The 2009 Major League baseball draft begins this Tuesday June 9th 2009, and the Toronto Blue Jays are primed to have a good year.

The Jays possess five of the top one hundred and four picks, with their first round selection coming at number twenty.

Today I will give you my opinion on who the Jays will draft first round and give you, the reader, some background knowledge on said player. This way you can thank me in the future for knowing about this young ball player when he makes his major league debut as a Toronto Blue Jay.

The Jays and General Manager J.P Ricciardi are notorious for selecting players out of college, rather than taking a high risk, high reward chance on a potential star straight out of high school.

In 2008 the Jays selected first baseman David Cooper out of the University of California. Cooper is currently playing for the Jays Double A affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Hes batting .240 with 2 HR, 18 RBI’s in 204 AB.

The Jays are also big on taking pitchers in the draft.

Obviously, the Jays are not getting their hands on the likes of San Diego State’s stud pitcher Stephen Strasburg, as he will most likely be going first overall to the Washington Nationals, and signing the largest first year player signing bonus in history (estimated at 56 million dollars).

This is why I predict that the Jays will take the following player in the first round this year:

Could Indiana's Eric Arnett be going to the Jays in the 2009 MLB Draft?

Eric Arnett – Indiana Hoosiers – 6′5, 225LBS, Right Handed Pitcher

In Arnett’s junior collegiate year he was named the Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Year and a First Team All-Big Ten selection.

Arnett was a finalist for the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award and a semifinalist for USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award.

Arnett was named a Second Team All-American by Louisville Slugger and Collegiate Baseball News. Arnett became the first pitcher in Indiana school history to be named conference Pitcher of the Year and the first to earn All-America honors.

Arnett also earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team and tied the school record for wins (12) and strikeouts (109).

Arnett’s final numbers for his junior year were an outstanding 12-2 with a 2.50 ERA, with six complete games and a .212 batting average against.

You can see why the Jays are big on this guy and due to the massive amount of other stud pitchers expected to be drafted ahead of him, my prediction for the Toronto Blue Jays 20th overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft is Indiana’s Eric Arnett.

Keep your eyes on this spot for my analysis of the Jays next pick which comes in at number 37, and is one of the compensatory picks we received from the New York Yankees after they acquired A.J Burnett.