Jon Berti: New Hampshire Fisher Cats infielder

Since being selected in the 18th round of the 2011 Amateur Draft all the 5’10” Jon Berti has done is produce, year in and year out. Berti has impressed at every level of the Jays farm system and did it again while spending 2014 with Toronto’s Double-A affiliate, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Berti showed off his versatility/athleticism, his speed, and his bat in being selected to the 2014 Eastern League All-Star Game.

Not only did the 24 year old, Berti make the All-Star team but he was also recognized by his parent team as the Fisher Cats MVP receiving the annual R. Howard Webster Award. This is Berti’s second time winning the award, having won it last year with the Dunedin Blue Jays. Berti has flown under the radar,which I don’t understand considering how much this organization needs infielder help at the upper levels. He was at or near the top of the EL in hits, triples, stolen bases, and total bases, so needless to say, he lead his team in all those offensive categories.

R.Howard Webster Award Winners

Offensive

Jon Berti continued to show off his great speed (rated a 7.0 by fangraph), in 2014, by successfully stealing 40 of 55 bases. Last year, Matt Garrioch of SB Nation Minor League Ball, rated Berti (8th) in his Top 20 Speedsters….that’s saying something. His speed produced a career high 65 wRC, but only a 94 wRC+. Both numbers are average, but I’ll take ’em.

Berti set career highs in GP, AB, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI. At the plate he lowered his K% to 13.8% from 15.6% in 2013, which is great; however, his BB% also decreased from 9.9% in 2013 to 5.9% in 2014. Berti will have to work on that dreadfully low walk rate if he expects to be at the top of the order for the Herd next year. He hit first or second for NH in 128 games and had a .282 and .261 batting average respectively.

Jon produced a very solid wOBA of .317 for a second baseman, but since he played 30 games in LF that wOBA is only average….which is fine if he is just filling in once and a while. He seems to have a clutch bat, hitting .393 with runners on 1st and 3rd and .538 with runner on 2nd and 3rd, but don’t ask him to get a hit with a runner at 2nd (.111). Overall, He hit .265/.333/.350 with RISP and .371/.417/.500 with the game late and close. I’ll take that from a top of the order guy.

Defensive

Berti finished with a RF of 5.02 and a FPCT of .968 at second base. His RF would be tops in the league, but his FPCT would be about average based on 2014 Major League second baseman…14 errors will do that to a fielding percentage. He doesn’t have the defensive wizardry of Ryan Goins, but he makes the routine plays.

Overall, it looked like another solid season for the 24 year old middle infielder.

The Future

I expect to see Berti manning second for the Herd in 2015, that is of course entirely dependent on what the Jays plan to do with Ryan Goins. Alex Anthopoulos has a tendency to pick up veteran infielders to it is possible to see Berti start the year with the Fisher Cats. His speed and hustle may push him onto a major league roster as utility player, although he is still young enough to develop into a steady speed threat at the top of the order.

I will be keeping an eye on Jon this fall as he will be playing for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. So please check in regularly over the offseason to keep up-to-date on Jon’s progress.