<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Toronto &#187; Connor Greene</title>
	<atom:link href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/tag/connor-greene/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com</link>
	<description>Comprehensive coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2026 03:35:47 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en-US</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1</generator>
	<item>
		<title>Blue Jays Minor League Update: Mid-Season Edition</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/07/16/blue-jays-minor-league-update-mid-season-edition/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/07/16/blue-jays-minor-league-update-mid-season-edition/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Jul 2017 16:34:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tammy Rainey]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Connor Greene]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ryan Noda]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=12407</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last summer, I dedicated one of my minor league updates to the unsung guys who virtually never make a top prospect list &#8211; the relief pitcher.  The general truism, even in the majors, is that relievers are failed starters. That&#8217;s not strictly accurate, many of them are guys who were never viewed as starters to [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last summer, I dedicated one of my minor league updates to the unsung guys who virtually never make a top prospect list &#8211; the relief pitcher.  The general truism, even in the majors, is that relievers are failed starters. That&#8217;s not strictly accurate, many of them are guys who were never viewed as starters to begin with and occasionally you have the guy who&#8217;d probably be a good (at least) starter if the circumstances of his career had gone differently. In the Blue Jays &#8216;pen there&#8217;s an example of each of these three in Tepera, Barnes, and Osuna.</p>
<p>In the minors, that perception clouds the prospect status of any pitcher throwing primarily in relief. It&#8217;s assumed that those guys are by definition lesser prospects than the one&#8217;s who are starting and mediocre starters are still often evaluated on whether they have any potential major league utility as a reliever. For example, not a few of the relatively successful starters in the Toronto farm system are commonly discussed in the context of potential bullpen pieces for the Jays (Francisco Rios, Angel Perdomo and Jordan Romano have all been discussed in these terms on occasion). That&#8217;s why guys like Danny Barnes, who was a dominant reliever statistically in the minors, barely get noticed. So down below I&#8217;ll highlight some of them.</p>
<h3>Hottest Pitcher: Conner Greene</h3>
<p>Shoutout to Gideon Turk who wanted to see this more than a month ago. Thing is, though, by my lights Greene&#8217;s constant struggle to stay in the zone is something I can&#8217;t look past. When he overcomes that difficulty he&#8217;s aces, but when he doesn&#8217;t &#8211; which is most of the time &#8211; things can get ugly.  For example, just this last week he threw two innings in the AA All-Star Game (the only All Star pitcher to go more than one) and he struck out four while walking no one, being every bit as impressive as anyone might have hoped. Before that his last first half start saw him complete seven innings for the first time since April, thanks in major part to complimenting his six strikeouts with only one walk.<br />
But oh those previous five outings. Across those he threw 24.2 innings and walked 24 (to go with only 16 K). It might be a stretch to call him &#8220;hot&#8221; now, but lately you ave to seize the opportunity when you can.</p>
<h3>Hottest Hitter: Ryan Noda</h3>
<p>There are actually several candidates here from the 2017 draft. First rounder Logan Warmoth debuted this week for Vancouver with a couple of great games. His teammate 3rd round catcher Riley Adams was almost my choice here and Kacy Clemens is worth a salute as well. But Noda, drafted in the 18th round as an outfielder but playing 1B in Bluefield, has been Bichette-esque in the early going. It&#8217;s true he&#8217;s a 21 year old former college player who should be doing well in the Appy League but a 1.136 OPS in your first 21 professional games doesn&#8217;t come along every year.</p>
<h3>5 Other Stat Lines</h3>
<ul>
<li>John Stilson &#8211; 3.09 ERA, 35 IP, 31 H,18 BB, 31 K  &#8211; a 2011 3rd rounder with an injury history in college made it to, and impressed at, Buffalo back in 2013. But the injuries were not done  and he about half of 2014 and essentially all of 2015. He lost his spot in line a bit, pitching in AA last year. But he&#8217;s back in AAA and if he could get his command back he might live up to the talent he was believed to have on draft day.</li>
