Post ’10 Draft Top 20 Jays Prospects

As the GCL Jays and Auburn Doubledays season is set to kick off, and the draft has just been completed, I thought we should take a peak at what the Jays have in terms of prospects by doing a top 20 prospects review. Here is the list according to Jays Journal:

1. Brett Wallace, 1B/3B (AAA) 23 – no change
2. Travis d’Arnaud, C (HiA) 20 – no change
3. Kyle Drabek, SP (AA) 22 – no change
4. Jake Marisnick, OF (LoA) 19 – begins 2010 season end June
5. JP Arencibia, C (AAA) 24 – up
6. Henderson Alvarez, SP (HiA) 20 – up
7. Adeiny Hechavarria, SS (HiA) 21 – down
8. Zach Stewart, SP (AAA) 23 – down
9. Michael McDade, 1B (HiA) 20 – moving up
10. Carlos Perez, C (LoA) 19 – no change, begins 2010 season end June
11. Daniel Farquhar, RP (AAA) 23 – up slightly
12. Chad Jenkins, SP (LoA) 22 – slightly down
13. Darin Mastroianni, OF (AA) 24 – no change
14. Tim Collins, RP (AA) 20 – moving up
15. AJ Jimenez, C (LoA) 19 – *new on list
16. Ryan Schimpf, 2B (LoA) 22 – up slightly
17. Aaron Sanchez, SP (-) – newly drafted, signed
18. Noah Syndergaard, SP (-) – newly drafted, signed
19. Asher Wojciechowski, SP/RP (-) – newly drafted, signed
20. Sean Ochinko, C (LoA) 22 – new on list

I decided to drop Brad Mills from the top 20 because I just don’t believe his stuff will play well in MLB and that he may wind up in the pen when all is said and done – David Purcey style. I put the sandwich pick in, and not Deck McGuire, simply because their ceilings are all higher than Deck’s. AJ Jimenez gets lots of love for his breakout season, while the usual suspects in HiA and AA fill the 14 to 11 spots. Chad Jenkins has dropped out of the top 10 as he was expected to dominate in LoA at this point, instead of simply doing well. A promotion may or many not be in the cards for him, but he still looks to be 2-3 years away at this point.

Another guy who’s dropped down is Adeiny Hechavarria, who like many Cubans before him has had a hard time adjusting to professional ball in the U.S. He is still in the top 10 because I have faith that he’ll turn things around, and that when he does it will be nothing short of spectacular. Zach Stewart has also dropped down a bit, but I expect he’ll be promoted sometime soon and that he could have an impact on the Jays come September. However, the highlights of this list are JP Arencibia and Jake Marisnick – one who is finally proving me right in hammering the ball like he’s swatting flies, and one who’s about to begin his professional career and electrify Jays fans from coast-to-coast. They fill the 4-5 spots right now, but really all top 5 Jays prospects could be #1 as they all have specific strengths that will make them regular impact players on the Jays sometime soon!

Overall, I give the Jays prospects an 8.5 out of 10 score, with the possibility of becoming a 9 after the July 2nd signings begin. Jays fans should love what they have on board and feel confident that the Jays are headed in the right direction.