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Jays Journal Top 50 Blue Jays Prospects: No. 36 Dawel Lugo

Jared Macdonald — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:15:05 +0000

After four consecutive pitchers, a position player is next up on our top 50 prospects countdown…

Handed $1.3 million at 16 years of age, the Blue Jays are hoping for big things from Dawel Lugo. (BluebirdBanter.com)

No. 36: Dawel Lugo

Shortstop / 17 years old / 6’0″ 180 lbs

Born: December 13, 1994 in La Catalina, Bani, Dominican Republic

Bats Right Throws Right

High School Team: N/A

College: N/A

Signed: July 4, 2011 by the Toronto Blue Jays as an international free agent for $1.3 million

Pre-2011 Rank: N/A

Quick Facts:

Son of former Cleveland Indians prospect Ursino Leonardo Lugo
Favorite player is Miami Marlins shortstop Jose Reyes
Body type resembles that of Wilson Betemit

Extra Information and previous experience:

When it comes to 17-year-old Dawel Lugo, it’s easy to see why the Blue Jays were quick to hand him a $1.3 million signing bonus, the largest bonus given to a Latin American infielder at the time in 2011.

The most noticeable thing about Lugo is that he’s a pure hitter. Touted as one of the better hitters out of last year’s international free agent class, he has good bat speed with a short stroke and makes consistent contact. He has great hand-eye coordination and can hit to all fields, whether the pitch is inside or outside the strike zone as well.

When information on Lugo first started getting released last spring, he was listed at six feet tall and 170 pounds. Since then, he has added a considerable amount of weight to his frame, as it’s been reported that he’s now up to 188 pounds with room to grow even more.

Baseball America reported that his solid swing had a natural loft to it, showing the potential for plus power down the road. Even though he’s at least a year or two away from showing his raw power, Lugo’s frame and potential to hit 15-20 home runs have spawned thoughts that he will likely move to third base early in his career. Baseball America agrees, since even though Lugo could be a playable, bigger-bodied shortstop like Jhonny Peralta, scouts believe he’ll make the move to third base.

Fielding-wise, Lugo has soft hands with an average to above-average arm and good instincts. He’s considered a below-average runner and somewhat slow on the base paths, though, and as you can tell in the video above, he runs somewhat awkwardly.

Coming from a baseball family, Lugo’s father and cousins all played professional baseball and he is praised for having a great makeup. He understands hitting, makes adjustments and, like most Dominican youngsters, has a genuine love for the game of baseball.

After playing in the Dominican Prospect League last year and for a traveling team in the United States, Lugo was in Dunedin, Fla. at the Blue Jays’ minor league complex for instructs. There, he worked on hitting fundamentals and fielding ground balls, but also spent the bulk of his time working on his English.

Lugo will likely play for the Blue Jays’ Dominican Summer League affiliate in 2012 while continuing to work hard on his English to get him ready for his Gulf Coast League debut in North America.

Expected 2012 Team: DSL Blue Jays (Dominican Summer League)

Ultimate ceiling if he puts it all together: Power-hitting third baseman

- JM

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Jays Journal Top 50 Blue Jays Prospects: No. 49 Jesus Gonzalez

Mat Germain — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:10:58 +0000

Up next is another prospect that few non-Jays fans may have heard of, and someone who could really move quickly up our top 50 boards during the next few years. Yet another big international investment from Alex Anthopoulos and the Jays, he is none other than…

No. 49: Jesus Gonzalez

Right Fielder / 17 years old / 6′1″ 190 lbs

Image courtesy of liderendeportes.com

Born: in Venezuela

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Academy: Ciro Barrios, Venezuela

Signed By: The Toronto Blue Jays for $1,400,000

Jersey Number: n/a

Quick Facts:

Worked at the same Academy as fellow Jays international signees Wuilmer Becerra (OF) and most recent (Nov. 3rd, 2011) Jays Venezuelan signee Jesus Tinoco (SP).
Not to be confused with other Jesus Gonzalez baseball players, such as the one with a middle initial G who the Jays had in their organization through 2009 (a first baseman who only made it as high as HiA Dunedin) or the catcher that played this winter for Boston in the Liga Paralel in Venezuela. (more…)

Jays Notes: 2 Hot Bats, Hechavarria and Minors Notes, and More Draft Notes

Mat Germain — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:11:49 +0000

If you didn’t get to watch last night’s game, as I couldn’t either, you still had to enjoy all of the highlights. After watching all of the highlights from 3 outlets and the MLB.com site, I felt compelled to write about the lineup, its future, and why the Jays are going to move up the [...]

