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Welcome to the Batter's Box Top 30 Blue Jay prospects for 2014. Five of your trusted minor league correspondents pooled their votes to come up with the list. The same trusty five shared the task of writing the prospect descriptions you see below. Come back tomorrow for numbers 20 through 11.

There is turnover from 2013. Marcus Stroman, Kevin Pillar and Ryan Goins have all graduated. Aaron Sanchez still qualifies as he was called up in mid-July, giving him less than 45 days service before September. Tom Robson, Clinton Hollon and Adonys Cardona were injured and didn't pitch enough to make it on this year's list. Kenny Wilson and Deck McGuire were traded. They make room for a new crop of exciting prospects who shot onto the scene in 2014, starting with a holdover at number 30.




Image from ebay.com.

30. John Stilson | RHP

Year Age Level G GS IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 K/9 ERA
2012
21
A+
13
13
54.1
9.3
0.3
3.2
7.8
2.82
2012
21
AA
17 9 50.0 9.7 1.8 4.1 7.9 5.04
2013
22
AA
2 0 2.1 11.6 0.0 0.0 23.1 3.86
2013
22
AAA
33 0 47.1 6.9 0.6 2.9 8.9 2.09
2014
23
AAA
25 0 34.0 9.8 0.5 4.8 8.5 3.18

John Stilson had an up-and-down season in 2014. Things were looking up for the 6-foot-3 right-hander when his first seven relief appearances in March produced 8.1 scoreless innings. His final Spring Training audition saw him get rocked for four runs in one inning and that carried over into a miserable April in which he posted a 9.39 earned run average in 7.2 innings with Buffalo. He did earn a save that month but just three of his eight appearances were scoreless.

The native of Texarkana, Texas did a complete 180 in May by stringing together nine straight shutout outings and 10 of 11 overall. That translated in a 1.04 ERA over 17.1 innings with a 21-7 K/BB total. His best outing came on May 4 against Charlotte when he struck out six over three perfect innings to earn the victory. Stilson was 1-0 in June with an ERA of 2.00 over six appearances. He did not give up an unearned run over his first four appearances but was nicked for a run in his last two outings before his season came to an end after a labrum issue in his right shoulder.

Stilson underwent surgery in mid-August and is expected to be out for 6-8 months which put his readiness for the start of Spring Training in doubt. He sent out a Tweet (@JayStilly12) in late September to indicate he was making progress in his rehab and was about to hit the weights.

The BABIP gods were not kind to Stilson in 2014 as International League batters put the ball in play to the tune of .337 - a 69 point jump from 2013. However, his previous BABIP marks from 2012 were .331 and .322 so 2013 looks to be an outlier at this point. He didn’t induce as many ground balls in 2014 as his GB% dipped from 53% to 45%. Still, his K rate remained fairly steady at 8.5 per nine innings, which is in line with his career rate of 8.4/9. However, control problems plagued Stilson as he walked nearly two batters more an inning from 2013. HIs 4.8 BB/9 was also 1.2 walks more than his career mark.

According to various scouting reports, Stilson’s repertoire includes a mid-90s MPH fastball that has reached 97 as well as a power change up and a sweeping slider in the upper 80s that have flashed plus. Catcher Mike Nickeas told BluebirdBanter.com that Stilson has the stuff to pitch in the bigs while Bisons manager Gary Allenson added they have worked with the righty on speeding up his delivery and being a pitcher instead of a thrower.

Now the question is whether Stilson will remain in the Blue Jays organization. Originally drafted by Minnesota in the 19th round of the 2009 draft, the Texas A&M alum has to be placed on the 40-man roster or he will be subject to the Rule 5 draft. The Blue Jays rolled the dice on Stilson by grabbing him in the third round of the 2011 draft and giving him a $500,000 bonus despite a torn labrum in his right shoulder at the time. Dr. James Andrews said Stilson did not surgery and recommended rest and rehab instead. Stilson, who posted a NCAA Division I-best ERA of 0.80 in 2010, will turn 25 on July 28.

Image from MiLB.com.

