1. RHP Asher Wojciechowski (DUN): 1-0, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Asher Wojciechowski won his 5th straight decision on Wednesday night in Jupiter (Jim Goins, via MiLB.com)

I called out Wojcechowski on the hot sheet over a month ago, going as far as to suggest he needs to be converted to relief sooner rather than later. While I obviously had no impact, he’s coincidentally responded with the best stretch of his young career. Over his last six starts he’s allowed 1, 2, 0, 0, 2, and 0 earned runs respectively, good for a 1.23 ERA. The current period of success has been accentuated by the gem he pitched on July 11th, as 16 of his 21 outs came by way of strikeout or groundout. There’s been a lot of talk around the Blue Jays fan base that some of the Lansing pitchers, namely Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard, need to be challenged at the next level. If the team determines that to be true, Wojciechowski could be one of the guys moving up to make room in the rotation. As a 23 year old former college arm, the team needs to see what he’s capable of.

2. CF Anthony Gose (LAS): 14 AB, .357/.500/.714 (1.214 OPS), 0 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 4/4 BB/K

After wowing the world with his a jawdropping catch in the Futures Game over All-Star weekend, Gose picked up where he left off with the 51s. The break limited him to only four games, so while the 1.214 OPS is mighty impressive, the counting stats were simply too lacking to take the crown as this week’s hottest player. The home run numbers have surprisingly dropped off, but with 10 triples on the season, he’s already surpassed his 2011 total. The doubles aren’t far behind, as he’s two back of his 2011 number with nearly two months left to play. The most surprising decline in performance has been on the base paths, as after stealing 70 bases last year (reaching the 70+ plateau for the second time in three years), Gose has stolen just 29 this year, only on pace for a total in the low 40’s. Not listed above are his three caught stealing this week – again, in only four games – which makes five consecutive caught stealing since he last found success on June 25th. Opportunity hasn’t been the issue, as his on base percentage is 27 points higher than last season. Very puzzling.

3. CF Dwight Smith Jr. (BLU): 17 AB, .353/.389/.647 (1.036 OPS), 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 1/1 BB/K

Making his first appearance on a hot sheet this season is Dwight Smith Jr., a supplemental first round pick from the 2011 draft. He was literally my final cut when I wrote my top 30 prospects last winter, and it was really no fault of his. Smith’s professional contract wasn’t finalized until August 15th, too late for him to play in any affiliated games last season. When I’m trying to squeeze two or three players into the back end of the rankings, I tend to favor prospects with some professional experience, so in this case, Moises Sierra got the nod. Smith missed the first few games of Bluefield’s season with an injury, but has played really well since getting on the field. His hot streak goes beyond the four games within this timeframe, as over his past 10 he’s hitting .293/.383/.463, which is exceptional for short season ball.

4. RHP Jeremy Gabryszwski (BLU): 0-0, 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

The very talented Bluefield staff is working through some issues right now, as in addition to poor weather reaping havoc on their pitching schedule, they haven’t been nearly as sharp in the early going. Despite being listed as active, neither Joe Musgrove nor Tom Robson have pitched in a couple of weeks. Picking up the slack has been Gabryszwski, as he’s produced three consecutive quality outings for the team. His July 14th start was both his longest and his best, as he went five innings without allowing any runs to score. Gabryszwski is one of the less heralded arms from the bountiful 2011 draft, but has a nice fastball/slider/changeup repertoire. His biggest issues have been inconsistency with his stuff and an elbow problem, but a healthy, productive 2012 season could quell some of those concerns. With a 1.89 ERA through 19 innings, he’s off to a good start.

5. LHP Justin Nicolino (LAN): 1-0, 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

It’s been a while since Nicolino made the hot sheet, as while Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Sanchez have made huge strides since being fully stretched out, he has stalled. As hitters are seeing him for a second and third time, they’re picking up on his stuff, resulting in 26 hits allowed in 20 post-All Star break innings. The stuff has still been there, with 23 strikesouts, as has his exceptional command, with only 3 walks allowed. This may be exactly what Nicolino needed to further his development, as he’s going to need to improve his physicality in order to succeed against more advanced and disciplined hitters in the upper minors. This taste of adversity should serve as a resounding message to Nicolino that he will need to hit the gym hard this offseason and add a solid 10-20 pounds of muscle to frame. There’s no doubting his changeup and the curveball is coming along nicely, but the added strength could boost his fastball up by a grade and better keep hitters honest.

