Blue Jays: Alford a reminder that not every prospect will shine

It’s unfortunate that it looks like Anthony Alford’s tenure with the Blue Jays is over, but it’s also a reminder of the volatile nature of prospects.

Before I even begin, I’d like to unequivocally state that I wish Anthony Alford well, and I still think he could become a solid big leaguer if he’s given the right opportunity. Unfortunately it just looks like time has run out for him in Toronto.

In some ways it still feels like the Blue Jays are giving up too early on the raw talent, only because we’ve seen so little of him at the highest level over the years. In total he had just 71 at-bats in the big leagues spanning appearances from 2017-20, slashing just .155/.200/.375.

On the other hand, Alford has been around the organization for a long time, as he was selected in the 3rd round of the 2012 draft, and made his first appearances at the Rookie level that year. Since then he’s slowly but surely climbed the organizational ladder, but has never been able to hang on to a roster spot with the Blue Jays. Injuries are largely to blame for his inconsistent presence, and even his performance when he’s been on the field, but ultimately he just wasn’t able to able to thrive in Toronto.

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Looking back over the last five years, there have been times that Alford’s been considered to be among the top 100 prospects in baseball, and was once viewed as their 3rd best prospect behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, even besting Nate Pearson on MLB.com’s 2017 list. It was his combination of speed, power, and athleticism that had scouts drooling at the idea of him putting it all together, especially after giving up football and focusing on one sport.

He showed flashes of doing just that at times, hitting .310/.406/.429 in Double-A in 2017 for example, and even earned his MLB debut that same year. However, things just never progressed much from that point on, and with his being out of minor league options this year, the Blue Jays felt like they finally had to make a decision, and designated him for assignment.

What can we learn from all of this? For fans like you and I, it’s a reminder that not all prospects will end up being stars in the big leagues. As much as I want and hope that the roster will eventually be riddled with names like Alek Manoah, Austin Martin, Jordan Groshans, Adam Kloffenstein, Eric Pardinho, and more, chances are at least one of them won’t fulfill the potential we see in them now, for one reason or another. Again, that’s not to say that Alford’s career is over, and I do sincerely hope for opportunity and success for him, but I’m also finally willing to admit that the Blue Jays have exercised enough patience waiting for him to break out.

This isn’t something that’s exclusive to the Blue Jays either, and I’d like to prove that point with a quiz, especially for the non-hardcore baseball fans out there. How many names have you heard on this list: Mickey Moniak, Brady Aiken, Tyler Kolek, Mark Appel, and Danny Hultzen? Don’t feel bad if it’s only a few or none at all, but the commonality among them is they were all 1st or 2nd overall MLB draft picks over the last decade.

It can happen to even the brightest of prospects, and the Blue Jays have had plenty of examples over the years. Unfortunately it appears that Alford will be the latest cautionary tale of prospect hype for the Blue Jays. I sincerely hope he proves me wrong, even if it’s another uniform.