Blue Jays: Dalton Pompey – Remember Him?

A 16th round pick in the 2010 draft, Dalton Pompey is an enigmatic quasi-prospect who has boggled the minds of Blue Jays fans for years. With a history of frustrating injuries and an inconsistent bat, his role in the organization remains a mystery.

A Mississauga born outfielder, Dalton Pompey is the kind of guy that you want to cheer for. He’s energetic and passionate, speedy and crafty on the field, and a great Canadian player that is proud to don the maple leaf in international play. Even as much as we want to cheer him on, it’s not always so easy.

At one point, he was the number two prospect in the organization and the seventh best outfield prospect in the league. He was the highlight of a rather lackluster farm system that was churning out mediocre players for the past few years. During the 2015 season, Pompey stole 23 bases while slashing .307/.383/.421 in 96 games for New Hampshire and Buffalo. In addition, he was stunning defensively, committing just five errors for the season and finishing up with a .967 fielding percentage.

He played in the legendary fifth game of the 2015 ALDS against the Texas Rangers and has appeared in just eight major league contests since. In fact, this might be the first time in months that you’ve even read the name, Dalton Pompey. So what exactly happened to Dalton Pompey? And what is he up to now?

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The big blow to Pompey’s young career came in the 2017 World Baseball Classic when he suffered a concussion while sliding into second base representing Team Canada. He was then placed on the 60-day disabled list by the Jays.

He briefly returned to minor league action last season, playing in 13 games, most of which for the Buffalo Bisons. His season ended up being cut short by a nagging knee injury that followed him for the entire season.

Now, Pompey is back and is ready to fight for a higher spot on the organizational depth chart. On April 19th, after appearing in four games for the Dunedin Blue Jays, Pompey was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. He will join fellow outfield prospect Anthony Alford to compete for a spot on the 40-man roster. While it’s unknown just how much he’ll play in Buffalo, he’ll surely be given at least some opportunity to prove his worth in the upper minors.

Pompey himself says that he’s confident he can make it back to the bigs. Even though no one has talked much about him since the WBC, Atkins and the crew seem to think he has some potential.

Regardless of what the future holds, he has all of Toronto behind him. There’s something special about seeing a Canadian on the field for the boys in blue. Maybe it’s because it’s quite a rare feat, but I always feel giddy when I see a Canadian, especially a Torontonian, don Blue Jays blue.

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Here’s hoping Dalton Pompey proves us wrong, and gets to see the major leagues once again.