Top 30 Prospects: #20 - #11

Tuesday, October 07 2008 @ 08:25 AM EDT

No intro - let's get to it!

20. Tyler Pastronicky, SS
Born December 13, 1989. Selected in the 5th round of the 2008 amateur draft.

19. Kyle Ginley, RHP
Born September 1, 1986. Selected in the 17th round of the 2006 amateur draft.

Year	Age	Level	G	GS	IP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	K/9	ERA
2006	19	R+	8	1	26.2	7.56	1.03	3.78	14.43	4.73
2006	19	A-	2	1	10.0	4.50	0.00	4.50	5.40	0.00
2007	20	A	26	26	121.2	10.54	0.82	3.04	9.58	4.73
2008	21	A	6	6	36.1	9.91	0.25	1.49	8.93	1.24
2008	21	A+	17	16	77.0	10.52	0.82	3.74	6.43	4.68

Kyle Ginley showed flashes of his potential this season, and remember he just turned 22 at the end of the season. Ginley returned to Lansing to start 2008 and pitched very well, earning a promotion after just six starts. Ginley was lights-out when he reached Dunedin, putting up a 2.36 ERA in five starts. But then things went downhill a little and Ginley was hit around for a five plus ERA in June and July before going on the DL with an oblique strain. Ginley's strongest pitch is his mid-90's fastball that he can spot down in the zone. Ginley also sports a slider and a change-up but he is still working on those pitches and relies on the fastball when he is in trouble.

Here is what Lansing pitching coach Tom Signore had to say about Ginley earlier in the year:

The big difference from last season is that he has become good at all the little detail things. He is better at controlling the running game, at having an idea of what he wants to do with each hitter, at throwing the fastball to both sides of the plate, and yes, his breaking pitches have come a long way. If you had to grade out his slider it's probably a touch below average for the big leagues and his change-up, while now it is below average for the big leagues, it will be an average major league change-up. He has the ability to spin a curve-ball but that is more of a get me over first strike pitch just to keep hitters honest.

As with most pitchers Ginley needs to continue to develop his off-speed pitches to succeed at higher levels. Ginley is headed for the AFL to experience pitching to more advanced hitters. Ginley will likely pitch in Dunedin next season unless he makes strides in the AFL.

Year	Age	Level	G	GS	IP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	K/9	ERA
2007	17	RK	7	0	6.0	9.00	0.00	3.00	10.50	4.50
2008	18	A	39	0	68.1	4.74	0.40	4.21	12.91	1.58

Tim Collins should be familiar to most Bauxites, as his season was one of the highlights of the year and one of the best seasons in the entire minor leagues. Collins didn’t attract much attention coming out of high school, in large part of his diminutive size. Collins is only 5’7” and weighs 155 pounds soaking wet. However, when JP Ricciardi’s father saw the Worcester, Massachusetts native pitching several times and liked what he saw. He passed the name on to his son and soon Collins had a tryout and then a professional contract with the Jays.

After six innings with the Gulf Coast Jays in 2007, Collins was sent to Lansing in 2008 and he set the Midwest League on fire. The best reliever in the Midwest League, Collins had a season out of the bullpen perhaps rivalled only by Anthony Siama of the Fort Myers Twins in the entire minor leagues. His strikeout rate was astronomical; nearly 13 batters per 9 innings. Tiny Tim allowed less than 5 hits per 9 innings, often while going 2 or 3 innings per appearance. His stats are even more impressive considering that he was the youngest player on the Lugnuts and was the only member of the pitching staff under 21 and only 71.2 of Lansing’s 1,247 innings pitched were thrown by pitchers other than Collins under the age of 22. The only stat that was somewhat worrisome was his walk rate and Collins will have to improve his control as he progresses.

Collins will have to prove himself at every level because of his build and the history of the minor leagues is littered with players who succeeded in the low minors without spectacular stuff, but did not have the raw talent to succeed at higher levels and in the majors. This may be the fate that awaits Collins, but few of those pitchers succeeded to the degree that Collins did. Collins throws a fastball that sits at 88-89 mph and a 12-6 curve, as well as a change-up. He’ll have to prove himself every year, but he’s passed his first test with flying colours, a gold star and a first-place ribbon.

16. Scott Richmond, RHP
Born August 30, 1979. Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2007.

The Blue Jays version of Jim Morris, the 29 year-old from North Vancouver was arguably the feel-good story in the club's minor league system for 2008. Signed as a non-drafted free agent last October, Richmond's fellow Canadian teammates on the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, former big leaguers Stubby Clapp, Ryan Radmanovich and Mike Johnson, helped put in a good word for him to Jays scout Rob Ducey. Richmond spent the better part of three years in Edmonton but did not become a starter until the 2007 season. A 72-17 K/BB ratio in 71 1/3 innings as a reliever the previous year served as a harbinger of things to come. On a staff with former major leaguers Mike Johnson and Lou Pote, Richmond emerged as the staff ace by posting a 10-9 record for a team that finished 20 games below .500. He ranked tenth in ERA in the Northern League and finished second in both innings pitched and strikeouts. Before playing in Edmonton, Richmond was working on the docks in Vancouver and scraping barnacles off boat bottoms after failing to catch on in the B.C. Premier League. Richmond did pitch senior ball before going to Missouri Valley College and Oklahoma State.

