The Surprise Saguaros will commence their Arizona Fall League season tomorrow versus the Salt River Rafters with a number of Toronto Blue Jays players representing the Saguaros.
Manager Stubby Clapp will steer the Saguaros fall league ship with seven Toronto Blue Jays on his roster. Clapp who is a well decorated minor league manager and hopeful for the Jays vacant managerial position.
The rest of the roster will be filled out with farmhands from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, and St. Louis Cardinals.
The fall league roster will boast four Blue Jays pitchers as Nate Pearson, Zach Jackson, Jackson McClelland and Shawn Morimando take the bump for the Surprise. Pearson is the most heralded of the pitching prospects but missed much of 2018 with an array of injuries.
Positionally the Jays will have phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Cavan Biggio, and Santiago Espinal filling out the rest of the roster. Bo Bichette was initially tabbed to play but was eventually replaced by Espinal. The infielder was acquired in the Steve Pearce swap with the Red Sox and hit .286 after a mid-season promotion to Double-A.
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Biggio enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2018 smashing 26 homers for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats alongside Guerrero. Biggio will shift to the outfield for the fall league as he attempts to learn a new position due to the middle infield depth in the Jays farm system.
Vladdy Jr. will grab some additional reps after missing time with an injury in 2018, he played in 95 games this past season while ending the season with Triple-A Buffalo. The number one prospect in baseball hit .381/.437/.636 with 20 homers in 408 plate appearances.
Former Blue Jays minor leaguers Conner Greene and Lane Thomas will also represent their respective clubs on the Saguaros.
Rounding out Clapp’s coaching staff will be Bryan Hickerson, Jose Jaimes, Brian Buchanan, and Andy Fermin.