Blue Jays: C’mon Dalton Pompey, don’t blow this opportunity

Dalton Pompey is getting a chance to show the baseball world what he can do right now, and unfortunately he hasn’t seized the opportunity just yet.

Back in 2014, Dalton Pompey was the second highest ranked prospect in the Blue Jays’ system, and earned an opportunity to grab the centre field job. I’m sure most of you remember how well that went (or didn’t), and it’s taken him a long time to get back to the Major Leagues again, save for a few September call-ups, mostly for his skill as a pinch runner.

Injuries have definitely played a part in his stalled development, so that’s why it was so nice to see him on the field early in 2018, and finally get healthy enough to be playing on a full time basis. He started the season in Triple-A Buffalo, but because of injuries to guys like Steve Pearce and Randal Grichuk, he currently finds himself at the highest level.

Neither Grichuk nor Pearce are expected to be out for the long term, so at some point Pompey will return to Triple-A when the roster space is needed. As long as he’s healthy it has to be seen as a positive to have him in the system, but it’s also getting harder to see how he fits with the Blue Jays in the long term. Guys like Kevin Pillar, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Alford, and Randal Grichuk all have at least two years or more of contract control beyond this season, so Pompey would really have to perform to move up the depth chart when everyone is healthy.

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With that in mind, that’s why this promotion was so important for Pompey, as it could have been an audition for the Blue Jays in the long term, and possibly for other outfield needy teams. The Blue Jays clearly can use him at the moment, but there are others like Dwight Smith Jr. as well that can fit the role of a depth piece, so if Pompey could play himself into a position of interest from the outside, there could be plenty of incentive to move him. I even wrote about this a few weeks ago, and hoped that he would do just that.

So far he hasn’t exactly seized the day, as he’s now 2-10, after failing to get a bunt down in the late innings on Friday night. The Blue Jays had runners on first and second and the Canadian was called upon to pinch him for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. but unfortunately couldn’t get the job done. Despite the fact that the Blue Jays won the game and it ultimately didn’t bite them too bad, it’s not exactly the way Pompey wants to put himself on the radar, or the highlight reels.

Hopefully the 25 year old can string together some solid games before Grichuk and Pearce return, as I’d really like to see him perform well for the Blue Jays, and for his own good. He’s an easy enough guy to like when he’s not performing all that well, so just imagine how the fan base would embrace him if he went on a tear. Here’s hoping we’ll see just that.

Next: Marcus Stroman heads to the 10 day DL