Dalton Pompey needs to stay in Triple-A

Dalton Pompey needs to stay in Triple-A. Not forever, but at least until September. I don’t think he was rushed or even mishandled. That isn’t what this piece is about. This isn’t going to be a piece which bashes the Toronto Blue Jays mishandling of a promising young outfielder. This isn’t going to be a piece bashing Alex Anthopoulos for not doing more in the offseason to secure an experienced replacement for erratic and relatively ineffective Colby Rasmus. No, this will be an opinion piece, so feel free to provide your own opinions in the comment section.

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Going into and coming out of Spring Training I felt that Dalton Pompey was the real deal. I felt that he would stick with the Jays for the year, albeit through some good time and through some bad times. As the lights came on in the regular season, it became apparent that Pompey was pressing and getting himself out. He didn’t just look over matched, he looked like he was over thinking the game…..he admitted as much.

So the decision to send the struggling Mississauga native to Buffalo was a no brainer. I am positive that the move would have happened sooner had Michael Saunders returned from the DL earlier.

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What’s next for Dalton Pompey? How should the Jays handle the best position prospect in their system?

They should leave him in Triple-A. They should let him dominate, let him get his swing back, let him get his swagger back, and let him have fun. Struggling isn’t fun, it can ruin a player, it causes you to over think, over swing, and over compensate. Let Pompey spend the rest of 2015 in Buffalo getting regular at-bats and become the centre piece of the Herd’s offence.

With Kevin Pillar showing that he can hit major league pitching and providing the Jays with viable CF option, Pompey doesn’t NEED to be with the Jays in 2015. Michael Saunders should play everyday in LF and Jose Bautista, once his shoulder is better, will play everyday in RF. That means that a struggling Pompey would be the teams 4th outfielder and we don’t want that….right?

The Jays can use any assortment of guys to assume the role of 4th OF.

• Danny Valencia
• Ryan Goins
• Ezequiel Carrera
• Chris Colabello
• Caleb Gindl
• Brad Glenn
• and more

Carrera is the best option, at the moment. He has speed, he can play CF and LF, he has major league experience, and who cares if he sits on the bench for long periods of time. He is in his 4th major league season, with he third major league team and has appeared 181 MLB  games. Carrera has amassed 115 hits in 448 at-bats, batting .257 and 25 stolen bases while not getting regular at-bats.

Carrera has proven that he will put the ball in play, as he has consistently produced  high BABIP (.300+) and Contact%. He doesn’t swing outside the zone very often (about 30%) and has averaged 5.9 BB% and 19.1K% throughout his career.

With Carrera on the bench, the Blue Jays can take their time with Pompey. So when you read my MiLB recaps or my weekly weekly edition of Stock Watch and see that he is playing well or even amazing, please don’t start clamouring for his promotion.