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	<title>Toronto &#187; Sean Reid-Foley</title>
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		<title>Sean Reid-Foley Will Keep Competing</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/08/23/sean-reid-foley-will-keep-competing/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/08/23/sean-reid-foley-will-keep-competing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Aug 2018 10:26:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Reid-Foley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK – Sean Reid-Foley is part of the youth movement that’s giving Blue Jays fans a reason to tune in down the stretch of a disappointing season. He&#8217;s one of the team’s best pitching prospects, and he has arrived appropriately adorned with a blue jay tattoo on his right forearm. (There’s also a cardinal, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK – Sean Reid-Foley is part of the youth movement that’s giving Blue Jays fans a reason to tune in down the stretch of a disappointing season. He&#8217;s one of the team’s best pitching prospects, and he has arrived appropriately adorned with a blue jay tattoo on his right forearm. (There’s also a cardinal, as those are his grandmother’s two favorite birds that she spots outside her house.)</p>
<p>Coming off a successful major league debut against the Royals with a line that read five innings, six hits, three runs, three walks and three strikeouts, Reid-Foley was kind enough to sit down for a quick chat with BP Toronto a day before his Saturday start against the Yankees.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>When asked to describe himself as a pitcher, Reid-Foley opts for a meat and potatoes answer.</p>
<p>“I just want to go out every day and compete and give the team a chance to win and be a fun guy in the clubhouse, be a good teammate, have everyone’s back.”</p>
<p>It’s a respectable description, if a modest one. Reid-Foley’s repertoire is headlined by his fastball. He used it to good effect against the Royals and was <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=FF%7CFT%7CFC%7CSI%7C&amp;hfAB=&amp;hfBBT=&amp;hfPR=&amp;hfZ=&amp;stadium=&amp;hfBBL=&amp;hfNewZones=&amp;hfGT=R%7C&amp;hfC=&amp;hfSea=2018%7C&amp;hfSit=&amp;player_type=pitcher&amp;hfOuts=&amp;opponent=&amp;pitcher_throws=&amp;batter_stands=&amp;hfSA=&amp;game_date_gt=2018-08-13&amp;game_date_lt=&amp;hfInfield=&amp;team=TOR&amp;position=&amp;hfOutfield=&amp;hfRO=&amp;home_road=&amp;hfFlag=&amp;hfPull=&amp;metric_1=&amp;hfInn=&amp;min_pitches=0&amp;min_results=0&amp;group_by=name&amp;sort_col=pitches&amp;player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&amp;sort_order=desc&amp;min_pas=0#results_pitchChart_name_656887_" target="_blank">willing to climb the ladder to challenge hitters</a>. The pitch topped out at a shade under 96 miles per hour and was responsible for seven of his 12 whiffs on the night. He also used it 57 times on that muggy Monday, combining to throw his curveball, slider and changeup 40 times.</p>
<p>While that’s his greatest strength by most accounts, Reid-Foley declined to put his arsenal in such stark terms.</p>
<p>“It’s night to night. You’ve got to adjust, it’s a game of adjustments. Whatever the night may be.”</p>
<p>That night called for fastballs. His changeup looked good in its limited usage, but on a night where Reid-Foley’s slider and curveball command were a little off, he primarily used his heater to get through the Royals lineup.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>On Saturday, the Yankees were much less kind to the rookie, ambushing him for eight runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. It wasn&#8217;t the start that anyone was hoping to see from him, but Reid-Foley is all about competing and overcoming previous failures. That&#8217;s been the case <a href="https://soundcloud.com/jesse-goldberg-strassler-1/lugnuts-pitcher-sean-reid-foley-june-2nd" target="_blank">since his early years in pro ball</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>Looking at his minor league track record, a promising trend emerges: At every level where Reid-Foley has pitched in more than one season, his numbers the second time around are better by a comfortable margin.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/08/SRF_Minors.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-16603 " src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/08/SRF_Minors.jpg" alt="SRF_Minors" width="599" height="196" /></a></p>
<p>When asked about some of the lessons he took from one year to the next in order to improve himself, Reid-Foley said that he’d solicit help from others to make sure he was on the right path.</p>
<p>“Just really learning about myself, learning more routines that will help me, really learning from other teammates, other starters, even bullpen guys and how they go about their business. Really just knowing how to go out and compete every day and be ready to take the ball every five days.”</p>
<p style="text-align: center"> *****</p>
<p>Competition was on the menu for most of the afternoon on Saturday, with the tone set in the first inning. The game began with a leadoff walk where Brett Gardner eventually won an eight-pitch battle that saw Reid-Foley working up and away. After striking out the menacing Giancarlo Stanton with a picture-perfect slider and retiring Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius strode to the plate. With his first pitch Reid-Foley dropped the shortstop to his knees with a 94 mph fastball that would’ve clipped his shin if not for some fancy footwork.</p>
<p>In the moment, it felt like Reid-Foley was going on the attack, forcing Gregorius to think about not getting so close to the plate, setting up more pitches high and away. Pitch two was a low fastball on the outside corner of the strike zone, while pitch three whizzed up and out of the zone off the plate, before Reid-Foley induced a swinging strike on a great changeup on pitch four. Pitch five was a fastball at the very top outer corner of the strike zone, decent pitch placement in a vacuum. But Danny Jansen had set up low and inside. Gregorius sent it over the wall in right center.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>While the penchant for fighting back and overcoming lies mostly with Reid-Foley, he also noted some consistent themes imparted by the organization in his work through the various minor league levels.</p>
<p>“They definitely want you to be able to take care of yourself and always be putting yourself in the best situation whether it’s on the field or off the field – carry yourself as a professional. Number one obviously is be on time for everything, just little stuff like that that they really cement with you and you kind of live your life by it as you get older and you get around it a lot more.</p>
<p>“On the pitching side I’d say the fastball command – whenever you’re getting ahead of guys put them away or try to get three outs with your last pitches type of stuff – just little things. I mean obviously if it’s not your A-game that day it’s going to be a little tougher. Those are the days where you really have to trust what you’ve learned and be consistent. And especially have fun out there.”</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>Nobody other than the man himself can say whether he was trusting what he’d learned on Saturday, but it was not a day for Reid-Foley&#8217;s A-game, and he almost certainly wasn’t having fun. At least not until John Gibbons somehow elicited a chuckle on the mound before giving him the hook on a tough afternoon.</p>
<p>In the fourth inning, Giancarlo Stanton watched the same slider that struck him out in the first sail out of the zone for ball one. The second pitch, a fastball, fared no better. Reid-Foley tried to sneak a heater over the inside of the plate and paid dearly, as Stanton did what Stanton does. Miguel Andujar would later tag him on a changeup that started middle-middle, stayed there, and finished deep in the left field seats.</p>
<p>Beyond the hits he uncorked a pair of wild pitches, one of which would’ve been ticketed for the fifth row if not for the protective netting behind home plate. He was also undone by some poor play from his teammates, making him an true member of the 2018 Jays rotation. Danny Jansen airmailed a throw to second, allowing the runner to move to third and score on a sacrifice fly. Teoscar Hernandez got a poor read on a loping Stanton fly ball, dinging his pitcher with a single and a run allowed when Stanton would later come around to score. A Devon Travis throwing error would lead to another run later in the inning as well.</p>
<p>There was still some good to take away from the outing. Reid-Foley induced 10 swinging strikes and had some success in the game’s individual battles. He struck Gregorius out his second time up with a fastball that ran up and away. He had decent success working the top of the strike zone against lefties, aside from that one notable exception. The three batters who worked walks – Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Neil Walker – would be retired with ease in their subsequent trips to the plate, including strikeouts for Hicks and Walker. Reid-Foley, for all that might have gone wrong on Saturday, competed.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>As for the rest of the season, Reid-Foley isn’t losing sight of the bigger picture. He’s got goals that go beyond fixing one crappy afternoon in New York.</p>
