No. 47: Shane M. Opitz

Short Stop / 19 years old / 6′1″ 180 lbs

image courtesy of Jenelle Schneider, PNG

Born: January 10th, 1992 in Centennial Colorado

Bats: Left   Throws: Right

High School: Heritage High School

College: NA

Drafted By: The Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th round of the 2010 draft, 336th overall

Signed For: $225,000

Jersey Number: 16

Quick Facts: (more…)

Here are some of the prominent, and not so prominent, notes of things happening within the Jays franchise and its affiliates:

Zach Stewart Shines in Debut (more…)

“@johnmanuelba Would Leonys Martin be within the top 15 Jays prospects if signed?“

And he answered as follows: (more…)

#23: Shane Michael Opitz

Short Stop / 19 years old / 6’2″ 185 lbs

Born: January 10th 1992, in Centennial Colorado (just turned 19)

image courtesy of Reza A. Marvashti of The Denver Post

Bats Left   Throws Right

High School Team: Heritage High, Littleton Colorado

College: NA – committed to Nebraska before signing with the Jays

Drafted: in the 11thrd of the ’10 draft, 336th overall

Signed: for $225,000

Jersey Number: Oddly enough, no number is listed for Shane even though he did play for the GCL Blue Jays in ’10

Quick Facts: 

• His brother Jake spent 4 years at Nebraska (05-08) before signing with the Cubs
• He was All State as a Jr. in High School
• He made the 2010 Louisville Slugger High School All-American team, along with fellow Jays prospects Aaron Sanchez and Kellen Sweeney (more…)

I will start by saying that this year, more than ever, my list is close to being in line with BA’s list, which was compiled by Nathan Rode this year.

My current Top 10 followed by Nathan’s ranks in brackets next to the player’s name.

1. Kyle Drabek, SP (1)
2. J.P. Arencibia, C (7)
3. Anthony Gose, CF (3)
4. Adeiny Hechavarria, SS (not in Nathan’s top 10)
5. Jacob Marisnick, OF (10)
6. Travis D’Arnaud, C (4)
7. Asher Wojciechowski, SP (6)
8. Zach Stewart, SP (5)
9. Carlos Perez, C (8)
10. William “Deck” McGuire, SP (2)

I’ll address the big one first since there’s an elephant in the room named Adeiny Hechavarria. Nathan’s not the only one who doubts Adeiny Hechavarria‘s skills, and it wouldn’t be the first time that a Cuban prospect didn’t pan out as expected. However, I do believe that many people overlook the impact that culture shock can have and that in Adeiny’s case, they also overlook the vast improvements he made as the season went along despite moving up to a higher level during a prolonged slump. After all, the Jays didn’t hand Adeiny a 4 year $10 million contract just to see him play in HiA Dunedin.

I won’t lie, Adeiny’s stats – on the surface – look a little uninspiring. A .273 average in AA with a meager .305 OBP and only 3 HRs. However, when we compare this to the .193 average and .217 OBP he had in HiA before making the jump, we can see the vast improvements Adeiny made. What’s more, if we double his AA stats to see an approximate number based on 500 or so ABs, with Adeiny hitting the same marks in terms of average/OPB/SLG, he would have hit 20 doubles, 5 HRs, and stolen about 10 bases. That, at 21 years old playing in AA, is nothing to sneeze at. Add in the .963 fielding percentage and the aforementioned culture shock he faced all season long, and you’ve got real potential to see a breakthrough for Adeiny in 2011.

All I’m saying here is that I believe many, if not most, have given up too quickly on Adeiny’s skills to make an impact as a high-end MLB player. I think they wanted to see massive production and massive numbers right off-the-bat due to the hype and the contract he signed, and that the criticism was more severe as a result. He remains the highest ceiling middle infielder in the minors for the Jays although he could quickly be joined by Shane Opitz and Richard Thon – two players I’ll be covering in a near-future post.

Should Adeiny be judged lightly due to his personal circumstances? In my opinion, yes. Therefore, he definitely belongs on the top 10 list because if he can do what he did in AA at 21 in the midst of a culture shock, I can’t wait to see what he does in 2011 now that he’s more comfortable an adjusted to North American life. If not rated as highly as 4th on the top 10 as I have him listed, he still belongs well above the top 9-10 mark. (more…)

• The Jays made the Shane Opitz signing official on the 31st of July. He’s a huge signing for the Jays that was expected to be a tough signing to complete.
• OF Jacob Marisnick has been promoted to LoA Lansing. He’s struggling a bit to find himself over his first 30 ABs there, but it’s definitely where he belongs.
• OF Michael Crouse, a 2008 16th rd pick, was promoted more recently after hitting 4 HRs with a .333 average over 96 ABs in the GCL.
• Hitters in SS are hitting .185 against Casey Lawrence who is mowing down hitters with ease. He has a 2.11 ERA and 9 walks to his 38 Ks.
• Sean Ochinko, who was converted from a Catcher to a 3B, is hitting .421 over his last 10 games. He now has a season’s average of .310, 30 doubles, 7 HRs, 52 RBI, and a .363 OBP. He’s earned his keep this season and could get a look in HiA before long. (more…)

Opitz is 18, 6’1″ and 180 lbs, and has a brother in the Cubs system, an indication of the blood lines. His family stated that “would take “life-changing” money” to sign Shane, an indication of just how highly they thought of Nebraska’s opportunity and the College experience. (more…)