MLB Draft 2012: Why Marcus Stroman Will Go Down as Best Pick of First Round

Marcus Stroman may come closer to the five-foot mark than he does to Randy Johnson, but he's still going to have a successful major league career.

And considering he dropped to the Toronto Blue Jays at pick No. 22 in the MLB draft, he will soon be seen as an absolute steal. 

Even though the Duke product doesn't have a towering frame, and thus can't create the best angles, he absolutely dominated as the Blue Devils' best pitcher.

In 14 starts this season, Stroman compiled a 2.39 ERA, and blew away 136 hitters in just 98 innings. That's a strikeout-per-nine ratio of 12.5, which was third in all of college baseball.

And when you see his repertoire of pitches, it's not surprising how he completely overwhelmed hitters in college. 

Stroman's fastball doesn't currently have a ton of movement on it, but it sits in the low 90s and at times hits 94-95 mph. It has some late life to it, and as a result can be particularly deceptive, even though his height prevents him from changing planes. 

His best pitch is easily his slider. Not only can he vary the speed of this nasty pitch (he hits anywhere from 81-87 mph with it), but he can throw it effectively to either right or left-handed hitters. It even has a little vertical movement to it, which makes it especially dominating.

The slider is Stroman's strikeout pitch, and will easily be his go-to pitch when he gets ahead in counts. It's a plus-plus pitch, and it's the reason he will be such a legitimate strikeout pitcher in the majors. 

Throw in a decent cutter and changeup, and Stroman has a good arsenal of pitches he can turn to, although the fastball and slider is all he'll need for the role he's likely going to step into—the role of a closer.

Stroman is already 21 years old. He's mature, he has experience, he has good mechanics and he'll be able to stroll through the minors fairly quickly.

Because his size will likely prevent him from sticking as a major league starter, Stroman could conceivably help the Blue Jays late this year, or early next year, out of the bullpen. He's the surest thing in this draft, and he'll likely land with a big league club before any other prospect in this draft.

In 10 years, guys like Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton may be looked at as more valuable than Stroman, but as it stands now, the Duke product is the safest and smartest pick.

This future dominating closer will have the Blue Jays laughing all the way to the top of the AL East. 

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