The Toronto Blue Jays locked up their final pick of this year's draft, signing outfielder Eddie Rosado Jr. out of Holy Ghost Prep School in the 20th round.
Late round high school signings like this one rarely make headlines, but scouts around the organization see real upside in this particular bat.
Rosado brings a short, compact swing to pro ball, the kind of mechanics that tend to translate well against advancing pitching.
He also comes with present gap power and strong bat speed, a combination that stood out enough to make him one of Toronto's more exciting Day 2 selections.
Signing a 20th rounder away from a college commitment takes real conviction from an amateur scouting department already stretched thin by one of the league's smaller bonus pools this year.
That department clearly believed the tools were worth the investment, even this late in the process.
High school hitters with compact swings and present power often take longer to develop than their college counterparts, but the ceiling can be higher once the physical growth catches up to the bat speed already in place.
Why Toronto keeps finding value this deep in the draft
This isn't new territory for this front office. Toronto has built a track record of finding contributors in the middle and late rounds of recent drafts.
A short, compact swing paired with strong bat speed is exactly the kind of profile that gives player development staff something concrete to build around from day one.
It's a bit like discovering a diamond in the rough at the very end of a long shopping trip, when most shoppers have already given up looking.
Does a 20th round prep bat like this one actually have a real path to the majors, or is upside talk this early mostly projection with little to back it up yet?
Rosado now begins his professional career in a farm system that's added talent from nearly every direction this summer, from the top of the draft to its very last pick.
Whether his bat speed and gap power translate against advanced pitching will take years to answer, but Toronto clearly saw enough to make the deal happen.
Do you think Eddie Rosado Jr. can develop into a real prospect for the Blue Jays?
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