Blue Jays 2015 Top Prospects 1-11

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Sep 8, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Daniel Norris (32) during batting practice before of a game against the Chicago Cubs at Rogers Centre. The Toronto Blue Jays won 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

After finishing our Top 20, we look at #1 through #11 on our top prospect countdown. I will be providing the Jays Journal Top 11 Prospects and give you my opinion on each. The Blue Jays system has some budding stars and this will hopefully be a good glimpse of what our future may hold.

Jays Top 10 Prospects (according to Jays Journal)

1. Daniel Norris – LHP

This man lives in a van down by the ballpark hopefully not living off a diet of government cheese. The young lefty made his debut at the MLB level last season by striking out David Ortiz. If that is not encouraging I have no idea about baseball anymore. Norris has a very clean delivery that reminds me of Jimmy Key‘s simple but effective mechanics. Throwing around the mid 90’s and having excellent secondary pitches will be his ticket to punching out major league hitters. His command and great mechanics could take him very far at the major league level. Great things are coming for this lefty that showed us his excellent work ethic last season.

(Full Jays Journal Daniel Norris)

2. Aaron Sanchez – RHP

Sanchez will be 23 this year on July 1st and is just fun to watch. He has almost 2 much movement on his fastball. I had a real pleasure watching out of the pen last season but I do think he projects better as a starter. His curveball might be given the nickname the knee buckler. The amount of break on his curve is nothing short of ridiculous. The only thing that may possibly stand in his way is control. He has had a history of walking players often in the minors. I have yet to see that in his bullpen appearances last season but the risk is there. His control at the end of the season was very encouraging and I look forward to watching more of this young pitcher. I had the pleasure of watching him last spring training in Dunedin and it was just phenomenal watching him make a fool out of hitters.

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(Full Jays Journal Aaron Sanchez)

3. Dalton Pompey – OF

Pompey has been getting tons or attention this offseason. Rightfully so seeing the organization has pretty much given him the center field job. I see great things coming from him also, I just hope that the organization has the patience to watch him struggle some if he gets off to a rough start. The defense he has shown at all levels should be enough to keep him patrolling center field. Having all 5 tools in his pocket places him in the breakout candidate conversation for this season. His speed could play really well in the top of our order allowing him to get protection from the everyday mashers in the Jays lineup. I love that he has some pop in his bat but I see him as a John Olerud type hitter. Crushing hard line drives off the carpet in Rogers Centre could lead to an obscene number of extra base hits with his speed.

(Full Jays Journal Dalton Pompey)

4. Jeff Hoffman – RHP

I do not know what to think of ranking Hoffman this high on the list. The kid has a crazy level of talent but with no professional experience I would have ranked him lower on this list. Hoffman crushed the Cape Cod league with his dominant stuff. His plus fastball however did lead to Tommy John surgery and we hope to see him come back strong. It was nice to see him on instagram throwing from a mound this morning. All signs currently point to him fully recovering from the procedure and picking up where he left off. His tools need some refining but that’s what professional experience will bring to this highly talented individual.

(Full Jays Journal Jeff Hoffman)

5. Max Pentecost – C

I found Pentecost to be a very interesting pick for the Jays. I can’t remember the last time the Jays drafted a catcher so high if every even. Pentecost projects to be an everyday catcher. He has a nice swing that is rather compact which gets him to the ball very quick. He generates a decent amount of power which hopefully will translate to 15-20 home runs. This would place him nicely around the 6 spot in a lineup. Watching some of the highlights of him was very uplifting. I am very excited to see more of him as spring inches closer. I could not believe the level of athleticism he has as a catcher. It will be interesting to see if he remains a catcher for the Jays or gets moved to another position.

(Full Jays Journal Max Pentecost)

Mar 28, 2013; Kissimmee, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Devon Travis (3) leaps for a ground ball during the eighth inning against the Houston Astros at Osceola County Stadium. Houston defeated Detroit 11-4. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-USA TODAY Sports

6. Devon Travis – 2B

Trading for Travis is one of the better trades the Jays have made in a while. Batting near .300 at the AA level Travis has proven that he has the talent to be an everyday major league player. Along with batting .298 he was able launch 10 HR’s and swipe 16 bases. If his defense continues to improve I would not be surprised if he is the talk of camp this spring. Could we have finally found a second basemen? My guess is that his season will begin in Buffalo.

