Blue Jays: There’s a ton of MiLB infield talent beyond Vlad and Bo

While the Blue Jays minor league system is known for elite prospects like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, there are a lot of elite talents on the way.

By now you’re probably more than aware that the Blue Jays are entering into the first real season of their rebuild, but hopefully it won’t be a drawn out one. There’s good reason to think it could be a quick turnaround, and that’s because of the elite prospect talents that have already arrived, or are on their way, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Danny Jansen, Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and more.

The casual fan may only be familiar with those four names and a handful of others who appeared at the big league level, like Ryan Borucki. However, the Blue Jays have quietly stockpiled an impressive collection of minor league talent, and they are arguably overflowing with infielders.

That’s never a bad thing of course, especially when it comes to prospects. Baseball is a sport that really doesn’t guarantee a lot for young players working their way through the minor league system, and many prospects that were supposed to be stars turn out to be anything but. The Blue Jays have plenty of examples of that kind of story.

However, with the big group of high-end talent throughout the system, there’s a very good chance the Blue Jays are going to have to move some players around to keep their best in Toronto, and/or they’re going to have plenty of trade chips to work with when they want to start supplementing the big league roster in a few years.

I’ve already mentioned some of the big names, but there are many more that you should know if you aren’t familiar with them yet.

Kevin Smith– SS/3B

.302/.358/.528, 31 doubles, 25 home runs, 29 stolen bases

One of the more underrated players in the Blue Jays’ system in terms of hype, Kevin Smith has a chance to be a real big league star at some point, and it wouldn’t be surprising if it wasn’t too many years from now. The 22 year old destroyed the Low-A level with the Lansing Lugnuts in 46 games, batting .355/.407/.639, and was quickly promoted to the next level at Dunedin where he continued to impress.

The 22 year old made 86 starts at shortstop last season and 23 at third base, and he might have to be creative with his defensive skillset in order to fit in Toronto once he arrives. A lot will depend on the development of others like Gurriel Jr., Bichette, and Guerrero Jr,., who could cover second base, shortstop, and third base respectively. However, there’s no guarantee that any of them stick at their respective positions, or that they couldn’t be knocked out by Smith at some point down the line. From the look of things, he’s definitely going to push them to earn their job, but he does strike me as the type of talent you make room for somehow.

My assumption is that he’ll start the 2019 season in New Hampshire at the Double-A level, and if he continues to impress it’s possible that we could see him in the big leagues by 2020, or maybe even sooner.

Jordan Groshans– 3B/SS

.296/.353/.446, 13 doubles, 5 home runs, in 37 games played

The Blue Jays made a bit of a surprising choice with their first round pick last year, and I only say that because of the infield talent they already had. However, they viewed Jordan Groshans as someone they couldn’t pass up on with the #12 pick, and there’s a good chance that decision will pay off down the line.

He’s very young at just 19, but he impressed during his 37 game stint in Rookie-ball with the Bluefield Blue Jays. He managed to get 142 at bats in there, and the 2019 season will be all about collecting experience as he starts his first full season. He’ll want to work on cutting down his strikeout numbers as well, as he fanned 29 times in those 142 at bats, however it’s tough to gauge a whole lot from that small of a sample size, and especially from the 18 year old.

Groshans split time pretty much equally between shortstop and third base, and I imagine that trend will likely continue at this early stage of his career. If everything goes right he’ll have a boatload of competition at those positions in Toronto by the time he’s ready for the big leagues, but a lot could happen before then, so there’s no reason to move him around at such a young age.

Instead he’ll have a chance to develop on a reasonable timeline, and to progress through the minors as his performance dictates. My guess is he’ll start the 2019 season with the Lansing Lugnuts in Low-A, and hopefully he’ll continue to show why the Blue Jays felt he was worthy of a first round pick. In terms of an ERA, we’re probably looking at something like 2021-22, but that could change in a hurry too.