<li>Carlos Ramirez &#8211; 0.00, 13.2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 21 K &#8211; up until 2014 the now 26 year old Dominican was a weak hitting outfielder in the Jays lower minors but he gave that up for the mound and he&#8217;s only now approaching 130 professional IP.  From 2015 to 2016 he made huge strides in lowering his contact rate but until this year he still struggled with a really high walk rate. What you see above is, to be clear, a REALLY small sample size (due to injury) but that BB/9 rate is down from 4.6 last year to 2.6 and if he sustains that along with the crazy K rate, you might be seeing next spring&#8217;s Tim Mayza story.</li>
<li>Tom Robson &#8211; 3.21, 33.2 IP, 28, 11 BB, 29 K &#8211; when he was drafted in the 4th round in 2011 he was considered a promising SP, and a 1.12 ERA in 12 starts in 2013 seemed to confirm that view. But his arm blew up in 2014 and he missed a year plus, followed by an awful 2016 in which command was nowhere to be found. But this year he seems to be getting back into his grove. It&#8217;s uncertain whether the team is resigned to keeping in the &#8216;pen from now on.</li>
<li>Kirby Snead &#8211; 2.02, 35.2 IP, 26 H, 15 BB, 38 K &#8211; Snead is a 22 year old lefty taken in the 10th round in 2016. Those stats are split across two levels (Dunedin and Lansing) and his left-handedness makes him a name to watch as he moves up the ladder.</li>
<li>Chris Hall &#8211; 212, 17 IP, 11 H, 3 BB, 20 K &#8211; Those stats exclude a really ugly cup of coffee at Lansing but other than that aberration, the 2016 4th round pick has been dominant. Opposing hitters have hit .190 against him at Vancouver, it was .198 last year in Bluefield.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Buffalo Bisons</h4>
<p>The Bisons are 2-10 in July and playing like it. Little to see here except Dalton Pompey and he&#8217;s been mysteriously absent since July 8.</p>
<h4>New Hampshire Fisher Cats</h4>
<p>Similarly, the Fisher Cats are up raking up the wins, 4-10 in July, but you might catch a good game from Greene or Sean Reid-Foley (and if you do you&#8217;re reportedly in for a treat) and they have Danny Jansen and the newly promoted Lourdes Gurriel, Jr.</p>
<h4>Dunedin Blue Jays</h4>
<p>The D-Jays are 8-6 this month but more importantly, if you watch a game right now you might well get a chance to see a top of the line-up that goes Anthony Alford&gt;Bo Bichette&gt;Vlad Guerrero, Jr&gt;Max Pentecost. That&#8217;ll entertain. Even more so if you&#8217;re on a night when Ryan Borucki or Jordan Romano is starting.</p>
<h4>Lansing Lugnuts</h4>
<p>The Lugnuts continue to be plagued by horrendous starting pitching most nights and it shows in their 4-10 July record.  For a while that&#8217;s going to be harder to overcome without Bichette and Guerrero around. Edward Olivares is the one consistent offensive performer right now.</p>
<h4>Vancouver Canadians</h4>
<p>The Canadians are closing in on the first half playoff position, leading their division by 2.5 games with a week to go. VanC fans are loving the offense when six 2017 draft choices are in the lineup and productive.</p>
<h4>Bluefield Blue Jays</h4>
<p>The Baby Jays won their first eight games in the month and sit one game back thanks to a potent offense led by Noda and catchers Ryan Gold and Yorman Rodriguez to go with a killer bullpen in the early going.</p>
<p>One final note: the Blue Jays can&#8217;t get enough of bloodlines. You know about Guerrero, Bichette, Biggio, and Clemens &#8211; but did you notice the addition of Brandon Grudzielanek? Yup. The 22 year old nephew of Mark signed as an udrafted free agent and played his first game in the GCL yesterday, at shortstop, going 2 for 3.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/07/16/blue-jays-minor-league-update-mid-season-edition/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bold Predictions for the Second Half of the Season</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/08/bold-predictions-for-the-second-half-of-the-season/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/08/bold-predictions-for-the-second-half-of-the-season/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jul 2016 11:36:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Dika]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Connor Greene]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gregg Zaun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J.A. Happ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marco Estrada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ryan Goins]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=4466</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As the calendar