2024 Bluebird Banter Top 40 Prospects: 17-20

Today, we look at three early-mid round picks by the Blue Jays from this summer’s draft with significant upside, plus a system veteran who could enter the major league picture this year.

2024: Full List and Index | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40

2023: Full List and Index | 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-12 | 13-16 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40
Beyond the Top 40: Just Missed | Top 5 Older | Pref Lists: Matt | Tom

20. Juaron Watts-Brown, RHP, age 22 (DOB: 2/23/2002), grade: 40, 2023: college junior

Watts-Brown began his collegiate career with baseball factory Long Beach State (alma mater of Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria and Jason Giambi among many others). He was forced to redshirt his freshman year with a shoulder injury sustained in high school, but turned in a strong sophomore campaign, striking out 111 in 73 innings. He turned in another good performance in the elite Cape Cod college wood bat league that summer, striking out 45 of 143 batters faced with 15 walks.

He transferred to Oklahoma State for his junior year. In spite of walking away with the Big 12 strikeout crown (124 in just 82 innings, 16 clear of second place), he issued 48 free passes and struggled to a 5.03 ERA. Oklahoma State is not regarded as a particularly good pitching development program, so better coaching in the pro ranks could help him more than most experienced college players. An over-slot $1m bonus in the third round of this past draft brought him to Toronto.

Watts-Brown sits just 90-93 with his fastball right now, but the pitch possesses above average movement and his 6’3”, 190lb frame has more room to project additional strength than the typical college arm. His best pitch is a slider with two plane break, which he complements with a solid curveball with more vertical depth. His changeup is somewhat of an afterthought. Watts-Brown struggles with his command right now, but his athleticism is good and his delivery notably smooth and graceful, which suggests that with better pro instruction it’s possible he gets to average.

After he was shut down following the draft, Watts-Brown will make his pro debut this season. He has more upside than most pitchers on this list, with the potential for multiple plus pitches if his velocity develops further. His ceiling is probably as a high K but more than ideal BB mid-rotation starter. College pitchers in this area of the draft have historically struggled, but Watts-Brown possess the talent to make an impact in the majors.

19. Jace Bohrofen, OF, age 22 (DOB: 10/19/2001), grade: 40, 2023: college junior

Bohrofen was a touted prospect headed into the abbreviated 2020 draft, but wasn’t taken and fulfilled his commitment to Oklahoma. That didn’t prove to be a fit, however, and he transferred to Arkansas for his sophomore year. He broke out in 2023, slashing .318/.436/.612 for the Razorbacks. Combined with strong showings on the Cape during the summers of 2021 and 2022, his profile was stronger heading into this past draft.

He slipped again, though, falling from an expected home in the third or fourth round to the Jays late in the sixth. He signed for an at-slot bonus there, which surprised Matt and I to the extent that we wondered whether there was a yellow flag in his medicals or something to lower his stock. No sign of anything like that has emerged, though, as he reported to A Dunedin and tore the cover off the ball, launching 6 home runs in 77 PA.

That power is Bohrofen’s calling card. He has above average raw strength and a swing geared to put balls in the air. He’s an excellent fastball hitter but has some swing and miss issues with breaking stuff, which he’s partially able to cover for with a good eye and a sound approach. He’s a below average runner but has a decent arm and should be fine in an outfield corner.

Bohrofen possesses real upside as a slugger with a solid OBP in spite of what will probably be a low average. Whether that average is in the .210s or the .240s will determine whether he can stick as an everyday player hitting in the middle of an MLB lineup. Hitters with Bohrofen’s experience against top level college competition and a track record of hitting with wood bats in the elite summer league should be beyond A ball pitching. This demographic (college hitters selected in the early-mid rounds) has historically been a surprisingly fertile source of quality and impact regulars who fall through the cracks. He’ll start to face actual challenges in A+ and possibly AA this season.

18. Landen Maroudis, RHP, age 19 (DOB: 12/16/2004), grade: 40, 2023: high school

The Blue Jays’s 4th round pick in 2023, out of Calvary Christian High School in Clearwater, Florida, Maroudis was a two way star as a prep. His pro future lies on the mound, but the athleticism he demonstrated is part of his appeal as a prospect. He signed with Toronto for a well over slot bonus ($1.5m) in the

Maroudis throws from a low three quarters arm slot. There’s some violence in his delivery that might get ironed out with professional instruction, but even with that he has decent feel for throwing strikes. He sits 90-93 right now, but touched 97 in a short outing in this last week’s Spring Breakout showcase with good life. At 6’3” and 195lbs, there’s room for him to add good weight and get more consistently towards the higher end of that velocity range.

Maroudis throws both a curve and slider. The curve looked better this week, but evaluators have preferred the slider in the past, with both pitches having the potential to be solid. Maroudis was noted this past spring for having a more developed changeup than is typical for high school pitchers (when you throw 93, changeups just give normal 17 year olds a chance to catch up, so many good preps rarely use them in games). It could become a weapon for him in time.

Right handed prep pitchers are an ultra high risk demographic. Per research Matt has done, around 80% of high school arms drafted in this range either never make it or make no meaningful impact in the majors. There’s also a lot of upside in this group, however. Maroudis possesses all the tools of a mid rotation starter, but whether he can put them all together and also stand up to a professional workload remains to he seen.

17. Chad Dallas, RHP, age 23/24 (DOB: 6/26/2000), grade: 40, 2023: 31st

The Jays’s 4th round pick in 2021 (out of Tennessee for a slightly over slot deal) posted excellent strikeout and walk numbers in college (120:22 in 103 innings during his draft year) but struggled with the long ball (21 HR).

Shut down after that workload in 2021, he made his pro debut the next year with High A Vancouver. He struggled, walking 51 in 88 innings with a middling 86 strikeouts, while still conceding 13 homers. Results improved this past year. Back at Vancouver, he recorded 37 Ks in 26.2 innings, forcing a promotion to AA New Hampshire. There, in 96.2 innings over 18 starts, he posted a 107:37 K:BB ratio. Again, home runs (16 across the two levels) dinged up his ERA (4.10 in AA).

A big part of the change for Dallas in 2023 was the addition of a cutter to his arsenal. Previously, he boasted an exceptional slider (81mph with nasty two plane break, at least a 60 and maybe a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale), but unexceptional fastballs (91-93, occasionally touching 95 but with unimpressive movement), a curve that had depth but which he tipped with a different arm slot, and a changeup that was a fourth surprise type pitch at best. The cutter gives him a viable third option, which as he refines it could help keep hitters off his fastball and therefore more balls in the yard. Dallas has good command but has run high-ish walk totals because he needs to nibble to stay off barrels.

Dallas will see Buffalo in 2024. He still has potential to start, if the cutter keeps improving, and the slider will lead to solid strikeout rates in any role. If starting doesn’t work out, he has potential as an impact reliever, with a potentially dominant out pitch, especially if his fastball were to tick up a little in shorter outings.