Toronto Blue Jays fans and Duke fans have been waiting since draft day for today’s news. This was the news I was hoping for today when Marcus Stroman tweeted  last night

All day, I kept checking Twitter, waiting for the news. Then it came

Stroman was the Blue Jays second first round draft pick (number 22) in June’s MLB Draft. It has been reported that he signed for the recommended slot at $1.8 million. Now that he has signed, the Blue Jays have signed all of their picks through the first ten rounds.

Stroman leaves Duke as one of the program’s best pitchers of all-time. This past season, he had a 2.39 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 98 innings.

Let the time clock begin to when we will see Stroman donning a Blue Jays jersey in his big league debut.

Duke's Marcus Stroman via Marc Kirsch

On Wednesday, Duke junior ace Marcus Stroman was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s All-America team, third team to be exact. He becomes just the ninth Blue Devil ever to earn All-America honors and first since 1999 (Vaughn Schill).

It has been a season of awards for Stroman, who was also named a Louisville Slugger All-American (second team). He was an All-ACC first team selection. He led the nation in strikeouts with 136.

The highest honor came on Monday, June 4th during the MLB Draft, when he became the first Blue Devil ever to be drafted in the first round. Stroman was selected 22nd overall by the Toronto Blue Jays. He has said that he will let his advisors take care of the contract negotiations, but he has less than a month to sign. With Duke looking for a new coach, it is very unlikely that Stroman would return for his senior season. I am looking forward to getting the chance to see Stroman pitch either in the minor leagues or in the big leagues with Toronto at some point this season.

Check out a few articles about Stroman relating to the draft and his selection by the Blue Jays:

Blue Jays scouting director says Marcus Stroman is on fast track  Long Island Newsday

Why Marcus Stroman Will Go Down as Best Pick of First Round Bleacher Report

Duke's Marcus Stroman via Marc Kirsch

I received my Baseball America (the May 14-29 issue) in the mail this week and had a chance to read it yesterday. In the “On Campus” section, they have “four players on the rise”.

The headline for the section?

“Move to Friday starter job unleashes Stroman”

Yup. That’s Duke ace Marcus Stroman, who splashed onto the scene with an impressive showing with Team USA last summer. He is now expected to be just Duke’s second MLB first round draft pick EVER. Even if the Blue Devils fail to make the NCAA Tournament (or even the ACC Tournament), which they haven’t been to since 1961.

The article talks about Stroman growing up in New York and choosing Duke over “baseball factories”.

“It was Duke all the way,” he said. “I knew I could get a good education and I liked the idea of playing in the ACC.”

The article can only be viewed by insiders online, but I will provide the link just in case any readers want to try and access it. If you cannot access it, I will provide you with some of the highlights.

» Continue reading “Stroman One of Four Players on the Rise”