Blue Jays MiLB season preview

Lansing Lugnuts- Single A Affiliate

The Lansing Lugnuts are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Midwest League.  This past season they had some mixed success as the organization promoted much of their talent near the end of the season.  The Lugnuts just missed a chance at making the playoffs in the closing days of the season.

This year the Lugnuts have a great lineup coming into this season.  Leading the way is manager Cesar Martin, and he has the benefit of having some solid sluggers in his lineup.  Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be starting his year as the every day third baseman.  The Jays system’s top prospect looks to build on a solid first year in pro baseball.  Vlad will be making his full season debut and is still just 18 years old.  He popped a .271 batting average with 46 RBIs with the Bluefield Blue Jays in 2016.

Just to the left of him on the infield will be Bo Bichette.  The talented short stop and power bat will play well with the impact bat of Vlad Jr. in an everyday lineup.  Bichette is heading straight to Lansing after showing his advanced approach at the plate.  He was able to hit .427 with 36 RBIs in just 22 games with the GCL Blue Jays.  Roaming the outfield will be fellow 2016 draft pick J.B. Woodman.  Woodman had stops with two teams after being drafted in the 2nd round this past season.  He proceeded to put up great numbers with the Vancouver Canadians and earned an audition with the Lugnuts.  He finished with a .297 batting average in 63 games.

On the other side of the ball the Lugnuts have an impressive pitching staff to start the season.  The Lugnuts broadcaster Jesse Goldberg-Strassler reported that the Lugnuts will start the season off with Justin Maese on the hill.  Maese earned this opening day start with an impressive debut with the Lugnuts the past season.  The now 20 year old was able to post a solid 3.36 ERA in 56.1 innings.  It will be interesting to see what he can do with a full season heading into this year.

The rest of the rotation was also reported by Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and fills out with Patrick Murphy, Andy Ravel, Mike Ellenbest, and Osman Gutierrez.  The Lugnuts have an interesting roster that could impress this season.  The offense and the pitching have a solid foundation with a ton of upside.  This could spell success for these players and the team this coming campaign.

The Lugnuts begin their season on Thursday against at Great Lake Loons at the Loons ballpark.

Dunedin Blue Jays- High-Single A

The High Single A Dunedin Blue Jays play in Florida State League.  This past season was a mixed batch for the team.  The second half was incredible and led the team into the playoffs.  The D-Jays received plenty of reinforcements from Lansing to make the late season push this past season.

This push helped shape most of this teams roster heading into this season.  Manager John Schneider will lead last years Lansing Lugnuts into battle a level higher.  D.J. Davis returns to the outfield and will look to find his footing after a rough showing this past year.  Also returning is Max Pentecost who made his debut with the D-Jays after destroying the Midwest Leagues pitching to the tune of a .314 batting average.  Pentecost will look to get in some time behind the plate this season as well as play DH.

There is plenty of talent coming into the team this coming season as well.  The D-Jays benefit from one of the organization’s most recent signings in Lourdes Gurriel.  Gurriel brings a solid talent into the organization that rarely comes around.  He was known as one of the better players in Cuba and his family is known for being star baseball players in the country.  His first stop in the Jays’ system will be in Dunedin.

The Dunedin Blue Jays will have 7 of the systems top prospects on their opening day roster.  Many of which will be on the mound.  Head lining the teams rotation is Ryan Borucki.  Borucki got in 20 innings this past season with the D-Jays and struggled.  Prior to his debut in Dunedin though, he dominated with the Lugnuts as he threw 115.2 innings with a 2.41 ERA.  He will look to tap into that success as he gets settled in this season.

The season starts this Thursday in Clearwater against the Threshers.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats- Double A

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats ended the season with an insane amount of talent on the team.  Some of that talent has moved on to Triple A.  Rowdy Tellez the team’s best hitter will be with the Bisons this upcoming season, but this team still has plenty of pop in the lineup and could have one of the best rotations in all of the Minor Leagues.  They also will have 5 of the Blue Jays top prospects in town for the majority of this season.

On offense the Cats will have plenty of hitters that should be able to claw together some runs.  Richard Urena came up to the team for a preview this past season and stormed out of the gate.  He would fall back to earth and post a .266 batting average in 30 games.  Urena however was an extra base machine as he hit 6 doubles and 5 triple in his 33 total hits. The rest of the infield will be combinations of Gunnar Heidt, Tim Lopes, and Emilio Guerrero on the corners and at second base.  Manager Gary Allenson has plenty of flexibility in those players around the diamond and also has Jonathan Diaz returning to the fold.

