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	<title>Toronto &#187; Andy Burns</title>
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	<description>Comprehensive coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays</description>
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		<title>Blue Jays Activate Estrada and Morales, Option Loup and Burns</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/22/blue-jays-activate-estrada-and-morales-option-loup-and-burns/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jul 2016 19:24:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gideon Turk]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aaron Loup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andy Burns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dustin Antolin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Franklin Morales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marco Estrada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=4767</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays have announced that Marco Estrada and Franklin Morales have been activated off of the 15 and 60 day disabled lists, respectively, while Aaron Loup and Andy Burns have been optioned to AAA Buffalo to make room for the pair. To make room for Morales on the 40-man roster, RHP Dustin Antolin was [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays have announced that Marco Estrada and Franklin Morales have been activated off of the 15 and 60 day disabled lists, respectively, while Aaron Loup and Andy Burns have been optioned to AAA Buffalo to make room for the pair. To make room for Morales on the 40-man roster, RHP Dustin Antolin was designated for assignment.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays">@BlueJays</a> have reinstated Marco Estrada and Franklin Morales from the DL. Aaron Loup and Andy Burns have been optioned to <a href="https://twitter.com/BuffaloBisons">@BuffaloBisons</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/756568194903597058">July 22, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Estrada, 33, the Blue Jays ace, has been his dominant self this season, with a 2.93 ERA in 16 starts. He makes his return after a brief time on the disabled list with a back injury. While he has been away the Blue Jays have carried an eight man bullpen, and that will continue with Morales also getting the call up. It&#8217;s an interesting strategy for a team that has starting pitching staff that leads the majors in innings pitched, but it&#8217;s likely to change in the coming days as the team cannot continue to carry relievers who aren&#8217;t getting the job done.</p>
<p>Morales, 30, was signed by the Blue Jays on April 2nd of this year with hopes that he would help stabilize the situation in the bullpen. However, after making just two appearances and recording a grand total of two outs, he was placed on the disabled list with shoulder fatigue. He has been on a rehab assignment in the minor leagues for the past 30 days, but now that his allowed time has run out, the Blue Jays needed to make a decision; release him or call him up to the big leagues.</p>
<p>He has been good as recently as last season with the Kansas City Royals, when he pitched in 62 1/3 innings and recorded an ERA of 3.18. His repertoire consists of a four-seam fastball that averages 92 mph, a two-seamer at the same speed, a slider at 88 mph, and a curve at 75 mph. In two innings with the Dunedin Blue Jays during his rehab stint, Morales allowed one hit, walked two, an struck out three. For the Buffalo Bisons, he pitched nine innings with an ERA of 2.00, striking out six and walking two. With Brett Cecil struggling and Loup being optioned, Morales could start to become an integral member of the Blue Jays bullpen if he can retire left handed batters at a decent rate.</p>
<p>Loup, 28, has really struggled, and has been up and down between Buffalo and Toronto this season, with a 6.00 ERA in 10 games for Toronto. He hasn&#8217;t shown the ability to get batters out like he did from 2012-2014, another example of the volatility of relief pitchers.</p>
<p>Burns, 25, is a fringe player at this point, and it wouldn&#8217;t surprise me if he was back in Toronto another couple of times before being called up for good in September. He has yet to record his first major league hit, reaching base on a walk once in his seven big league plate appearances.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>The Blue Jays and Impending Roster Decisions</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/22/the-blue-jays-and-impending-roster-decisions/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jul 2016 11:24:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aaron Loup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andy Burns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bo Schultz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chris Colabello]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Darwin Barney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Franklin Morales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Junior Lake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Justin Smoak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ryan