By Mason McRae
Coming in at number 17 is an interesting player in Elvis Luciano, the Rule 5 pick for the Jays an offseason ago. Luciano was the first player born in the 21st Century to make it to the majors, and was easily the youngest player in the game on Opening Day. So, failure was expected, unfortunately.
Luciano’s rookie season was derailed by an elbow strain. Prior to that, he posted a 6.51 ERA, and a 2.02 WHIP in 20 appearances. In 27.2 IP, he gave up 33 H, 20 ER, and 4 HR while striking out 22 and walking 23. He definitely showed some flashes on top of some major flaws. But those come with a 19 year old at the major league level; he can and should be a factor in the Jays bullpen in the coming seasons as long as he figures out his command and develops a swing and miss pitch.
Elvis’ current grade is a 30, with a 40 future grade. Those equal out to a 35.6 total grade.