29. Matt Dean | 1B-3B

Year Age Level AB 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
2012
19
RK
167
8 4 2
12
60
3
2
.222
.282
.353
2013
20
RK 210
14
3
6
14
57
8
5
.338
.390
.519
2014
21
A
485
29
5
9
27
117
2
1
.281
.332
.429

Matt Dean didn’t quite match his breakout 2013 campaign but he still managed to keep his head above water in his first full season of pro ball. The 6-foot-3 right-handed hitter batted a respectable .276 in April that included a six-game hitting streak but he began to step things up in May with six multi-hit efforts over the first 10 days which resulted in a .395 batting average for the month. However, he missed the rest of May with a strained oblique. He returned June 1 and found his form again with a 10-game hitting streak to help him land a berth in the Midwest League All-Star Game. His power started to emerge in July as he connected for five home runs and slugged .492. He completed a 14-game hitting streak that started at the tail end of June. He maintained a .300 batting average with a .301 mark as late as July 24 but he wore down in August with a .235 batting average and just one homer.

After putting up an unsustainable batting average on balls in play of .436 last season in Bluefield, Dean’s BABIP was still a higher-than-normal .361 with Lansing. His walk and strikeout rates remained stable with both figures dipping just 0.4 percent but he is still striking out once in nearly every four at-bats and walking just less than six percent of the time. Dean spent most of his time at first base but also saw time at third base and designated hitter. However, his future home is expected to be at first base where he projects to a better-than-average defender. He had 14 errors in the field, 11 at first base. Dean did not try his luck on the base paths as often in 2014 as he stole just two bases, down from eight in 2013.

Dean was drafted in the 13th round of the 2011 draft from The Colony High School in Texas and signed for $737,500, the equivalent of supplemental first round money. He overcame a rough 2012 debut with Bluefield by rebounding with an Appalachian League All-Star berth and capturing the R. Howard Webster Award as the Blue Jays top minor league performer in West Virginia in 2013. Baseball America says Dean kept a journal of his at-bats during the season. Surprisingly, he did not get the call to Vancouver and missed out on the Canadians third Northwest League championship.

Dean will be a 22 year-old on December 12. His next minor league stop in 2015 should be sunny Dunedin.

Image from TorontoObserver.ca.

28. Dan Jansen | C

Year Age Level AB 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
2013
18
RK
114
4 0 0
21
10
0
0
.246
.364
.281
2014
19
RK+ 124
10
0
5
16
17
2
1
.282
.390
.484

Dan Jansen was one of Bluefield's best players before a knee injury ended his season. Jansen hit .282 in Bluefield, with five home runs, and he controlled the strike zone with almost as many walks as strikeouts. Jansen struck out 17 times in 124 at-bats.

Catching is a tough job for anyone but it is really tough at the lower levels where you are either catching in a game or warming up pitchers in the bullpen. Because of this work load, and because defensive ability and game calling take precedent, it is hard for many catchers to develop fully as hitters. When you do have an offensive minded catcher you hope he can maintain the offensive ability as he moves up in the system.

Jansen hails from Wisconsin. When he was drafted he didn't have the amount of baseball experience that players from warmer weather states do. So to see him hit well, show some power and control the strike zone are all good signs.

Jansen is big for a catcher at 6'2". His body has been compared to Lance Parrish who, in case you are too young to remember, was a very good catcher for Detroit. Early in his pro career the Jays identified that Jansen lacked some of the flexibility that major league catchers need. Since then Jansen has been working on that, using drills and yoga, to improve.

With the time missed due to injury, including instructional league, Jansen is likely to remain in Florida next spring rather than move to Lansing. Catching is a tough job but Jansen is setup to be a good one.


27. Alberto Tirado | RHP

Year Age Level G GS IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 K/9 ERA
2012
17
RK
11 11 37.0
6.8
0.0
2.9
8.3
2.68
2012
17
RK+
3 3 11.0
3.3
0.0
4.1
4.1
2.45
2013
18
RK+
12
8
48.1
7.6
0.2
3.7
8.2
1.68
2014
19
A
13
7
40
10.1
0.7
8.8
9.0
6.30
2014
19
A-
17
3
35.2
6.3
0.3
7.1
9.1
3.53

Ball four was an all too common occurrence for Alberto Tirado in 2014. Working as a tandem starter in Lansing to start the season, the Dominican had a 3.60 ERA with a save in April but had issued 14 free passes in 15 innings. He struck out 16 batters in April but when the calendar flipped to May, his one-under/one-over K-BB ratio continued while his ERA shot up to 6.52. The month began with a five inning outing in which he allowed one run to Dayton May 1 but the month ended horribly when he was charged with seven runs over two-thirds of an inning in South Bend May 27. Things did not improve in June when he went 0-1 with a 12.71 ERA over one start and one relief appearance. Total it all up and Tirado walked 39 batters and struck out 40 in 40 innings with Lansing.