First Basemen

Rowdy Tellez– 1B

.270/.340/.425, 22 doubles and 13 home runs in 393 at bats (AAA)

.314/.329/.614, 9 doubles, 4 home runs in 70 at bats (MLB)

If you were still watching the Blue Jays in September of last year then you saw of one of the more impressive performance of Rowdy Tellez’s career. The once highly rated first base prospect had a tough 2017 season while he dealt with family issues at home (his Mom tragically passed away last year), but 2018 was a lot better for the left-handed slugger, and he capped it off with a nice performance in Toronto.

It’s hard to say what the Blue Jays have planned for Tellez for the 2019 campaign, but it’s entirely possible he starts the year in Buffalo again and has to wait for a call-up. The Blue Jays still have Justin Smoak on the roster and under contract for the 2019 season, and may or may not have room to carry both him and Tellez on their 25 man roster. They may also want Tellez to see everyday at bats, and that could be tough to fit in with Smoak and Kendrys Morales still kicking around in Toronto.

2019 could be an important year for Tellez to prove his place with the Blue Jays going forward, and something tells me he’s going to get plenty of opportunity one way or another.

Ryan Noda– 1B/OF

.256/.421/.484, 24 doubles, 20 home runs, 14 stolen bases

One of the more underrated hitters in the Blue Jays system, Ryan Noda has been a solid producer throughout his MiLB career thus far. His on-base percentage of .421 over 527 plate appearances really sticks out, as he’s shown a mature approach at the plate for a young hitter. The soon to be 23 year old spent last year with the Lansing Lugnuts in Low-A, and will likely advance to the next level in 2019.

He split last season almost evenly with 57 starts in the outfield and another 60 at first base, representing another above-average hitter with defensive versatility in the system.

Chad Spanberger– 1B/OF

.298/.355/.538, 22 doubles, 27 home runs, 21 stolen bases

I figured I’d keep the other first base prospect alongside Tellez, although Chad Spanberger also has the ability to play in the outfield as well. He did spend the majority of his time at first base last season though, and that’s definitely his strongest position.

He was acquired from the Colorado Rockies in the Seunghwan Oh trade and has the potential to be a great pickup for the Blue Jays. He struggled a bit in a short 22 game stint in High-A last year, but still managed to reach base at a .348 clip, slashing .231/.348/.372 in 78 at bats. Chances are pretty good that’s the level he’ll start at this season as well, but he’ll be a candidate to keep an eye on after a strong 2018 performance.

Orelvis Martinez- SS

Signed last year

If you haven’t heard of Orelvis Martinez, that’s probably because he’s still just 17 years old and hasn’t played a professional game in the Blue Jays organization yet. However, his name was in the headlines last year when the Jays spent 3.51 million on a bonus to sign him.

He’s said to have already flashed strong hitting skills with a lot of raw power and bat speed, and projects to be a plus hitter at some point in the future. Whether or not he can stick at shortstop in the long term remains to be seen, but at such a young age that’s a question that will be answered at a later date.

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For now, it looks like the Blue Jays will have yet another wave of strong shortstop prospects, and Martinez could be a very good one indeed.

Miguel Hiraldo– SS

.300/.362/.435, 22 doubles, 2 home runs, 18 stolen bases in 253 at bats

Like Martinez, Hiraldo was also signed as an international free agent last year, agreeing to come to Toronto as well. He was able to get into the system in short order, and quickly showed fans and scouts why the Blue Jays had brought yet another shortstop into the organization.

He’s still pretty raw, but that’s to be expected when you’re playing at just 17 years old (he turned 18 in September). He’ll have plenty of time to develop in the minor leagues though, and if he continues to show an ability to hit for power and for average, while displaying more than adequate defensive skills, the Blue Jays could have yet another strong option for down the line.

Believe it or not there are others I considered adding to the list here as well such as Logan Warmoth, Leonardo Jimenez, the newly acquired Ronny Brito, Santiago Espinal, and more. I didn’t even bother talking about likely big leaguers like Reese McGuire or Richard Urena either, and there’s of course a lot of talent in the group that includes Gurriel Jr., Jansen, Guerrero Jr., and Bichette.

The point is, the Blue Jays should have plenty of home grown talent to choose from when it comes to building their infield(s) of the future. Each prospect will have to progress and prove they can handle the highest level, but with the amount of elite talent kicking around, there’s a good chance it’ll work out in the Blue Jays’ favour one way or another.