INF Jason Willow, 24th round (728th overall) - Baltimore Orioles

With their 24th round pick (708th overall), the Baltimore Orioles selected infielder Jason Willow.

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Hometown: Victoria, B.C.

Height/Weight: 6' 2", 175

College Commitment: UC Santa Barbara

Teams: Victoria Mariners, Canadian Junior National Team, Royals Scout Team

Coaches: Mike Chewpoy, Greg Hamilton

Scout: Brandon Verley

Twitter Handle: @Jason_willow7

Slot Money: N/A

Scouting Reports:

Perfect Game

Willow is a lanky 6-foot-2, 175-pound infielder who is the latest top Canadian prospect from British Columbia and the Langley Blaze program. He has very limited exposure to scouts in the United States but has made the most of it, showing impressive raw bat speed and power potential at last summer’s Area Code Games, especially when challenged by pitchers with plus velocity fastballs. Willow’s power comes pretty easily and he has plenty of room to get stronger and fill out physically.

History shows that players from the Langley/British Columbia background traditionally get drafted higher than many anticipate, as some teams are better positioned to heavily scout them over an extended period. That could definitely be the case with Willow.

Perfect Game, David Rawnsley

A “willowy” 6-foot-2, 175-pound athlete with long arms and legs who gets lots of whip and raw bat speed to his swing and impacted the ball very hard in batting practice as well. He’s a young Canadian to watch carefully. A Canadian standout at the event, he continued to swing a hot bat, just missing a long home run that went foul and making hard contact in a couple of other at-bats. He’s a very interesting young athlete and one that scouts hadn’t seen before.

Baseball America Scouting Report, Hudson Belinsky

In his BP rounds, Jason Willow showed a short, slightly downhill right-handed stroke geared for backspin, and he generated impressive life off the bat, showing power and the ability to hit line drives to the opposite field gap and up the middle. Willow has shown impressive power potential, both in batting practice and in game action, but he’s also swung and missed at a few pitches on the outer half.