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.