Sent down to Vancouver for the start of the Northwest League season, Tirado was given the Opening Day start June 13 and lasted four innings. He was charged with two runs (one earned) but struck out three and walked one in an eventual Canadians win over Salem-Keizer. The 6-foot-1 righty also got the nod to start the Home Opener in which he pitched 3.2 innings of one-run ball against Spokane but he walked five and only struck out two. Even though he had a 2.35 ERA over his first two starts, he made just one more start the rest of the season as he was shifted to the bullpen permanently near mid-July. His ERA that month ballooned to 7.50 with a K/BB total of 11-11. Charlie Caskey of The Vancouver Sun reported that Tirado was suffering from a “dead arm” period in late June.

Things took a turn for the better in August when Tirado compiled a 1-0 mark and a 1.13 ERA. He struck out 20 over 16 innings while chopping his walk rate a little bit to 11 ball fours. Another positive was his groundball rate which went up to 58 percent with Vancouver. His career mark has hovered around 55 percent. His BABIP went from one extreme to the other with a 104 point swing, dropping from .359 in Lansing to .255 in Vancouver. However, Tirado saw one ball go out of play in Game 1 of the Northwest League final. He took the loss when he gave up a game-winning two-run homer to Hillsboro’s Stryker Trahan, the Diamondbacks first round pick in the 2012 draft.

According to Baseball America, Tirado was criticized by Northwest League managers for his lack of command and development of his secondary pitches as he failed to rank in BA’s Top 20 prospects in the NWL. Baseball Prospectus also said he had trouble with his mechanics and his ability to repeat his delivery. He throws a mid-90’s fastball that has been clocked as high as 96 MPH. The slider is in the mid-80s, reaching 87 and his change up has ranged anywhere in the low-to-mid 80s.

Tirado, who signed for $300,000 as a free agent in 2011, will blow out 20 birthday candles on December 10th. He should get another crack at the Midwest League in 2015.
 

 

Image from MiLB.com.

26. Andy Burns | 3B

Year Age Level AB 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
2011
20
Rk
16
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
.625
.650
.813
2011
20
A-
84
4
0
2
6
14
2
1
.179
.233
.298
2012
21
A
278
25
4
9
38
75
15
2
.248
.351
.464
2013
22
A+
248
25
4
9
25
38
21
9
.327
.383
.524
2013
22
AA
265
19
2
7
23
55
12
5
.253
.309
.419
2014
23
AA
495
32
5
15
41
99
18
8
.255
.315
.430

Andy Burns burst on the prospect scene with huge numbers at Dunedin over the first half of 2013. That earned Burns a promotion to AA where he had mixed results. But as he came back to AA in 2014 expectations were that Burns would take a jump forward and perform well. That didn't happen. Burns was pretty terrible over the first half of the season, he had an OPS of 555 in April. He did manage to add a hundred points to that in each of May, June and July so that by July he had an OPS of 884. That is prospect worthy. Burns slipped back a bit in the last two weeks of the season to finish August with an OPS of 808. Take those last two months where his combined OPS was 847 and Burns would be be prospect worthy again.

The relevant question then is what is the real Andy Burns? Is he a good field, third base prospect who can deliver an OPS of 750 in the majors? Or is he an inconsistent hitter who is not reliable enough for major league duty? We don't know but 2015 should give us an answer. Burns will still be 24 when the season opens, young enough to make an impression. He should be assigned to Buffalo but if the Jays have to keep a viable, seasoned, Lawrie backup warm in Buffalo then Burns might have to head back to AA. In either spot Burns needs to show that July and August of 2014 are what is to be expected and not just a hot streak.

 

Image from Sportsnet.ca.