At first base the Cats will have another great bat this season in Ryan McBroom.  McBroom beat up Florida State League pitching this past season with 21 homers and 26 doubles while driving in 83 RBIs.  He also managed to hit .274 and had a brief stay with the Fisher Cats.  He would collect just 4 hits in 9 games with the club, but managed to hit a homerun and score 3 runs.

Roaming the outfield the Cats will have no shortage of speed with Anthony Alford and Roemon Fields playing everyday.  Alford got things back on track this past season with a late surge in Dunedin.  A rough start to the year due to some injuries had some wondering if he had what it takes.  He would help lead a charge that pushed the Dunedin Blue Jays into the playoffs this past season.  Joining him will be speedster Roemon Fields who stole 44 bases in the past season with the Cats.

Cats fans will also get their first looks at Harold Ramirez and Jonathan Davis.  Ramirez was acquired in the Francisco Liriano trade this past season but only managed to make it into one game for the Cats last season due to injury.  He did hit .306 with 49 RBIs for the Altoona Curve in Double A this past season.  Davis played the entire season with the Dunedin Blue Jays this past season and flexed his muscles.  He proceeded to hit 14 home runs and drive in 54 RBIs.  He also impressed on the base paths with 33 stolen bases.

On the mound the Fisher Cats are very impressively stocked with talented arms.  Three of the best arms in the system will be starting the year in New Hampshire. Conner Greene will pick up where he left off and look to improve after a solid Spring.  Greene was locked in during his time with the D-Jays to begin the 2016 season.  Once he was promoted to the Fisher Cats, he was hit or miss with his command.  He will look to improve on his 4.19 ERA in the 12 starts that he had with the Cats the past season.

Joining Greene will be a pair of fellow top prospects in Sean Reid-Foley and Jon Harris.  Reid-Foley is currently ranked as the organization’s 2nd best prospect after a phenomenal year at both levels of Single A.  He would close out the season with an incredibly low opposing hitters batting average at .190.  He also pitched 115.1 innings with a 2.81 ERA and 130 strikeouts.  His teammate at both levels this past year was Jon Harris who also was very impressive.  He tossed 129.2 innings and earned a 11-4 record.  He would also own a nice ERA at 2.71 over both levels.

Tim Mayza will also be in the fold for the Fisher Cats.  Many of you may know his name from a break out performance this Spring Training with the Blue Jays.  He showed the Jays brass that he can be a solid lefty for them and was able to record some great outings in front of high management this Spring.  This team could be poised for something special this season with all of this talent in one place.

The season starts at home this Thursday against the Binghampton Rumble Ponies with Sean Reid-Foley on the bump

Buffalo Bisons- Triple A

The Buffalo Bisons are going to have plenty of great depth this season with all of the talent in New Hampshire.  They are also going to be a home for many of the MLB ready players that could fill in with the Toronto Blue Jays this season.  There are plenty of players that have experience in the Show in the past and some that may kick that door down in the near future.

Bob Meacham will lead this mix of experience and talent along with new hitting coach and Blue Jays great Devon White.  On the offensive side of the ball Rowdy Tellez highlights the talent that is coming to Buffalo.  Tellez has been receiving plenty of praise from Blue Jays manager John Gibbons after a solid Spring Training performance.  Tellez raked in 2016 to the tune of a .297 batting average with 23 home runs and 81 RBIs.  He recently got a chance to show off his power in the Montreal series with a home run to center.

Blue Jays also have MLB experience in Darrell Ceciliani and Chris Coghlan.  Both have played in the show and could be solid contributors on a good team.  Coghlan was recently signed to a Minor League contract and will be roaming the Bisons outfield.  Joining those two in the outfield will be Dwight Smith Jr.  Smith was able to show off some more power this past season with the Fisher Cats, and popped 15 homers while driving in 75 runners.  His athleticism will be a welcome site in the Bisons outfield when paired up with Cecilianin and Coghlan.

On the mound there is a nice balance of ready to go to the Majors and talent that just missed the big leagues.  Mat Latos and Brett Oberholtzer have had success in the Majors and are looking to prove they still can be there.  Casey Lawrence was one of the big topics during Spring Training after having a great outing against Major league level talents.  Lawrence found success with the heard this past season and will look to build on that as he progresses toward the Show.

Lefties Matt Dermody and Chad Girodo will highlight the bullpen to start the season and both were in the conversation to head North with the Jays during Spring Training.  They are very talented and will be pushing for the big leagues sooner rather then later if they get off to a strong start to the season.

Casey Lawrence gets the ball to start the season for the Bisons at home this Thursday.  He will have to wait for Buffalo Sabres young star Jack Eichel to throw out the first pitch of the season though.

Next: Gavin Floyd released