2011-11-24

Food For Thought


As we all know now our wonderful game of baseball has just implemented a new collective bargining agreement.  With all the new rules and caps this has given us stay at home GM types a bit of time to ponder on what to do.....what to do.....Jesus what do we do now?  I am not sure on any of the exact numbers but let's just agree that some of the now imposed caps are drastically different and will effect a lot of teams.  MLB has basically capped the draft and all international signings.

In regards to the draft, teams are only allowed to spend a certain number - which is to be determined - on their entire draft.  Gone are the days of the 17 million dollar drafts.  Teams now will have to spend wisely and put a premium on scouting to find those diamonds in the rough that will be worth the signing bonuses.  Also gone are the days of offering major league contracts to draft picks.

On international signings it gets even more weird.  Long gone are the days of giving players like Hech 10 million.  A team now has around 2 million to spend for the entire season.  They do get to trade some of the unused cap away but I'm not even going to get into that craziness!

With all these new strict rules and hard caps now out there, organizations are going to have to be a lot more selective on who they sign and what to pay them.

But wait.....do they really have to?  I may be wrong in all this, again it's just some food for thought.

Let's say for argument sake you have another Bryce Harper in the draft.  The Jays only have 5 million allotted for draft picks, FOR THE ENTIRE DRAFT.  This would mean that signing that player to a big bonus just got a whole lot harder and maybe he won't sign at all instead opting to go to college.  What if the Jays drafted said player and gave a signing bonus to him for the minimum amount.  He gets his minor league contract and reports to whatever level the Jays would like to start him at.  What is to stop the Jays at this point from purchasing his contract, adding him to the 40 man roster and renegotiate his contract to pay him the big bucks that the "stud" deserves?  Then burn an option year and send him out to the minors.
 
Simple.

The Jays wouldn't use up much of their precious draft cap and the phenom would get the money he feels he deserves.  Everyone wins.

I could be completely out to lunch and this wouldn't work at all....or maybe I found a sneaky loophole just waiting to be exploited.  Especially in the case of top notch draft talent and those gems in the international free agent market.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was a guest post by my idiot Reds fan friend

2011-11-22

Did Ya Hear?


We got new uniforms! Turns out a friend of the site crashed the party and sent over some pics that I thought I would share with you. Personally, I think they look great and I`m somewhat shocked the brain trust got this one right.














Like my dad always use to say: Late is OK but pregnant that's no good.

2011-11-18

Holy Fuck Dick



The best thing is that at long last there can be no excuses about the AL East being the reason for no playoffs and the best Ontario whine can return to the Niagara region where it belongs.

Wow.

I mean the whole article is a shitshow but wow.

Just wow.

2011-11-16

Let's Start It Up


On occasion I enjoy firing out a late night gem on the Twitter feed right before I fall asleep. Normally these are well thought out snippets regarding your Toronto Blue Jays. The reason for this is the enjoyment I get waking up and seeing the responses, if there happen to be any. A few nights ago I came up with this:

I am not against acquiring another SP but I wonder if we really need one. Ricky, Morrow, Cecil, Alvarez, McGowan looks fine. Drabek 1st up.

Now that right there friends is a statement. I had been thinking along those lines all day and I did my best to jam it into the 140 character maximum. Let’s see what my people had to say about it. 

@Tammy_Beth that's been my thought all along - but i am a sucker for the Yu idea (with Cecil to the pen) 
@twit_terrific Didn't we all think exact same thing last offseason?? Assumed RR,BM,BC would take next step & BM+BC did opp. DM unsure, HA who knows.. 
@daveellis66 agreed. Most excited for Alvarez in the whole bunch. 
@Raiderfan_NOC I wouldn't trust dustin 
@HouseOfTheBB I think the issue isn't that the Jays don't have enough pitchers its that they don't have enough high end pitchers

All fantastic points and some interesting variances in opinion. I very much wanted to address them all individually but the space limitations were prohibitive. Here are my thoughts on the matter, the long version…..