Goins]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=4733</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Toronto Blue Jays are playing rather well as of late and have launched themselves back into the upper echelon of the AL East. The team has hit its stride, but will have to shuffle some personnel with a handful of players set to return to the majors. While they should be getting their best [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Toronto Blue Jays are playing rather well as of late and have launched themselves back into the upper echelon of the AL East. The team has hit its stride, but will have to shuffle some personnel with a handful of players set to return to the majors. While they should be getting their best 25 guys on the roster and working the rest out later, there is some wiggle room in terms of who stays, who goes, and who plays where.</p>
<p>There are several routes the team could take in constructing their roster when all these players are ready to go, so let’s take a shot at it.</p>
<h3>Jose Bautista</h3>
<p>Most important is the return of Joey Bats. Adding Bautista to a group that’s clicking on all cylinders could produce the lethal lineup that many expected coming into the season. He homered in his first at bat in a rehab game on Wednesday and will move up to AAA Buffalo today.</p>
<p>Whether he wants to admit it or not, Bautista would do well to transition to first base or DH in the not-so-distant future. The problem is that the newly-extended Justin Smoak and Edwin Encarnacion have those two spots locked down. On days that Bautista DH’s (in a perfect world there’d be many) it pushes EE to first and Smoak to the bench. The other surplus comes in the outfield, as Bautista’s addition (temporarily) makes for five outfielders on the roster. The simple answer is to return Junior Lake to AAA though the team risks losing him on waivers. With all due respect to Lake, that’s a risk the team should be willing to take.</p>
<p>Losing Lake leaves some questions considering both Bautista and Michael Saunders should be spared from playing the field on a regular basis. Ezeqiuel Carrera has been scuffling and injured as of late but has still authored a fine season; barring a complete collapse he fits in fine as a fourth outfielder who’ll play more often than most. Wednesday’s experiment with Darwin Barney in left probably points to the end of Lake although Carerra’s nagging Achilles problem could prompt the team to keep him as insurance and demote Andy Burns instead. Having two regular outfielders in need of days off or DH time isn’t the best thing in the world, but the Jays can certainly patch together a working rotation with four outfielders plus Barney.</p>
<h3>Chris Colabello</h3>
<p>Colabello, set to return from his 80 game PED suspension, will present the most interesting challenge or the easiest out. While he could rejoin the Blue Jays at the end of the month, 80 games is a long time off and it’s doubtful that Colabello could jump right back in and be productive. The team could opt to keep him in the minors to work out the kinks and bring him up later, if they choose to bring him back up at all.</p>
<p>Colabello is ineligible for the postseason should the Jays qualify so they have to put some thought into whether he’s worth playing down the stretch. Do they try their best to get to October, an already projected outcome, at the expense of those who will actually have to play then? Or do they pass up potential gains to get players like Smoak regular at bats that might pay off in the postseason? That’s a delicate balancing act; one that the Jays might not want to deal with. They should be good enough to make the playoffs without adding the wildcard Colabello before September&#8217;s roster expansion, but stranger things have happened. There just aren&#8217;t many ways to fit Colabello unless one of the first base / DH spots opens up via injury (heaven forbid) or transaction (HEAVEN FORBID), making a triumphant return unlikely at this point.</p>
<p>Should the team decide he’s not worth using at the major league level this season it might be best just to release him once his suspension is up. This is a situation full of “ifs” in a year where the Jays don’t have time to mess around with the roster. Rather than have him kick around in the minors he’d be free to look for another job and would remove a source of potential distraction for the organization. Releasing Colabello would be like ripping off the Band-Aid; it’d be a quick end to a situation that could grow increasingly uneasy with time.</p>
<h3>Ryan Goins</h3>
<p>Goins has turned in a tough year, hitting just .176 / .216 / .308 to go with his 0.00 ERA. While he probably deserves to be in Buffalo based on merit, he seems to have carved out a spot in Toronto. If the team didn’t send him down during his struggles at the plate he’ll likely return to the big club at the expense of Burns (or Lake, depending on the Carrera business). That gives the Jays two backup middle infielders, though Barney can give Josh Donaldson a break at third base every once in a while.</p>
<h3>Franklin Morales</h3>