<p>“Just try to get better every day. I mean you can always learn up here, there’s so much more info that you have that you’re able to use. Don’t lose sight of what the actual dream is, of being a long-term big leaguer. And put myself and this organization in the best position coming into next year, finish out this year strong.”</p>
<p>Although it might have been cool for a rookie to see the various legends trotted out in Saturday’s pregame ceremony, it was otherwise a day to forget for the young pitcher. There are going to be better days ahead, where the games are fun and that long-term goal seems to be at his fingertips, if not within his grasp entirely. But there will also be more failures to learn from and struggles to overcome, as baseball tends to dole those out indiscriminately. If history suggests anything, though, it’s that Reid-Foley will keep competing &#8212; that he&#8217;ll find a way to learn from the present and come back stronger.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>The Top Prospects to Watch For at Each Blue Jays MiLB Affiliate</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/03/25/the-top-players-to-watch-at-each-blue-jays-farm-team/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/03/25/the-top-players-to-watch-at-each-blue-jays-farm-team/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Mar 2017 11:32:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tammy Rainey]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Casey Lawrence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rowdy Tellez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Reid-Foley]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=9743</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Writer&#8217;s Note: It is still early for us to know (officially) exactly where each player will be assigned, but for most of the higher profile guys, one can make a pretty good educated guess. I&#8217;ll likely be wrong on one or two of these guys, but it should be pretty accurate overall.  Also, this preview [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Writer&#8217;s Note: It is still early for us to know (officially) exactly where each player will be assigned, but for most of the higher profile guys, one can make a pretty good educated guess. I&#8217;ll likely be wrong on one or two of these guys, but it should be pretty accurate overall.  Also, this preview is strictly a look at the full-season squads. No one but a time traveler could give you a worthwhile preview of the short-season clubs at this point. So let&#8217;s take a road trip and see how the farm clubs shape up.</em></p>
<h3>AAA &#8211; Buffalo Bisons</h3>
<p>Typically the Triple-A squad is stacked with minor league veterans who can provide emergency relief for some temporary hole in the major league squad. While this is set to be a mostly veteran squad, it has a higher proportion of younger players who may have a major league career than most past Blue Jays AAA teams. Also, the Bisons look to sport an opening day pitching staff that could be made up almost entirely of pitchers who could legitimately contribute at the big league level.</p>
<h4>Top Pitcher to Watch &#8211; Casey Lawrence</h4>
<p>The classic example of a &#8220;non-prospect&#8221; who&#8217;s turned into an interesting sleeper candidate. Much has been written by beat <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/casey-lawrence-goes-almost-done-almost-major-leaguer/">beat reporters</a> about the improbable turnaround in Lawrence&#8217;s fortunes. The appeal in keeping an eye on him lies more in seeing whether the ultimate underdog scenario plays out or whether it&#8217;s a spring narrative illusion. It&#8217;s true that people associated with the team are talking him up, making reference to a mechanical change that added some velocity last year. Upon his return to Buffalo the better stuff contributed to an uptick in strikeouts, and noticeably improved the H/9 ratio. But the sample of work under this newfound progress is small, and the previous body of work shows a lot of contact for the upper level teams. Watch him to see if what the coaches are seeing manifests in improved game results.</p>
<h4>Top Hitter to Watch &#8211; Rowdy Tellez</h4>
<p>Casual fans may not realize how deceptive his draft position was, being the classic case of the guy who fell because everyone was convinced he&#8217;d never sign. The Jays, however, had disposable cash after first rounder Phil Bickford declined to sign and made the deal.  All last year I documented Tellez&#8217;s stats after he turned around a slow start  (he was hitting .143/.299/.275 through May 9), but it bears repeating. On the balance of the season he hit .337/.407/.594 which has to excite any Jays fan. The caveat is that New Hampshires home park is quite friendly to left-handed power, so the thing to watch is how well that production translates to Buffalo.</p>
<p>Rowdy&#8217;s near-term future depends on what Justin Smoak does to cling to his job this year, and the Jays seem prepared to give him a lot of rope. But my hunch is once the trade deadline passes Tellez may well be in Toronto staking his claim to the 1B job.</p>
<h4>Five Other Names to Know</h4>
<p>1. Dalton Pompey &#8211; Okay, you already know this one. My guess is no later than June he&#8217;ll be making us happy in Toronto&#8217;s outfield.</p>
<p>2. Danny Barnes &#8211; Yes, the Jays have stacked up a notable pile of bullpen options, but you haven&#8217;t heard the last of this guy.</p>
<p>3. Matt Dermody &#8211; Aaron Loup has apparently locked down his job in Toronto (as I expected, I&#8217;m still a fan of his) but Dermody will likely get his chance to work some for the Toronto squad this year.</p>
<p>4. Harold Ramirez &#8211; He&#8217;s got a Shannon Stewart arm, but the Blue Jays seem real impressed with his hitting.</p>
<p>5. Chris Smith &#8211; the subject of much spring chatter, big arm with velocity that some of the major leaguers lack. You&#8221;l probably see him at some point.</p>
<p><strong> With Apologies To:</strong> Mat Latos, Gavin Floyd, Ryan Tepera, Jeff Believeau, and Darrell Cecilliani</p>
<h3>AA &#8211; New Hampshire Fisher Cats</h3>
<p>While the Fisher Cats look to open the year with at least half  a dozen names you&#8217;re probably familiar with, the rest of the roster might be stretched thin unless some faded-hopes guys turn their trajectory around.</p>
<h4>Top Pitcher to Watch &#8211; Sean Reid-Foley</h4>
<p>While he&#8217;s not the only top 10 pitching prospect on this team, he&#8217;s the one with the upward trajectory lately. The organization seems to have cleaned up the mechanical issues that were hampering his control, cutting his BB/9 rate from a hideous 6.3 in 2015 to 3.0 in 2016. It was even better than that once he was promoted to Dunedin. It&#8217;s not impossible that they have him start the year with the D-Jays, but he was so dominant in his 10 starts there last year that he&#8217;d have to be having a rough spring to go back there, particularly since Dunedin has a jam-packed-with-prospects rotation.</p>
<h4>Top Hitter to Watch &#8211; Anthony Alford</h4>
<p>Again, it would not be stunning to see him begin the year in Dunedin since injuries wrecked the first half of the 2016 season. But he finished strong and John Gibbons in particular raved about his progress in a recent interview. In my view, Alford is on track to be the heir apparent to Jose Bautista in a couple of years and introducing him to upper level pitching is the next step.</p>
<h4>Five Other Names to Know</h4>
<p>1. Richard Urena &#8211; Impressed with the bat in big league camp, but also made some high-profile errors which seemed to be more about focus than ability. He&#8217;s still quite young though, watch for him to mature.</p>
<p>2. Reese McGuire &#8211; a brief rumor suggested the Jays were not ruling him out for the big league backup role before Saltalamacchia signed.  Just yesterday Russ Atkins gushed over him on the Jeff Blair show. Well known as a very gifted defender, watch to see if he translates his suspected hitting ability into decent on-field results.</p>
<p>3. Conner Greene &#8211; Over the 2014 and 2015 seasons combined, Greene efficently posted a 2.7 BB/9 and 7.8 K/9 and those numbers made him a top prospect, but when he hit AA (the last five starts of 2015) all that seemed to desert him. He was dropped back to Dunedin for the first half of 2016 but both stats were still going in the wrong direction (4.4 and 5.9 respectively). They saw something they liked I guess as he moved back to AA but the stats didn&#8217;t show whatever it was. You&#8217;ll want to watch both those numbers to see if he can get his groove back.</p>
<p>4. Tim Mayza &#8211; Hard throwing, high velocity lefty that had everyone buzzing in the spring. His control deserted him for a month in AA last year (walking 13 in 11 innings from July 8 to August 4) but he finished strong. Given the overflowing Bisons &#8216;pen, he should find himself back in NH to start the year, but he&#8217;s not the kind of guy that will be restricted to level-by-level promotion. If July was just a hiccup, then he&#8217;ll come fast.</p>
