Dasan Brown signing injects speed into Blue Jays’ farm system

Toronto Blue Jays' Charlie Montoyo updates Marcus Stroman's injury status, claiming it is minor, and heaps praise on Danny Jansen, Cavan Biggio and Vlad Guerrero Jr.

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays finalized the signing of Canadian outfielder Dasan Brown for $800,000 on Saturday, an above-slot figure that still leaves them with a bit of money to work with in their $8,463,300 draft pool.

Brown, an athletic and super-toolsy 17-year-old outfielder from Oakville, Ont., was selected in the third round at No. 88 overall, a pick with an assigned value of $678,600.

His signing brings the Blue Jays draft spending that counts against the bonus pool to $8,332,500, with Vanderbilt catcher Philip Clarke the only remaining player in their top-10 who is unsigned. Assigned value for the eighth-rounder, No. 267 overall, is $154,900.

The Blue Jays have $130,800 in room remaining in their pool, but teams can outspend their total allotment by 0-5 per cent without being penalized with the loss of a draft pick, although they must pay a tax of 75 per cent on the overage.

Player and Round Slot Value Bonus Difference
1. Alek Manoah $4,547,500 $4,547,500  
2. Kendall Williams $1,403,200 $1,547,500 $144,300
3. Dasan Brown $678,600 $800,000 $121,400
4. Will Robertson $492,700 $422,500 $(70,200)
5. Tanner Morris $367,900 $397,500 $29,600
6. Cameron Eden $279,500 $222,500 $(57,000)
7. L.J. Talley $218,500 $22,500 $(196,000)
8. Angel Camacho $175,000 $2,500 $(172,500)
9. Philip Clarke $154,900    
10. Glenn Santiago $145,500 $172,500 $27,000
15. Michael Dominguez $125,000 $197,500 $72,500
Total $8,463,300 $8,332,500 $130,800

*Players selected after the 10th round can be signed for up to $125,000. Any spending beyond that amount counts against a team’s bonus pool.

Provided the Blue Jays are willing to pay the tax, they can offer Clarke the remaining $130,800 in the pool along with up to $423,165 in overage without surrendering a draft pick.

If they don’t sign Clarke, they would lose the $154,900 allotment from their total spending pool, leaving them $399,065 in overage to work with elsewhere in the draft, should they choose to use it.

Brown was the first Canadian selected in the 2019 draft, which marks the first time the Blue Jays have chosen the top Canuck since 2009, when they used the 37th overall pick on left-hander James Paxton, who didn’t sign and ended up with the Seattle Mariners a year later.

Brown offers the Blue Jays’ farm system an injection of speed – Baseball America rated him as the second-fastest runner among high schoolers in the draft – with the potential to provide far more than just that.

Amateur scouting director Steve Sanders described him as “a very tooled-up player on both sides of the ball,” earlier this month, and the Blue Jays know him well from his three appearances in the Tournament 12 prospect showcase.

During the Blue Jays’ annual exhibition game with the junior national team in Dunedin, Fla., Brown went 3-for-4 with a homer off Joey Murray, who is currently at single-A Dunedin.

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