Blue Jays Minor League Depth

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Sep 2, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Josh Thole (22) at bat against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Now it is time to see how the Blue Jays minor league depth stacks up at the catcher position. We will continue to go through MLB ready talent, minor league reserves, break out candidates, and long shots.

Throughout the Jays organization backstop seems to be one of the more talented positions overall . Right now pending a possible trade we have 2 major league level catchers in Russell Martin and Dioner Navarro. Russell Martin is known for being a winner and will bring that mental adage to the Jays clubhouse. He is one of the better defensive catchers in the game and is definitely no slouch with the bat either. Navarro is an established catcher also that has been kind of put out because of the Martin addition. Navarro is a solid hitter with average defensive skills as a catcher. I love that he could be play DH for us but I still see him being a good trade chip going into the season. He is a good catcher that deserves to be playing for a team every day.

Moving into the depth we have behind those two we have a decent amount of talent that should fuel the position well for the organization.

MLB Ready

–Josh Thole– Knuckleball receiver extraordinaire

Toronto Blue Jays

Assuming that Mr. Thole does not make the opening day roster as R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher he will be ready to fill in as needed. Thole has been Dickey’s catcher since his career began to trend up. He was his catcher with the Mets and was included in the trade that brought Dickey to Toronto. Playing solid defense has been the name of the game for Thole so far in his career. His bat has never been too much for opposing pitchers to worry about. Us Jays fans know him for basically flipping the ball over the infielders heads for singles. Batting only .248 and making it into 57 games last season isn’t bad for a back up player, but seeing he gets a start every 5^th day with Dickey I wish the offense was a little better. He is indispensable as Dickey’s catcher due to the fact that he can actually handle the knuckler.

However, it should be noted that he cannot be placed in the minor leagues without going through optional waivers first, giving other teams in need of a back-up catcher a shot to sign him. The Blue Jays would then have a chance to pull him back from waivers before letting him go, but it would be a risk nonetheless.

–A.J. Jimenez– Fine Corinthian leather

After returning from Tommy John surgery Jimenez picked up where he left off. Playing the solid defense that has had him in the top prospects conversation for what seems like years now. Last season playing for Buffalo mostly he batted .260 in 237 plate appearances. Not bad for a guy that was out of baseball for an extended term due to the surgery. His plus defense was shown off in the Buffalo stint with a perfect fielding percentage in 365 chances while throwing out 42% of base-stealers. He is definitely a plus defender and will hopefully continue his improvements at the plate as he matures into his age 25 season.

Feb 25, 2015; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Sean Ochinko (69) works out during spring training at Bobby Mattick Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Minor League Reserves

–Sean Ochinko– Lingering in the shadows

Former 11^th round pick out of Louisiana State in the 2009 draft Ochinko has been following A.J Jimenez around the minors the past few years. After not playing much last season due to a PED suspension, he looks to bounce back into the equation. He is a solid defensive catcher who committed only 2 errors in 83 games in 2013 but only threw out 23% of base stealers. If he could ever start hitting like he did at the lower levels his plus defense would keep him in games. Only hitting .231 in 2013 will not keep you in many games no matter how good your defense is. I like Ochinko and hope that he simplifies his approach at the plate. Seeing better pitches should allow that batting average to creep up.

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–Derrick Chung– Potential

After spending last season split between Dunedin and New Hampshire we know that Chung is a great catcher defensively. In 95 games he committed only 6 errors in 848 chances (.993 Fld%) and threw out 41% of base-stealers. That is an incredible rate of success at the position that makes him look ready for a higher level. His bat however appears to be a wild card. He has shown the ability to hit thus far but struggled some when promoted to New Hampshire last season. After batting .320 in Dunedin through 49 games he only batted .240 in 47 with New Hampshire. I will account for some drop in batting average due to the level jump but that was a big drop. I hope he settles in and continues to work on his hitting because that will help propel him through our organization.

Feb 22, 2015; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Jack Murphy (70) and teammates throw at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Breakout Candidates

–Max Pentecost– 1^st round pick

Last years 11^th overall pick got off to a good start with the Jays organization. In 25 games he batted .324 with 12 RBI and 17 runs scored. In those 25 games he caught 10 of them and only committed 1 error. Yes this is a very small sample size but it is encouraging. He is currently injured and needed to have Arthroscopic surgery in February. He should resume throwing in May and hopefully pick up where he left off. He is a very talented individual and I look forward to watching him develop.

Long Shots

–Jack Murphy– Best mustache in spring training?

Known for his defense and face apparel, Murphy could find his home this season in Buffalo. Depending on how things shake out with Thole that is. Murphy needs to figure things out at the plate to win a job in AAA. He has yet to have a solid offensive year in the organization and it needs to click. Last season between AA and AAA he batted .221 with 17 RBI and 22 runs scored in 53 games. I hope that the spring training invite with the big league club will have a positive influence on his bat. Plus his continued ridiculous bashing of Australian Baseball League pitching should increase his confidence at the plate. We already know he can play well on defense but hopefully he can start to swing it. I had to include a picture showing off the stache below.

All Statistic information provided by baseball-reference.com.

Next: Blue Jays Rotation: Another Non-Crisis

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