If the Jays draft a high-school pitcher, I fully expect to turn around and see dogs and cats living together. The world will officially have gone Loopy McNutbar.

So the sandwich round will likely end up being around 30 picks, which effectively makes it the draft's 2nd round. 

This is a significant point that shouldn't be overlooked. The expansion of the "sandwich round" has proportionately reduced the impact of the draft's normal 2nd and 3rd rounds, such that picks in these rounds become that much less significant. I have a feeling the Rangers aren't done yet, and that the Catalanotto first-rounder could yet go somewhere else. The Rangers' 2nd-rounder, as Pistol points out, is in reality a third-round pick, and therefore that much less valuable. Cross your fingers that the Mets get Barry Zito.

This development also increases the significance of the Elias rankings of free agents, since they help determine where a team that loses a Type-A player ends up in the sandwich round. When Justin Speier rates ahead of Juliio Lugo, Rich Aurilia comes ahead of Frank Thomas, and Moises Alou is considered the most valuable free agent on the market, something needs to be recalculated.

The A's have dipped into the HS pitching pool the last 2 years so it wouldn't surprise me if the Jays follow suit since we know that Beane and JP talk.

Slot money for sandwich picks in the past has been about $1M.  I wonder if that will still hold for what are mostly going to be glorified 2nd rounders.  The Jays'  top 7 picks as they stand will cost about $7-8M to sign if slot money stays the same and they don't go the cheapo Moneyball route where the A's couldn't afford to sign all their extra picks for slot money.  That's $6M more than the past year's draft (Snider alone).  This cost may have been the main reason that Molina wasn't offered arbitration even though he was on the verge of signing with SF.  The sandwich and a 2nd may have added another $1.5M to the total.

"Biggest.Sandwich.Ever "

I became very aroused reading this title; imagine my disappointment when I found it was about some stupid amateur baseball draft.

I received some clarification that the order of selection in the sandwich round is different than stated above.  Here is what happens:

The selection order in the compensation round follows the same order as the general order of selection (worst record to best). For example if Tampa Bay were to lose a type 'A' or type 'B' free agent, they would have the first selection in the compensation round regardless of where that free agent ranked according to Elias. The next selection would belong to the next highest drafting team that lost an 'A' or 'B' free agent. In looking at the current situation, the Cubs would have pick #31 based on their 3rd place in the selection order (TB and KC did not lose any free agents deemed worthy of compensation) for losing Juan Pierre. Pick #32 would go to Washington for Soriano, pick #33 to Arizona for Counsell and so on.

If we assume that 20 teams lost players then the Jays would likely pick around #10 in the sandwich round, then at 24 and 28, approx.  Not quite as good as we thought.

Gerry,

I want to make sure that I understand correctly.  Are you saying that as it stands now the Jays would get (approximately) the 40th, 54th and 58th picks, NOT the 38th, 46th and 50th picks?

Thanks.

Pistol has done the math and he says the Jays have the 42nd, 52nd and 55th picks.