Blue Jays’ future is bright, just ask the Eastern League All-Star team

The Blue Jays had a ton of representation on the Eastern League’s Season Ending All-Star team, including six players who played with the Fisher Cats this season.

The present may not be as exciting as we’d like, but the future is very promising for the Blue Jays and their fans. We’ve talked about it all year long, especially regarding Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his ridiculous hitting exploits. He’s been far from the only one putting on a noteworthy performance though, and that was more than evident on Thursday.

The Eastern League is where the Blue Jays’ Double-A affiliate, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, play their games. The season is nearing it’s end, and the league names their Season-Ending All-Stars just before the calendar wraps up, which they did on Thursday. On the league’s list of 14 players recognized, the Fisher Cats had six representatives, a very impressive number indeed. That list included Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Jordan Romano, Jonathan Davis, Harold Ramirez, and of course Vlad Guerrero Jr.

They are currently first in the Eastern division of the league with a record of 71-56, and will look to hold that lead until their schedule wraps up on September 3rd. It would be a little easier if they still had Davis and Guerrero Jr. kicking around, but there is still plenty of talent on the roster to give them a fair shot at the league title.

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More importantly though, it’s a sign of the strength of the Blue Jays’ minor league system, and a reason for fans not to dread the future too much. By now you’ve more than likely heard of Guerrero and Bichette and all they’ve done tearing up the minor leagues, but the talent pool is a lot deeper. We’ve watched other youngsters like Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Ryan Borucki, and Danny Jansen get promoted and make a quick impact, and there’s a good chance there are plenty more where they came from.

In terms of the All-Stars for the Fisher Cats, Biggio has impressed with 26 home runs, 92 RBI, and a slash line of .260/.399/.525 in 121 games this year. Romano has pitched to an impressive record of 11-7 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP across 24 starts. Davis has 29 doubles and 26 stolen bases across two levels, and Ramirez has slashed .310/.357/.457 with 32 doubles of his own in 110 games with the Fisher Cats. And then of course there’s Bo and Vlad.

https://twitter.com/FisherCats/status/1032691371558232066

It’s not going to happen overnight, but there’s enough talent between Triple-A and Double-A that the upcoming re-tool and rebuild of this roster won’t take long. We’ve already witnessed it starting to turn over a bit this season, and by the time spring training rolls around next year I would be willing to bet it’s even more obvious. This is an organization that’s needed to get young, faster, and more athletic for a couple years now, and we’re about to get exactly that.

The good news is there is already a solid foundation to build on, which makes the task somewhat less daunting for Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy, but with building blocks like the players named to the Season Ending All-Star team, those already promoted, and the others not yet recognized,  it all makes for an exciting future for Blue Jays fans.