The 6-5, 225 pound hurler enjoyed a decent April when he posted a 3.90 ERA but he got hit around in May with an ERA of six-and-a-quarter. He got back on the beam in June with an ERA just over four as he lowered his walks from nine percent to five while maintaining a strikeout rate of 20 percent. That earned him a call up to Syracuse where he was striking out a quarter of the batters he faced while maintaining his June walk rate from AA. On the verge of joining the Canadian baseball team for the Beijing Olympics, he was called up to the big club to replace an ailing David Purcey. He wound up losing his big league debut to Tampa Bay July 30th and wound up making two more starts where he averaged about five innings a start and giving up three runs. He was sent back down to Syracuse where he endured a rough month of August, posting an ERA of 5.63 as his strikeout rate was cut in half while his walk rate almost doubled. Richmond was called up to the Jays in September and acquitted himself well in another five-inning outing against Boston before picking up his first major league win in Baltimore in a rain-shortened complete game shutout in the final weekend of the season. In his five major league starts, the Jays scored only nine runs.

Throwing a fastball around 89-92 MPH, a slider from 84-86 MPH, a change up from 80-83 MPH and a curveball from 74-77 MPH, Richmond's go-to pitch is a slider. He needs to work on his command and hone his two-seam fastball and changeup against lefties as he was a little too hittable at times. Richmond will be bidding for a spot in the Jays starting rotation in '09 but some project him to be a long reliever/spot starter. If he doesn't make the big club out of spring training, he'll be a phone call and five hour flight away in Las Vegas. We should see him at the Rogers Centre in March when he suits up for Canada at the World Baseball Classic.

15. Balbino Fuenmayor, 3B
Born November 26, 1989. Signed as an international free agent in 2006.

Year	Age	Level	G	GS	IP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	K/9	ERA
2006	22	A+	14	9	48.2	10.73	0.37	2.40	6.84	4.99
2007	23	A+	18	15	66.2	11.21	0.41	3.24	7.70	4.86
2008	24	A+	13	13	70.2	9.04	0.76	2.29	7.64	4.20
2008	24	AA	16	16	96.1	10.09	0.56	2.52	6.73	3.18

Ray was drafted in 2005 and had an excellent debut season, his ERA was under three at Auburn and he was on Baseball America's top 30 list. But then Ray battled injuries in 2006 and 2007, he pitched 48 and 66 innings in those seasons and slipped below the prospect radar. But Ray bounced back in 2008 pitching 167 innings and earning a promotion to AA, finishing with a 3.18 ERA in 16 starts at that level. Ray has a plus fastball, 92-93 mph, with good late movement. Ray has an improved change-up and needs to develop his slider and curveball. Ray's fastball makes him a good candidate for a major league reliever, if he can develop his other pitches he could get a shot at being a starter.

12. Brian Jeroloman, C
Born May 10, 1985. Selected in the 6th round of the 2006 amateur draft.

Defensively, the former Florida Gator shined behind the dish as threw out 36 percent of base stealers in New Hampshire and 42 percent in Syracuse where he gunned down 8 of 19 base stealers. With throws from home plate to second base in the 1.8-1.9 second range, Jeroloman is considered to be major league-ready behind the plate. His emergence along with that of J.P. Arencibia's made Robinzon Diaz expendable as the former top catcher in the system was sent to Pittsburgh in the Jose Bautista trade. If Jeroloman makes it to the bigs next season, he'll have family bragging rights as his brother Chuck, a former infielder/outfielder in the Boston farm system, did not play affiliated minor league ball in 2008.

11. John Tolisano, 2B
Born October 7, 1988. Selected in the 2nd round of the 2007 amateur draft

Of all the heralded 2007 Toronto draftees, Tolisano enjoyed arguably the most success at his first taste of pro-ball, swatting ten homers in just over 180 at-bats and showing decent patience at the plate. 2008, however, was a bit of a disappointment for Tolisano as he saw his production drop across most offensive categories, due in some part to a horrific end to the season in which his OPS was .319 over his final 50 at-bats.

In the field, Tolisano displays a strong, accurate arm but struggles with his range and positioning. While it has been mentioned that he could one day move to rightfield, Tolisano will for now stick at second base during his second go-round of the Midwest League.

Despite his underwhelming sophomore year, there's still lots to like about Tolisano. He drives the ball well, and can move fairly quickly, as evidenced by his eight triples. At just twenty years old (today!), Tolisano has plenty of time to re-establish himself among the Jays top ten prospects.

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