6. RHP Deck McGuire (NH): 0-0, 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

No, you don’t need to check your vision. Deck McGuire has made a hot sheet. In actuality, McGuire hasn’t been that bad as of late, as he hasn’t allowed more than 3 earned runs in a start since June 7th. The problem is, most of those starts have been 5 or 6 innings allowing 2 or 3 earned runs, so the ERA isn’t dropped quite as quickly as I’m sure he’d like. The command has been solid and the strikeout rate has been okay, his biggest issue – like it was last year – has been the home run. With two more given up in this week’s start, he’s up to 16 in just 97.2 innings. That’s tied for the most in the Eastern League. As I mentioned, there have been some positives, as over his past two starts (dating back to last week), he has 17 strikeouts against one walk in just over 12 innings.

No. 38: Jeremy Edward Gabryszwski

Starting pitcher / 18 years old / 6′4″ 195 lbs

Born: March 16, 1993 in Crosby, Texas

Bats: Right    Throws: Right

High School: Crosby H.S.

College: Had committed to Lamar University prior to signing with the Jays

Drafted By: The Toronto Blue Jays in the 2nd round (78th overall) of the 2011 Amateur Draft

Signed: July 27, 2011 for $575,000

Pre-2011 Rank: N/A

Quick Facts:

• Went 4-2 with a 2.54 ERA as a senior, with 49 strikeouts to eight walks
• 2011 19-4A Defensive Player of the Year
• 2010 first-team All-District selection
• Hit .417/.454/.631 with 12 runs and 28 RBIs while playing first base for Crosby H.S. in 2011
• Has the same amount of letters in his last name as former Blue Jay Marc Rzepczynski (11)

Career stats:

Extra Information and previous experience:

With the 2011 draft, the Blue Jays bolstered their already impressive group of young hurlers by selecting pitchers with 12 of their first 15 selections. One guy that gets lost in the shuffle despite being a second-round pick is young right-hander Jeremy Gabryszwski, who was selected four spots after Daniel Norris at 78th overall.

Another big-bodied arm to come out of Texas, Gabryszwski boasts a three-pitch mix. His fastball can already touch 94 mph, but as he irons out his delivery and adds a bit of weight to his 6-foot-4 frame, the pitch has the potential to consistently hit mid-90s on the radar gun. Shortly after being drafted, Baseball America reported that Gabryszwski showed glimpses of a plus slider, but that pitch is actually a curveball that sits around 86-87 mph. The 18-year-old can also throw a circle changeup at the same speed, and though both of his off-speed pitches are easily considered works in progress, they both have the potential to be plus offerings in the future.

Potential is one word you’ll see tied to Gabryszwski quite often, since the feeling is that he is harnessing a lot of untapped potential. He’s not afraid to attack hitters and keep the ball in the strike zone, and he draws rave reviews for how polished of a high school pitcher he is. Given the kind of upside that Gabryszwski has, it’s not surprising that multiple MLB teams apparently had him high on their draft boards.

Since Gabryszwski has a high ceiling and the tools to be an impact pitcher down the road, I’m sure you’re wondering why he didn’t get scooped up faster by another organization on draft day.

The first reason was Gabryszwski’s history of elbow problems, which were addressed in 2008 when he had surgery to repair a displaced bone and had a screw inserted, and the other was his battle with inconsistent fastball velocity. Though he would operate a lot of the time in the 90-93 range, he’d start registering in the mid-to-high 80s deeper into a start or in another start altogether, especially later in the season. This could be attributed to some fatigue in his arm from past troubles, and will be a factor to keep an eye on in the future.

Though he had signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at Lamar University in the fall, Gabryszwski opted to sign with the Blue Jays at the end of July and start his professional career. He reported to the Jays’ Gulf Coast League affiliate in Dunedin, where he allowed three hits in 4.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and one walk. With the Bluefield Blue Jays in the thick of a playoff push late in the year, Gabryszwski was unexpectedly shipped there after only three GCL appearances.

After tossing one scoreless inning of relief in his regular-season debut with Bluefield on August 29, Gabryszwski closed out the B-Jays’ playoff loss to Elizabethton on September 1 with two scoreless innings of work, allowing just two hits while striking out three. In his final outing of the season, he surrendered two earned runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts in 2.2 innings on September 4.

Expected 2012 team: Bluefield Blue Jays (Rookie)

Gabryszwski is yet another young pitcher to keep an eye on in the years to come, though he’s one that could either exceed expectations and contribute in a starting rotation, or possibly wind up in the bullpen later in his career if his inconsistent velocity continues or his arm troubles return.

As with all of their pitching prospects, the Blue Jays will exhaust every possible way to keep Gabryszwski as a starter. At this stage of his career and given the lack of pro data on him, though, it’s impossible to predict the route that he will take and, as a result, we’ve ranked him conservatively at No. 38

-JM

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Below is everything I could gather about the Jays 2nd rd 78th overall pick, Jeremy Gabryszwski.

Introducing Pick #78: Jeremy Edward Gabryszwski (more…)