Blue Jays: Jays Journal Top 30 Prospects List

#20 – Jon Harris – P

A rough year for Jon Harris has him sliding down the Top Prospects list here at Jays Journal, but he still has the potential to be something special. This past season it was seen in flashes but he had trouble with consistency. He was able to strikeout plenty of batters in his 143 innings with 113 K’s. Harris will look to get back on track this season after running into his first real challenge. He has lights out stuff but needs to find a way to maintain that through an entire outing.

Estimated 2018 starting point – Double-A – New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Original post by Chris Henderson (@Baseball4brains)

#19 – Tim Mayza – P

As the Blue Jays look to the future, they are looking for hard-throwing lefties that can dominate in the late innings. Tim Mayza has the tools to become this kind of pitcher at the MLB level. In this past season, he pitched in Double and Triple A. He was near lights out in his 52.2 innings of work between the two levels. He held a 3.25 ERA over those innings while striking out 58. He was given a shot at the Majors and had a rough outing that really escalated his ERA in his 19 games with the big club. He showed promise as he sent 27 big league hitters packing toward the bench.

Estimated 2018 starting point – Triple-A – Buffalo Bisons
Original post by Brendan Panikkar (@Panikkar37)

#18 – Riley Adams – C

This past year’s third-round draft pick Riley Adams had a nice showing in his first professional baseball stint. He was an offensive force for the Vancouver Canadians as he batted .305 with 35 RBI in 52 games. Adams also scored 26 runs and hit 16 doubles. He showed off plenty of tools and will get his first shot at full season ball this season.

Estimated 2018 starting point – Double-A – New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Original post by Kristen McKernan (@kmacandbaseball)

#17 – Thomas Pannone – P

Thomas Pannone was acquired from the Indians this past season and had an incredible 2017. The former 9th round pick in the 2013 draft has been a solid reputation in the Minor Leagues. He does not exactly light up the radar gun, but has solid control and keeps pitchers completely off balance. He averages about 92 MPH on his fastball but his ability to keep hitters guessing is his biggest strength. This past year he was a Double-A All-Star and had a 2.36 ERA over 144.2 innings of work. Pannone will be a pitcher to watch within the Blue Jays system this season.

Estimated 2018 starting point – Triple-A – Buffalo Bisons
Original post by Brendan Panikkar (@Panikkar37)

#16 – Justin Maese- P

After a solid 2016, Justin Maese struggled with injuries and inconsistency. He is still one of the better pitchers within the Blue Jays organization. A pure pitcher that works the edges and mixes speed, Maese needs to be consistent to dominate as he did in 2016.

In 12 Starts for the Lansing Lugnuts, he threw 70.2 innings with a 4.84 ERA. He might have been a victim of the opposing hitters timely hitting more in 2017, as his hits per nine and WHIP were close to his 2016 numbers. He averaged 9.9 hits per nine this past season, but 9.4 the year prior. The ERA from 2017 could be an oddity but we will be looking forward to seeing him perform well this season. He has a great arsenal of pitches that should set him up for good success.

Estimated 2018 starting point – Single A+ – Dunedin Blue Jays
Original post by Chris Henderson (@Baseball4brains)