6'0 215lbs

Entering 2011, Ricky Romero had not yet earned the ace title. On the other hand he was our best pitcher, so he got the ball for opening day. He made all his starts and threw another pain free 200 plus innings mostly matching up against the best our opponents had to offer. That's no easy feat. He was an All Star, albeit a last minute addition after a bunch of wimps back out.

Let’s take a look at a few of his key stats as well as his AL rank. 

The Good
6th in ERA with a sexy 2.92
8th in IP with 225
4th in CG with 4
12th in K with 178
10th in WHIP at 1.14 

The Bad 
4th in HR allowed with 26
4th in BB with 80
3rd in Hit Batters with 14

If you said he had some control issues then I would be forced to somewhat agree with you. He misses a lot of bats AND gloves. Falling behind in the count to big league hitters tends to lead a walk or a hard hit ball. Ricky is finding this out the hard way. His reliance on the above average change up could help explain all the long balls. 

All that being said, I think you could slap a semi legit ace label on him now. Could we use an upgrade here? Sure, of course we could. But so could about 25 other teams in baseball. On the bright side, our top guy is going to cost (a put your ski mask on kind of cheap) 5 million dollars in 2012. More importantly he grew into the leader of the staff and was the guy everyone looked to give the bullpen the night off.

6'3 195lbs 

Entering 2011, Brandon Morrow was expected to have a break out season. Spoiler alert: it didn’t really happen. He has the gift of being able to throw absolutely effortless gas but was handcuffed with an innings cap and missed a few games early in the year after being shutdown in spring training. He did end up making thirty sometimes frustrating starts and set a career high for innings pitched.

Here's some of his highlights as well as his AL rank. 

The Good 
7th in K with 203
1st in Strikeouts per 9 innings with a rocking 10.188 

The Bad 
4th in Wild Pitches with 12
5th in Hit Batters with 12

I for one am not quite ready to call his 2011 season a disappointment just yet. Only one guy in all of baseball had a higher strikeout rate than him. He’s your classic power pitcher and they always have bouts of wildness. Brandon is no different. In the second half of the year I did see a guy who seemed at least interested in trying to figure out this whole pitching as opposed to throwing thing. Word on the street was Papi got him to trust in the cutter sometime after the All Star break and he toyed around with it for his last 5 or so starts. Before that he had basically become a two pitch pitcher. Check out the repertoire below. For comparison purposes I’ll include his 2010 percentages.

Fastball:
2011 61.8%
2010 58.4%

Slider:
2011 26.4%
2010 15.3%

Change Up:
2011 6.4%
2010 14.1%

Curveball:
2011 5.4%
2010 12.2%

To sum up, one pitch out of ten was not a fastball or slider. He has got to mix in some muffins more often. That needs to be and will be addressed. Realistically he only needs one of the two offspeed pitches to be working on any given night to be successful. Another thing I've noticed is when he pitches out of the stretch he tends to get hit more. I'm sure this is true to a degree with most guys but with him it's rather dramatic. If he can find a way to stay in the full windup just a little bit more each time out it could pay off for him as the season goes on. Hopefully he can avoid those high stress innings that have become all too common. Look for him to have the innings cap shackles removed for the first time in his career next year.

6'1 235lbs

Entering 2011, Brett Cecil was coming off a very successful campaign, the first full one of his career. I think people were expecting him to pick up right where he left off and that certainly did not happen. After just 4 starts he was optioned out to Vegas. A dip in velocity was observed by all and whispers of a possible injury began making the rounds. Statistically speaking, he lost about two full MPH off his fastball. Many felt this caused him to reach back which in turn altered his mechanics. Basically he was lost on the mound. The hope was he would find it in the Minors and that didn’t really happen either.

Let’s take a look at some of his MLB numbers from 2010 and compare them to 2011.

