Baseball America's Top 30 Jays Prospects For 2014

Tuesday, February 18 2014 @ 11:32 PM EST

Contributed by: #2JBrumfield

My yearly bible finally found its way to my door! The Baseball America 2014 Prospect Handbook has compiled its top 30 prospects for all 30 major league teams. The Toronto Blue Jays farm system is right in the middle of the pack according to BA - ranking 15th out of 30 teams - a drop of three spots from 2013.

Mitch Nay made the biggest leap in the Top 30 rankings, jumping 20 spots from last year to rank as the Jays' fourth best prospect in 2014.

Baseball America assigns a numerical grade based on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale:

75-80 Franchise players/number one starters.
65-70 Perennial All-Stars/number two starters.
55-60 First division regular/number three starters/closers.
45-50 Second division regulars/number four starters/eighth inning relievers.
35-40 Number five starters/utility players/backup catchers/relievers.

BA also assigns a risk factor grade:

Safe - player is ready to contribute in the bigs and has shown a realistic ceiling.
Low - player is likely to reach his ceiling and become a big leaguer.
Medium - player still has some tools to sharpen.
High - player is a first year draft pick.
Extreme - teenager in rookie ball or a player with significant history of injuries.

No.#	Player	Position	Grade	Risk	2013 Rank
1	Aaron Sanchez	RHP	65	High	3
2	Marcus Stroman	RHP	55	Medium	5
3	D.J. Davis	OF	60	Extreme	6
4	Mitch Nay	3B	55	High	24
5	Franklin Barreto	SS	60	Extreme	13
6	Daniel Norris	LHP	55	High	9
7	Roberto Osuna	RHP	55	High	4
8	Alberto Tirado	RHP	60	Extreme	15
9	Dawel Lugo	SS	55	Extreme	26
10	Sean Nolin	LHP	45	Low	19
11	Chase DeJong	RHP	55	Extreme	22
12	Jairo Labourt	LHP	55	Extreme	28
13	Matt Smoral	LHP	55	Extreme	9
14	A.J. Jimenez	C	50	Medium	11
15	Clinton Hollon	RHP	55	Extreme	NR
16	Tom Robson	RHP	50	High	NR
17	Dalton Pompey	OF	50	High	NR
18	Rowdy Tellez	1B	55	Extreme	NR
19	Andy Burns	3B/2B	50	High	NR
20	Kevin Pillar	OF	45	Low	21
21	John Stilson	RHP	45	Medium	7
22	Kenny Wilson	OF	45	High	NR
23	Santiago Nessy	C	50	Extreme	14
24	Richard Urena	SS	50	Extreme	NR
25	Matt Dean	1B	50	Extreme	17
26	Miguel Castro	RHP	50	Extreme	NR
27	Dwight Smith Jr.	OF	45	High	16
28	Jake Brentz	LHP	50	Extreme	NR
29	Ryan Goins	2B/3B	40	Low	NR
30	Yeltsin Gudino	SS	50	Extreme	NR

The 31st rated prospect in the Jays system is Venezuelan righthander Adonys Cardona. Prospects who dropped out of last year's top 30 include outfielder Anthony Alford, who ranked 10th, as he continues to show more interest in playing football instead of baseball. Righties Tyler Gonzales (12th), righty Chad Jenkins (18th) and Deck McGuire (20th) also missed the cut along with infielders Christian Lopes (23) and Dickie Joe Thon (25). Right Yeyfrey Del Rosario (29th) and Chris Hawkins (30th) round out the fallen prospects.

Looking ahead to 2014, Baseball America believes righthander John Stilson will be the club's top rookie, fellow righty Miguel Castro is being tabbed as the breakout prospect this year and is predicting that yet another righty, Patrick Murphy, the club's third round pick in the 2013 draft, will be the sleeper prospect.

Lefthander Jairo Labourt also reached new heights in this year's Top 30 list, going from 28th last year to the Jays' 12th best prospect.

BA writers also ranked their personal top 50 prospects overall. John Manuel ranked righthander Aaron Sanchez 34th. Sanchez and righty Marcus Stroman were rated 46th and 47th respectively by Matt Eddy. J.J. Cooper had Sanchez at 38 and Stroman at 47. Ben Badler ranked Stroman 34th.

With the most promising prospects in the lower levels of the farm system, the Jays brass hope those players continue to progress up the minor league ladder in 2014. They hope to add to their talent base with the 9th and 11th overall picks (for failing to sign righty Phil Bickford last year) in this year's amateur draft.

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