The Toronto Blue Jays have signed 26 of the 40 players they selected from the 2018 first year player draft, including first-round pick Jordan Groshans and third-round selection Adam Kloffenstein.
Groshans, a six-foot-three shortstop, and Kloffenstein, a six-foot-five right-handed pitcher, were teammates last season at Magnolia High School in Texas.
The Jays selected Groshans with the 12th overall pick, impressed with his combination of mobility and size. He hit .444 with 11 home runs and 36 runs batted in with the Bulldogs this season.
Kloffenstein, selected 88th, finished the Bulldogs’ season 11-1 with 116 strikeouts in 78 innings. Projected by some as a first-round pick, he had made a strong commitment to play college baseball with TCU next season and indicated he might be difficult to sign.
“I’m looking for something pretty extravagant and I’m not saying nobody can get there but it will be a stretch,” he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram earlier this month.
The Blue Jays signed nine of their top 10 picks with the exception of second-round selection Griffin Conine, an outfielder out of Duke.