The Blue Jays spent the 61st overall pick on Griffin Murphy.
Follow the jump for his pre-draft report.
Griffin Murphy Position: LHP School: Redlands East Valley HS State: CA Height: 6’3’’ Weight: 200
Birth Date: 1/16/91 Seiler Rating: 1C2 Commitment: San Diego
Griffin Murphy is an advanced high school left-handed pitcher from Redlands East Valley High School in Redlands, California, a town about 10 miles southeast of San Bernardino in Southern California. Murphy was a solid prospect entering the spring, but when he came out of the gate with a nice velocity bump, he gained attention as possibly the top left-handed pitcher in the weaker prep class. That’s not saying a lot, as no left-handed pitcher from the prep class is projected for the first round, but he has definitely taken a step forward this spring, which is nice for scouts to see after tracking him for a number of years. Solidly-built through his core, he doesn’t offer the big fastball that scouts love to see, but he knows to pitch, and there’s a good chance he can become a solid number three starter with adequate development time. His arsenal starts off with a solid-average fastball that sat 89-91 through most of the spring, touching 93 when he needed the extra velocity. He commands his fastball to all parts of the plate, and he gets above-average grades for his command and movement. His breaking ball is an above-average curveball that has improved dramatically over the past year, and though he only gets average command grades for the pitch, there is still hope that he can improve it. His changeup is an average third pitch, and like with the other two pitches, scouts are hoping that the growth pattern he’s shown this spring is only the beginning. However, as someone that’s already 19 years old, that thought might be wishful thinking, and even though he could go in the second or third round, he could be a draft-eligible sophomore after just two years at San Diego, though the odds are good that he’ll sign for close to slot money.