2015 Blue Jays minor league wrap up: GCL Blue Jays

Apr 3, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays hat and glove lay in the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The roster had a mix of 2015 draft picks and International free-agents who’ve graduated from the Dominican Summer League and were getting their first taste of baseball in America. This transition is a challenging one.

The teams youngest player was a popular IFA signing from 2014, RHP Guadalupe Chavez from El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico. The 17-year-old started in the DSL, but after dominating that he league received a promotion. Chavez made 4 appearances (3 starts) with the GCL Jays, showing off his mid-90’s FB, change and curve. He finished with a 3-1 record and 2.37 ERA in 19 IP. He walked 6 and struck out 14, while maintaining a 1.16 WHIP.

The GCL Jays also got to see speedy OF Reggie Pruitt, drafted this year in the 24th round. Reggie has found his way on the mlb.com MLB Pipeline list, coming in at 25. Reggie signed for 500K and was the youngest position player on the team. He showed some extra base power with 6 doubles and a triple. He showed excellent speed with 15 steals and only got caught twice.

The GCL Jays also had fellow pipeline prospects in the 26th-ranked RHP Jose Espada, 24th-ranked RHP Juan Meza and 16th-ranked RHP Justin Maese.

As a team the stats fell mostly in the top half of the league, with speed (2nd) and power (4th) being their calling cards. They finished 14th out of 16 teams in batting average, hits, and doubles. They relied heavily on their plate discipline (2nd) to get on base, using their speed to manufacturing runs, and the long ball to punish the opposition’s mistakes.

On the mound, the GCL Jays were pretty well middle of the pack in most categories, like ERA, hits, runs, and WHIP. They finished tied for complete games with 2, 3rd with 18 saves, and 5th with 445 strike outs.

Next: 2015 team leaders and statistics