25. DJ Davis | CF 

Year Age Level AB 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
2012
17
RK
163
7
2
4
18
54
18
7
.233
.339
.374
2012
17
RK+
47
3
1
1
4
10
6
2
.340
.415
.511
2012
17
A-
18
0
0
0
5
6
1
1
.167
.348
.167
2013
18
RK+
225
8
7
6
26
76
13
8
.240
.323
.418
2014
19
A
494
13
7
8
36
167
19
20
.213
.268
.316

If only the season had ended after Opening Day. DJ Davis went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs batted in and two stolen bases to lead Lansing to an 8-2 win in Lake County April 4. Actually, the 17th overall pick of the 2012 amateur draft was hitting .326 as late as April 17 but the wheels came off after that, resulting in an incredibly disappointing full-season debut in which every aspect of his game regressed horribly. His best month in terms of slugging percentage was in April at .359 and his worst was .221 in July. The only glimmer of hope came at the end of the year when he batted .265 in his last 10 contests that included a six-game hitting streak. The 6-foot-1 left-handed hitting Davis really struggled against lefties, batting just .161 against them. His BABIP was .299 so he was not lucky or unlucky in that aspect. His strikeout rate eclipsed 30 percent and his walk rate fell to just over six percent, also a career worst. Baseball America said a sore spot for Davis entering the season was recognizing breaking pitches but projected him to be an eventual 15-20 home run hitter thanks to above-average bat speed with natural strength and leverage in his swing.

It also seemed Davis forgot how to steal bases in 2014 as he was caught more times than he was successful. The Wiggins, Mississippi native was 38 of 56 before the season in his minor league career, translating to a 68 percent success rate. His raw speed has been compared to that of Cincinnati's Billy Hamilton but that has not helped his base stealing. Davis' troubles also carried over to the field as he was charged with 18 errors in center field, offset partially by seven assists.

The son of former Jays minor league outfielder Wayne Davis will turn 20 on July 25. He will more than likely be back at Lansing in 2015 where the Jays hope to see a more substantial return on their $1.75 million dollar investment. Will Dylan Jaleel be the real deal? Only time will tell.

Image from MiLB.com.

24. Matt Boyd | LHP

Year Age Level G GS IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 K/9 ERA
2013
22
A
5 3 14
4.5
0.0
0.6
7.7
0.64
2013
22
A+
6 6 10
6.3
1.8
2.7
9.9
5.40
2014
23
A+
16
16
90.2
8.5
0.4
2.0
10.2
1.39
2014
23
AA
10
10
42.2
8.5
1.1
2.7
9.3
6.96

Matt Boyd was selected by the Blue Jays in the 6th round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Oregon State University.  Matt excelled in his four years at Oregon, putting up a solid 2.04 ERA through 18 starts and 132.2 innings in his 2013 senior season.  Matt signed for an under slot amount of $75,000 and was quickly assigned to Lansing mid-way into the 2013 season. 

Matt was excellent for Dunedin pitching to a 1.39 ERA over 19 starts, with 1.99 BB/9 and 10.22 SO/9.  As well, Matt had a few short up and down stints with New Hampshire in which he struggled to a 6.96 ERA over 10 starts.

Despite struggling in New Hampshire in 2014, expect to see Matt in the Fisher Cats starting rotation in 2015.

Image from MiLB.com.

23. Taylor Cole | RHP 

Year Age Level G GS IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 K/9 ERA
2011
21
A- 11 8 33.2
9.4
0.8
4.5
6.7
5.88
2012
22
A- 12 11 66.1
4.9
0.0
2.3
7.7
0.81
2013
23
A
26
26
132.0
9.6
0.3
4.0
6.9
4.02
2013
23
A+
1
1
5.0
10.8
0.0
3.6
3.6
1.80
2014
24
A+
24
23
132.0
7.8
0.3
2.7
11.7
3.07
2014
24
AA
2
2
12.1
8.8
0.7
5.1
7.3
7.30

Taylor Cole
was acquired by the Jays in the 2011 draft in the 29th round out of Brigham Young University.  His 2011 – 2013 seasons were to be blunt nothing special. 

But, In 2014 Taylor quietly lead the entire minor leagues with 171 strikeouts, spending most of the season in Dunedin, with two starts in New Hampshire.  Taylor is Rule 5 draft eligible this upcoming winter, and the Jays are in a tough situation whether to protect to him or not.  If he were to remain property of the Jays expect him to start 2015 in New Hampshire.  It is also possible that he could be converted to a reliever also in 2015, due to his age and the fact that he is behind several other pitchers in the organizational starters depth chart.


Image from MiLB.com.

