Toronto Blue Jays Top 10 Prospects for 2017
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
10. Conner Greene, RHP
Birthdate: 4/4/95 (21 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: high A, AA
Stats in 2016: 146 1/3 IP, 3.51 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 11.22 BB%, 15.64 K%
Greene has an interesting background, having appeared as an actor in sitcoms and done modeling both before and since being drafted in the 7th round by the Blue Jays in 2013.
On the field, he uses more than good looks and charm to ring up solid numbers as he’s filled out into his 6’3 frame. With the added size, he’s added velocity as well.
Greene is a guy who throws from a high 3/4 delivery, allowing him to get very good plane on his pitches
Greene is a guy who throws from a high 3/4 delivery, allowing him to get very good plane on his pitches, using his 92-94 MPH fastball with heavy sink as a ground ball generator.
His change up is his best secondary pitch with very good arm deception and excellent plane and sink as well. His curve has very good depth, but the velocity of the pitch is more to get weak contact than to get whiffs.
All in all, Greene is a guy who generates a ton of weak contact, and that’s not a bad thing at all. He did get off in his delivery for a stretch this season, which led to higher walk numbers than he’d usually seen, but as he gets his delivery more settled and consistent, he should be able to pound the zone with his sinking stuff to generate weak contact.
He won’t likely get a lot of whiffs in a typical year, but Greene could be a very valuable pitcher as he eats up innings with quick, weak contact on hitters. He profiles as an ideal mid-rotation starter.
The Blue Jays may send him back for a full season at AA or choose to push him to AAA in 2017. Some have suggested his sinking stuff could end up an excellent fit at the back of the bullpen if he doesn’t work in the rotation as well.
Next: #9
9. Angel Perdomo, LHP
Birthdate: 5/7/94 (22 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: low A
Stats in 2016: 127 IP, 3.19 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 10.07 BB%, 29.1 K%
Perdomo came into the season as a guy who had a big plus fastball and not much else to see currently, and then he took big steps forward this season such that this ranking could look quite low by the time 2017 is over.
Perdomo is 6’6 and gets excellent plane and life on his fastball that sits in the low 90s and can touch up to 95 (I’ve had reports of higher, but from admitted “hot” guns). He really made a big stride in fastball command more than any other pitch this season, and it really set up everything else for him.
(Perdomo) really made a big stride in fastball command more than any other pitch this season, and it really set up everything else for him.
Perdomo works with a slider with exceptional bite and a change that has shown good arm deception and late life as well as sink due to his plane on the ball.
For Perdomo, his consistency in his mechanics will always be the big thing. Like most guys who are long limbed and 6’5 or taller, he can often get off in his delivery, and when he does, he often gets off in his release point, and he has ridiculously good stuff when he can compete deep into games.
Perdomo also has a very high floor as an elite reliever in the Andrew Miller mold if he were to eventually not work out as a starter.
The Blue Jays will likely start Perdomo out in high-A in 2017.
Next: #8
7. Bo Bichette, SS
Birthdate: 3/5/98 (18 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: rookie
Stats in 2016: .427/.451/.732, 4 HR, 3 SB
While his baseball bloodlines are fairly obvious, with father Dante Bichette a 4-time All-Star and brother Dante Bichette, Jr. in the Yankees farm system, Bichette was an elite player in his own right.
Many considered his commitment to college to be tough to break, which is why Bichette fell to Toronto in the 2nd round at #66 overall.
Bichette came out and showed he does things his way, but he does them very well. His swing is unorthodox, but he generates good bat speed through the hitting zone, creating plus raw power that he used to really impress by winning the Under Armour All-American Game Home Run Derby the summer before his senior year of high school.
(Bichette’s) swing is unorthodox, but he generates good bat speed through the hitting zone
The big question with Bo is where he’ll fit defensively. He has the hands and actions to handle shortstop, but he doesn’t really have the raw range to stick there as a pro. He doesn’t really have the arm for third base, where he played in showcase circuits.
Most likely Bichette will profile in left field or at second base, and his defense will never really be a calling card, and that’s quite all right as long as he continues to show the maturity in at bats that he showed in his pro debut.