turns to July, half of the baseball season is now in the rearview mirror. In watching the first half of the Jays’ 2016 season, we have come to establish a new set of ideas about what the 2016 team is. Things that we would have never believed at the start of the [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As the calendar turns to July, half of the baseball season is now in the rearview mirror. In watching the first half of the Jays’ 2016 season, we have come to establish a new set of ideas about what the 2016 team is. Things that we would have never believed at the start of the season now seem set in stone. On the positive side, Aaron Sanchez is establishing himself as one of the better starting pitchers in the American League. Marco Estrada’s 2015 was no fluke and Michael Saunders is a legitimate middle of the order bat. On the negative side, Drew Storen seems to have lost the miles per hour required to pitch as a high leverage reliever. All these developments, good and bad, were close to inconceivable three months ago.</p>
<p>Three months may seem like an eternity, but the levels of performance we’ve come to expect from the 2016 Blue Jays are still subject to change – some will continue to be positive, and some will be negative. So, in celebrating both the halfway mark of the MLB season and all of the surprises that have come with it, here are some bold predictions for the second half.</p>
<h3>Marco Estrada Becomes the Endorsement King of Toronto</h3>
<p>Given his continued dominance on the mound this season, the now grossly underpaid Marco Estrada decides he needs to cash in off the field and lends his likeness to a smattering of products promoted throughout Greater Toronto. Expect to see Marco as the new face of Canadian Tire, Jack Links Beef Jerky, Sport Check (alongside 14 NHL players), and of course, Obus Forme back supports.</p>
<h3>MLB Commemorates John Gibbons Record Setting Ejection Around the League</h3>
<p>As time marches on, so many of baseball’s most treasured and storied records seem all the more unbreakable. In an era with so many player limitations (pitch counts, frequent trips to the disabled list and maybe fewer performance enhancing drugs?), Cal Ripken, Cy Young, Joe DiMaggio and Barry Bond’s records seem almost untouchable. Knowing this, MLB will pull out all of the stops when John Gibbons breaks the single season record for managerial ejections this September.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/blue-jays-manager-john-gibbons-ejected-again-and-hes-on-a-ridiculous-pace/">Currently on pace to challenge</a> Bobby Cox’s mark of 11, Gibbons has been thrown out six times already this season. Expect MLB to go full Ripken on the coverage: additional media following the club, commentary from umpires that have tossed Gibbons out of games, and of course, nationwide, in-game cutaways to Jays’ games whenever a Toronto player is called out on strikes. Hopefully the media circus around the team won’t prove to be a distraction for a team that is fighting for a playoff spot and a manger who is often forced to manage from the clubhouse.</p>
<h3>Connor Greene Makes His Debut</h3>
<p>&#8230;in his first feature length film. Using connections he built through his friend Charlie Sheen, Greene’s feature length debut is released straight to video. The Jays’ prospect plays a supporting role in a kitschy heist thriller opposite Tara Reid and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004971/">Mark Paul Gosselaar</a> that is received with limited critical and commercial success. While the movie doesn’t move the needle on his acting career, Greene continues to thrive on the mound, showing solid results at Double-A New Hampshire. While the front office decides to keep Greene in the minors, some Blue Jays fans still pining for Alex Anthopoulos furiously point out how he would already be in the major leagues if AA was still running the team.</p>
<h3>Hockey Night in Canada Hires Gregg Zaun</h3>
<p>As well as things have been going for the Blue Jays in the ratings department, the same cannot be said about Sportsnet’s flagship winter program: Hockey Night in Canada. In an effort to increase viewership and boost ratings, expect Rogers to bring the popular, but controversial Gregg Zaun, onto the newly overhauled HNIC team. While many suggest that it is the improved product on the field driving baseball’s ratings resurgence, some Rogers’ executives view Zaun’s flashy wardrobe and straight talk man-alyzing as the drivers of higher ratings. With no Canadian NHL teams poised to make the playoffs, Zaun should be returned to his Blue Jays Central studio in section 134 of the Rogers Centre just in time for opening day 2017.</p>
<h3>J.A. Happ Continues to Adjust His Approach</h3>
