By Jay Blue

Blue Jays from Away

As the Toronto Blue Jays look to make some room to sign third-rounder Adam Kloffenstein (reportedly offering him almost $2 million over his slot bonus), the Toronto Blue Jays went way off the board in the fifth round to draft senior Christopher Bec, a catcher out of the University of Maine.

Bec hit .315/.379/.539 as a senior, posting solid numbers with 10 doubles, three triples and eight home runs while stealing 16 bases without getting caught, excellent for a catcher. The year before, he hit .340/.426/.465 with 20 doubles, a triple and a home run while stealing 15 bases in 21 tries. Bec was an unanimous America East First Team selection and was named to the conference All-Tournament Team.

In the sixth round, the Blue Jays went back to the high school well, selecting Addison Barger, a shortstop out of Leon King HS in Florida. MLB.com has Barger as the No. 143 draft prospect, noting that he shows "plus bat speed at times" and has "more of a line-drive approach at present, but there is raw power for him to tap into." Scouts like his arm a lot and there are questions as to whether he remains at shortstop, either landing at second or third eventually.

MLB.com scouting grades: Hit: 45/Power: 45/Run: 45/Arm: 60/Field: 50/Overall: 45

Baseball America has Barger as the No. 178-ranked player, noting that he didn't have "a single plus tool until his arm strength improved this spring," also putting a 60-grade on the arm. They like his plus bat speed and "feel to hit that gives him average raw power." As a fielder, they like how he "makes all the routine plays at shortstop and should do enough to stick at the position until someone with more tools comes along and pushes him to second base." He gets a comparison to Logan Warmoth as "someone who could end up at college and drastically improve his prospect status."

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The 2018 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook is now available!