Bichette showed a unique ability to judge the strike zone for a high school hitter along with the ability to attack pitches within the zone with success. He only had 82 at bats on the season, so the .400+ average needs to be seen in that light, but it was still over 22 games, not just a week or something like that.
Bichette will likely be ear-tagged for a short-season league in 2017, but after his GCL success, it wouldn’t surprise to see the Blue Jays push him to a full-season league in 2017.
Next: #6
5. Rowdy Tellez, 1B
Birthdate: 3/16/95 (21 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: AA
Stats in 2016: .297/.387/.530, 23 HR, 4 SB
I may have an unnatural love for Rowdy, first for his awesome first name, and second for his ability to generate positive baseball results at his body style.
He’s a big guy, sitting at 6’4 and listed at 220, though I think that’s a few Big Macs short of actuality. He’s not a guy you’d likely pick to win a foot race, but pretty much anything else on the diamond, give me Rowdy!
Tellez has a big power swing from the left side, though not in the way that many generate that power
Tellez has a big power swing from the left side, though not in the way that many generate that power. His swing is compact and explosive, and he is able to utilize the whole field for power.
Tellez has excellent plate discipline, and seeing a power hitter strike out less than 100 times in a full season is extremely impressive.
He’s not a tremendous defender at first base, but he’s worked hard to present a good target for his fielders and be a good picker. He’s just not going to be great at ranging for grounders.
Tellez will likely head to AAA in 2017. It will be fun to see how he handles that promotion and being one step away from the big leagues for a team likely looking for another power bat.
Next: #4
4. Richard Urena, SS
Birthdate: 2/26/96 (20 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: high A, AA
Stats in 2016: .296/.335/.434, 8 HR, 9 SB
Urena was part of the Blue Jays 2012 signing period where they took two of the top 3 shortstops off the market in the first two days of the signing period, signing he and Franklin Barreto. Barreto was traded as part of the deal to bring in Josh Donaldson.
Urena has flourished in the Blue Jays system, and really made big strides once he hit full season ball in 2015. 2016 was a bit of a gathering year for Urena as he hit high-A and AA, but saw some steps backward in discipline at the plate and a few knocks in his defensive focus.
For pure raw skills, there are few who have better defensive chops up and down the Toronto system at shortstop than Urena
For pure raw skills, there are few who have better defensive chops up and down the Toronto system at shortstop than Urena. He has tremendous range and hands along with a plus arm. His biggest issue is a seeming lack of focus at times on defense.
Urena offensively is a solid average player across the board, and he’s started to see those skills blossom into game power and game speed, and he showed excellent contact ability in the FSL this year.
His strike zone judgement left some to be desired, however, especially from the right side of the plate. He’s only been switch hitting a short time, however, so that could still come and with his raw speed and good bat speed, he could produce solid batting average as well as good strike zone control as well.
Urena may head back to AA to start as he did struggle a touch there in 2016 just to get some success at the level before bumping up to AAA, but at 21 on opening day, that’s pretty advanced.
Next: #3
2. Anthony Alford, OF
Birthdate: 6/20/94 (22 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: high A
Stats in 2016: .236/.344/.378, 9 HR, 18 SB
Many considered Alford to be unsignable in the 2012 draft because he wanted to play football with Southern Miss. The Blue Jays gambled on allowing him to do both, and spent a 3rd round pick on Alford.
After three years of playing both, one year with Southern Miss and two years at Ole Miss, Alford chose to focus exclusively on baseball in 2015. He exploded onto the scene in 2015 with a big year in his first full season concentrating on baseball, hitting .298/.398/.421 across both A levels.
He returned to high A in 2016 to start in 2016, but multiple trips to the disabled list for a knee injury and a concussion, respectively, kept him from making big strides offensively on the year.
Alford did show out with more of his power than had been seen in 2015 in the FSL, hitting 9 home runs and 17 doubles in his 92 games. He has the ability to hit for solid power with a quick bat and athletic frame that could generate 15-20 home runs as he matures.
Alford’s biggest carrying tool will be his plus-plus speed, which he uses to completely alter the game when he’s on the base paths and track down everything in center field.
Hopefully healthy in 2017, Alford will work his way to AA, and the Blue Jays will be excited to see how he handles the upper minors.
Next: #1