<p>Morales will have to be activated or released today; hopefully sometime after this is published. If forced to guess, I’d bet that he comes up for Aaron Loup. The Blue Jays have kept him on a rehab assignment for the maximum 30 days, so either they’ve either been killing time in hopes of a spot opening up organically or he’s really been struggling to get back to form. The smart money is probably on the former, as the only relievers with options remaining are Aaron Loup and Bo Schultz; neither of whom have played their way out of a job. Both have been adequate lately and it doesn’t seem like the Jays will carry three lefties. As a result, it’s pretty much a toss-up between Loup and Morales.</p>
<p>It might make the most sense to give Morales a chance to outperform Loup in the lefty specialist role. If he ends up being better, the Jays get improved production while keeping both in the organization. If he’s worse, they can release Morales and bring Loup back up. He’ll be kept on a short leash and the Jays will at least know what they’ve got before getting rid of him.</p>
<h3>Marco Estrada</h3>
<p>The staff ace will be activated on Friday, likely taking a spot from the bullpen. Bo Schultz probably gets sent down in the corresponding move, returning the team to five starters and seven relievers.</p>
<h3>The Shuffle</h3>
<p>To sum it all up, after all of the roster shuffling, here’s one guess as to what we’ll likely see.</p>
<ul>
<li>Franklin Morales to Toronto; Aaron Loup to Buffalo</li>
<li>Marco Estrada to Toronto; Bo Schultz to Buffalo</li>
<li>Jose Bautista to Toronto; Junior Lake to Buffalo</li>
<li>Ryan Goins to Toronto; Andy Burns to Buffalo</li>
<li>Colabello to the ether (at least until September)</li>
</ul>
<p>The Blue Jays are working their way back to full health and while that’s obviously a good thing, it does present some challenges in terms of roster construction. With the trade deadline approaching fast, there will surely be even more reshuffling. For now, there&#8217;s a couple paths forward. The team&#8217;s decision makers will have to navigate the forks in the road.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>UPDATE: Blue Jays option INF Matt Dominguez, Recall LHP Chad Girodo</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/05/04/girodo-dominguez-part-2/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/05/04/girodo-dominguez-part-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 May 2016 13:00:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gideon Turk]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andy Burns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chad Girodo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matt Dominguez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=2285</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[UPDATE: Heading into the series against the LA Dodgers, the Blue Jays have made the right move, selecting the contract of Andy Burns and optioning Ryan Tepera. This leaves them with a true utility player who can hit lefties, and a proper seven-man bullpen with two left-handed pitchers. Look for Burns to get some time in [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong></p>
<p>Heading into the series against the LA Dodgers, the Blue Jays have made the right move, selecting the contract of Andy Burns and optioning Ryan Tepera. This leaves them with a true utility player who can hit lefties, and a proper seven-man bullpen with two left-handed pitchers. Look for Burns to get some time in LF in place of Saunders, or at 3B with Donaldson serving as DH to rest his legs.</p>
<p>With the move, the Blue Jays now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays made a roster move following Tuesday night&#8217;s walk-off win against the Texas Rangers, sending Matt Dominguez back down to AAA Buffalo and recalling Chad Girodo to take his place.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash">#BlueJays</a> option Matt Dominguez and recall LHP Chad Girodo from Buffalo</p>
<p>&mdash; Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehazelmae/status/727697159613747200">May 4, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Girodo was optioned on April 24th for Drew Hutchison&#8217;s spot start, so today is the first day he was eligible to come back to the team after being away for 10 days. The move means the Blue Jays will now carry an eight man bullpen and go with a short, three-man bench. This would seem odd given that Michael Saunders and Russell Martin have both needed days off due to nagging injuries recently, but the move is likely only very temporary.</p>
<p>With Tuesday night&#8217;s game going into extra innings, four members of the bullpen had to pitch. The Blue Jays are also currently in the midst of a stretch of 29 games in 30 days, so giving the bullpen a fresh arm can&#8217;t hurt. Brett Cecil still looks like he isn&#8217;t himself, so getting another lefty in the &#8216;pen gives John Gibbons the option to use Girodo over Cecil against a tough lefty if he so chooses.