Blue Jays prospect Enmanuel Bonilla's pro career has started off with immense promise

Far away from the daily hand-wringing around the state of the current Toronto Blue Jays team, a hopeful future Blue Jays superstar is working on his game. The future, in this case, is still at least half a decade away.

Prospect Enmanuel Bonilla, still just 17 years old, will find himself in the spotlight for years to come as he works his way through the team's farm system. He almost guaranteed that fate when he signed his $4.1 million deal — the Blue Jays' biggest international free agency deal. Yes, even bigger than Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s $3.9 million deal.

In his first year in Toronto's development system, Bonilla is doing a lot of developing but has started his Blue Jays career on a promising note while playing in the Dominican Summer League. The Jays' No. 17 prospect coming into the season, as ranked by MLB Pipeline, has a .275 batting average over his first 36 pro games, with a .374 OBP and .377 SLG.

His numbers definitely got a boost from an otherworldly 5-for-6 day at the plate last week.

Currently playing center field, Bonilla's scouting report projects him as a "corner-outfield thumper." He has the raw power and bat speed to have the huge upside of a slugger but has yet to see that power translate into home runs during game action. He has one long ball and a .110 ISO.

The young Dominican has five doubles and three triples, so he's still putting the ball in play, working around a 27 percent strikeout rate. He has scored 29 runs, driven in 11 and contributed four stolen bases.

At such a young age, Bonilla is still years away from the majors but has the physical tools and athleticism to warrant some excitement in the early days of his pro career.