Blue Jays MiLB System Season Preview!

Single-A – Midwest League – Lansing Lugnuts

The offense for the Lugnuts this season is going to have a new look from the top tier prospects that kicked off the 2017 season. Last season the Bo and Vlad show set the league on fire with a potent offensive attack. This season it looks like a balanced team all around will make things very interesting for the Lugnuts.

The lineup is going to have some very athletic players with plenty of tools to cause trouble. The Jays Journal Top Prospects list has Ryan Noda and Kevin Smith highlighting the talented collective. Ryan Noda is a powerful first baseman/outfielder. The 21-year-old masher uncorked seven homers with the Bluefield Blue Jays in the Appalachian League. He had a video game like batting average at .364 with 18 doubles, three triples, and a mere 39 RBI in 66 games. Noda also walked as many times as he struck out with 59 BB and 60 strikeouts. He has a plus approach at the plate that allows him to see good pitches.

Kevin Smith was a teammate of Noda’s in Bluefield and will also look to build on a great debut in the Jays system. Smith helped the Bluefield team to a first-place finish. He had an astonishing 25 doubles in his 61 games, a respectable .271 batting average, and eight homers. He proved to be very productive at the plate by scoring 43 runs and driving in 43. Smith did not take to many walks, which is typical of young players trying to make an impression. In the talented Midwest League, he will need to find a way to see good pitches while keeping the production he showed this past season.

Kacy Clemens, Kevin Vicuna, and Reggie Pruit are a few other standouts on the offensive side of the ball. Pruit played with the Vancouver Canadians this past season and stole 28 bases. Kevin Vicuna made it all the way up to Dunedin this past season and played well across three different levels. He finished with a .269/.322/.303 slash line with 25 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in inconsistent playing time. Kacy Clemens also had a solid debut for the champion Canadians. Clemens had 45 RBI in 62 games.

With the offense looking up, the Lugnuts biggest issue last season was getting quality starts from their pitchers. Yennsy Diaz is the big stand out and he will get the ball for the first game. He has electric stuff but can get wild. This past season with the Lugnuts he struck out 82 batters in 77 innings of work. He has the potential to be something special and continues to grow in every start.

Andy Ravel is also returning to Lansing where he will look to find consistency. After a very varied season, Ravel has the tools to baffle hitters but needs to find a way to miss the barrel of the bat. Ravel pounds the strike zone and only walked 38 batters in 114 innings last season. If he could find a way to trick a few more hitters that ERA will drop from the sky-high number he had in 2017.

The Lugnuts are going to score plenty of runs with this offense once again but they need to find a way to get solid outings from their starting pitchers. They have a decent bullpen but they can not patch a season together relying on their pen to eat up innings. This was the issue last season and it just wears everyone out.