Jays Notes: 2 Hot Bats, Hechavarria and Minors Notes, and More Draft Notes - Jays Journal - Jays Journal - A Toronto Blue Jays Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Jays Draft Review: Sign 8 Players Taken in First 4 Rounds of 2011 Draft

Mat Germain — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:32:32 +0000

When Alex Anthopoulos spoke to the media and stated that he was happy with the way the 2011 draft wound up for the Toronto Blue Jays, I completely understood why. Not only did the Jays add 8 players taken in the first 4 rounds of the 2011 draft to their already top-notch minors system, but they also added a few players selected later that were projected to be first round or sandwich pick talents. Getting those players under contract has resulted in what I would call a phenomely successful draft class for the Jays, this despite not coming to an agreement with their first round pick, Tyler Beede.

Before I get into my thoughts on the draft, I’ll recap the players signed to contracts where the reported amount of the bonus is known (rd taken in brackets): (more…)

Jays Minors Update: Good News, Bad News, and Great News

Mat Germain — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:18:59 +0000

There’s a ton of information to pass along when it comes to the minor leagues for the Jays, more than I can cover in only 1 post. However, I’ll do my best to list the most prominent or most obscure of them all. Here they are, broken up into some good news, bad news, and great [...]

Jays Minors Update: Good News, Bad News, and Great News - Jays Journal - Jays Journal - A Toronto Blue Jays Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Jays Continue to Accumulate International Talent

Mat Germain — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:38:52 +0000

Alex Anthopoulos continues to make good on his word that the Jays will infuse so much talent at the bottom of the organization that it will come to the surface in waves of high-end talent. The latest signings are a continuance of the already sizable investments made from 2010 forward in Adeiny Hechavarria ($10 million), Adonys Cardona ($2.8 million), Gabriel Cenas ($700,000), Jairo Labourt ($350,000), Francisco Tejada ($150,000), Luis Martin ($350,000), and Aderlin Gonzalez ($260,000). That’s a total of $14.6 million spent before the 2011 signing season came around, a hefty sum for a team that never was a big spender on the international stage.

This year, the Jays have made the following international investments in 16-year old Latin American players: (more…)

DSL Jays Update: Jairo Labourt, Gabriel Cenas, and Others

Mat Germain — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:17:14 +0000

Now that the SS teams have had a little time to get going, I thought it would be important and fun to take a look at who’s doing what in the lower ends of the affiliates. I’ll kick it off with the Dominican Summer League (DSL), where some of the most recent International signings of Alex Anthopoulos are making some headway. You can read about most of the guys I am writing about here in our International Signings section. I will cover what I consider to be the most notable performances as follows:

LHP Jairo Labourt (more…)

Jays Nab Pair of International Prospects

Mat Germain — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:40:11 +0000

I’m a little behind in posting about these two Jays transactions, but I wanted to do all of the required research before positing anything about them. Although the Jays have been slow in getting their 2011 drafted prospects under contract, they have managed to spend over a million dollars on a pair of international free agents: 16 year old Dominican SS Dawel Lugo for $1.3 million, and 16 year old Nicaraguan RHP Osman Gutierrez for $210,000, for a total of $1.51 million spent on the two Latin American prospects. (more…)

Out of the Top 50 Jays Prospects (for now): Jairo Labour and Julio Carmona

Mat Germain — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:57:05 +0000

There are prospects in the Jays system that deserve coverage even though they didn’t make our top 50 list pre-2011. Most of these players are players that we foresee as possibly making the top 50 list in either mid-2011 or 2012. We continue the 25 extra prospect profiles with two Latin American wildcards… Out of the [...]

Out of the Top 50 Jays Prospects (for now): Jairo Labour and Julio Carmona - Jays Journal - Jays Journal - A Toronto Blue Jays Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Out of the Top 50 Jays Prospects (for now): Misaul Diaz and Milciades Santana

Mat Germain — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:36:57 +0000

Out of the Top 50 Jays Prospects (for now): Misaul Diaz and Milciades Santana - Jays Journal - Jays Journal - A Toronto Blue Jays Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More