<p>5. Shane Dawson &#8211; until last year he looked like a poor-man&#8217;s Mark Buehrle, a tenacious crafty lefty in the best sense of the term about whom observers freely used baseball cliches about toughness and dedication.  But, like Greene, AA saw the disappearance of his formerly well regarded control. He came into 2016 with 2.6 BB/9 over his career.  Last year that almost doubled to an unsightly 4.8. The 23 year old Alberta native is a fringe prospect at his best, but they challenged him last year and if he finds his command again, who knows?</p>
<p><strong>With Apologies To:</strong> Ryan McBroom</p>
<h3>High A &#8211; Dunedin Blue Jays</h3>
<p>The two A-level teams are going to be, at least to begin, more fun to watch than the upper levels. Dunedin sports a rotation with five players who, in my view, have a legitimate chance to pitch well in the majors in some role. The offensive side of their game is thin, with only three real prospects (and, potentially, a has been that might re-emerge) but that pitching though.</p>
<h4>Pitcher to Watch &#8211; Ryan Borucki</h4>
<p>If I have to pick just one, I&#8217;ll go with the guy that the organization seems highest on. After an injury plagued career he began 2016 healthy and assigned to Dunedin and it was ugly (read that UUUUUUUUUUUgly!) to the tune of 40 hits in 20 IP and 10 of those &#8211; TEN! &#8211; were homers. So they dropped him back to Lansing where he sorted out what he was doing wrong From June 10 through the end of the season he threw 85 innings, allowed 68 hits and ONE homer, while walking 14 and striking out 84 and posting a 1.69 ERA. Watch for his second tour in Dunedin to go much better.</p>
<h4>Hitter to Watch &#8211; Lourdes Gurriel, Jr.</h4>
<p>I really don&#8217;t have to explain this one to you, after a year away from competition, the Jays will be watching to see how LGJ handles the everyday SS role and where his bat is. What I can&#8217;t tell you is whether they will go slow, or be aggressive in his promotion, but my hunch is that if he does well in the first half then he&#8217;ll get some AA time, and there move around the field some so as to not push Urena to the bench much.</p>
<h4>Five Other Name to Know</h4>
<p>1. Max Pentecost &#8211; He can hit, he showed that last year (an .864 OPS in Lansing) but no one is stating confidently that his shoulder will let him get back behind the plate. Some say that without catching he&#8217;s a much less valuable prospect and to an extent that&#8217;s true, because a great hitting catcher is a great prospect. But it doesn&#8217;t mean he&#8217;s suddenly a guy you can ignore either. He&#8217;s said to be athletic enough to play other positions and if he keeps hitting he&#8217;ll have a future. Still, the thing to watch is how often he&#8217;s behind the plate, particularly as the summer wears on.</p>
<p>2. Jon Harris &#8211; I&#8217;ve seen at least one report that indicates his velocity may have ticked up a bit and he&#8217;s Sanchezed himself (that is, put on pounds of extra muscle). He had eight starts in Dunedin last year and his K rate was noticeably down from his work in Lansing. If that recovers, he&#8217;s nominally the guy you&#8217;d peg to be the first promoted to AA.</p>
<p>3. Angel Perdomo &#8211; the chatter says that eventually he&#8217;s likely for the bullpen due to inconsistency in his secondary offerings.  He had an ugly month (7/20-8/20) last year in which is command deserted him and he posted a 6.82 ERA over 32.1 IP with 16 walks, but otherwise has flat out dominant. I admit to scouting the stat-line, but I&#8217;m going to keep watching to see how the lefty holds up as a starter.</p>
<p>4. Danny Jansen &#8211; made the AFL roster last fall and hit well after a couple of injury plagued seasons. Reportedly impressing in Florida right now, he&#8217;s an impressive defender who still needs to prove he can hit over a full season. It will be of interest how often the D-Jays let him work on his bat at DH while Pentecost tries to re-establish his defense.</p>
<p>5. Jordan Romano &#8211; another guy some are pegging as a potential reliever, but the Markham native came off a season lost to Tommy John surgery and completely outclassed the Midwest league en-route to a 2.11 ERA over 15 games and 72.2 IP. Low hits, reasonable walks, almost a strikeout per inning, what&#8217;s not to like? I&#8217;ll be watching to see how that translates as he moves up.</p>
<p><strong>With Apologies To:</strong> Francisco Rios, Juan Kelly, and&#8230;Mitch Nay?</p>
<h3>Low A &#8211; Lansing Lugnuts</h3>
<p>With four high profile starters and up to a half dozen impressive bats, all eyes might be on the Lugnuts to start the year. With possibly eight players from the 2016 draft, and (likely) the top prospect in the system, there will be a lot to see.</p>
<h4>Pitcher to Watch &#8211; T.J. Zeuch</h4>
<p>You really have a lot of options here, as in Dunedin, but the potential for last year&#8217;s first round pick to blossom in his first full season as a pro has to  be the best source of intrigue for me. There are a couple of rotation-mates of whom I am a big fan, but there&#8217;s reportedly still a good bit of upside to Zuech and I&#8217;ll be interested to see it emerge.</p>
<h4>Hitter to Watch &#8211; Vlad Guerrero, Jr.</h4>
<p>I haven&#8217;t heard ANY negative comment on the guy and his development might be well served by a full-season league if indeed he&#8217;s ready. Besides, if I don&#8217;t assume this I wouldn&#8217;t get to write about the #1 prospect in this piece and that would never do.</p>
<h4>Five Other Names to Know</h4>
<p>1. Bo Bichette &#8211; Another guy who might not start the year in full season ball, in fact for an ordinary prospect you could be certain he wouldn&#8217;t, but if he does he&#8217;ll be second only to Vlad in provoking fan expectations.</p>
<p>2. Justin Maese &#8211; After dominating the Northwest League in five starts (in which he walked a single batter) he moved up to Lansing for 10 more and, apart from one really bad start, was pretty dominant there as well. The scouts like him as much as the stats do and I, for one, love to watch a guy who doesn&#8217;t walk anyone.</p>
<p>3. J.B. Woodman &#8211; you have to disregard, somewhat, the nine-game stint in Lansing last year to close the season, during which he was simply on fire. Sample size issues demand it.  In Vancouver he showed excellent doubles power, solid OBP results but also far ore strikeouts than you&#8217;d like. Be watching to see if they come down, and if some of those doubles translate into homers.</p>
<p>4. Joshua Palacios &#8211; Like Woodman, a CF drafted in 2016, he raked in Vancouver, hitting .355 over 28 games there. He needs to develop some pop, or or baserunning skills to be a complete player so that will be the things to watch him for in 2017.</p>
<p>5. Patrick Murphy &#8211; another type of player I have a soft spot for is the one who overcomes a lot of injury issues and reclaims his status. If you read my columns last summer you know that Murphy is one such guy. He seemed to tire a bit towards the end, and you&#8217;d probably like a few more strikeouts, but it was a nice foundation. More please.</p>
<p><strong>With Apologies To:</strong> Zach Jackson, Caven Biggio, and&#8230;Bradley Jones?</p>
<p>Now you&#8217;re all set with the guys you&#8217;ll possibly get sick of me raving about all summer. A mere two weeks remain until these guys take the field in games that count.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Minor League Update: June 4th Edition</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/04/minor-league-update-june-4th-edition/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/04/minor-league-update-june-4th-edition/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Jun 2016 16:50:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tammy Rainey]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minor League Update]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[A.J. Jimenez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Angel Perdomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Francisco Rios]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jesus Montero]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rowdy Tellez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Reid-Foley]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=3314</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re into June now, and a lot of the early curiosities have corrected themselves, though not all, and the player development cycle now shifts to the upcoming draft and the subsequent filling out of the short-season team rosters where we&#8217;ll begin to get our first 2016 look at a number of interesting players. In the [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We&#8217;re into June now, and a lot of the early curiosities have corrected themselves, though not all, and the player development cycle now shifts to the upcoming draft and the subsequent filling out of the short-season team rosters where we&#8217;ll begin to get our first 2016 look at a number of interesting players. In the mean time, here&#8217;s a small taste of that action via a couple of tweet&#8217;s from Sportsnet&#8217;s Arden Zwelling:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Asked a Blue Jays talent evaluator at extended spring training what he&#39;s seen from 17-year-old Vlad Guerrero Jr: <a href="https://t.co/kx4iyU6T1w">pic.twitter.com/kx4iyU6T1w</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArdenZwelling/status/738010613423673345">June 1, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">But what the Blue Jays are most encouraged by with Vlad Jr is his work at third base: <a href="https://t.co/4JWzhcY7V2">pic.twitter.com/4JWzhcY7V2</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArdenZwelling/status/738011066114965504">June 1, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Now, to business.</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=656887#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL">Sean Reid-Foley</a> &#8211; RHP – Lansing (Low A)</p>