<p>While Happ’s return to the Blue Jays was not met with Lebron James returning to Cleveland-level excitement, Happ was expected to provide innings for a Blue Jays’ rotation that sorely needed them. Happ has exceeded expectations in a very successful first half with the Blue Jays &#8211; winning 11 games and pitching to a 3.54 ERA so far this season. Somewhat surprisingly, Happ has spent much of the year generating more groundballs and working deeper into games than the J.A. Happ Blue Jays’ fans came to know and <span style="text-decoration: line-through">love</span> watch from 2012-2014. Happ’s ability to change his approach should come as no surprise. JA Happ has always valued making adjustments – like when he decided to change the pronunciation of his name from “J.A.” to “Jay” a few seasons ago. Having already lived baseball lives a both a strikeout and now sinkerball pitcher, Happ, under the guidance of R.A. Dickey, surprises us yet again and begins to work as a knuckleballer in the second half of the season.</p>
<h3>Man in White is Revealed as Informant in Red Sox International Signing Ban</h3>
<p>Having mysteriously disappeared from his perch in the centerfield bleachers at the Rogers Centre, notorious Blue Jay aid the Man in White, is revealed to be the <a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/clubhouse_insider/2016/07/red_sox_intl_signings_punishment_sets_precedent_case_was">chief informant </a>assisting Major League Baseball in their prosecution of the Boston Red Sox for international signing violations. While many had assumed the Man in White had left the team to take a similar position with the Dodgers under AA, he was in Venezuela uncovering and exposing the Red Sox’s prohibited signing practices. Like many front office personnel who have remained with the team, the Man in White is said to have a strong working relationship with new team president Mark Shapiro and General Manager Ross Atkins.</p>
<h3>Blue Jays Trade Ryan Goins to Tampa</h3>
<p>The year has not gone as hoped in St. Petersburg. As the Rays limp into to All-Star Break, their attention has once again turned to retooling for next season. As the proliferation of sabermetrics and other analytical measures have made finding value on the trade market more difficult than it once was for small market teams, the Rays will turn towards what they believe is the new market inefficiency: position player pitchers.</p>
<p>Where others see only a fringe utility infielder, the Rays see a potential relief ace with a <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/04/emergency-stuff-report-grading-the-position-players/">plus breaking ball</a> that can contribute on both defense and the mound . While it may not look like it on the surface, exchanging the controllable Goins for the arbitration eligible Jake Odorizzi would be a savvy and forward thinking move for an organization that needs to make savvy moves to survive. I’d bet Ross Atkins would think so too.</p>
<h3>Jose Bautista Finally Plays First Base</h3>
<p>It’s no secret that Jose Bautista has lost a step or two in right field as he’s moved into his mid 30s. The same pride and competitive spirit that make Jose such a feared hitter, has also prevented him from acknowledging that a move to a different position might serve both him and his team well. This season, motivated by his impending free agency and his team’s playoff aspirations, Jose agrees to play first base, still in a walking boot, in order to facilitate a quicker return from his Turf Toe injury.</p>
<p>There you have it. Some bold predictions for the second half of the Blue Jays’ 2016 season. I know they don’t seem likely right now, but part of the beauty of baseball is that it is far from predictable. Even if you think these predictions fall outside of what can be reasonably expected, baseball is damn near impossible to figure out. Let’s just hope that means its Marco Estrada and not Steven Wright who is accepting The AL Cy Young Award come November.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/08/bold-predictions-for-the-second-half-of-the-season/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Minor League Update: June 11th Edition</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/11/minor-league-update-june-11th-edition/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/11/minor-league-update-june-11th-edition/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jun 2016 16:25:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tammy Rainey]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minor League Update]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Angel Perdomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anthony Alfford]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Connor Greene]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dalton Pompey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=3678</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[News News from Dunedin last night trumps everything else you are likely to have on your mind, in terms of the Blue Jays farm system, and this is what we know as of late Friday night, per MiLB.com: DUNEDIN, FL - CF Anthony Alford was taken off the field on a stretcher with a neck [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>News</h3>
