2016 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Depth: CF

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

A look at Toronto Blue Jays depth at Center field spotlights some of the systems brightest prospects, accounting for 5 spots on the Toronto Blue Jays 2016 Top 30 Prospects List by MLB.com.

Minor League depth is important to building a sustainable winner, something that the Toronto Blue Jays have struggled to do in years past. The Jays hadn’t developed a full-time position player since J.P. Arencibia assumed the role of starting catcher between 2011 and 2013. Before that longtime Blue Jay 1B/DH Adam Lind held that title.

Starting in 2014, Toronto fans started to see a trio of farm hands break onto the scene and two of those prospects were center fielders. CF Dalton Pompey and the underrated (not anymore) CF Kevin Pillar put themselves in a position to challenge for Toronto’s 2015 starting CF job with strong 2014 seasons, with Pillar eventually running away with the role and cementing himself in that position.

Kevin is the first everyday position player produced by the Toronto Blue Jays farm system in a long time, but he can’t let up. The Blue Jays upper minors have a trio of prospects which will challenge Pillar for playing time as soon at this year.

Buffalo Bisons

Dalton Pompey, 23-yrs-old

Toronto’s Opening Day CF struggled in the first month of the season, eventually being demoted to Buffalo and then to Double-A New Hampshire. Dalton turned his season around in NH, putting up the numbers that we expect for the systems top prospect.

Pompey produced well above average in NH with .428 wOBA and 175 wRC+, and above average in Buffalo with .340 wOBA and 114 wRC+. His Triple-A numbers where affected by poor May performances, which saw him hit under .200 in 18 games.

Pompey played 65 games in CF between Triple-A and Double-A, and another 21 games in Toronto. Pompey saw a lot of time in LF, playing 35 games there across three levels. In CF, Pompey posted 2.26 RangeFactor and .967 Fld%, whereas, in LF he posted 2.14 RangeFactor and 1.000 Fld%.

Overall Pompey slashed .307/.383/.421 with an .804OPS, 9 doubles, 7 triples, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 23 SB, 9.8 BB%, 14.7K% and .360BABIP in the minor leagues.

Launching pad- Unless there is an injury, a trade, or release of Toronto’s OF depth, it looks like Pompey is on the outside looking in. Dalton still has tremendous upside, still has options, and is still young; however, he doesn’t have much left to prove in Triple-A owning a .297 BA in 77 career games. Pompey will start the year in Buffalo, with a focus on driving the ball (.071 ISO in Buffalo) and playing some more corner outfield.

Melky Mesa 28-yrs-old

Mesa has re-signed and will play his third season in the Blue Jays farm system. Melky started 100 games in the outfield between Buffalo and New Hampshire. He played all three OF position, but spent most of his time in CF (67GP). He posted 2.69 RangeFactor and .989 Fld% in CF, which was better than his LF and RF numbers.

Melky’s numbers were much better in NH than Buffalo, putting up excellent .349 wOBA and 121 wRC+ in NH and performing below average in Buffalo with .283 wOBA and 74 wRC+.

Overall Melky hit .250/.286/.393 with a .679 OPS, 30 doubles, 3 triples, 8HR, 39RBI, 3.9BB%, 31K%, and .358 BABIP.

Launching pad- Melky will continue to offer OF depth to Toronto’s upper minor league teams.

Next: Roemon or Roamin in New Hampshire

Sep 25, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The Toronto Blue Jays mascot waves a flag during a break in the eighth inning in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre. The Toronto Blue Jays won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Roemon Fields, 25-yrs-old

Fields soared through the Jays minor league system, starting the year in Advanced-A Dunedin and finishing in Triple-A Buffalo. After staring in Vancouver’s OF in 2014, skipping over Lo-A Lansing was surprising for the speedy outfielder.

In 119 games Fields played 112 games in CF he posted a 2.56 RangeFactor and .990 Fld%, while collecting 11 outfield assists and committing 3 errors.