<p>Last Week: 1-0, 2 GS , 15 IP, 9  H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 17 K<br />
Season: 3-3, 45.0 IP, 20 BB, 50 K, 3.60 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 10 K/9, 4 BB/9</p>
<p>The names are surely familiar to you at this point &#8211; Lansing starting pitchers just passing around the honors from week to week in these updates. Every person mentioned under this heading this year, save Drew Hutchison, has at some point taken a turn in the Lansing rotation.  Sometimes it can be tough to pick between them.  Technically speaking, SRF only had one start since the last update, but the one previous to that was made on the last night of the previous stat-week and I didn&#8217;t change the already selected top 3, so I&#8217;ll speak of it here. In his last two outings, Reid-Foley has 15 IP, 4 ER, only one walk (an issue for him in the past), and 17 strikeouts.</p>
<p>2. <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</p>
<p>Last Week: 0-0, 1 GS , 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K<br />
Season: 2-1, 43.1 IP, 20 BB, 54 K, 1.45 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 11.2 K/9, 4.1 BB/9</p>
<p>In the three way competition to be the second Lansing starter to get the call to fly down to Dunedin, the 6&#8217;6&#8243; lefty doesn&#8217;t intend to take a back seat to anyone.  He was pitching Friday night as I was putting this post together, and put together six innings of 1-hit ball with 8 strikeouts. This start came after he pitched seven innings of 1-hit ball in the previous turn.</p>
<p>His ERA on the season is now down to 1.28, in his last 26 IP he&#8217;s allowed a single earned run and only 10 hits. Of the various guys who&#8217;ve started in Lansing this year, this one might ultimately end up being the best.</p>
<p>3. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=642590#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2016/MINORS">Francisco Rios</a> &#8211; RHP &#8211; Dunedin (High A)</p>
<p>Last Week: 2-0, 2 GS , 15 IP, 12 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 6 K<br />
Season (combined): 5-2, 64.1 IP, 16 BB, 68 K, 1.82 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9</p>
<p>While his control went a bit sideways in his most recent outing, Rios gave up only two earned runs in 15 IP, and the extra walks were most likely a fluke, possibly the work of an umpire as much as the pitcher. It&#8217;s only the third time since 2015 opened that he&#8217;s walked as many as four batters, and only the fifth time (in 26 starts) that he&#8217;s walked more than two.</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=642133#/career/R/hitting/2016/ALL">Rowdy Tellez</a> &#8211; 1B &#8211; New Hampshire (AA)</p>
<p>Last Week: 11/24, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 0 CS, 3 BB, .458 AVG, .517 OBP, .916 SLG<br />
Season: 43/172, 13 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 0 SB, 2 CS, 31 BB, .250 AVG, .362 OBP, .477SLG</p>
<p>Yes, I know. You&#8217;ve seen him on this list before. Odds are fairly high you will again. Last time out I documented Tellez&#8217;s turnaround from a very slow start, and he hasn&#8217;t cooled off since then. As of this writing he&#8217;s riding a 10 game hit streak. Since May 10 he has a .370 BA and a 1.097 OPS. Any doubts about his ability to hit AA pitching have certainly been allayed.</p>
<p>2. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=524968#/career/R/hitting/2016/ALL">Jesus Montero</a> &#8211; DH &#8211; Buffalo (AAA)</p>
<p>Last Week: 8/24, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 0 CS, 1 BB, .333 AVG, .360 OBP, .541 SLG<br />
Season: 59/194, 13 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 0 SB, 0 CS, 8 BB, .304 AVG, .335 OBP, .799 SLG</p>
<p>When the Blue Jays elected to go with an 8-man bullpen while Troy Tulowitzki is on the DL, it was rightly observed that they were left with no one known for their hitting on the bench. To which it was replied, not without justification, that there isn&#8217;t a ton of potential offensive help at Buffalo either &#8211; but recent acquisition Jesus Montero is begging to differ. The 26 year old man-with-no-need-for-a-glove is on a monster tear over the last almost 3 weeks he&#8217;s been an absolute monster.</p>
<p>Not counting last nights game, in which he went 2/4 with a double and triple, his OPS since May 14 is .997 to compliment a .354 batting average. If this were to sustain over the coming weeks, it will ease concerns about what is available down there in case of injury to a player like Smoak or Encarnacion.</p>
<p>3.  <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=543362#/career/R/hitting/2016/ALL">AJ Jimenez</a> &#8211; C &#8211; Buffalo</p>
<p>Last Week: 6/14, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 0 CS, 1 BB, .428 AVG, .466 OBP, .517 SLG<br />
Season: 27/100, 7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 1 SB, 1 CS, 7 BB, .270 AVG, .333 OBP, .420 SLG</p>
<p>Many of you might not remember when AJ Jimenez appeared regularly on Blue Jays prospect lists. Drafted in 2008, he outranks every player in the Toronto system in service time with the organization&#8230;save for Brett Cecil. A well regarded defender, after the 2011 season (in which he hit over .300 with a .770 OPS in Dunedin) he was regularly described as a future major leaguer. Then the injuries set in. He managed to make it into, collectively, only 205 games over the next four seasons.</p>
<p>In fact, he&#8217;s already played in more games, as of last night, in 2016 than he played in all of 2o15. This year you would have largely been justified in the assumption that his window to the MLB had been closed. However, for over three weeks now he&#8217;s been on the best roll of his career. Over the last 14 games through Thursday (53 PA), he has an OPS of .945. There are huge sample size considerations here, but it&#8217;s good to see that there&#8217;s something left.</p>
<h3><strong>Other Minor Notes</strong></h3>
<p>Over the just-passed Memorial Day weekend, the full season minor league teams completed their first third of the season, and it seems only proper to take a moment and assess the top-prospects that various outlets have mentioned. Who&#8217;s stock is climbing? Who&#8217;s stock is dropping?</p>
<h4>Climbing</h4>
<p>1. Francisco Rios &#8211; no one has done more to put themselves in the spotlight<br />
2. Angel Perdomo &#8211; was not an afterthought, as Rios was, but still improved his status<br />
3. Rowdy Tellez &#8211; some wondered if the placement was too aggressive<br />
4. Jon Harris &#8211; wiped away concerns about last years poor debut<br />
5. Dwight Smith, Jr. &#8211; most observers were moving on from him.</p>
<h4>Dropping</h4>
<p>1. D. J. Davis &#8211; things are looking grim after he had a modest rebound last year<br />
2. Lane Thomas &#8211; one of my favorites before last season, really looking lost right now<br />
3. Tom Robson &#8211; comeback from TJ has not gone well at all.<br />
4. Conner Greene &#8211; where did the strikeouts go?<br />
5. Matt Dean &#8211; even Kevin Ahrens showed more promise than this.</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>Dalton Pompey</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>OF</td>
<td>AAA</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>.222</td>
<td>.300</td>
<td>.222</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dwight Smith, Jr</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>LF</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>.192</td>
<td>.275</td>
<td>.192</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Anthony Alford</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>CF</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>.238</td>
<td>.238</td>
<td>.429</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Richard Urena</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>SS</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>.185</td>
<td>.178</td>
<td>.407</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Max Pentecost</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>DH</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>.166</td>
<td>.230</td>
<td>.166</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>4</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>Dalton Pompey</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>OF</td>
<td>AAA</td>
<td>32</td>
<td>135</td>
<td>.269</td>
<td>.351</td>
<td>.345</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>24</td>
