TORONTO -- The Blue Jays left Day 1 of the 2020 MLB Draft “ecstatic” after landing Austin Martin and feel they found excellent value in Rounds 2-5, but there’s still plenty of work to be done following the shortened five-round Draft.

Toronto was aggressive early on Sunday, when non-drafted free agents could sign with any team for a bonus capped at $20,000. This new wrinkle, a result of the coronavirus pandemic, put teams on a relatively even playing field to compete for talent, with thin margins separating them.

• Team-by-team: Undrafted free agent signing tracker

The Blue Jays’ recent history of player development with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and soon Nate Pearson was an important card to have in their hand. The club’s decision to raise Minor League pay by 50 percent did not go unnoticed by Draft prospects and agents, either.

For first-year director of amateur scouting Shane Farrell, this added another layer to an already unique landscape, but the club was confident in the work it put in prior to the shutdown and while operating remotely since March.

“We’ve spent a lot of time researching that group that we think will likely fall outside of the top five rounds,” Farrell said prior to the Draft. “Our area scouts have done a tremendous job digging and continuing to build relationships with those players, just trying to get a sense of where they’re at in their careers and their education.”

Here’s a look at three non-drafted free agent signings that the club officially announced on Thursday. 

Harrison Ray, 2B, Vanderbilt
Ray was a teammate of Austin Martin’s at Vanderbilt, where the two were close, and they will continue that journey together with the Blue Jays’ organization. Much like Martin, Ray played multiple positions at Vanderbilt, including second base, third and outfield.

Over 66 games in 2019, Ray hit .276 with a .754 OPS, including 24 stolen bases on 24 attempts. Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 441 prospect in the 2020 class, Ray, a senior, would likely have been selected if the Draft ran its standard length. Ray was also named to the 2020 SEC Baseball Community Service Team in recognition of his efforts as part of Nashville’s tornado relief and his work to support Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.

MacKenzie Mueller, OF, Baylor
Mueller, a senior from Texas, played in the 2009 and '10 Little League World Series as a member of Team Europe while living in Germany. He was a two-time All-State pitcher in high school and a Texas state champion in his final season.

Now an outfielder, Mueller opened his career at Rice before a stop at Cisco College in Texas. There, in 2018, Mueller hit a whopping .443 with 15 home runs over 51 games. “Mack” eventually landed at Baylor in '19 and was off to a hot start this season, with a .931 OPS over 16 games before the season was shut down.

Zac Cook, UTL, Texas-Arlington
The versatile Cook was off to a red-hot start in his first 16 games this season, with a 1.123 OPS and four home runs -- already a career high for him at UTA.

Given Cook’s ability to play around the diamond and the success he enjoyed early in his senior season, he could hit the ground running in the lower levels of Toronto’s system when Minor League play resumes.