With the All Star break behind us and the non-waiver trade deadline looming large a little more than a week in the future, this is the time of year when even those who are not prospect hounds look towards the farm.
The current speculation is that between the absence of a true impact player to acquire, and the management team’s interest in rebuilding the stockpile of impact prospects, the more highly regarded top tier guys – Sean Reid-Foley, Conner, Greene, Jon Harris, Justin Maese, Anthony Alford, Rowdy Tellez, Max Pentecost, Vlad Guerrero Jr, Richard Urena – aren’t going anywhere. You can throw Dalton Pompey into that too.
Those guys, not in that order, are the top nine guys in the mid-season update to Baseball America’s Top 10 Jays prospect list. Tenth on the list is Francisco Rios who wasn’t even in their Top 30 over the winter. If there’s one guy that you want to place a small wager will be involved in a trade this week – that’s your guy.
Another factor: between Alford having been hindered for the entire first half by injury, and Rowdy Tellez having sustained an injury that will definitely keep him out of action past the deadline, they are not well situated to be traded at maximum value.
Pitchers of the Week
1. Sean Reid-Foley (20) – RHP – Dunedin (A Advanced)
Week: 1 GS , 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
YTD: 18 G , 101 IP, 67 H, 28 ER, 31 BB, 113 K 2.50 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9
Reid-Foley has risen to the #1 spot on BA’s mid-season list and only seems to be getting better. He had one bad outing on the 14th but to show you how he’s dominated FSL opponents, he has given up nine earned runs in seven Dunedin starts, and six of the nine were in that one game. Apart from it, he has a 0.72 ERA and 11.57 K/9. The key to his big step forward this year was discovering the mechanical adjustments necessary to control and command the baseball. Coming into this season he had walked 5.8 batter per nine innings. This year it’s down more than half to 2.8 and since May 31 it’s an incredible 1.6 BB/9. That’ll play.
2. Angel Perdomo (22) – LHP – Lansing (A)
Week: 2 GS , 11 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 13 K
YTD: 16 GS, 84 IP, 57 H, 25 ER, 34 BB, 109 K, 2.68 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 11.7 K/9, 3.6 BB/9
The thing to notice about this week’s result from the oft-admired (at least by me) Perdomo is that zero – the one next to “BB.” Coming into the week, Perdomo had walked at least one batter in every appearance. This week he had two in which he walked none and yet he retained the strikeout numbers. If this is the sign of something new, and not an aberration,then an already good prospect becomes that much better. This is another guy that might be traded this week, but I won’t be sad if he’s not. I’ve got a good feeling about him.
3. Conner Greene (21) – RHP – New Hampshire (AA)
Week: 2 GS , 12 IP, 12 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 8 K
YTD: 19 GS, 99 IP, 96 H, 37 ER, 49 BB, 65 K, 3.36 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 4.5 BB/9
Greene is a great illustration of the frustrations (and potential errors) of “scouting the stat line.” Last year’s walk and strikeout rate in Lansing and Dunedin combined look like this: 8.4 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 in 107.1 innings. This year’s combined total you can see above. Scouting the stats suggest that he’s regressed. But every time I hear scouts comment on him they don’t seem worried. Some suggest that he’s in one of those “working on things for the team” spells in which the organization wants a player to, for example, refine a particular pitch or adjust his mechanics, and that those changes account for different statistical results. Time will tell. Still, his first two AA starts this year were rough, and these two were noticeably better. It would be nice if he found a groove.
Hitters of the Week
1. Dalton Pompey (23) – CF – Buffalo (AAA)
Week: 12/28, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 SB, 4 BB, 6 K, .429 AVG, .500 OBP, .643 SLG
Season: 63/212, 10 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 13 SB, 22 BB, 43 K .297 AVG, .366 OBP, .382 SLG
I’ve mentioned before how several Toronto prospects seem to co-ordinate their turn arounds from slow starts right around May 8, and Pompey is one of them. Through May 7 he had a .204 BA and a .515 OPS, but since then he’s slashing .321/.381/.424/.805 in 42 games. He could still stand to boost up his power production lest he end up with Ben Revere comparisons, but consistent playing time has been good for his stroke.
2. Conner Panas (23) – OF – Lansing
Week: 8/18, 4 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 SB, 2 BB, 3 K, .444 AVG, .500 OBP, .667 SLG
YTD: 49/190, 8 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 2 SB, 31 BB, 61 K, .258 AVG, .373 OBP, .453 SLG
Panas made it well into mid-June before finally getting and keeping his batting average above the Mendoza line. Since then his OPS is 1.005 in 31 games. The Toronto native has a ways to go to make the prospect lists, and he’d probably get more respect if he had a true defensive position, but he was a ninth round pick so maybe there’s something there.