Walk rate:
2010 2.81
2011 3.06

Strikeout rate:
2010 6.10
2011 6.33

Groundball rate:
2010 44.2
2011 38.2

Flyball rate:
2010 38.2
2011 43.5

Homeruns per 9 innings:
2010 0.94
2011 1.60

The one that really jumps out at you is the gopher balls. Like Ricky, he relies heavily (22.6%) on his change up. And like Ricky, when hitters sit off speed and get off speed it tends to go into the seats. I’m no pitching coach but I think it’s fair to say he may have lost some confidence in his fastball this season. And I think that’s probably the easiest pitch to regain your confidence in. He needs to throw it more not less, especially early in the count and then work off it as the game goes on. Perhaps his well documented lack of fitness played a role in his tough year. On the positive side of the ledger, he’s under team control until 2016 and threw over 200 innings in 2011 between his time in AAA and the show.

6'1 195lbs

Entering 2011, Henderson Alvarez had never pitched above High A ball. He was a good prospect but nobody really expected much from him yet and rightfully so. Not known as a strikeout guy despite his above average fastball, he skipped right over AAA a la Kyle Drabek and established himself as a viable starting option in the big leagues. Still only 21 years old he doesn’t have much of a breaking ball to speak of just yet. What he does have is a turbo sinker, a swing and miss changeup and a huge set of balls. This kid is not afraid to challenge hitters early on in the count which often leads to some very quick innings. That approach works more often than not if you have the movement on your stuff to pull it off. Simply put, watching him pitch is a refreshing change from the other starters in the rotation. His biggest asset is his near pinpoint control and he has shown that he can pitch to both sides of the plate. If only he could develop a pitch that goes right to left, even just the show me type. Another thing I’ve observed is what I like to call the Jesse Litsch conundrum. He can’t throw the ball straight and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Occasionally mixing in a hard four seem fastball in the top of the zone won't allow hitters to sit on his off speed stuff so much.
 
6'3 235lbs

Entering 2011, Dustin McGowan hadn’t thrown a pitch in a professional game since 2008. He wasn’t on the radar at all. Everyone was cheering for him to get healthy and monitored his now legendary rehab quite closely. Realistically though, none of us could expect much in the way of contributions. We all had been down that road too many times riding shotgun with Dusty and I fully understand the apprehension in trusting him with innings. Well wouldn't you know it, he did come back and pitch again. The results in this specific case don't really matter that much. Everyone who watched him pitch will say the same thing, that being he looked pretty darn good. He featured the classic four pitches. His fastball came in around 93MPH pretty consistently and when he reached back for more it was there. I saw him throw a few sliders that were almost that hard. The changeup looked respectable and the curve had some good finish. His delivery was smooth, effortless and repeatable. It's hard not to dream about what a near full season of him in the fifth starter role would look like. He's the perfect guy to skip in the rotation on off days. I literally pray every night that he has a great off season and reports to camp feeling strong and loose.

6'1 220lbs

Entering 2011, Kyle Drabek was the new guy. He had made 3 starts at the end of the 2010 season and things looked promising. He was given a legit shot at making the club right out of spring training and took full advantage. Featuring a solid four pitch mix, he was looked upon to stabilize the back end of the rotation. We had all heard the concerns with his “make up” when the deal for Doc was done. Truthfully, I didn’t really know what that means. After watching him for a few months I think I’ve got a better handle on what people were talking about. Kyle is a hothead on the mound. He loses his mind whenever any little thing doesn’t go his way. I once saw him take a swipe at the dirt on the mound after a ball squeaked through the infield for a hit WITH HIS PITCHING HAND. I guess it’s better to start off too pumped up and have to be reined in a little then the opposite but man, it was embarrassing at times to see him act out on the hill. Let’s be honest, white guys aren’t supposed to turn that red in the face unless Halle Berry is present.