<p>News from Dunedin last night trumps everything else you are likely to have on your mind, in terms of the Blue Jays farm system, and this is what we know as of late Friday night, per <a href="http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20160610&amp;content_id=183383562&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;vkey=news_t424&amp;sid=t424">MiLB.com</a>:</p>
<p>DUNEDIN, FL -<em> <b>CF Anthony Alford</b> was taken off the field on a stretcher with a neck injury in the top of the 12<sup>th</sup> inning in Dunedin&#8217;s 3-2 loss to the St. Lucie Mets (29-30) Friday night. A wild play on an infield fly in the 12<sup>th</sup> scored the go-ahead run for the Mets and took Alford out of the game. Alford will undergo tests at Mease Dunedin Hospital where he is talking and moving his limbs.</em></p>
<p>According to Jeff Blair, Alford and Richard Urena collided on the play.</p>
<h3><strong>Pitchers of the Week</strong></h3>
<p>1. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=622780#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL">Angel Perdomo</a> &#8211; LHP &#8211; Lansing (Low A)</p>
<p>Week:  2 GS , 11.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 14 K 2.45 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 11.5 K/9, 3.3 BB/9<br />
YTD:  10 GS, 54.1 IP, 28 H 10 ER, 24 BB, 68 K, 1.66 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 4.0 BB/9</p>
<p>Perdomo has been such a regular on this list that I&#8217;m running out of new things to say. Often, on the hitters particularly, I&#8217;ll be able to say &#8220;the last 3 weeks he&#8217;s&#8230;&#8221; or whatever, but Perdomo hasn&#8217;t had and low point in the season to date from, save an appearance on May 7 in which he gave up 2 ER in 2/3 of an inning during a game in which he had no control and walked 3, allowing his  pitch count in the inning to get too high. That&#8217;s been his only &#8220;off&#8221; appearance all year.</p>
<p>2. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=641632#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL">Conner Greene</a>- RHP &#8211; Dunedin (High A)</p>
<p>Week: 1 GS , 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K<br />
YTD: 60.2 IP, 62 H, 21 ER, 30 BB, 36 K, 3.12 ERA, 1.52 WHIP,  5.3 K/9, 4.5 BB/9</p>
<p>In a down week for impressive pitching performances, I&#8217;m taking advantage of the fact that Greene had a pretty good game to highlight the guy who came into the season ranked as the Jays best pitching prospect. But, just based on stats, he&#8217;s maybe been passed by by 3 or 4 other guys. The sample is, of course, far too small to make such a judgment, we don&#8217;t know, as bystanders, whether the team has him working on some particular skill that is more important to them than raw stats for example. But Greene certainly has had a reversal by the numbers.<br />
He has an IP total that46% of what he threw in 2015, but he has 77% as many walks, and has already given up 5 homers whereas he gave up only 6 all of last year  (and that in a pitchers league). By contrast, he had a 7.8 K/9 last year which is down to 5.3 this season. He pitched better Wednesday night than he has since April 23, but whether this is a step forward or an outlier remains to be seen.</p>
<p>3. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=656887#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL">Sean Reid-Foley </a>- RHP – Lansing (Low A)</p>
<p>Week: 1 GS , 6 IP, 2  H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K<br />
YTD: 10 GS, 51.0 IP, 39 H, 18 ER, 21 BB, 55 K, 3.18 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 9.7 K/9,  3.7 BB/9</p>
<p>As with Perdomo, there&#8217;s repetition here, a couple of other pitchers in the system had pretty good games this week, but it&#8217;s worth choosing the familiar name if for no other reason than to point out the factoid that he&#8217;s only walked 2 (as opposed to 22k) in the last 21 IP.</p>
<h3><strong>Hitters of the Week</strong></h3>
<p>1. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=592647#/splits/R/hitting/2016/MINORS">Dalton Pompey</a> &#8211; CF &#8211; &#8211; Buffalo</p>
<p>Week: 13/25, 1 1B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 SB, 5 BB, 3 K, .520 AVG, .600 OBP, .560 SLG<br />
Season: 44/141, 7 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 8 SB, 18 BB, 27 K .312 AVG, .390 OBP, .383 SLG</p>
