With the 66th pick in the 2016 MLB amateur draft, the Toronto Blue Jays landed themselves a highly touted progeny in Bo Bichette, the son of four-time All-Star Dante Bichette and the consensus top high school player in Florida.
Turns out Bo is pretty excited about coming to the Six.
"The Blue Jays were the top team that I wanted to go to,'' the 18-year-old told Rodney Page of the Tampa Bay Times after being taken in the second round Thursday. "They were the best as far as player development."
Despite verbally committing to Arizona State, Bo - whose older brother, Dante Jr., was drafted 51st overall by the New York Yankees in 2011 - the 6-foot, 185-pound infielder has no intention of going to school. In fact, Bo said he might even take a below-slot signing bonus from the Blue Jays to get a deal done.
"I may end up taking a little less (in signing bonus), but this is the best fit," said Bo. "I actually turned down about four offers earlier in the draft because they weren't good fits."
As a senior at Lakewood HS - about a 40-minute drive from Toronto's spring training complex in Dunedin - Bo hit .569 with 13 home runs, earning plus grades for his hit tool from certain scouts and even being labelled a "first-round talent" by Chris Crawford of Baseball Prospectus.
"He's just a special kid," Lakewood coach Jayce Ganchou said. "He's the complete package."
— Bo Bichette (@boknows1919) March 9, 2016
The new faces in Toronto's front office are counting on it. In recent years, the Blue Jays' minor-league player-development staff hasn't had much success turning young position players into major-league assets, as none of D.J. Davis, Mitch Nay, Jacob Anderson, or Dwight Smith - each of whom went in the first round (or supplemental round) in 2011-12 - have made it to Toronto or established themselves as top prospects.
