The Toronto Blue Jays and New Hampshire Fisher Cats have agreed to extend its Player Development Contract through the 2016 season. That makes it three affiliates that have deals in place for 2016 after Buffalo and Vancouver signed two-year extensions.



The Fisher Cats have won two Eastern League titles since becoming a Blue Jays affiliate in 2004.

The World Series could end as soon as tonight, and the WS is closely followed by the hot stove season.  The general managers of the teams who have been eliminated have been talking and ideas are being floated.

One of those ideas hit the internets today when it was reported the Jays were interested in Gordon Beckham of the White Sox.

RA Dickey edged out Mark Buehrle and Doug Fister for the pitchers Gold Glove.  The first time a Jays pitcher has won one.

Welcome to the creme de la creme, the number one through ten prospects.  In case you missed it number 11 through 20 are here, and number 21 to 30 are here.

We hope you enjoyed this top 30 and the hope it brings to the future of the Blue Jays organization. 

Today we look at the prospects rated 20 though 11. For prospects 30-21, click here.

Welcome to the Batters Box top 30 Blue Jay prospects for 2013. 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.

The system has seen a lot of movement since 2012.  Travis d'Arnuad, Noah Syndergaard, Jake Marisnick, Adeiny Hechavarria, Justin Nicolino and Sam Dyson were traded.  Five of last years top six prospects were moved to get that extra win from the major league team.

In total, forty prospects received at least one vote.  Twenty three of the top thirty were named on all five ballots.  There was plenty of agreement over who the top twenty prospects were, in name at least.  After those top 20 there are a mixture of players at AAA who might or might not get more than a cup of coffee in the major leagues and on the other side there are a ton of kids in the lower levels who haven't shown much yet.  Do you value Deck McGuire or Ryan Goins higher than Jacob Brentz or LB Dantzler?  The former will probably play a limited role in the major leagues, the latter could develop into all-stars or they could flame out.  

As usual we have split the top 30 into three installments, running Monday through Wednesday. 

We hope you enjoy the list and the discussion.

And on no account will I tolerate Boston-St.Louis. Enough is enough, I say.

Me, ten days ago. That worked out well.

The annual Batters Box top 30 prospects will go live tomorrow with prospects 30 to 21 in the spotlight.  Who will be #1?  Will it be Aaron Sanchez or has his prospect status dimmed?  Will it be Marcus Stroman, the new kid on the block?  Roberto Osuna and Daniel Norris improved their ranking this season as did Sean Nolin.  Or could it be a surprise #1, maybe Franklin Barreto who has shown the ability to hit at a very young age?

With all but two teams eliminated the chatter among general managers is picking up.  Most GM's say that after the season they take a few weeks to work through their needs and then identify possible trade matches with other teams.  The resulting discussions are being kicked off now to be continued at the general manager meetings to be held November 11-13 in Orlando.  And followed by the winter meetings, December 9-12.

Today Bob Elliott kicks off the rumour mill with catching news.

WIth dear memories of Mick and his Hall of Names series on everyone's mind, former Roster member Mike Green has stepped up to the plate to contribute to the series.

Take it away, Mike....

To contend in the major leagues you need a successful farm system, or at least one that finds gems once in awhile.  Be you the Yankees or the A's you need homegrown be they for trades or stardom.  How have the Jays been doing?

This is the third in the series.  So far we have not issued a qualifying offer to Josh Johnson and we have not traded Jose Bautista or Edwin Encarnacion for a starter.  But we still need pitching depth.  There are some teams out there with a surplus of starters and a weak bullpen, and you as GM have put together a deal to bring in a starter.  As GM you have a surplus of relievers, and you will not be able to keep them all on the major league roster next season.  You have a strength in the bullpen and you will use it to beef up the rotation.

Mick Doherty passed away on October 8, 2013, due to complications with diabetes. A Roster member for as long as I can remember, Mick Doherty was known for his writing talent and his sense of humour, which was often on display in his trademark “Hall of Names” threads.

We're down to the Final Four, and here's the question on my mind.

What's in it for me?

It's time for another "you be the general manager".  The consensus last week was not to offer Josh Johnson a qualifying offer.  That leaves a gap in the 2014 rotation.  You, as the GM, have to go in search of replacement starting pitchers.  We all know that the pitching market is thin and good starters are very, very valuable.  However, after much searching and negotiating, you have been able to line up a trade for a quality starting pitcher, one who will slip into the Blue Jays rotation as their #2 starter. 

There is a catch, what the other team wants in return.