Fields put up awful wOBA numbers at NH and Buffalo and below average wOBA numbers in Dunedin. In Triple-A he posted .276 wOBA and 70 wRC+, while in Double-A he put up .291 wOBA and 81 wRC+. In Dunedin, Roemon posted a .313 wOBA and 101 wRC+.

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Overall the speedy CF hit .262/.316/.321 with a .637 OSP, 13 doubles, 5 triples, 2HR, 33 RBI, 46 SB, 8.2BB%, 16.0K%, and .299BABIP.

Launching pad- Splitting time in CF with Pompey in Buffalo

Ian Parmley 25-yrs-old

The 7th rd pick in 2012 split 2015 between Dunedin and New Hampshire playing 30 games in CF, 25 games in LF, and 16 games in RF. He posted the highest RangeFactor in RF with 2.81 and the highest Fld% in CF of .987. In 71 games, Ian had 4 OF assists, 3 errors and finished with 2/46 RangeFactor and .983Fld%.

Parmley played much better at the higher level in New Hampshire than at the lower level in Dunedin. He hit for more power in .083 ISO versus .017 in Dunedin. He produced an average .319 wOBA and 101 wRC+ in New Hampshire.

Overall Ian Parmley hit .278/.331/.361 with a .692 OPS, 4 doubles, 2 triples, a HR, 16RBI, 7.5BB%, 14.3K% and .321BABIP for the Fisher Cats.

Launching pad- Expect Parmley to get more time in LF and RF than CF with the prospects coming up. Ian should start the year in New Hampshire.

Next: Alford has all the tools of a superstar...

Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Dunedin Blue Jays

Anthony Alford, 21-yrs-old

Alford split time between Lo-A Lansing and Advanced-A Dunedin playing exclusively in CF. The top prospect played 102 games with 3 OF assists, 9 errors, a 2.48 RangeFactor and .966 Fld%.

Alford produced at an elite level posting a .386 wOBA and 143 wRC+ in Lansing before moving up to Dunedin on June 25th. With the D-Jays, Alford continued to perform above expectations with .389 wOBA and 153 wRC+.

Overall Anthony Alford hit .298/.398/.421 with a .820OPS, 25 doubles, 7 triples, 4HR, 35RBI, 27SB, 13.9BB%, 22.3K%, and .397 BABIP.

Launching pad- Alford should continue to move quickly through the system in 2016, starting the year as the Fisher Cats starting CF.

Lansing Lugnuts

D.J. Davis, 22-yrs-old

D.J. took a step forward in his development but did not take a step forward in advancing up the minor level organization, playing his 2nd full season in Lansing.

Davis played mostly LF to start the year with Anthony Alford in CF, but re-assumed the CF role once AA got promoted to Dunedin. In 73 CF starts, DJ generated a 2.20 RangeFactor and .965 Fld%. In all 121 games, DJ finished with 5 assists, 11 errors, a 2.01 RangeFactor, and .957Fld%.

Davis also improved with the stick, posting a solid .341 wOBA (70pts higher than ’14) and slightly above average 113 wRC+.

Overall, Davis hit .282/.340/.391 with a .731OPS, 19 doubles, 7 triples, 7 HR, 59RBI, 21SB, 7.0BB%, 21.5K%, and .353 BABIP.

Launching pad- D.J.will not return to Lansing for a third year. No, Davis will get a crack at starting at CF for Dunedin.

Next: 2015 Draft nets Vancouver two strong CF's

Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Vancouver Canadians

Andrew Guillotte, 22-yrs-old

Andrew got his professional career off on the right foot and won the C’s starting CF job. He started off with Bluefield, but got promoted to Vancouver after 7 games. In 54 games in CF, Guillotte registered 9 assists, 3 errors, a 2.46 RangeFactor, and .978 Fld%. Andrew finished with an astounding 11 OF assists in 61 games.