<td>41</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dwight Smith, Jr</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>LF</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>44</td>
<td>188</td>
<td>.263</td>
<td>.330</td>
<td>.404</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>17</td>
<td>35</td>
<td>69</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Anthony Alford</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>CF</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>29</td>
<td>121</td>
<td>.214</td>
<td>.274</td>
<td>.268</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>47</td>
<td>30</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Richard Urena</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>SS</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>47</td>
<td>200</td>
<td>.246</td>
<td>.293</td>
<td>.382</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>35</td>
<td>73</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Max Pentecost</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>DH</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>84</td>
<td>.263</td>
<td>.333</td>
<td>.303</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>23</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>1.23</td>
<td>11.0</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td>0.55</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Shane Dawson</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>AA</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>1.50</td>
<td>6.0</td>
<td>5.3</td>
<td>1.25</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Conner Greene</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>1.50</td>
<td>6.0</td>
<td>5.3</td>
<td>1.25</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jon Harris</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>7.71</td>
<td>4.8</td>
<td>4.8</td>
<td>2.04</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: 227px" border="1" width="479">
<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>10</td>
<td>58.1</td>
<td>2.93</td>
<td>9.4</td>
<td>3.4</td>
<td>1.06</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>Conner Greene</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>A+</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>54.2</td>
<td>3.29</td>
<td>4.9</td>
<td>4.5</td>
<td>1.54</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jon Harris</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>SP</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>45.0</td>
<td>2.36</td>
<td>10.0</td>
<td>4.0</td>
<td>1.29</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>* = Stats over two levels</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Minor League Update: April 15th to May 11th Edition</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/05/12/minor-league-survey-1/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/05/12/minor-league-survey-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 May 2016 15:45:46 +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 Alford]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dalton Pompey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dustin Antolin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Francisco Rios]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jon Berti]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonathan Davis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Juan Kelly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Reid-Foley]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=2496</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This week BP Toronto is bringing back the Weekly Minor League Update. The format is slightly revised but if you followed the old Blue Jays Plus site, you’ll recognize the framework. What’s different? I’ll be choosing up to three top hitters and pitchers each week, instead of one. And the Other minor league notes section [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This week BP Toronto is bringing back the Weekly Minor League Update. The format is slightly revised but if you followed the old Blue Jays Plus site, you’ll recognize the framework. What’s different? I’ll be choosing up to three top hitters and pitchers each week, instead of one. And the Other minor league notes section will lean towards placing recent performance in the context of year-to-date work rather than just being a snapshot of some random hot or cold streak. Of course, for this first edition, with a full month worth of states, I’m probably going to say a lot about the entire month this time, not just the most recent week. In this and future entries, which beginning with next week will be appearing on Saturdays, all references to current stats are through the games of the previous Wednesday. For this post, I used game stats through Sunday.</p>
<p><strong>Pitchers of the Week/Month</strong></p>
<p>1. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=642590">Francisco Rios</a> &#8211; RHP &#8211; Lansing (Low A)</p>
<p>6 G &#8211; 30 IP &#8211; 1.20 ERA &#8211; 0.97 WHIP &#8211; 12.9 K/9 &#8211; 2.4 BB/9</p>
<p>In the time I spent reviewing Top Prospect lists in preparation for last week’s Aggregate List, some of them 30 or more names deep, only one of them made mention of Rios. To be fair, a look at his stats coming into this season would not have indicated there was any reason to. But the 2012 signee out of Mexico seems to have discovered something as he’s completely dominated the Midwest League in the first month of 2016. He had his best outing yet on Friday, which happened to be his 21st birthday, striking out 10 betters in 5.1 IP. Coming into the season, his K/9 was 7.6, and his BB/9 was 3.3 and a completely unimpressive 4.84 ERA over three years. Whether or not this is something promising, or a mirage, remains to be seen. Reports say he’s using four quality pitches now and the Blue Jays have decided to let him try his luck at Dunedin. His promotion was announced earlier in the week.</p>
<p>2. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=656887#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL">Sean Reid-Foley</a> &#8211; RHP &#8211; Lansing</p>
<p>4 G &#8211; 18.2 IP &#8211; 1.93 ERA &#8211; 1.13 WHIP &#8211; 9.6 K/9 &#8211; 4.8 BB/9</p>
<p>In contrast to the unheralded Rios, Reid-Foley has had one of the highest profiles in the organization as a 2014 draftee out of high school, and he was surprisingly assigned to full season last spring. The book on him is well known and a not-unfamiliar tale for pitchers with his ability. If he can minimize the free pass and control the strike zone he’ll earn the considerable praise that’s being heaped on him. The hidden story of the season so far is the (small sample caveat obviously in force) trend in a positive direction on that front. In his last two outings he struck out 12 and walked 2 over 8 innings.  He&#8217;s just off a stint on the 7-Day DL.</p>
<p>3. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=622780">Angel Perdomo</a> &#8211; LHP &#8211; Lansing</p>
<p>6 G &#8211; 23.1 IP &#8211; 2.31 ERA &#8211; 1.03 WHIP &#8211; 12.4 K/9 &#8211; 4.6 BB/9</p>
<p>Perdomo was a huge (6’6”) specimen signed out of the DR in December 2011, and he was brought along quite slowly. He accumulated almost 80 IP over three seasons on the lowest level (two in the Dominican Summer League, then another in the Gulf Coast League) and one might have been forgiven for assuming the team saw something they didn’t like. However, he broke out last year in a season split between Bluefield and Vancouver and he’s only increased that dominance in 2016. That said, he suffered his first setback Saturday on his 22nd birthday, so watch to see how he deals with that adversity.</p>
<p><strong>Hitters of the Week/</strong></p>
<p>1. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=622806#/career/R/hitting/2016/ALL">Juan Kelly</a> &#8211; C/1B &#8211; Lansing</p>
<p>99 PA &#8211; .293/.353/.522 &#8211; 2 HR &#8211; 2/2 SB &#8211; 7 BB &#8211; 21 K</p>
<p>A slender 21 year old Dominican who, like Perdomo, got his first professional work in 2012, Kelly is a relatively light hitter but he has lots of room to get stronger. His best talent so far is a robust career .358 OBP (though his walk rate is down a bit this year). At the moment, he’s part of a trio of hitters (along with Gunner Heidt and Andrew Guillote) carrying the Lugnuts offense.  He’s listed as a catcher, but also gets time at 1B when others are behind the dish.</p>
<p>2. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=542932">Jonathan Davis</a> &#8211; OF &#8211; Dunedin (High A)</p>
<p>115 PA &#8211; .269/.424/.484 &#8211; 4 HR &#8211; 9/10 SB &#8211; 22 BB &#8211; 28 K</p>
<p>One of the other Davises playing the outfield in the Toronto minor leagues (there are 3 in all), the 2013 15th round selection is another unheralded player but in a month of largely ordinary, or worse, hitting performances he’s the one doing almost everything right. Even though he’s tied with Rowdy Tellez for most walks in April, and only Dom Brown has more homers, he’s never shown a particular talent for either before, so he won’t be climbing the prospect lists just yet.</p>
<p>3. <a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=542932">Jon Berti</a> &#8211; 2B &#8211; New Hampshire (AA)</p>
<p>91 PA &#8211; .291/.411/.405 &#8211; 1 HR &#8211; 14/18 SB &#8211; 12 BB &#8211; 13 K (AA)</p>