</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t expect the Blue Jays to keep a short bench for long, as after Wednesday night, they will be facing two lefties over their next four games. As such, they may want to send RHP Ryan Tepera down &#8211; keeping Girodo to provide LHP depth behind Cecil &#8211;  and recall a platoon partner for Justin Smoak at first base. The player who would most likely fit this role is Andy Burns, as he has a history of success against left handed pitching in the minors:</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/05/Burns-LHP-updated.png"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-2286" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/05/Burns-LHP-updated.png" alt="Burns LHP updated" width="500" height="252" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left">The other option would be Jesus Montero, who has hit .292/.341/.429 over his major league career against lefties, but those numbers are heavily skewed toward the first couple seasons of his career, where he showed promise, something he hasn&#8217;t done recently. Burns is also very versatile, which would be of value to the Blue Jays with the aforementioned soreness plaguing Saunders and Martin.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Girodo has pitched 8 2/3 innings for the Bisons in 2016, allowing just one run in the process. For the Blue Jays, he has pitched two scoreless innings in one appearance.</p>
<p>Dominguez, 26, reached base just once, via a walk, in his eight plate appearance with the Blue Jays.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sport</em></p>
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		<title>Blue Jays to Call up Infielder Matt Dominguez</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/26/blue-jays-to-call-up-infielder-matt-dominguez/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/26/blue-jays-to-call-up-infielder-matt-dominguez/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2016 04:11:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gideon Turk]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andy Burns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matt Dominguez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=2014</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In advance of Tuesday&#8217;s game against the Chicago White Sox, the Blue Jays will be promoting corner infielder Matt Dominguez to the big league club according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Source: #BlueJays will recall Matt Dominguez tomorrow, as expected. Dominguez is a right-handed hitter who defends well at 1B and 3B. &#8212; Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In advance of Tuesday&#8217;s game against the Chicago White Sox, the Blue Jays will be promoting corner infielder Matt Dominguez to the big league club according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash">#BlueJays</a> will recall Matt Dominguez tomorrow, as expected. Dominguez is a right-handed hitter who defends well at 1B and 3B.</p>
<p>&mdash; Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) <a href="https://twitter.com/bnicholsonsmith/status/724805911957655552">April 26, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>To make room on the active roster, Drew Hutchison is expected to be sent down as soon as he clears optional waivers, which are a formality for certain players. This move comes in the wake of Chris Colabello&#8217;s 80 game suspension that has left the Blue Jays a little short on the position player side since Friday. John Gibbons told the media on Monday afternoon that the team was looking for a right handed batter who could play both corner infield positions defensively. With that being said, Dominguez getting the call over Andy Burns is quite puzzling.</p>
<p>The team should be looking for someone who can platoon with Justin Smoak and face left handed pitching. That guy is NOT Matt Dominguez. For his career, Dominguez has batted .247/.284/.384 against lefties, while that slash line is virtually the same when facing righties at .228/.272/.371. A platoon split is nowhere to be found in Dominguez&#8217;s case. However, the same cannot be said for Burns. Via <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHowsam/status/724705574290489344" target="_blank">BP Toronto&#8217;s Joshua Howsam</a>, here are Burns&#8217; numbers against lefties throughout his minor league career:</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/04/Screen-Shot-2016-04-26-at-12.01.42-AM.png"><img class=" wp-image-2016 aligncenter" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/04/Screen-Shot-2016-04-26-at-12.01.42-AM.png" alt="Screen Shot 2016-04-26 at 12.01.42 AM" width="400" height="202" /></a></p>
<p>He&#8217;s raked at every stop he&#8217;s made!</p>
<p>Even more perplexing is the fact that Burns is a lot more versatile than the corner infielder Dominguez, and can play every position on the diamond except for catcher and center field.</p>
