Toronto Blue Jays 2018 Minor League Awards

The Toronto Blue Jays have 2 of the top 10 prospects in all of baseball, but who put up the best numbers in the Jays system?

As part of our continuing coverage at Call to the Pen of the minor leagues, we will be covering each organization’s top players for 2018. The coverage will go in reverse order of record. Today, we will look at the Toronto Blue Jays.

We are going to review the system’s leaders for each organization statistically, then choose one hitter and one pitcher to honor for every team. This will be primarily based on statistical performance, though some “age relative to level” could come into play, so a very impressive season from a 28-year-old in AA will rank below a nearly as impressive season from a 20-year-old at the same level.

After we review each organization’s hitter and pitcher of the year, we will close out October with Call To The Pen’s Minor League team of the year. That will lead into November starting our team top 10 prospect lists. In other words, there will be plenty of minor league content on the way at CTTP, so keep coming back for more each day this offseason!!

Toronto Blue Jays minor leagues

The Toronto Blue Jays have put together one of the top farm systems in the game, based purely on the very top guys in the system. The consensus #1 overall prospect in the game along with another prospect in the top 10 will set any team apart, but the Jays are not just two players as they have solid ceiling players in their lower levels.

With the major league team moving multiple veteran pieces at the deadline this year, the Jays are looking like they may be headed toward a time of leaning heavily on their young players, so who will they have to lean on?

Before we offer up awards on the season, let’s take a look at the system’s statistical leaders:

Organization Leaders (min. 150 PA, 50 IP)

BA: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. .381
OBP: Cal Stevenson .511
SLG: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. .636
OPS: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. 1.073
R: Bo Bichette 95
H: Kevin Smith 158
2B: Bo Bichette 43
3B: Chavez Young and D.J. Neal 9
HR: Cavan Biggio 26
RBI: Cavan Biggio 99
SB: Chavez Young and Samad Taylor 44
TB: Kevin Smith 276

W: Jon Harris 13
G: Justin Shafer 47
GS: Three with 27
IP: T.J. Zeuch 156 1/3
SV: Justin Shafer 16
K: Sean Reid-Foley 150
ERA: Ryan Thurston 0.87
WHIP: Ryan Thurston 0.74
K/9: Travis Bergen 11.8
K/BB: Lazaro Estrada 7.25

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Hitter of the Year: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.

Level(s): GCL Blue Jays, high-A Dunedin, AA New Hampshire, AAA Buffalo
Stats: .381/.437/.636, 95 G, 408 PA, 29 2B, 20 HR, 78 RBI, 37/38 BB/K

There may not have been a better young hitter to come through the minor leagues over the last decade (or longer) than Vlad Jr. His ability to make solid contact on all pitches throughout the zone is incredibly advanced. I’ve seen as high as pure 80 put on his hit tool, which is incredible to say about any player who is still in the minor leagues, but it’s hard to argue.

Vladdy had a chance to hit .400 this year before injuries derailed his season. That injury also likely led to Vlad not seeing the majors in 2018. He will be getting work in the Arizona Fall League, and any time there is a televised game from there, it is worth the watch!

Runners-up

Also a top-10 prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays, Bichette spent the entire year with AA New Hampshire this season, and he showed that he truly is ready for that final ascension to the major leagues. He hit .286/.343/.453 with 43 doubles, 7 triples, 11 home runs, and 32 stolen bases. Bichette’s ability to handle shortstop has been a big thing over the last two seasons, giving him a shot to stick there when he gets to Toronto or to move to second base with premium defense.

After Bichette tore up Lansing in his first full season last year, Kevin Smith did the same thing in his first full season in the Toronto Blue Jays system after being selected in the 4th round out of Maryland in 2017. He spent time between Lansing and Dunedin, totaling a .302/.358/.528 line with 31 doubles, 6 triples, and 25 home runs, also stealing 20 bases and posting a 40/121 BB/K ratio over 575 plate appearances.

Yet another son of a big leaguer, Cavan Biggio was drafted out of Notre Dame in the 5th round in 2016. He spent 2018 with AA New Hampshire, hitting .252/.388/.499 with 23 doubles, 5 triples, 26 home runs, and 20 stolen bases, while posting a 100/148 BB/K ratio.

The Blue Jays acquired Harold Ramirez from the Pirates in 2016. He’s spent his time with New Hampshire since, but repeating the level really clicked for Ramirez in 2018, as he hit .320/.365/.471 with 37 doubles, 11 home runs, and 16 stolen bases while posting a 27/88 BB/K ratio over 505 plate appearances.

Outfielder Brock Lundquist was the Toronto Blue Jays 6th round pick out of Long Beach State in 2017. He split the 2018 season between A-ball levels, hitting .286/.374/.470 with 22 doubles, 18 home runs, and a 49/103 BB/K over 494 plate appearances.

After being selected in the 10th round of this past June’s draft, Cal Stevenson put up a tremendous draft season, playing in 59 games, with a .369/.511/.523 slash line between the GCL and the Appalachian League, with 15 doubles, 6 triples, 2 home runs, and 21 stolen bases (in 22 attempts), posting a 64/24 BB/K over 280 plate appearances.