The Toronto Blue Jays have signed LSU junior first baseman/ catcher Sean Ochinko, The Advocate reported Wednesday.
Ochinko will report to Toronto’s rookie Class A team, the Gulf Coast Blue Jays, in Dunedin, Fla.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri told The Daily Reveille early Wednesday afternoon he had not talked to Ochinko yet about him signing a contract. But he isn’t surprised Ochinko is leaving Baton Rouge.
“He kind of caught me off guard too. I know that he is planning on signing,” Mainieri said. “What may have happened is he may have already left to join up with the team and probably going to sign a contract when he arrives. I’m going to actually call him here in a minute if I can verify that. But I’m sure if he hasn’t already signed, it’s imminent.”
Mainieri also expects left fielder/first baseman Ryan Schimpf, second baseman DJ LeMahieu and right fielder Jared Mitchell to sign with their respective major league teams.
Schimpf was also drafted by the Blue Jays in the fifth round. Mitchell and LeMahieu were both drafted by Chicago teams — Mitchell in the first round to the White Sox and LeMahieu in the second to the Cubs.
“The one guy that is going to be a question on whether not he’ll sign or come back will be Blake Dean,” Mainieri said. “We’re just going to have to let it run its course here a little bit. Something will probably be decided on him in the next week or so.”Ochinko is the third player the LSU baseball team has lost since winning its sixth national championship in Omaha, Neb., last week.Freshman pitcher Randy Zeigler will transfer to Bossier City Community College, while sophomore pitcher Jordan Nicholson did not meet academic requirements and will transfer to another school.
Contributing Writer David Helman contributed to this report.
 
—-Contact Robert Stewart at rstewart@lsureveille.com