The Toronto Blue Jays finished the 2016 season with a nice run in the playoffs. Can their farm system help them keep up that success in 2017?
An Introduction
Our minor league top 10 series is coordinated by Benjamin Chase, one of our contributors at Call to the Pen.
He has pored over thousands of minor league games over the course of the year via milb.tv along with speaking with a number of team and independent scouts. These lists are based out of those conversations.
Each system will have prospects from 10 to 1, and then finish with one newcomer to the system that is worth keeping an eye on that is not in the top 10 at this time.
Conversations are certainly encouraged in the comments section on each system as we go along!
(Toronto is) looking at a near future with some question marks and a farm system that’s producing guys that could fundamentally change how the team is structured
Blue Jays System Review
While it’s not official by any means, it’s quite likely that the Blue Jays will not be bringing back two of their franchise hallmarks over the last few years, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.
That leaves a significant gap in the Blue Jays lineup, and they have a few different ways that they could approach that gap. The Blue Jays have already signed Kendrys Morales to provide some of the pop, but their farm system is currently producing a lot of athletic players that could really change the dynamic of their offense in the next few years.
While their finances are tied up strongly in big contracts to guys like Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin after 2017, they will also be seeing Josh Donaldson hit arbitration for his last eligible season before hitting free agency in 2018.
This could lead the team to restructure their offense behind their dynamic young pitching of Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, and Robert Osuna along with excellent defense.
It will lead to some interesting times in Toronto as the team has seen an extended period of success recently, but they’re also looking at a near future with some question marks and a farm system that’s producing guys that could fundamentally change how the team is structured.
Let’s take a look at the top 10!
Next: #10