This weekend marks the rough halfway point of the full-season teams. Dunedin is in the midst of the Florida State League All-Star break, the Midwest League break will idle the Lansing team starting Monday, and of course, as noted yesterday, the short season squads are set to begin play. That makes it the time of year when you may begin to see promotions in earnest. One member of the most recent variation of the Lansing three. has moved up already, and there’s an opening for another to get the call in the coming week. I expect the third will be in Dunedin by the time the major leaguers hit their break. On the other hand, although we’ve seen some of the lower profile hitters move, the higher profile guys have not yet forced the issue.
Pitchers of the Week
1. Sean Reid-Foley (20) – RHP – Dunedin (High A)
Week: 2 GS , 14.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 16 K 0.64 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 10.3 K/9, 2.6 BB/9
YTD: 12 GS, 65 IP, 45 H 19 ER, 25 BB, 71 K, 2.63 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, 3.5 BB/9
Of SRF’s 2 starts this week, the first was in Lansing and the second came Thursday night, after his promotion was announced earlier in the day, for Dunedin. In back-to-back starts in mid-May, he was knocked around a bit but in the five starts since, he’s averaged 7 IP per start, had an ERA of 1.00, a WHIP of 0.66, more than a strikeout an inning and a K/BB ratio of 6.33/1 – in other words, overpowering. As it stands, I think he’s clearly the Blue Jays best pitching prospect.
2. Jeremy Gabryszwiski (23) – RHP – New Hampshire (AA)
Week: 2 GS , 13 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 14 K
YTD: 83 IP, 74 H, 29 ER, 18 BB, 54 K, 3.14 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 2.0 BB/9
As a general rule of thumb, players drafted through the end of the third round are usually considered the guys that you should expect to be legitimate prospects, even if no one else in the draft turns out to be. By that measure, perhaps no one in recent memory has gotten less respect for his work than Gaby. It may surprise you to learn that he was a second round pick in the 2011 draft (albeit the 7th player they drafted that year). Probably the lack of respect as an actual promising prospect is a result of a high contact rate, and lack of “sexy” strikeout totals, both factors prospect watchers give a lot of weight to, rightly so. This year, his H/9 figure is the best it’s been since 2013, but his already modest strikeout rate is down too, sitting at 5.9 so far.
This is what makes his past week all the more remarkable. 14 k in 13 IP over his last two games is wildly out of character, but still worthy of recognition.
3. Francisco Rios (21) – RHP – Dunedin (High A)
Week: 1 GS , 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
YTD: 13 GS, 75.1 IP, 63 H, 16 ER, 17 BB, 77 K, 1.91 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, 2.0 BB/9
Since his promotion to Dunedin, Rios has barely slowed. His K rate is down from an insane 12.9/9 in Lansing to 6.3 in Dunedin, but in development terms, it’s probably good for him to adjust to that challenge. He’s otherwise still enjoying plenty of success.
Hitters of the Week
1. Juan Kelly (21)- 1B – Lansing (Low A)
Week: 10/31, 2 1B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 1 SB, 3 BB, 6 K, .323 AVG, .382 OBP, .581 SLG
Season: 60/219, 21 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 5 SB, 22 BB, 50 K .274 AVG, .340 OBP, .502 SLG
Maybe the most notable thing about Kelly is that he has 21 doubles in 219 at bats, which is one off of the Midwest league lead and almost twice his previous career high. This is also a kid that walked 52 times (against 30 strikeouts) in 65 games in the DSL in 2013 so he’s not your typical Dominican hacker. If he keeps this up, don’t be surprised if he creeps into the bottom third of the major top 30 prospect lists in the off-season.
2. Dwight Smith, Jr. (23) – LF – New Hampshire (AA)
Week: 8/23, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 0 SB, 1 BB, 4 k, .348 AVG, .375 OBP, .565 SLG
YTD: 62/223, 16 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 3 SB, 20 BB, 47 K, .278 AVG, .336 OBP, .422 SLG
Smith is making his second appearance of the season in our updates. He quietly (I actually hadn’t included him in the honorees until I started inputting stats in the chart and realized he was deserving of more recognition) put together another excellent week. He’s also riding a 14 game hitting streak.