22. Anthony Alford | OF

Year Age Level AB 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
2012
17
RK
18
0 0 1
2
4
4
0
.167
.250
.333
2013
18
RK 22
2
1
0
6
6
2
0
.227
.414
.409
2014
19
RK+ 29
0
0
1
5
13
1
0
.207
.343
.310
2014
19
A 25
1
0
1
0
8
4
0
.320
.320
.480

How much do we know about Anthony Alford? We don't know much more than what we knew when he was drafted three years ago. Over those three years Alford has less than 100 at-bats. We do know that Alford is universally described as very athletic and very talented. But how will that pan out?

Alford was drafted with pick number 112 in the 2012 draft. At that time Baseball America said that Alford was considered one of the elite athletes of the class of 2012. They noted his speed as a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale and said he also had power potential. Notably Alford has not yet been caught stealing in his limited pro games but he does have 11 steals.

Many were excited by Alford's numbers in Lansing this year. However when you look at those numbers Alford had eight hits and put the ball in play 17 times. That is not sustainable. Alford also did not walk during his stay in Lansing.

As we look ahead to 2015 Alford will be like a top draft pick, almost like a college draftee. Max Pentecost could be assigned to Lansing or Dunedin. Alford would be the same, although I think Lansing would be more appropriate. Alford has yet to prove himself at that level. Alford's trip to Australia for winter ball should get him used to baseball again. That league plays until the end of January allowing Alford to keep going into spring training and his first shot at April baseball. There might be some ups and downs with contact initially but his speed and defense will play while we wait for the bat.



Image from TheBallparkGuide.MLblogs.com.

21. AJ Jimenez | C

Year Age Level AB 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
2008
18
RK
47
2
0
0
3
16
5
2
.191
.255
.234
2009
19
A
278
15
1
3
7
72
5
2
.263
.280
.356
2010
20
A
262
22
0
4
18
56
17
4
.305
.347
.435
2010
20
A+
9
0
0
1
0
5
0
0
.111
.111
.444
2011
21
A+
379
29
1
4
28
60
11
2
.303
.353
.417
2012
22
AA
105
4
1
2
5
14
2
3
.257
.295
.361
2013
23
A+
28
3
0
1
1
3
0
0
.429
.448
.643
2013
23
AA
203
15
0
3
16
37
1
2
.276
.327
.394
2013
23
AAA
30
1
0
0
1
2
0
1
.233
.258
.267
2014
24
AA
94
8
0
1
6
19
1
0
.223
.275
.340
2014
24
AAA
219
13
1
2
13
33 1
1
.260
.295
.356

Excluding his draft year, AJ Jimenez has 1600 minor league at-bats in six seasons. That is an average of 270 at-bats per season. His 2014 total of 313 at-bats is the second highest of his career. So the first thing we know of Jimenez is that he is injury prone. Jimenez did have Tommy John surgery in 2012 and has had lingering elbow issues since then.

The next thing we know of Jimenez is that his hitting seems to be about average for a backup major league catcher. He hit .260 in Buffalo this year with an OPS of .650. That would translate into a major league batting average of .230 and an OPS either side of 600. Backup catchers often develop late and a transition into a starting catcher can happen later still and that development and transition are still possibilities for Jimenez. It is hard to get to the major leagues as a catcher given the wear and tear on the body.

It was surprising that the Jays did not call up Jimenez in September. That suggests he is not under consideration to be the backup catcher in 2015, if he was he would have been called up to listen in on catcher scouting and prep work and to get to know the pitchers that have not come through the system. Is it fair to say the Jays have soured on Jimenez? I don't think so but they may have decided to send him a message by not calling him up. What message would that be? I don't know. They could want him to play through discomfort, to work harder or perhaps they think he isn't ready. Whichever it is, 2015 is the year for JImenez to show he is major league ready.

Blue Jays 2014 Top Prospects: 30-21 | 11 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Monday, October 27 2014 @ 08:42 AM EDT (#294586) #
Alford and Jansen are interesting.  Does anyone have comments about Alford's defenisve abilities?
Lugnut Fan - Monday, October 27 2014 @ 09:06 AM EDT (#294587) #

My sample size of seeing Alford is extremely limited as I only saw him once and that was on his last day of baseball in Lansing.  I call this a red letter day because that was supposedly the day AA offered him his contract to give up football and focus on baseball full time.  He struck out four times and he got turned around on a fly ball to CF.  I give him an incomplete as I think it is very unfair to really make any judgement on him.  He has such a small sample size and it isn't limited to this year, his career total resembles someone playing baseball for a vacation, which he kind of was. 

