John Sickels “All (Blue Jay) Questions Answered”

John Sickels of minor league ball held another “all questions answered,” and I’ve taken the time to pull out all of the Jays related Q and A’s for you.

On Travis d’Arnaud:

Q: Which one (Blue Jays prospect) has the most raw power?

A: Close. I’d go D’Arnaud, with Matt Dean and Marcus Knecht tied for second.

On Brett Lawrie

Q: Best hitting and pitching prospect you ever saw?

A: How about this:

Best One-Game Individual Performance by a Top Prospect: Zack Greinke pitching for Omaha in 2004, who made AAA hitters look utterly helpless.

Best One-Game Individual Performance by a Top Prospect: Brett Lawrie against Omaha in May 2011.

Those were jaw-dropping games

On Justin Nicolino:

Q: Which of Syndergaard, Nicolino, or Sanchez do you see being promoted first? (Assuming they all start at Lansing).

A: Nicolino

On Anthony Gose:

Q: How much do you think he can hit in the bigs? Would you see Drew Stubbs sort of production as being likely?

A: I wrote about Gose in the Prospect Smackdown last week.

I think he can develop into a guy who hits for moderate power, steals 30+ bases a year, draws some walks, but doesn’t hit for a much of a batting average. Devon White perhaps

On Kyle Drabek:

Q: Do you see Drabek turning things around this year and what do you see as his ceiling at this point? Thanks!

A: He still has the same ceiling he had as before, number 2 starter, but the risk factor seems much higher now. Will he turn it around? How bout a firm maybe?

On Jays OF Prospects:

Q: 1) Will the Lansing 2011 OF of Crouse, Marisnick and Knecht all stay together for a full season again in A+ (Dunedin) or do you expect at least one of them to jump to AA at some point this year. If so which ones and when?

2) Do you see a Lansing 2012 OF of Hawkins, Anderson and Smith Jr or do you think the Jays will start Anderson and Smith Jr in short season ball. Both seem like they need pro AB’s more than extended spring training to me.

A: 1) All start at A+. I would expect Knecht and Marisnick to get shots in AA first.

2) Anderson and Smith likely start in extended spring, then go to either Lansing in May or SS in June depending on how they look.

On Michael McDade and David Cooper:

Q: Mike McDade, David Cooper: Which do you think has the better likelihood of being an average regular or better in his peak years (and how big is the difference between them).

A: If you could combine McDade’s power with Coopers feel for contact you would have a great player, alas, genetic engineering is not that advanced. I doubt either one become long-term regulars.

On Deck McGuire and Drew Hutchison:

Q: Which Jays prospect would you say has the best chance to make it to the bigs and stick this year?

A: Probably McGuire ahead of Hutchison is only for experience reasons, McGuire having more due to his college background.

On Michael Crouse:

Q: Michael Crouse, Marcell Ozuna: Is there much of a gap? What does Crouse have to do to progress, and could he play centre?

A: Interesting combo. They were born the same month, same year (Nov 1990). Crouse has a bit more speed, Ozuna a bit more power, both have issues with contact/plate discipline.

The reports I have indicate that Ozuna’s swing is considered sounder than Crouse’s at this point and that is a separator between them.

-SB

Like what you read and want to stay informed on all updates here at Jays Journal? Follow us on Twitter (@JaysJournal), “Like” our Facebook page, or grab our RSS feed!