3. Jake Thomas (22) – RF – Lansing
Week: 13/35, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 SB, 1 BB, 5 k, .371 AVG, .389 OBP, .429 SLG
YTD: 19/51, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 0 SB, 3 BB, 8 K, .373 AVG, .400 OBP, .471 SLG
Jake Thomas was only added to the Lansing roster June 7 when the organization decided Jake Anderson wasn’t cutting it in the Midwest League, and he got off to a scorching start. He was an unheralded 27th round pick last year so this is likely a mirage, but in a down week for impressive hitting performances, I’ll give him his props.
Other Minor Notes
In case you didn’t notice the update to the Short Season preview post, word came from Vancouver broadcaster Rob Fai yesterday that Matt Smoral would begin the season in the Canadians bullpen, though there’s some uncertainty whether he’ll be stretched out. 2013 second rounder Patrick Murphy, trying to come back from years of injury setbacks, had been pitching in the Lansing bullpen, but was stepped back to Vancouver. I speculate that he too may be seen as a candidate for a starting role, possibly in a piggyback arrangement. To no one’s surprise, top prospect Justin Maese got the opening day start.
Other Stat Lines of Interest
HITTERS
Last Week
| Hitter | Age | Pos. | Lvl | G | AVG | OBP | SLG | HR | SB | BB | K | TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton Pompey | 23 | CF | AAA | 5 | .150 | .150 | .150 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Rowdy Tellez | 21 | 1B | AA | 3 | .364 | .417 | .364 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Dwight Smith, Jr | 23 | LF | AA | 6 | .348 | .375 | .565 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Richard Urena | 20 | SS | A+ | 6 | .310 | .333 | .379 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| Max Pentecost | 23 | DH | A | 5 | .238 | .333 | .273 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
Season
| Hitter | Age | Pos. | Lvl | G | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | HR | SB | BB | K | TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton Pompey | 23 | CF | AAA | 43 | 182 | .287 | .359 | .348 | 1 | 10 | 18 | 33 | 57 |
| Rowdy Tellez | 21 | 1B | AA | 60 | 247 | .243 | .357 | .443 | 9 | 1 | 37 | 50 | 93 |
| Dwight Smith, Jr | 23 | LF | AA | 57 | 243 | .278 | .336 | .422 | 4 | 3 | 20 | 47 | 94 |
| Richard Urena | 20 | SS | A+ | 57 | 247 | .258 | .310 | .399 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 39 | 93 |
| Max Pentecost | 23 | DH | A | 31 | 130 | .252 | .313 | .303 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 23 | 36 |
PITCHERS
Last Week
| Pitcher | Age | Pos. | Lvl | G | ERA | K/9 | BB/9 | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Hutchison | 25 | SP | AAA | 1 | 3.00 | 10.5 | 3.0 | 0.83 |
| Conner Greene | 21 | SP | A+ | 1 | 1.50 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 0.83 |
| Jon Harris | 22 | SP | A | 1 | 1.80 | 12.6 | 5.4 | 1.00 |
| Angel Perdomo | 22 | SP | A | 1 | 12.46 | 14.5 | 6.2 | 2.31 |
| Ryan Borucki | 22 | SP | A | 2 | 9.00 | 11.0 | 3.0 | 1.44 |
Season
| Pitcher | Age | Pos. | Lvl | G | ERA | K/9 | BB/9 | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Hutchison | 25 | SP | AAA | 12 | 3.12 | 9.7 | 3.3 | 1.11 |
| Conner Greene | 21 | SP | A+ | 13 | 2.97 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 1.46 |
| Jon Harris | 22 | SP | A | 10 | 2.30 | 8.8 | 3.8 | 1.26 |
| Angel Perdomo | 22 | SP | A | 13 | 2.45 | 11.5 | 4.1 | 1.06 |
| Ryan Borucki | 22 | SP | A | 13 | 7.36 | 6.4 | 3.7 | 1.29 |
Lead Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports