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Mike Cassese

The Toronto Blue Jays have once again coveted speed and athleticism when it comes to building their future, selecting D.J. Davis with their top pick Monday night in major-league baseball's first-year player draft.

Davis, 18, a centre fielder from Stone County High School in Mississippi, was selected with the 17th pick overall.

Considered perhaps the fastest player in the 2012 draft class, Davis is a versatile athlete who has "sneaky pop" to his bat.

Davis's father, Wayne, played in the Blue Jays minor-league system from 1985 to 1988.

"We feel D.J.'s got a chance to be a top-of-the-order centre fielder with maybe a little bit more power than the traditional leadoff hitter," said Andrew Tinnish, the Blue Jays' scouting director.

Tinnish said Davis reminds him of Kenny Lofton with a bit more strength.

A left-handed hitter, Davis averaged .373 during 26 high-school games as a senior this year with seven home runs. He also stole 24 bases in 25 attempts.

The Blue Jays also chose at No. 22 with a compensatory pick they received for their failure to sign Tyler Beede, their 2011 first-round selection.

With that pick the Blue Jays chose Marcus Stroman, a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher out of Duke University, who many feel is already major-league ready.

Although he has impressive velocity on a fastball that can reach 98 miles an hour, Stroman's small stature – he stands just 5 foot 8 and weighs 185 pounds – may have scared off other teams from drafting him earlier.

This year at Duke, Stroman was 6-5 with a 2.39 earned-run average with 136 strikeouts in 98 innings pitched.

Tinnish said the Blue Jays are not sure if Stroman will pan out as a starter or a reliever.

"I saw him out of the bullpen last summer for Team USA and I saw him start this year," Tinnish said. "He's certainly very advanced."

The Blue Jays have 14 picks in the first 10 rounds and six in the first two.

On a year where there was no consensus No. 1 pick, the Houston Astros still surprised many when they chose Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa, a 17-year-old with a ton of potential, with the first overall pick.

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