<p>But what&#8217;s done is done, and in Dominguez, the Blue Jays are getting a guy with a good glove at the corner positions, as well as some pop in the bat. In 2013 and 2014 with the Houston Astros, Dominguez hit a combined 37 home runs. Although the Blue Jays will likely try to upgrade at the first base position in the coming months and leading up to the trade deadline, Dominguez will be around for a little while barring any injuries. He also gives the Blue Jays another alternative at third base when Josh Donaldson needs a breather or is playing at DH.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Non-Roster Invites in Blue Jays Camp: The Prospects</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/12/non-roster-invites-in-blue-jays-camp-the-prospects/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/12/non-roster-invites-in-blue-jays-camp-the-prospects/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 Mar 2016 13:49:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ewan Ross]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andy Burns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anthony Alford]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chad Girodo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Connor Greene]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Danny Jensen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Derrick Chung]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dwight Smith Jr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jio Mier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matthew Dean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rowdy Tellez]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=77</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Every year at spring training, there there are a numbers of non-roster invitees (NRIs) that may seem surprising; some are there more as instructors and mentors while others are projects returning from injuries or just looking for another shot at the big leagues. This year the Blue Jays have 29 players in camp who aren’t on [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Every year at spring training, there there are a numbers of non-roster invitees (NRIs) that may seem surprising; some are there more as instructors and mentors while others are projects returning from injuries or just looking for another shot at the big leagues. This year the Blue Jays have 29 players in camp who aren’t on the 40 man roster &#8211; twelve pitchers and seventeen position players. Fourteen (eight pitchers, six hitters) of these players have some major league experience while the remaining eighteen players comprising of minor league fodder mixed in with legitimate prospects.</em></p>
<p><em>BP Toronto will be breaking down these NRIs into three groups &#8211; <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/10/non-roster-invites-in-blue-jays-camp-the-pitchers/">veteran pitchers</a>, <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=57" target="_blank">veteran hitters</a>, and prospects &#8211; and assessing their odds of making the opening day roster.</em></p>
<p><strong>Derrick Chung – Catcher</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 250 PA &#8211; .238/.288/.323 – 2 HR, 0 SB, 16 BB, 41 K &#8211; .222 TAv, -0.8 WARP</p>
<p>As a 28-year-old who&#8217;s only played 71 games above Single A, it&#8217;s fairly safe to assume that Derrick Chung isn&#8217;t much of a prospect. While Chung has shown an excellent batting eye, his two career home runs, and sub .350 slugging percentage leaves much to be desired. Despite his struggles at the plate, Chung comes with a strong defensive reputation for both working with pitchers, and throwing out would be base stealers. This isn&#8217;t the profile of a player destined for a major league career. However, those skills usually lead to a long minor league career followed by a career in coaching.</p>
<p><em>How he fits: </em>Chung is a valuable piece for a major league club, even though he&#8217;s incredibly unlikely to don a Blue Jays uniform. His value will come via working with young pitchers as they attempt to make the critical developmental jump to AA.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment: </em>AA New Hampshire</p>
<p><strong>*Danny Jansen – Catcher</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 250 PA &#8211; .211/.273/.335 – 6 HR, 0 SB, 19 BB, 53 K &#8211; .221 TAv, -0.2 WARP</p>
<p>Like Chung, Jansen is a player whose primary skill is his discipline at the plate. However, unlike Chung, he has shown at least some power (5 HRs last season). More importantly, Jansen is only 20 years old. With that said, catching prospects are always the most difficult to get a handle on until they reach the upper levels&#8230;so it&#8217;s tough to predict how he will progress.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> With A.J. Jimenez having lost all of his prospect sheen, and with Max Pentecost&#8217;s status behind the plate in question, Jansen in the Jays top catching prospect. We&#8217;re at least two years away from Jansen even sniffing the big league roster, but he&#8217;s an interesting player to keep track of.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment: </em>Low A Lansing</p>
<p>While there was some promise to Jansen&#8217;s season in Lansing last year, I&#8217;d think that his .206 BA wouldn&#8217;t cut it for a promotion. He&#8217;ll probably reach High A Dunedin at some point this season, but it won&#8217;t be at the beginning.</p>
<p><strong>*Rowdy Tellez – First Baseman</strong></p>
<p><em>PECOTA Projection: </em>250 PA &#8211; .229/.279/.388 – 8 HR, 0 SB, 17 BB, 65 K &#8211; .229 TAv, -0.3 WARP</p>
