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MLB Minor League System Rankings – The Middle

By Benjamin Chase

Dec 7, 2016; National Harbor, MD, USA; A general view of stage microphones on day three of the 2016 Baseball Winter Meetings at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2016; National Harbor, MD, USA; A general view of stage microphones on day three of the 2016 Baseball Winter Meetings at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

9. Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto has built up their major league team into contenders with an offense to envy and young pitching that is also the dream of many in the league.

They found their offense through a number of cast-offs from other organizations in guys like Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, but they’ve seen some struggles in developing their own offensive players, especially power guys. That could be soon to change, however.

The Blue Jays have done very well in building up their base of young pitching as well as finding guys who were less appreciated in their previous homes and working with them well to put together a deep pitching staff.

Elite prospects – The Blue Jays have one guy who’s a likely top 25 guy, but they also have 7 guys who are legit top 125 guys, and I even considered an eighth for the list as well.

System depth in legit prospects – While there is plenty of elite talent in the system, not a lot of it has really established a solid floor yet, so this is the one thing that really keeps the Blue Jays out of the “elite” group in my book right now.

Proximity to majors of legit prospects – Three of the top 10 Blue Jays prospects made the upper minors in 2016, but really the lion’s share of the best prospects in the system are still in the lower levels of the system.

System reputation – The Blue Jays have received high marks for working with high-velocity arms and helping them become pitchers rather than throwers, and they’re seeing a number of those types break through at the lower levels right now that could jump forward in a hurry in 2017.

The hitting side has struggled to see consistent production from the system, especially in power production, but Rowdy Tellez should definitely change that going forward. There are a number of other very intriguing hitting prospects that are showing an ability to drive the ball in the full-season leagues for the Blue Jays, so they could be bucking this reputation currently.

Top 5 Born 1991 or since (age 25 season this year)
1. Aaron Sanchez
2. Marcus Stroman
3. Roberto Osuna
4. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.
5. Devon Travis

Next: #8

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