<p>22 PA &#8211; .150/.227/.350 &#8211; 1 HR &#8211; 2/2 SB &#8211; 2 BB &#8211; 3 K (AAA)</p>
<p>Berti is a guy who, if you made a long enough prospect list, you’d start considering once you got into the 40s or so. And that&#8217;s only because he’s a gifted fielder and a very skilled baserunner with enough speed to steal 30 or more bases every year (his career high was 56 for Dunedin in 2013) and he already has 16 this year in the first month of the season alone. Berti, a college draftee, was moving one level at a time, reaching AA in 2014 at the age of 24. He started 2015 back there, before receiving a mid-season promotion to AAA Buffalo. He didn’t put the bat on the ball as well at the higher level, but one would have assumed the natural move would have been to assign him there, rather than back in AA this season, but with the Jays having packed the AAA roster with veteran talent, there was no room. All this is to express a bit of caution about his April performance. He’s 26 now, having his third go at AA, so it’s not a true reflection of his ability anymore. Still, under the right circumstances, probably in a different organization, he could get at least a little occasional major league time one of these years.</p>
<p><strong>Other Minor Notes</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=546990#/career/R/hitting/2016/ALL">Dalton Pompey</a> &#8211; OF &#8211; Buffalo (AAA)</p>
<p>59 PA &#8211; .226/.305/.264 &#8211; 0 HR &#8211; 2/2 SB &#8211; 6 BB &#8211; 11 K</p>
<p>Open the season sidelined with a foot injury suffered in late spring, played a week, had to sit again for five days, came back for 2 games then sat again for eight days. He’s on his third game back and went 2/4 on Sunday to break up a disjointed stretch of games in which he went 1 for 28. Badly needs an extended run of games to get on track.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=542884#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL">Dustin Antolin</a> &#8211; RP &#8211; Buffalo<br />
10 G &#8211; 18 IP &#8211; 3.00 ERA &#8211; 1.39 WHIP &#8211; 11.5 K/9 &#8211; 5 BB/9</p>
<p>If you don’t count the fact that he was technically a minor league free agent last winter, Antolin is the longest serving player in the Jays minor league system (and only Brett Cecil outranks him on the major league squad), having been selected in the 11th round in 2008. The 26 year old Hawaiian has moved through the system with excruciating slowness. That was largely due to elevated walk rates which he seemed to have conquered in the two most recent previous seasons. He needs to get back to that if he wants to work his way into a crowded shuttle reliever contingent.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=546990#/career/R/hitting/2016/ALL">Anthony Alford</a> &#8211; CF &#8211; Dunedin</p>
<p>7 G &#8211; 27 PA &#8211; .111/.200/.111 &#8211; 0 HR &#8211; 1/1 SB &#8211; 3 BB &#8211; 16 K<br />
Alford has only been back a week from a leg injury suffered on Opening Day on a play at the plate. So far he hasn’t gotten on track at all, and of course we can’t know if he’s still playing in some discomfort. Obviously we can’t read anything significant into the first week back after a month long layoff.</p>
<h3>Other Stat Lines of Interest</h3>
<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>Misc.</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Rowdy Tellez</td>
<td> 21</td>
<td> 1B</td>
<td> AA</td>
<td>28</td>
<td> 117</td>
<td> .168</td>
<td> .314</td>
<td> .337</td>
<td> 4</td>
<td>0</td>
<td> 22</td>
<td> 25</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Roemon Fields</td>
<td> 25</td>
<td> CF</td>
<td> AA</td>
<td> 28</td>
<td> 128</td>
<td> .263</td>
<td> .320</td>
<td> .314</td>
<td>0</td>
<td> 11</td>
<td> 10</td>
<td> 21</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Richard Urena</td>
<td> 20</td>
<td> SS</td>
<td> A</td>
<td> 26</td>
<td> 114</td>
<td> .296</td>
<td> .345</td>
<td> .344</td>
<td> 3</td>
<td> 3</td>
<td> 6</td>
<td> 13</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> D.J. Davis</td>
<td> 21</td>
<td> OF</td>
<td> A</td>
<td> 25</td>
<td> 104</td>
<td> .200</td>
<td> .276</td>
<td> .295</td>
<td> 1</td>
<td> 7</td>
<td> 9</td>
<td> 34</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Jesus Montero</td>
<td> 26</td>
<td> 1B</td>
<td> AAA</td>
<td>31</td>
<td> 131</td>
<td> .297</td>
<td> .333</td>
<td> .407</td>
<td> 2</td>
<td> 0</td>
<td> 5</td>
<td> 25</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<table class="tftable" border="1">
<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>Misc.</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Shane Dawson</td>
<td> 22</td>
<td> SP</td>
<td> AA</td>
<td> 4</td>
<td>20</td>
<td> 2.70</td>
<td> 7.7</td>
<td> 4.5</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Danny Barnes</td>
<td> 26</td>
<td> RP</td>
<td> AA</td>
<td> 10</td>
<td>15.1</td>
<td> 1.17</td>
<td> 10.6</td>
<td> 1.2</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Conner Greene</td>
<td> 21</td>
<td> SP</td>
<td> A</td>
<td> 7</td>
<td> 37.1</td>
<td> 3.13</td>
<td> 4.6</td>
<td> 4.1</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Adonys Cardona</td>
<td> 22</td>
<td> RP</td>
<td> A</td>
<td> 10</td>
<td> 11</td>
<td> 0.00</td>
<td> 4.1</td>
<td> 6.5</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Jon Harris</td>
<td> 22</td>
<td> SP</td>
<td> a</td>
<td> 4</td>
<td> 13.2</td>
<td> 1.98</td>
<td> 6.6</td>
<td> 5.3</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The Comprehensive Blue Jays Minor League Primer</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/07/the-comprehensive-blue-jays-minor-league-primer/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/07/the-comprehensive-blue-jays-minor-league-primer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2016 17:19:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tammy Rainey]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anthony Alford]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conner Greene]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dalton Pompey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minor Leagues]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prospects]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rowdy Tellez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Reid-Foley]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=1154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today is the big day for fans of the Toronto Blue Jays prospects. Today, weather permitting &#8211; given that three of the four full season teams play in northern climates &#8211; is opening day for all four full season affiliates. Since full (tentative) rosters were announced at the first of the week, you have probably perused [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Today is the big day for fans of the Toronto Blue Jays prospects. Today, weather permitting &#8211; given that three of the four full season teams play in northern climates &#8211; is opening day for all four full season affiliates. Since full (tentative) rosters were announced at the first of the week, you have probably perused them by now if you’re really interested in knowing all the finer details. So I won’t bother to repeat those for you here. Instead I will provide appropriate links to the full roster for each team to browse at your heart&#8217;s content. This review will focus on the prospects and players that should be commanding your attention for various reasons as the season gets underway, starting at the top of the system and working our way down the ladder.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?sid=t422">BUFFALO BISONS</a></h3>
<p>The Buffalo team is packed out with players with major league experience, and relatively light on legitimate prospects, so I&#8217;ll have to fudge a bit on this one. That’s not really unusual for the Jays or across the league. Major league teams like to have veteran depth they can summon if an injury creates a need on the big club. It’s not my purpose here to review those guys, however I will toss a shout-out to Drew Hutchison who had fewer than 32 IP above Hi-A ball when he was first promoted to Toronto at the age of 21. An argument could be made that on a stricter development plan, he’d have been a major league rookie at best last year. He’s still just 25.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Star Turn</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Dalton Pompey </strong>of course<strong>.</strong> No longer in possession of rookie eligibility, he’s still legitimately a prospect even if he doesn’t appear on the lists. He only really needs to consolidate his hitting progress. His bat is probably major league ready. But the team believes the CF needs more consistency, that is more reps, on the defensive side of the ball. The 23 year old is another player that on another course might just now be arriving at AAA, and would probably be in the major leagues if not for last year&#8217;s breakout from Kevin Pillar.</p>
