The Toronto Blue Jays added another arm to the system Sunday, signing Dax Dathe as an undrafted free agent after this year's draft wrapped up.
Dathe pitched at Frederick this past season, appearing in five games with one start, a workload that suggests a pitcher still finding his footing between the bullpen and the rotation.
The numbers stand out for an undrafted arm. He posted a 2.93 ERA across 15.1 innings, with 20 strikeouts and a 1.37 WHIP.
Twenty strikeouts over that short a workload is a real strikeout rate, the kind of number that usually gets a scout's attention even when a player goes undrafted.
Undrafted free agent signings rarely come with much fanfare, and most never sniff a big league roster. But every organization signs a handful hoping one turns into something real.
Toronto's front office has had success finding value in overlooked players before, from Ryan Sprock's trade addition to a string of unheralded prospects who eventually reached the majors.
Dathe now joins a pitching pipeline that's grown busier than usual this summer, between the draft class and a couple of trade additions along the way.
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Why undrafted signings still matter to a franchise like this
A 1.37 WHIP isn't dominant on its own, but paired with a strikeout total like his, it points to a pitcher who's missing bats even when hitters do make contact.
Toronto's bonus pool limitations this year made undrafted signings like this one more important than usual, since the club had less flexibility to overspend on premium draft picks.
It's a bit like finding a solid player in the last round of a pickup game nobody else wanted to draft first.
Will Dathe's small sample translate against better competition in pro ball, or does his workload simply need to grow before anyone can really judge what he's got?
For now, he reports into a farm system that's added quite a bit of pitching depth this summer, with a real chance to build his case level by level.
Whether he ever becomes more than a name on a roster page will take years to answer, but Toronto clearly saw enough to bring him in.
Do you think undrafted free agent signings like Dax Dathe end up making a real impact for the Blue Jays?
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