Top Jays Prospect Performances to 26-Apr-10

I thought it would be fun and informative to keep tabs on the top prospects performances the Jays have by way of categories. I’ll only look at 5 categories for the top 5 players in each category and give a small blurb about each outcome. This will be updated every 3 weeks or so.

Top Batting Averages

1. Bradley Glenn – LoA Lansing – .389
2. Raul Barron – HiA Dunedin – .366
3. Brian Jeroloman – AA New Hampshire – .348
4. Mark Sobolewski – LoA Lansing – .333
5. Travis d’Arnaud – HiA Dunedin – .328

To have 2 catchers in the top 5 AVG players in the minors for the Jays is yet another indication of just how strong they are at the position all the way through the minors. the one name most people probably don’t recognize much is Raul Barron, a 24-year old 2nd baseman who is a little over age at his level, but is having an impressive year nonetheless.

Top Number of Hits

1. Travis d’Arnaud – HiA Dunedin – 21
2. Bradley Glenn – LoA Lansing – 21
3. Jarrett Hoffpauir – AAA Las Vegas – 21
4. Tyler Pastronicky – HiA Dunedin – 20
5. Brett Wallace – AAA Las Vegas – 20

This group shows many of the names the Jays have in the minors who could come up and have an immediate impact on the club and help out in many ways. Tyler Pastronicky in particular doesn’t get enough attention for how great a year he is setting up for himself as a 20 year old SS in HiA. Even with Adeiny Hechavarria coming in there soon, he deserves to get noticed. Tyler (.308) has a .400 OBP, 10 walks to his 13 Ks, and 3 SBs to go along with all of his hits.

Top HR Hitters

1. Brett Wallace – AAA Las Vegas – 8
2. Chris Lubanski – AAA Las Vegas – 4
3. Travis d’Arnaud – HiA Dunedin – 3
4. Brian Dopirak – AAA Las Vegas – 3
5. Bradley Glenn – LoA Lansing – 3

You have to be excited to see that Brett Wallace will in fact bring a ton of prodigious power to the 1B position for the Jays for the first time since Carlos Delgado left town. However, you also have to notice that Bradley Glenn has been part of the top prospects in each category thus far and most likely deserves a promotion. At 23 years old he can surely handle HiA Dunedin.

Top RBI Drivers

1. Brian Dopirak – AAA Las Vegas – 14
2. Adam Calderone – AA New Hampshire – 13
3. Travis d’Arnaud – HiA Dunedin – 13
4. Brett Wallace – AAA Las Vegas – 13
5. Eric Thames – AA New Hampshire – 11

Eric Thames is having a great start to the season after his promotion to AA. He’s hitting .311 with 4 doubles, 2 HRs, and .368 OBP. Speaking of OBP, here is where the biggest surprises lie.

Top OBP Players

1. Raul Barron – HiA Dunedin – .469
2. Brian Jeroloman – AA New Hampshire – .444
3. Jonathan Diaz – AA New Hampshire – .441
4. Kenny Wilson – LoA Lansing – .438
5. Bradley Glenn – LoA Lansing – .421

Any time you have a 20 year old within your OBP leaders, you know you have a great lead off hitter of the future on your hands, and such is the case with Kenny Wilson. He has also added 4 doubles and 2 HRs, along with his usual speed with 4 SBs while never being caught. Kenny should make it to HiA at some point in 2010 if this keeps up and has been the best surprise of the season so far for Jays prospects. The Jays drafted him higher than others thought he should have been (7th rd of 2008 draft)  because of his potential, so it seems like he’s finally proving them right.

Top 5 ERA Pitchers

1. Henderson Alvarez – HiA Dunedin – 0.47
2. Luis Perez – AA New Hampshire – 1.52
3. Brad Mills – AAA Las Vegas – 2.19
4. Charles Huggins – HiA Dunedin 2.20
5. Lance Broadway – AAA Las Vegas – 2.30

What else can we say about Henderson’s performance thus far? He’s been by far the best SP in the Jays minors and looks to be poised to become a #2 pitcher in the future at the least now that he’s increased his velocity and tenacity. The biggest surprise on this list, although all are slightly surprising, has to be Lance Broadway – yet another great bring in by Alex Anthopolous. He has been good in all 3 of his starts only because he worked his way out of trouble every time. His 10 walks to 10 Ks and 19 hits allowed in 15.2 innings leave something to be desired, but his last outing was his best when he didn’t allow a run and only allowed 2 walks and 5 hits in 5.1 IP.

Top Pitching Wins

1. Kyle Drabek – AA New Hampshire – 3
2. Henderson Alvarez – HiA Dunedin – 2
3. Bobby Bell – AA New Hampshire – 2
4. Brett Cecil – AAA Las Vegas – 2
5. Daniel DeLucia – HiA Dunedin – 2

Not much to say about this list, except that Kyle Drabek has done enough to get his wins despite some mediocre starts.

Top Strikeout Leaders

1. Brad Mills – AAA Las Vegas – 32
2. Kyle Drabek – AA New Hampshire – 20
3. Joel Carreno – HiA Dunedin – 19
4. Rey Gonzalez – AAA Las Vegas – 19
5. Aaron Loup – LoA Lansing – 18

Loup is by far the most surprising name on this list as he works his way to becoming one of the premier RP prospects the Jays have in the system. The ’09 draftee has 18 Ks in only 13.2 innings of work and sports a 0.66 ERA for the 1 ER he has allowed this season. Can you say promotion? Brad Mills is the best performer overall by a mile and has really separated himself from the rest of the pack. Now that Cecil is with the Jays, he’s next on the recall list.

Top Rolaids Men

1. Matt Daly – HiA Dunedin – 5 saves
2. Rommie Lewis – AAA Las Vegas – 5 saves
3. Daniel Farquhar – AA New Hampshire – 4 saves
4. Steve Turnbull – LoA Lansing – 4 saves
5. Tim Collins – AA New Hampshire – 1 save / Aaron Loup – LoA Lansing – 1 save

The Jays have great relievers all through the organization and Rommie Lewis, another Alex Anthopolous grab, is just the latest add-in to that group. There is no reason to believe that the Jays pen will not benefit from these arms for years to come and that they can definitely handle the impending loss of Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, and others with very little pain.

Top WHIP Pitchers

1. Luis Perez – AA New Hampshire – 0.76
2. Henderson Alvarez – HiA Dunedin – 0.79
3. Randy Boone – AA New Hampshire – 1.02
4. Charles Huggins – HiA Dunedin – 1.04
5. Brad Mills – AAA Las Vegas – 1.05

This is perhaps the best news category for the Jays, because as much as we enjoy watching a pitcher K someone, having them pitch effectively and efficiently is more important. Alvarez and Perez in particular have been extremely efficient and have overpowered hitters at their respective levels. Seems like the perfect fit for a double promotion to me! Look for it to happen after the draft, when some pitchers will push their way into LoA Lansing.

Overall, the stats point to a ton of things to cheer about as a Jays fan. The Jays have had some power, and although I didn’t show the speed aspect – led by Darin Mastroianni who has 11 steals without being caught in 2010 – the Jays have plenty. More importantly, the young Jays prospects are getting on base often, which is very promising for them as they gain experience. The pitching is outstanding, as usual, and gives the Jays depth through all levels. Both the hitting and pitching will get a major boost after the 2010 draft, when the Jays will infuse a ton of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks into the system, as well as the pending addition of Adeiny Hechavarria. Things look great for the Jays for years to come, and these stats point to the promise the Jays have to look forward to.