<p>When Rowdy Tellez was drafted in the 30th round of the 2013 draft, he was largely seen as unsignable. That all changed when the Jays failed to sign their first round pick, Phil Bickford, and instead devoted all their excess bonus pool money to signing the power hitting first baseman. In 2015, he rocketed through the Midwest League. As well, despite battling a wrist injury, his second half promotion to the Florida State League was a massive success. With enough plate appearances, he would&#8217;ve finished second in the league in slugging percentage.</p>
<p><em>How he fits: </em>Tellez is the Blue Jays&#8217; top power prospect. With both Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista being free agents at the end of the 2016 season, the club may be in need for a power bat by this time next year. With that said, it&#8217;s doubtful that Tellez will be ready that soon. It&#8217;s also still unclear if he has the ability to hit, and hit for power, at the major league level. Nevertheless, he&#8217;s one of the most intriguing prospects to track this upcoming season.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment:</em> High A Dunedin.</p>
<p>While Tellez was very successful in Dunedin last year, he only played in 35 games at that level. As a result, you&#8217;d expect the Jays to let him prove himself there over a larger sample size. However, there is a chance that they get aggressive and push Tellez up to the Fisher Cats to begin the year.</p>
<p><strong>*Matthew Dean – First Baseman</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 250 PA – .217/.257/.358 &#8211; 7 HR, 0 SB, 11 BB, 79 K &#8211; .219 TAv, -0.9 WARP</p>
<p>As a non-elite prospect who is restricted to first base, Dean is one of my least favourite type of prospects. Throughout his four year minor league career he has achieved just enough to get promoted further up the ladder, but not enough to really stand out. With that said, Dean did lead the notoriously pitcher friendly Florida State League in home runs. That&#8217;s more than enough to earn him another year of faith on the potential that he could develop into a second division starter at first base.</p>
<p><em>How he fits: </em>Dean is at least a full year away from being major league ready (if he&#8217;ll ever be). Strangely, his ability to hit both right and left handed pitchers almost equally is one of the biggest drawbacks to his big league future. If he had similar production, but did most of his damage against left handed pitching, you could see him as a platoon bench bat.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment: </em>AA New Hampshire</p>
<p>Matthew Dean will likely start the season as the Fisher Cats&#8217; staring first baseman. However, he could potentially be moved to designated hitter when Rowdy Tellez gets the call to AA.</p>
<p><strong>Andy Burns – Infielder</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 250 PA &#8211; .248/.297/.395 – 6 HR, 4 SB, 16 BB, 51 K &#8211; .247 TAv, 0.5 WARP</p>
<p>Burns was drafted as a shortstop in 2011, but he was quickly shifted off the position. Over the past two seasons, he has shifted into a super utility role, having played every position on the diamond except for catcher and centre field. He’s unlikely to ever be an impact defender at any of those positions, but that added flexibility gives him an increased chance to make the big leagues. As does his ability to consistently hit left handed pitching. In every season that he has played as a professional, Burns has posted an OPS of .800+ against southpaws. That has all the makings of a quality bench player.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> Burns is a low upside prospect, but one who could still provide value to the big league club as a utility bench bat at some point in the near future. Given his success hitting versus left handed pitching it’s even possible that he could emerge as a platoon starter.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment: </em>AAA Buffalo</p>
<p>Even with Devon Travis starting the season on the disabled list, Burns is still behind both Goins and Barney on the second base depth chart. He&#8217;s also behind Donaldson and Dominguez on the third base depth chart. As a result, he&#8217;ll likely spend most of the season in AAA.</p>
<p><strong>Jio Mier – Shortstop</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 250 PA &#8211; .209/.278/.309 – 4 HR, 3 SB, 22 BB, 61 K &#8211; .215 TAv, -0.6 WARP</p>
<p>Mier was acquired via minor league free agency this offseason. At lot of his sheen comes from the fact that he was drafted 21st overall in 2009. Despite some initial success, Mier&#8217;s career largely stalled after arriving in AA in 2013. At that point, his contact rate completely collapsed, and scouts were starting to question whether he could stick at shortstop.  Strangely, despite never hitting, the Astros yo-yo’d Mier back and forth between AAA and AA before losing him to minor league free agency past offseason.</p>
<p><em>How he fits: </em>With Munenori Kawasaki and Jonathan Diaz leaving the organization over the offseason, Mier has replaced them on the depth chart in the middle infield. He’ll provide stability for the Bisons, and be emergency depth in case of middle infield injuries.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment: </em>AAA</p>
<p>Mier will begin the year manning shortstop for the Bisons, and with Devon Travis already on the shelf, he’s probably only a single injury away from heading to Toronto.</p>