(Full Jays Journal Devon Travis)

7. Roberto Osuna – RHP

This 6’2″ righty has been on this list year after year it seems but the kid is still only 20. He signed out of Mexico in 2010 and is known for having an electric arm. After having Tommy John surgery the prior season he was only able to make 22 innings for the Dunedin Jays this past season. He did play in the Arizona Fall League and showed that he is fully recovered from the Tommy John. With a plus fastball that can reach the mid to high 90’s he has the tools to develop into something special. Hopefully he will continue to improve his secondary pitches and we will see him in Toronto in a couple years. I have a feeling he may eventually be converted to a reliever at some point. Seems like a guy that would come out of the pen and throw smoke to me.

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(Full Jays Journal Roberto Osuna)

8. Miguel Castro – RHP

Mr. Castro is a young athletic hurler who could possibly pay off big. Looking at his numbers from short season and High-A ball I was sticker shocked. He was able to hold batters to a .202 batting average with a 2.15 ERA. Let that settle in for a second and then I mention he had 53 strikeouts in 50.1 innings. There is the jaw dropper I had mentioned. Castro is a highly athletic and could be one of the bigger breakout candidates on this list.

(Full Jays Journal Miguel Castro)

9. Sean Reid-Foley – RHP

Here we have another 2014 draft pick making the list. Sean projects to be a mid of the rotation arm at the major league level. He has a great arsenal of pitches starting with a plus slider and a good curve. After watching some footage of his performance in the rookie league I was surprised to see great command at his age. He must have been a Roy Halladay fan growing up. I could not believe how similar his mechanics are. The arm angle even looks astonishingly close. His surprising amount of maturity in his approach to pitching could have him in the majors sooner rather than later. Could he take a path similar to Daniel Norris and jump multiple levels in a season? My guess is that they will play it safe with him this coming year and then let the handcuffs off next year.

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(Full Jays Journal Sean Reid-Foley)

10. Mitch Nay – 3B

This player has the makings of a special hitter. His quick delivery to the ball allows him to hit hard line drives at an impressive cliff. Raw power is the calling card for this young man. He looks to become a great run producer from the hot corner. He has already led the Appalachian league in RBI’s once. I do not see Nay becoming a major home run hitter but I do see him being in the Paul Molitor style of hitter. His condensed swing will draw comparisons to such line drive hitters. Expect him to have an abundance of doubles and RBI’s throughout his career. His defense at 3rd base may eventually be brought into question but I think this will be more dependent on his work ethic. If his defense suffers he could move across the diamond very similar to how Edwin Encarnacion did.

(Full Jays Journal Mitch Nay)

11. Jairo Labourt – LHP

Jario is a smooth throwing lefty. His mechanics appear effortless as the ball explodes from his hand into the mid 90’s. Once he is able to repeat his motion regularly I would guess the control will come around. From reading multiple reports on him control seems to be the one issue. My guess is the training staff will be attempting to create some muscle memory for his delivery to ease the control issues. Once that clicks for this tall lefty everything else should fall into place. He should be a dynamic arm in the middle of the rotation but if I had to guess he would fit better in the bullpen. Assuming the control issues linger his plus fastball would play well out of the pen.

(Full Jays Journal Jairo Labourt)

Things are looking up for the Jays minor league system. After trading much of our talent the past years it is nice to see such a resurgence of talent. There are many athletes in our system that I feel could have made an argument for the bottom of this top 11 list. For example Richard Urena is a young shortstop that made trading Franklin Barreto an option. There are also players returning to form like A.J. Jimenez that could improve quickly. Plus many more talented players round out our system nicely. I am sure I will get to writing about the majority of them in the future. It should be fun to watch these guys mature the next few years and see them in Toronto. It is nice to have a rich talent pool in the minors again.

research from MLBpipeline.com

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Minor League Perspective: Blue Jays 2015 Top Prospects 1-11

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