I do like the atheleticism and even though he didn't have a great showing in front of me on the day I saw him (AA saw him that day too), I could see why everyone is excited about him.  His projectability is off the charts and I anticipate he is going to go through the system quickly as he adds reps.

I was a little surprised to see Dean rankes so low on this list.  I wouldn't have had him much higher, but I would have probably swapped him and Davis on this list.

John Northey - Monday, October 27 2014 @ 10:09 AM EDT (#294590) #
For those who are curious...

Boy those were weak 21-30's pre-AA.  It'll be interesting to see if Pompey, Goins, Jenkins and Nolin can do anything the next few years or if others will.  As top prospects get better you should see improvements at the bottom as well.  Should be interesting to see 11-20 and 1-10.

bpoz - Monday, October 27 2014 @ 12:22 PM EDT (#294595) #
Thanks team for your great work.

The 40 man roster construction could be tricky. T Cole , A Burns & J Stilson from the 2011 draft all have to be added or lost on the rule 5 draft. As well as HS picks from 2010, like Dickie Joe Thon & Shape Opitz.

I do not think Opitz & Thon, 2010 HS draft picks, are at risk for the same reasons that I would think D Pompey was not at risk last year. Pompey was a 2010 HS draft pick as well, so he could not have been touched anyway. Sorry for any confusion.

I used Pompey because he is, IMO our best & most exciting current position prospect. All 3 have had injury issues which slowed their development down. I liked Opitz best as he was ahead of the other 2 at the end of 2013 IMO.
What a difference a year makes.

Regarding Cole, Burns & Stilson, I keep Stilson as you can put him on the 60 day DL early in the 2015 season, as he rehabs and gets game ready. Thereby freeing up 1 40 man roster spot.

tercet - Monday, October 27 2014 @ 03:24 PM EDT (#294602) #
I'm pretty sure Stilson got Tommy John, a month or so ago.  So that means no one will probably select him then right?
tercet - Monday, October 27 2014 @ 03:27 PM EDT (#294603) #
Sorry labrum surgery(again) but doesn't look like he will pitch in '15
dan gordon - Monday, October 27 2014 @ 04:05 PM EDT (#294604) #
The article above mentions that Stilson had labrum surgery and is out 6-8 months, which would put him back in the Feb-Apr timeframe, so he should be ready to go shortly after the start of the 2015 season.

A small correction is necessary to the DJ Davis stats. You have his 2014 year as being age 18 at Rookie Ball in the chart. He was 19 at Lansing.

Great info. Thanks to all who helped prepare this.
John Northey - Monday, October 27 2014 @ 04:28 PM EDT (#294605) #
Actually a guy having Tommy John is probably a high risk of losing in the draft as the selecting team could then toss him on the DL to start the next season rather than waste a roster slot on a kid who isn't ready.  Then in 2016 they have an extra prospect who they can try to build back up for the $50k cost of a draft pick plus the $500k salary you gotta pay a rookie on the DL for a year.
tercet - Monday, October 27 2014 @ 04:39 PM EDT (#294606) #
Thanks missed that, but I noticed on John Stilsons twitter about how he talks about the surgery.
Mylegacy - Wednesday, October 29 2014 @ 11:50 AM EDT (#294649) #
Considering that I am almost always wrong, I offer my opinion of how these 10 guys will be rated, considering their future career in whole (be some of it with T.O. or not):

1) Alford
2) Dean
3) Cole (the one guy I could be wrong about - there is a chance he's worse than I think)
4) Stilson
5) Burns
7) Boyd
8) Jansen
9) Jimenez
10) Davis (If I could, I'd rank him 23rd on this list of 10 - not impressed)

Considering these guys are ranked 21 - 30 ... not too shabby. Alford could, might be, perhaps, become a superstar. He clearly has a topside that is miles above any of the others on this list. However, he is miles and kilometers from getting there. Huge possibility of crashing and burning - if he does - he'll still get at least a look in the Bigs because the package is just so delicious to look at.

PeterG - Sunday, November 02 2014 @ 12:03 PM EST (#294747) #
Cole should be protected on 40 man and made a reliever. Add Stilson as well.....don't add Burns. No-one will take him .
Blue Jays 2014 Top Prospects: 30-21 | 11 comments | Create New Account
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