Blue Jays MiLB season preview

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