<p>After his third stint on the DL in the early going, the problem with Pompey was easy to diagnose &#8211; he needed an extended run of playing time to get his rhythm back. After a couple of hitless games coming off that inactivity (he&#8217;d been 1 for 28 over the previous 3 weeks) , it apparently clicked in real good. In 104 plate appearances since May 8 (have you noticed that every good hitter in Buffalo blew up right around May 8?) he&#8217;s hitting .359/.433/.457/.890 and it&#8217;s hard to find any fault with him save that there&#8217;s a lack of over-the-fence power to this point.</p>
<p>2. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=657041#/gamelogs/R/hitting/2016/MINORS">Lane Thomas</a> &#8211; CF &#8211; Lansing</p>
<p>Week: 7/22, 0 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 0 SB, 2 BB, 9 k, .333 AVG, .360 OBP, .541 SLG<br />
YTD: 37/181, 8 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 13 SB, 30 BB, 65 K, .204 AVG, .324 OBP, .359 SLG</p>
<p>In every draft (so far!) there&#8217;s a player or three that are drafted after the first three rounds (when everyone is supposedly good) that I read enough good things about to develop an affection for watching them develop.  In 2014, Thomas was that guy for me. He was taken in the fifth round and looked pretty darn good in short season ball that year (he had an .814 OPS in Bluefield in 18g). But last season, while dealing with a series of minor injuries, he was abysmal in Lansing before being pushed back to Vancouver where he was still pretty bad.  Up until the last 10 games, it looked like this was going to be a re-run. It&#8217;s a really small sample, fueled by an unsustainable HR rate, but it might be a sign he&#8217;s getting himself back together.</p>
<p>3.<a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=t463&amp;player_id=621037#/career/R/hitting/2016/ALL"> Jason Leblebijian</a> &#8211; INF &#8211; New Hampshire (AA)</p>
<p>Week: 9/20, 2 2B, 3 HR, 0 SB, 3 BB, 1 K, .450 AVG, .522 OBP, 1.000 SLG<br />
Dunedin: 59/200, 7 2B, 6 HR, 6 SB, 18 BB, 59 K, .295 AVG, .362 OBP, .420 SLG</p>
<p>Leblebijian is probably best understood as a nine-month younger version of Andy Burns. Both are RH hitting infielders, drafted out of college, both are listed at 6&#8217;2&#8243;, 205 lbs, and they have almost identical career OBP figures. Both play all over the infield, having been drafted as shortstops, with Burns having 176 more plate appearances, having been drafted a year earlier, and also having shown a bit more power. Leblebijian is making a very good impression in his AA debut.</p>
<h3><strong>Other Minor Notes</strong></h3>
<p>While these posts are typically for high performers, or top prospects, since a couple of the big names (Jon Harris and Francisco Rios) didn&#8217;t pitch at all this week, I&#8217;ve included a couple of pitching lines on the charts below that normally wouldn&#8217;t qualify. One is a lightly regarded guy who keeps plugging along with pretty fair numbers, who might end up being a shuttle-rider in a year or two &#8211; the other is a guy who had some buzz before his Tommy John surgery but has been pretty much a train wreck this year attempting to come back. I&#8217;ll trust you to suss out which is which.</p>
<h3>Other Stat Lines of Interest</h3>
<p><strong>HITTERS</strong></p>
<p><strong>Last Week</strong></p>
<table class="tftable" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Hitter</th>
<th>Age</th>
<th>Pos.</th>
<th>Lvl</th>
<th>G</th>
<th>AVG</th>
<th>OBP</th>
<th>SLG</th>
<th>HR</th>
<th>SB</th>
<th>BB</th>
<th>K</th>
<th>TB</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rowdy Tellez</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>1B</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>.154</td>
<td>.313</td>
<td>.154</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dwight Smith, Jr</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>LF</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>.300</td>
<td>.323</td>
<td>.367</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Anthony Alford</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>CF</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>.000</td>
<td>.000</td>
<td>.167</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Richard Urena</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>SS</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>.235</td>
<td>.381</td>
<td>.529</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>13</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Max Pentecost</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>DH</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>.190</td>
<td>.227</td>
<td>.238</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Season</strong></p>
<table class="tftable" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Hitter</th>
<th>Age</th>
<th>Pos.</th>
<th>Lvl</th>
<th>G</th>
<th>PA</th>
<th>AVG</th>