3. Nash Knight (23) – 3B/2B – Bluefield (Rookie)
Week: 11/26, 0 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 SB, 0 BB, 4 K, .423 AVG, .423 OBP, .615 SLG
YTD: 30/72, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 1 SB, 9 BB, 13 K, .417 AVG, .488 OBP, .597 SLG
A part of me didn’t want to recognize this guy, because I know all the caveats. He was a non-drafted free agent signed last year who is in his second professional season. He’s 23 years old and playing in short season ball which makes him 3 or 4 years too old for the level. If the Jays really believed that they’d uncovered something special, he’d probably be playing in Lansing by now. But he’s flirting with a .500 OBP and may never be recognized again, so here’s one for the blue-collar guy.
Other Minor Notes
Bluefield hooked up with Greenville for a six hour plus, 20 inning marathon last Sunday. The top-of-the-order hitters accumulated ten plate appearances during the game and Knight went 4/9 and needed a double to have hit for the cycle. Four relief pitchers combined for 13 scoreless innings out of the bullpen before a fifth gave up the winning run and Greenville won 5-4
Don’t look now but Anthony Alford is waking up. In his last 10 games (including Friday night) he’s hitting .343/.477/.571/1.o48
Another guy for you to take a good look at is Danny Barnes. There’s a lot of interesting bullpen arms, for one reason or the other, in the system but here’s a guy who’s sporting a 0.91 ERA and 0.55 WHIP across two high levels, while running up a K/9 over nine and an 11:1 K:BB rate.
Other Stat Lines of Interest
HITTERS
Last Week
| Hitter | Age | Pos. | Lvl | G | AVG | OBP | SLG | HR | SB | BB | K | TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowdy Tellez | 21 | 1B | AA | 4 | .214 | .214 | .357 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Richard Urena | 21 | SS | A+ | 7 | .333 | .440 | .619 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| Anthony Alford | 21 | CF | A+ | 7 | .250 | .379 | .458 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| Vlad Guerrero, Jr | 17 | 3B | R+ | 5 | .333 | .333 | .444 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Max Pentecost | 23 | DH | A | 5 | .263 | .300 | .474 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Juan Kelly | 21 | 1B | A | 6 | .278 | .350 | .388 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Bo Bichette | 18 | IF | R | 4 | .583 | .615 | 1.167 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
Season
| Hitter | Age | Pos. | Lvl | G | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | HR | SB | BB | K | TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowdy Tellez | 21 | 1B | AA | 85 | 235 | .292 | .394 | .498 | 13 | 3 | 46 | 66 | 147 |
| Richard Urena | 21 | SS | A+ | 87 | 375 | .295 | .346 | .435 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 59 | 153 |
| Anthony Alford | 21 | CF | A+ | 57 | 235 | .203 | .307 | .290 | 3 | 12 | 28 | 77 | 61 |
| Vlad Guerrero, Jr | 17 | 3B | R | 25 | 115 | .263 | .332 | .478 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 44 | 46 |
| Max Pentecost | 23 | DH | A | 51 | 215 | .296 | .362 | .439 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 40 | 86 |
| Juan Kelly | 21 | 1B | A | 85 | 336 | .278 | .345 | .483 | 10 | 7 | 30 | 75 | 160 |
| Bo Bichette | 18 | IF | R | 20 | 81 | .421 | .457 | .724 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 55 |
PITCHERS
Last Week
| Pitcher | Age | Pos. | Lvl | G | ERA | K/9 | BB/9 | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Hutchison | 25 | SP | AAA | 1 | 24.55 | 12.3 | 0.0 | 3.64 |
| Shane Dawson | 22 | SP | AA | 1 | 6.00 | 6.0 | 4.5 | 1.00 |
| Francisco Rios | 21 | SP | A+ | 1 | 1.80 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.80 |
| Jon Harris | 22 | SP | A | 1 | 1.73 | 5.2 | 0.0 | 0.77 |
| Ryan Borucki | 22 | SP | A | 1 | 5.40 | 7.2 | 3.6 | 1.40 |
| Justin Maese | 19 | SP | A | 1 | 6.00 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.33 |
| Patrick Murphy | 21 | SP | R+ | 1 | 6.75 | 13.5 | 6.8 | 1.75 |
Season
| Pitcher | Age | Pos. | Lvl | G | ERA | K/9 | BB/9 | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Hutchison | 25 | SP | AAA | 16 | 3.30 | 10.0 | 3.1 | 0.84 |
| Shane Dawson | 22 | SP | AA | 17 | 3.69 | 7.2 | 5.1 | 1.58 |
| Francisco Rios | 21 | SP | A+ | 17 | 1.95 | 8.0 | 1.9 | 0.91 |
| Jon Harris | 22 | SP | A | 16 | 2.23 | 7.8 | 2.6 | 1.16 |
| Ryan Borucki | 22 | SP | A | 19 | 5.22 | 7.3 | 2.7 | 1.26 |
| Justin Maese | 19 | SP | A | 6 | 2.80 | 5.6 | 0.6 | 0.93 |
| Patrick Murphy | 21 | SP | R | 14 | 3.18 | 7.6 | 4.1 | 1.18 |
Lead Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports