn’t develop either.
UPDATE: Thanks to our commenter Toronto Blue Jays Fan who posted the following (it’s tough to read in the comments, so I present it here for your reading pleasure):
Brenden Kalfus, the 6′ switch-hitter from California, not only won the NCAA D1 West Coast Conference Batting title (a conference that had 29 players drafted to the MLB in 2013), he is also 3x All Conference Baseball, 3x All WCC Academic, 2x WCC Rawlings player, Capital One Academic All American Baseball, set 2 All-Time NCAA WCC D1 hitting records in 2013, had the longest hitting streak in the Nation in D1 in 2013, Hit .417 with a .477 ob% in conference. Alaska Baseball League All-Star as well as All-Star on the Bethesda Big-Train in 2011, when the team won over the Cap Cod league to garnish its first and only National Championship for Collegiate Summer Ball. Cal Ripken Collegiate All-Star and Top 15 position player. Kalfus has the strongest arm in the West Coast Conference, a great glove, and speed/quickness to match. The Blue Jays picked up a quality 5 Tool player with a big fan base.
This is one of the later picks that I do like for the Blue Jays, although I’ll argue that he’s a 4-tool player (hitting for power is a tool that Kalfus seems to lack) rather than a 5-tool one. We’ll see how his prodigious college career translates into the professional ranks. Expect to see him in Vancouver this season.
UPDATE 2: Kalfus is reported to have signed.
Round 24: OF Sean Hurley (21) – Hurley played 53 games this season for Central Arizona College (a community college) where he had very good numbers, hitting .341/.430/.562 with 13 2Bs, 2 3Bs and 8 HRs. He’s a guy with pop and is physically mature, so his power will come from learning how to turn on mistakes rather than from more physical development. He should be an easy sign. UPDATE: Hurley is reported to have signed.
Round 25: LHP Scott Silverstein (23) – Silverstein has had a rough road to getting drafted, having had two shoulder surgeries to repair a torn labrum, which could normally completely derail a young pitcher’s career. Silverstein didn’t pitch at all in his first two seasons at Virginia but the team stuck by him and he rewarded them in his senior year. He threw 88 innings, going 10-1 with a 2.86 ERA and giving up 86 hits and 25 walks to go with a respectable 69 strikeouts. Silverstein’s seen his fastball clocked in the low 90s and can throw a pretty decent curve and changeup.
Round 26: RHP Tanner Cable (19) – Cable is coming out of his first year at Northwest Mississippi Junior College without much information on him other than his not outstanding statistics. He’s a big boy, standing 6’5″ and weighing in at 210 lbs. The good news is that he struck out almost a batter per inning in his 47+ innings at NWMS (42 Ks), but he walked 20, which is a little on the high side. He gave up a lot of runs (37 runs, 28 earned) but it’s hard to tell where they came from. He may benefit from the wood-bat environment of pro baseball. He had strong, but not mind-blowing high school numbers but I haven’t been able to find much of a scouting report.
Round 27: SS Andrew Florides (18) – Florides is a high school shortstop from New York State who has committed to play for New York Institute of Technology next season. That’s about all I could find on him. UPDATE: Florides is reported to have signed.
Round 28: LHP Matt Dermody (22) – This was Matt Dermody’s fourth time being drafted by four different teams, but he hasn’t been able to improve his position over time. Originally drafted out of high school in the 26th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was drafted in the 29th round after his sophomore season by Colorado and in the 23rd round last year by the Diamondbacks. The Iowa Hawkeye senior is a 6’5″ senior who mounted his best statistical season in 2013. He threw 94 innings with a 3.64 ERA while striking out 64 and walking 21. Obviously, with a low strikeout rate, the ceiling will be fairly low for Dermody, but his college coaches loved his work ethic so look for this lefty to put in the work to succeed in pro ball.
Round 29: RHP Garrett Pickens (23) – Not much information is available about Pickens, a reliever for Delta State University in Mississippi, a Division II school where he comes out a 5-year senior (he redshirted in 2012 due to injury). He did appear to be dominant in his final year, giving up only 1 earned run in 19 1/3 innings pitched and striking out 19 while walking only 6. UPDATE: Pickens is reported to have signed.
Round 30: 1B Rowdy Tellez (18) – The Blue Jays’ 30th pick was an interesting one, but one that shouldn’t get fans’ hopes up. Tellez was ranked by Jonathan Mayo as the 99th draft prospect going in and was ranked by Baseball America as the #2 ranked first baseman and was projected to go in the second round. Tellez is big at 6’4″ and 225 lbs and is said to have “light tower power.” I won’t write too much here because, despite the fact the Blue Jays drafted him, unless they offer Tellez an amount of money that is WAY over slot, he’s going to go to USC and won’t be available to go pro for another few years.
Brenden Kalfus, the 6′ switch-hitter from California, not only won the NCAA D1 West Coast Conference Batting title (a conference that had 29 players drafted to the MLB in 2013), he is also 3x All Conference Baseball, 3x All WCC Academic, 2x WCC Rawlings player, Capital One Academic All American Baseball, set 2 All-Time NCAA WCC D1 hitting records in 2013, had the longest hitting streak in the Nation in D1 in 2013, Hit .417 with a .477 ob% in conference. Alaska Baseball League All-Star as well as All-Star on the Bethesda Big-Train in 2011, when the team won over the Cap Cod league to garnish its first and only National Championship for Collegiate Summer Ball. Cal Ripken Collegiate All-Star and Top 15 position player. Kalfus has the strongest arm in the West Coast Conference, a great glove, and speed/quickness to match. The Blue Jays picked up a quality 5 Tool player with a big fan base.