Despite a low average, Andrew posted solid .344 wOBA and 111 wRC+ with the Vancouver Canadians.

Overall, Andrew hit .247/.353/.347 with a .700OPS, 10 doubles, a triple, 4 HR, 21RBI, 19SB, 9.4BB%, 11.2K%, and .276BABIP.

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Launching pad- It is safe to say that Andrew Guillotte will start the year with Lansing, when considering the CF depth ahead of him. Don’t be surprised to see Guillotte bypass Lo-A and head straight to Advanced-A a la Roemon Fields.

Earl Burl III, 22-yrs-old

Don’t let the label of being a 2015 30th round draft pick fool you, Earl Burl III is as talented as they come. Earl played in 49 games, splitting time between LF and CF. He played 4 more games in CF than in LF and produced better numbers. In 27 games in CF Earl posted 2.07 RangeFactor and .933 Fld%. He finished with 6 OF assists and 5 errors in the OF.

Earl produced at a below-average level with .292 wOBA and 78 wRC+, while not showing much power (.086 ISO).

Overall Earl Burl III hit .216/.310/.284 with a .593 OPS, 8 doubles, a triple, 15RBI, 9SB, 10.7BB%, 24.9K%, and .302 BABIP.

Launching pad- Earl will be in a dog fight for Vancouver’s starting CF with the next CF on the list.

Next: Orozco has big year in Bluefield

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Bluefield Blue Jays

Rodrigo Orozco, 20-yrs-old

Weighing in at 155lbs and standing 5’11”, this Panama City native turned some heads with his solid play in 2015. Orozco played 58 games with Bluefield before a September 3rd call-up to Vancouver.

With the exception of 2 games in Vancouver where he played in LF, Rodrigo played all his games in CF. He registered 2 assists, 3 errors, a 2.07 RangeFactor and .976 Fld%.

In 3 games with the C’s Rodrigo hit .333. Let’s put those number to the side due to the small sample size. In Bluefield Rodrigo produced at an excellent level with .371 wOBA and 125 wRC+ while generating a .135 ISO.

Overall Orozco hit .300/.368/.435 with a .803OPS, 16 doubles, a triple, 4HR, 25 RBI, 9.4BB%, 13.8K%, and .342BABIP.

Launching pad- Orozco has the inside track on Vancouver’s starting CF role.

Next: Pruitt has a bright future in the Blue Jays system

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Gulf Coast League Blue Jays

Reggie Pruitt, 18-yrs-old

Like Earl Burl III, don’t judge this book by its draft position. Pruitt is as fast as they come and has a high upside. He played all of his 33 games in CF, posting 2.24 RangeFactor and .925Fld% while committing 6 errors and not registering an OF assist.

With the stick, Pruitt produced slightly below league average number with .300 wOBA, 87 wRC+, with little power .066 ISO.

Overall Pruitt impressed with his speed in his first season with a slash line of .223/.309/.289, a .599OPS, 6 doubles, a triple, 12 RBI, 15SB, 8.3BB%, 25.7K%, and .314 BABIP.

Launching pad- Reggie should repeat the GCL, but could start the year as Bluefield’s starting CF.

Kalik May 23-yrs-old

May had an excellent year for the GCL Blue Jays. Kalik played 23 games in CF, 14 in RF, and 2 in LF. In total he registered 3 assists, committed 3 errors, while posting 2.05 RangeFactor and .963Fld%.

Kalik May produced excellent .383 wOBA, and 139 wRC+ with some decent power from the CF spot, good for a .145 ISO.

Overall Kalik hit .261/.376/.406 with a .782OPS, 6 doubles, 4 triples, 2HR, 12RBI, 10SB, 11.5BB%, 25.5K% and .358 BABIP in 42 games.

Launching pad- this a tough one.  Given his age and numbers, I don’t see him starting in Bluefield, so let’s put in Vancouver…but in what capacity???

Next: These guys are young and raw...