Blue Jays select T.J. Zeuch with 21st overall pick

With the 21st pick in the 2016 Draft, the Blue Jays have selected T.J. Zeuch from the University of Pittsburgh. Most mock drafts had Zeuch going somewhere late in the first round, with Baseball America predicting that he would be selected 21st overall, while MLB.com had him being selected 23rd, and ESPN had him going at 27th. You can read Zeuch's interview with MLBDD here.

Of the top four prospects in the Blue Jays’ system, three are pitchers. Much of their farm system was depleted last season though as trades were made to push towards contention. None are especially close to the majors, and Zeuch is actually older than their third-best prospect Sean Reid-Foley, though just barely.

Zeuch has a four pitch mix: fastball, slider, curveball, and a changeup. The fastball can touch 96-97, while sitting in the low-90s. All his pitches are thrown from a steep angle from his 6’7", 225 lbs frame, all of this according to an MLB scouting video. From the same video, it is said that Zeuch does not have a feel for his changeup yet and rarely uses it, but utilizes the slider/curveball combo to complement the fastball.

John Sickels at Minor League Ball notes that he is young for a junior, turning 21 in August. Earlier in the season, Zeuch suffered a groin injury that had him sitting out a couple of starts, but came back and pitched to the best of his abilities, posting a 3.32 ERA in 39 games, 33 of which he started.

On top prospect lists, Baseball America’s Top Draft Prospects list had him at 26th out of 100, while MLB.com’s Prospect Watch had him ranked at 28th.