<p><strong>*Anthony Alford – Center Fielder</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 250 PA &#8211; .223/.304/.345 – 5 HR, 7 SB, 25 BB, 72 K &#8211; .235 TAv, -0.1 WARP</p>
<p>At this point, I think most Blue Jays fans are familiar with Alford’s story. The former football star, who put his baseball career on hold until the end of the 2014 season. In the first full season that he devoted to baseball, Alford had a bigger breakout than any prospect in the game. The most surprising aspect of Alford’s breakout was the true baseball skills he showed. It was expected that Alford had the tools to succeed, but seeing his discipline at the plate, and his efficiency in stealing bases has given me even more faith that he will develop into the star he seems destined to become.</p>
<p><em>How he fits: </em>Alford fits as the top prospect in the Blue Jays newly depleted minor league system. If things go especially well this upcoming year, it’s possible that we could see Alford for a cameo in September. However, it’s more likely that the Jays hold him down to preserve his service time.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment: </em>AA New Hampshire</p>
<p>Considering Alford played 57 games in Dunedin last season, it’s conceivable that the Blue Jays send him back to there to start the season. With that said, he also laid waste to the Florida State League in his cameo appearance there. As a result, I expect the Jays push him up to New Hampshire.</p>
<p><strong>*Dwight Smith Jr. – Outfielder</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 250 PA &#8211; .236/.297/.364 – 5 HR, 2 SB, 20 BB, 51 K &#8211; .238 TAv, -0.3 WARP</p>
<p>Dwight Smith Jr. is a very difficult prospect to get a handle on. He lacks any significant upside, as a likely fourth outfielder. This is largely due to the fact that he lacks a carrying tool. However, while Smith lacks the carrying tool, he also doesn’t have a real weakness either. He isn’t my favourite type of prospect, but he is one who could provide some value to the big league team.</p>
<p><em>How he fits: </em>With Michael Saunders currently slotted in as the starting left fielder, and a collection of veteran fliers in the mix for the fourth outfield spot, I think it&#8217;s incredibly unlikely that Smith gets an opportunity at the major league level this season.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment: </em>AA New Hampshire</p>
<p>Given the struggles that Smith showed in the sound half while battling injuries, it&#8217;s difficult to justify promoting him up the ladder to AAA. As a result I’m expecting he&#8217;ll restart the season down in New Hampshire. Hopefully he can prove he’s ready for the next challenge and his stay there won’t be long.</p>
<p><strong>*Conner Greene – Starting Pitcher</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 88.5 IP – 4.75 ERA, 5.04 DRA, 5.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9</p>
<p>Connor Greene rocketed through the Jays system in 2015, going from Lansing all the way to New Hampshire. In doing so, he emerged as a very legitimate prospect. While the Blue Jays consistently had a highly rated farm system in the Anthopoulos era, it was rarely on the backs of low round draft picks. As a result, seeing someone like Greene emerge from that quagmire is a true credit to the team’s developmental staff.</p>
<p><em>How he fits: </em>After the Blue Jays traded away 11 pitching prospects at last year’s trade deadline, Greene remains the top pitching prospect left in the Jays system. While it’s unlikely that we&#8217;ll see Greene pitch for the Jays this season, he’s a key name to keep in mind if they need to upgrade the major league squad at the deadline.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment: </em>AA New Hampshire</p>
<p>Greene will start the 2016 season where he left off 2015 in Double A New Hampshire. I expect that he&#8217;ll stay there for the majority of the season, especially with the Jays increased pitching depth<strong> </strong>decreasing their need for spot starters in 2016.</p>
<p><strong>Chad Girodo – Relief Pitcher</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 50.2 IP, 4.12 ERA, 4.42 DRA, 6.9 K/9, 2.9 BB/9</p>
<p>The Jays selected Girodo in the 9<span style="font-size: small"><span style="line-height: 20px">th</span></span> round of the 2013 draft. He was primarily selected because, as a senior, he&#8217;d sign for just $10,000, and then the Jays could save money to spend on the rest of their draft picks. However, despite the low expectations, Girodo has climbed the ladder and emerged as a quality relief prospect (even though that is somewhat of an oxymoron).</p>
<p><em>How he fits: </em>The Jays have an abundance of contenders for the final bullpen slot coming out of camp. Girodo is clearly behind most of the veteran contenders in camp, but if he goes back to Buffalo and posts similar numbers to what he did last year it&#8217;s possible we could see him later in the year.</p>
<p><em>Likely Opening Day Assignment: </em>AAA Buffalo</p>
<p>Girodo got a cup of coffee in Triple A to close out 2015, so he will start the season back there for 2016.</p>
<p><em>*denotes player has already been reassigned to minor league camp</em></p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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