<h4><em><strong>One to Watch</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Andy Burns</strong>, 3B, 2B, LF, sometimes SS, and more in a pinch, has slowly and steadily built his credibility in the Blue Jays system, culminating in his head-turning spring training performance. He was drafted as a SS and put up interesting slash lines in his first full professional season in 2012, and was even better in 2013. The offensive numbers cooled a bit in the last couple of years but his versatility has steadily increased. That factor alone may put him in a major league uniform sometime this season.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Don’t Sleep on…</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Jesus Montero</strong>. So okay, he’s not a prospect at all, but he’s only 26 and if the Jays can fix his swing to complement the power. . .</p>
<h4><em><strong>Remember Him?</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Darrell Ceciliani</strong> is another guy you don’t really think of as one of the Blue Jays prospects, as he has never been a top 10 prospect in the Mets organization (the team from whom he was acquired). He was quite good in the Florida State League a few years ago, then raked in the high-octane Pacific Coast League last year before impressing Jays decision-makers in Spring Training with his power. Keep an eye on how he handles International League pitching, as he very likely will see time in Toronto this season.</p>
<h4><em><strong>There’s No Such Thing as A (Relief) Pitching Prospect</strong></em></h4>
<p>To be abbreviated henceforth!</p>
<p><strong>Chad Girodo</strong> is a 25 year old lefty that stuck around a long time in Spring Training. While the Blue Jays’ relief depth is pretty impressive, this is a guy you may well see do some work for the team, if not this year then next. With rare exception, minor league relief pitchers hardly qualify as “prospects” but sometimes a guy comes through the system in the ‘pen and still makes an impact (Aaron Loup, for an example). A side-armer who dominates left-handed hitters, Girodo had a 0.62 ERA in AA New Hampshire last year with an 11/1 K/BB ratio. That’ll play.</p>
<p>Other notes &#8211; RH RP Blake McFarland is another guy that might sneak up on you this year. You don’t add a somewhat older, former undrafted free agent to the 40 man roster unless you think he can pitch in the bigs in a pinch.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?sid=t463">NEW HAMPSHIRE FISHER CATS</a></h3>
<p>Often double-A is viewed by major league teams as the real prospect proving ground and the best of them might leap-frog over the veteran-laden triple-a. Still, even when the Blue Jays are well stocked with prospects it always seems like the F-Cats have a rather plain roster. There&#8217;s only one real star here to start the season but look for that to change as the summer heats up.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Star Turn</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Rowdy Tellez</strong>, the 21 year old first baseman with the nickname that demands your adoration, was raking in Dunedin last year when he was hit in the hand by a pitch that cost him the rest of his team’s season. He did come back strong in the Arizona Fall League, but given that he only played in 35 games in Dunedin, it’s a mild surprise he was assigned to New Hampshire right out of the gate. He has an advanced feel for hitting, both for average and for power, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the higher quality arms in double-A.</p>
<h4><em><strong>One to Watch</strong></em></h4>
<p>LHP <strong>Shane Dawson</strong> is an even more surprising assignment at this level. The Alberta-born starter is widely regarded as having marginal stuff but is also described as a player who maximizes his results with an advanced feel for pitchability. The surprise here is that the 22 year old pitcher got a mere 5 starts in Dunedin after a second-half promotion in 2015. I&#8217;m guessing not one observer had penciled him in for AA.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Don’t Sleep On…</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Roman Fields</strong>. He’s always likely to be a guy with, at most, a barely tolerable bat but he also features impressive outfield defense and blazing speed. If the team can turn his bat up even a little, he could be a valuable bench outfielder. Remember, the upcoming season will only be his third in professional baseball.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Remember Him?</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>John Stilson</strong>? You remember, right? The guy that everyone said the Blue Jays stole in the 2011 draft if he could stay healthy and then he . . . didn’t? Yeah. That guy. Well, that’s not entirely fair. He looked like an absolute stud out of the ‘pen in 2013 for the Bisons. But a series of shoulder woes cut short 2014 and wiped out 2015. Reports were he was throwing 98 mph easily in spring training, so his name could pop up again.</p>
<h4><em><strong>TNSTAS(R)PP</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Brady Dragmire</strong> had one of the craziest game logs of 2015. He struggled so much in the early going that his ERA peaked at 10.80 and a 10/13 K/BB ratio on June 9 (in 21.2 IP). But after making an adjustment, he got so hot that he burst into flames (not literally). His ERA over the balance of the season was 2.38 over 41.2 IP, with a 40/7 K/BB. The 22-year old also didn&#8217;t give up a home run all year. His addition to the 40 man roster last fall showed that the Blue Jays were paying attention. He will basically go as far as his slider takes him. When it&#8217;s on, he&#8217;s very tough. When it&#8217;s not, he&#8217;s very hittable.</p>
<p>Other notes &#8211; The increasing crowd of players who play 1B/DH in the system, combined with the injuries and lack of development from once highly regarded Mitch Nay have created the opportunity for <strong>Matt Dean</strong> to return to the hot corner. He displayed considerable power for the cavernous environment of the Florida State League last year but it remains to be seen whether his bat translates to AA or his glove can still play at third base.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?sid=t424">DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS</a></h3>
<p>In stark contrast the the New Hampshire squad, the D-Jays are comparatively jacked up. a half dozen or more of these guys have significant major league potential. Much of this likely has to do with the virtual guarantee of early season warm weather, but regardless, the team is loaded.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Star Turn</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Anthony Alford</strong> is the only real choice for the mention here. He came into 2015 with fewer than 80 professional at bats and promptly turned into an absolute stud. He started at Lansing for 50 games, then put up an even better line in 52 games after his promotion to Dunedin. He has an elite approach at the plate, which is stunning for someone who missed so much professional time, and has the defensive and speed tools that make scouts drool. While there’s certainly wisdom in holding a guy who grew up in Mississippi back in the Florida sunshine for a bit more seasoning, I’d be stunned if he played here beyond the FSL All Star Game on June 18. If you missed it, you can get an up-close look at the star prospect from Joshua Howsam&#8217;s <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/06/why-anthony-alford-is-ready-to-take-the-next-step/">excellent interview with Alford. </a></p>
<h4><em><strong>One to Watch</strong></em></h4>
<p>Well, technically, five! There is just too much talent on this team to limit the report to just one player.</p>
<p>Being on the same roster as Alford gets shortstop <strong>Richard Urena</strong> pushed out of the spotlight a bit, but he’s here too and he’s not short on buzz around the organization. Still just 20, scouts rave about the Dominican infielder&#8217;s instincts for shortstop, and he showed surprising power last year in Lansing. Executives and coaches are very impressed with him and are content to give him lots of time to develop his plate discipline, which is practically non-existent at this point. He walked only 16 times in 2015, so he&#8217;ll need to improve to be more than just a defensive wizard.</p>
<p>The D-Jays rotation has a ton of potential that I would be remiss start with anyone other than <strong>Conner Greene</strong>. You’ve probably heard a lot about him this spring already, but it bears repeating. Like Alford, Greene took a huge leap forward last year. The former seventh round pick threw well in Lansing, dominated in Dunedin for seven starts and eventually made it all the way to New Hampshire. Armed with a fastball that was touching 98 mph this spring and an improving curve, Greene is somebody that could come rather quickly. However, also like Alford, the new regime choose to slow him down a bit and let him pitch in the Florida sun after a wild 2015. He’s another one that should be in NH before July arrives.</p>