<th>OBP</th>
<th>SLG</th>
<th>HR</th>
<th>SB</th>
<th>BB</th>
<th>K</th>
<th>TB</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rowdy Tellez</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>1B</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>32</td>
<td>135</td>
<td>.237</td>
<td>.355</td>
<td>.449</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>36</td>
<td>48</td>
<td>89</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dwight Smith, Jr</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>LF</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>51</td>
<td>220</td>
<td>.270</td>
<td>.333</td>
<td>.395</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>19</td>
<td>41</td>
<td>79</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Anthony Alford</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>CF</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>32</td>
<td>134</td>
<td>.205</td>
<td>.277</td>
<td>.262</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>51</td>
<td>32</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Richard Urena</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>SS</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>52</td>
<td>224</td>
<td>.243</td>
<td>.298</td>
<td>.390</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>37</td>
<td>82</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Max Pentecost</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>DH</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>26</td>
<td>106</td>
<td>.265</td>
<td>.318</td>
<td>.306</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>19</td>
<td>30</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>PITCHERS</strong></p>
<p><strong>Last Week</strong></p>
<table class="tftable" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Pitcher</th>
<th>Age</th>
<th>Pos.</th>
<th>Lvl</th>
<th>G</th>
<th>ERA</th>
<th>K/9</th>
<th>BB/9</th>
<th>WHIP</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Drew Hutchison</td>
<td>25</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>AAA</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>5.40</td>
<td>12.6</td>
<td>1.8</td>
<td>1.80</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Shane Dawson</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>4.89</td>
<td>7.8</td>
<td>4.9</td>
<td>1.20</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jeremy Gabryszwski</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>1.50</td>
<td>4.5</td>
<td>1.5</td>
<td>1.33</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tom Robson</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>31.50</td>
<td>9.0</td>
<td>4.5</td>
<td>4.50</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ryan Borucki</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>3.86</td>
<td>2.5</td>
<td>1.3</td>
<td>1.29</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Season</strong></p>
<table class="tftable" style="height: 225px" border="1" width="532">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Pitcher</th>
<th>Age</th>
<th>Pos.</th>
<th>Lvl</th>
<th>G</th>
<th>IP</th>
<th>ERA</th>
<th>K/9</th>
<th>BB/9</th>
<th>WHIP</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Drew Hutchison</td>
<td>25</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>AAA</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>58.1</td>
<td>3.14</td>
<td>9.7</td>
<td>3.3</td>
<td>0.81</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Shane Dawson</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>44.2</td>
<td>3.43</td>
<td>7.5</td>
<td>5.2</td>
<td>1.54</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jeremy Gabryszwski</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>70</td>
<td>3.60</td>
<td>5.1</td>
<td>2.1</td>
<td>1.17</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tom Robson</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>18.2</td>
<td>9.16</td>
<td>6.8</td>
<td>11.1</td>
<td>2.57</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ryan Borucki*</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>44.0</td>
<td>7.98</td>
<td>5.7</td>
<td>3.7</td>
<td>1.8</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Coming up this week, I&#8217;ll have a look at the short-season rosters as the Vancouver Canadians begin their season next Friday. Soon there will be a lot of other interesting prospects to talk about in the field. In particular, all eyes will be on where VGJ and pitcher Justin Maese are assigned.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/11/minor-league-update-june-11th-edition/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<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>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/12/non-roster-invites-in-blue-jays-camp-the-prospects/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
