There was a distinctly Canadian feel for the Blue Jays on Day 2 of this year’s Major League Baseball draft.
After the first three rounds took place Sunday, the Jays began Monday by taking college right-hander Micah Bucknam and high school third baseman Tim Piasentin.
Bucknam was born in New Zealand but grew up in Abbotsford, B.C. He was also selected by the Jays in 2022 but turned down their offer to attend Louisiana State before transferring to Dallas Baptist in Texas.
Piasentin is an 18-year-old who is also from British Columbia and later played in Alberta. He was a member of the Canadian junior team and won the Canadian Futures Showcase home run derby at Rogers Centre in 2024.
Here’s a closer look at who the Jays took through rounds 4-10:
Round 4:Â Micah Bucknam
The 21-year-old tossed just 16 innings in two seasons at LSU because of command issues. The majority of his success came during back-to-back summers in the Cape Cod League and at Dallas Baptist, where he became the school’s No. 1 starter. According to MLB Pipeline, Bucknam’s fastball ranges from 92-96 m.p.h. and his primary out pitch is a slider that sits 85-88. He projects as a future reliever but, if his command and changeup improve, he could still make it as a starter.
Round 5:Â Tim Piasentin
The 18-year-old already possesses plenty of power and he should hit for even more as he continues to add muscle to his six-foot-three, 200-pound frame. There’s a lot of swing and miss to his game, which means it’s going to take some time for Piasentin to develop, but he handles velocity well. Defence isn’t his specialty and some suggest he will have to move to first base.
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Round 6:Â Eric Snow
The University of Auburn shortstop bounced back from a disappointing sophomore season to hit .307 with 23 extra-base hits and 34 RBIs for the Tigers. He was the American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year when he was a freshman and he was named an all-star in the Cape Cod League last summer after he produced a .326 average with 30 hits and 18 runs in 29 games.
Round 7: Dylan Watts
Watts is a six-foot-four right-handed reliever who posted ERAs above 7 during each of his last two seasons in college. He flashed more potential prior to his arrival in Auburn with a 0.23 ERA in 14 appearances at Tacoma Community College. He appears to be someone who would sign for below the recommended slot value of $299,900 (U.S.) for this pick, which would free up money in the Jays’ bonus pool to sign players later in the draft.
Round 8:Â Danny Thompson Jr.
A fifth-year senior from UNC Greensboro, the right-hander is another candidate to sign for below slot. Thompson led his team with 23 appearances and missed a lot of bats by striking out 87 across 61 2/3 innings. He also led his club with a 3.79 ERA and was named to the all-Southern Conference first team.
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Round 9:Â Karson Ligon
The Jays took two players out of Mississippi on Day 1 — first round shortstop JoJo Parker along with third round outfielder Jake Cook — and they returned to that state with Ligon. The Mississippi State right-hander posted an unimpressive 5.40 ERA across 56 2/3 innings for the Bulldogs and continued a trend of players who should sign for relatively cheap.
Round 10: Austin Smith
Smith spent three years at the University of San Diego as a two-way player. He produced a 3.49 ERA across his first two seasons before regressing to 5.66 as a junior. There’s more promise in the outfield, where Smith compiled a .323 average, which included 26 extra-base hits in his final season. That was enough to earn third-team honours from the American Baseball Coaches Association.
A trend worth watching
None of the players taken in rounds 6-10 were ranked among  and the reason for going off the board so many times likely was to create financial flexibility.
The Jays had  before incurring penalties. Players in Rounds 11-20 are permitted to sign for $125,000, but anything above has to be deducted from the bonus pool.
The Jays could have been trying to save money for 11th-rounder Jared Spencer, 12th-rounder Blaine Bullard and their final pick, high school outfielder Ty Peeples. Spencer is a 22-year-old lefty out of Texas who was ranked No. 113 by MLB Pipeline while Bullard is an 18-year-old outfielder from the same state with a ranking of 120. Peeples just made the cut at No. 242.
Some of the savings also could be used to up the offers to Parker and Piasentin in an effort to convince them to forego college and turn pro instead.
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