<p>The rest of the rotation brings more risk but a lot of upside. The most intriguing player for me is one-time bonus baby <strong>Adonys Cardona</strong>. The injury plagued Venezuelan, signed at 16, has just turned 22 and has only managed 83 mostly unimpressive professional innings (not counting the DSL), but the stuff is supposedly still elite. He is apparently bringing high nineties heat with his fastball and impressively sharp secondary pitches. If the newly revamped training staff (no doubt the reason he’s on the Dunedin roster rather than Lansing) can keep him on the mound, this could be the breakout candidate for the entire minor league system. [Last minute update: Cardona isn&#8217;t scheduled to start during the first turn through the rotation. The team may be using him in the bullpen initially, or even long term. This is a factor to pay attention to, putting him in relief may be something they feel is dictated by his inability to stay heathy. However, as a reliever he might move quickly]</p>
<p><strong>Tom Robson</strong> is here too. In his first full season back from Tommy John surgery the watchful eye of the Dunedin trainers will be handy with him as well. While his numbers don’t reflect it, some around the team expect a lot from Robson this year. The same can be said for <strong>Ryan Burucki</strong>. Drafted in 2012, he’s mentioned among the high ceiling guys every year and every year he manages to get hurt. The lefty has fewer than 70 professional inning, but 57 of those were in 2014 and they were quite impressive. Like the two aforementioned, he’s likely in Dunedin specifically because the organization wants to employ the best possible resources to keep him healthy.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Don’t Sleep On&#8230;</strong></em></h4>
<p>Catcher <strong>Danny Jansen</strong>. It would be easy overlook the Illinois native if all you did was look at the stats from last season, one interrupted by a major injury. But many observers believe he has put himself into the conversation for the organization&#8217;s best catching prospect (given the even more severe injury issues of a certain former first round choice). I’m not ready to go that far yet, but he’s much better than last year’s results.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Remember Him?</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>DJ Davis</strong> is here too! I don’t suppose you’ve completely forgotten the less successful of the team’s two Mississippi outfielders, but anyone can be forgiven for not seeing him past the white-hot intensity of Alford’s success. Davis showed dramatic improvement last year, but he’ll need to do just that again to convince the many skeptics that he has any hope of a major league future.</p>
<h4><strong><em>TNSTAA(R)PP</em></strong></h4>
<p>This is particularly true in Dunedin to start the year. So in the absence of a guy I can tell you has upside (I guess <strong>Justin Schafer</strong> might be . . . something . . . maybe) I’ll give you an interesting storyline. Remember <strong>Gustavo Pierre</strong>, the hacking Dominican bonus baby SS-turned-3B who struggled with both the bat and the glove? Well the Blue Jays are giving him a shot on the mound. If they assigned him to a full season roster, particularly Dunedin, he must have shown them something.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?sid=t499">LANSING LUGNUTS</a></h3>
<p>Not much to get excited about here in the field, save one guy, but there&#8217;s the potential for a big-time starting rotation.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Star Turn</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Sean Reid-Foley</strong>, who’s also 20, was one of the most aggressively promoted prospects under the previous regime. After a taste of Gulf Coast League ball in 2014 following his second round selection out of high school, he surprisingly broke camp last year at low-A Lansing. Armed with a mid 90s fastball and a wicked slider, Reid-Foley actually pitched well enough, despite evident control issues, to eventually receive eight starts in Dunedin. Neither assignment would have have been a shock this year, but it seems the team is daring Reid-Foley to dominate in low-A and harness his commend before getting any promotion. Chances are if he holds up his end of that proposition, Reid-Foley will move quickly.</p>
<h4><em><strong>One to Watch</strong></em></h4>
<p>The other potential star turn would 2015 First Round pick <strong>Jon Harris</strong>. The 6’4” RHP was thought to be quite the steal when the team drafted him and some observers said he’d be able to move as fast as anyone in the draft due to a very mature approach. But fatigue largely ruined his debut so he’s looking for a rebound for the full-season Lugnuts.  He works with a sinking fastball between 92-94 and has a true four pitch mix, with curveball, slider and changeup all flashing plus at times. The fast-mover tag hasn’t faded too far into the rear-view and if he shows any consistency, he’ll challenge Reid-Foley for the honor of first promotion.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Don’t Sleep On…</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Lane Thomas </strong>is a third baseman-turned center fielder-turned second baseman who now listed again as a center fielder, but my sources tell me not to assume the 2B plan is dead. Thomas announced his presence with authority in 2014, putting up an .814 OPS as an 18 year old at Bluefield. However, he struggled all year at Vancouver last year and I, among others, were troubled to see such a promising player falter to that degree. I kept my eye out for reports on what was going wrong and it turns out he was dealing with a pretty serious wrist injury all year which obviously greatly affected his hitting. My source says he is healed and strong now and this may be the hitter that gets the most “where did this guy come from?” chatter in the coming year.</p>
<h4><em><strong>Remember Him?</strong></em></h4>
<p>Pop quiz! Who was the 1st round (35th overall) pick by the Blue Jays in 2011? If you said <strong>Jacob Anderson</strong> then possibly you, like me, spend far too much time paying attention to minor leaguers. Anderson was described by some as a nice bargain at the pick. After he hit .405 in a handful of GCL at bats that year I was perhaps overly invested in him for a while. Then he struggled in 2012, missed all of ‘13 and effectively all (10 AB) of 2014. He managed to get 63 AB last year as a 22 year old at Bluefield before a pitch to the head put him out of commission again. I had basically moved on from him, but here he is, on a full season team, trying to hold himself together long enough to rediscover the talent he had on Draft Day.</p>
<h4><em><strong>TNSTAA(R)PP</strong></em></h4>
<p>Noting truly remarkable here, but <strong>Travis Bergen </strong>was the team’s 7th round pick in 2015 out of Kennesaw State and he might be a fast mover.</p>
<p>Other notes &#8211; Another SP that you must pay attention to on this team is 6’6” Dominican lefty <strong>Angel Perdomo</strong>. Word is that when he’s on he’s a monster on the mound, but just lacks some consistency, particularly with control. He could combine with Harris and Reid-Foley to deliver this team it’s seemingly annual first-half title.</p>
<h4><em><strong>“But what about…?”</strong></em></h4>
<p><strong>Max Pentecost</strong>? Pentecost is technically on the Lansing roster but disabled. No one seems to know anything about the former first rounder and &#8220;Catcher of the Future&#8221;. He’s probably still physically in Dunedin working with the training staff to get game ready and the Lansing assignment is a paperwork matter. [Last minute update: Pentecost has disappeared from the Lansing roster. Presumably he does remain in extended]</p>
<p><strong>Clinton Hollon</strong>? Hollon is finishing up his amphetamine suspension that carried over from late last season. He is due back in early May and stands to give the Lugnuts a four man quartet in the rotation that would be unrivaled in the system. As for the suspension, see the <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/18/after-set-backs-in-2015-clinton-hollon-is-ready-to-take-flight/">great piece</a> on this site by Gideon Turk for the inside scoop.</p>
<p><strong>Mitch Nay</strong>? Nay opens the season on the Dunedin DL. He left the field last summer because of a staph infection which apparently took a pretty big toll on him. No word on the nature of his disability this spring, or whether or not it’s related.</p>
<p><strong>Matt Smoral</strong>? I continue to hold out hope for the big lefty since he spent the winter working with <a href="https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/" target="_blank">Driveline Baseball</a>. He will likely remain in Extended Spring Training with a potential assignment yet to be determined. He may yet end up with Dunedin or Lansing before the short-season teams begin play.</p>
<p><strong>Ryan McBroom</strong>? He’s in Dunedin, playing 1B, wishing he didn’t have Tellez soaking up all the press in front of him on the depth chart.</p>
<p>If there’s any other player you saw mentioned on a Top Prospect list anywhere I didn’t mention, the odds are very high indeed that said player is young enough that he’ll be playing on a short-season team. Yes, that includes <strong>Vlad Guerrero, Jr.</strong> &#8211; which probably puts a damper on his <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/guerrero-jr-hopes-to-be-in-majors-in-two-years/" target="_blank">plans to get to the bigs in two years</a>. Kudos go to my friend, the ever-gracious <a href="https://twitter.com/jgoldstrass">Jesse Goldberg-Strassler</a> for valuable insight on some of these guys.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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