If you guessed that reference was only an excuse to put up a Halle Berry pic then you would be 100% correct.

No but in all seriousness, if you have given up on him being a big part of the team moving forward then please click the little box with the X in it located at the top right hand corner of this web page. Cut the guy some slack. In fact you should cut the guy a lot of slack. He’s been an absolute beast of a pitcher at every level of baseball he’s ever played at. Failure is not an easy thing to accept for people used to being so successful at their craft. The kid still has mid 90’s heat, a cutter that moves about six inches and a stupidly filthy hook. Once he learns to trust his stuff in the strikezone watch the fuck out.

Conclusion:

My initial statement stands. With respect to an upgrade, he would have to be a top end guy and let's be clear: I’m not against this. Nobody should really be against this. However, unproven Japanese pitchers with big price tags are not exactly what I had in mind. I sincerely doubt Yu Darvish steps right into this rotation behind Ricky.

If it ends up we can't find another starter this winter, I’d be completely comfortable rolling the dice with these six players going into next year. Is it good enough to take home the big prize? Probably not.

If I may put a positive spin on things for just a moment it's really quite this simple:
  • Leave Ricky alone
  • Get Brandon to throw more benders
  • Send a personal trainer over to Brett's house
  • Show Henderson how to throw a slider/cutter/curveball
  • Treat Dustin like found money
  • Give Kyle some more time
 All photos courtesy of daylife

2011-11-09

It's List Time




















Right around this time last year I did up a list titled Your Toronto Blue Jays List Of Awesomeness: 2010 Edition. Unfortunately due to budget cutbacks and general laziness, I am unable to produce a similar one this year. But fear not, I was able to pull together enough resources to produce a little something for your viewing pleasure.

I now present to you our Top 15 Hottest Followers On Twitter: Avatar Edition

15: Lizzie Bowers @Lizzie18_ Behind you

Sports what more do i gotta say , #Bluejays, #crosby 3 https://www.facebook.com/lizzie.bowers?sk=info














Sample tweet: Trampoline time !

Observations: I am assuming praying that the number 18 quoted in her account name is her age. If not, it's cold shower time!


14: Ashley Hill @ashhill20 San Diego, CA/Viera, Fl


















Sample tweet: protected account

Observation: If a girl doesn't look super hot on her wedding day well then.....


13: Elena Meray @Josiehwhls


















Sample tweet: @ priavte hi Jon here's my nude pcitures I told you about last night. you must join for the pass word http://tinyurl.com/ybsufrr

Observations: Pretty safe bet this is a porn bot account. I don't advise you open that link unless you want your CPU to catch an STD.


12: Karen L Daniels @KarenLDaniels Toronto

Owner of Cosmopolitan Planner-Moving and Home Improvement Planner. I make custom cakes! Loyal Cancerian, always real, honest & caring.


















Sample tweet: protected account

Observations: Clearly taken as the massive rock on her finger plays a prominent part of her pic. Scores extra points for mentioning the customs cakes so enthusiastically in her bio.


11: Andrea @aperezzle Vancouverish, Canada

Baseball, Blue Jays, and random whining.


















Sample tweet: K I've decided to make my new years resolution for 2011. Batting cages once a week. Baseball offseason blues slightly & temporarily calmed.

Observations: Probably would have ranked a bit higher if her pic wasn't so blurry. Love the occasional Spanish tweets.


10: Julie @Jules0685

I ♥ the Toronto Blue Jays














Sample tweet: I love being touched during Savasana, take that as you will #hotyoga #yoga

Observation: 100% baller. Like big time. I don't even have one of those.


9: catherine s @catherine0626 toronto

Blue Jays. Dogs. High Heels. High Fashion. Law. Red Wine. Pearls. Sunsets. Good Grammar. Good Friends. Good Music. Good Times. Toronto.
















Sample tweet: I love baseball more than 99% of the people I know. And the same amount as the remaining 1%.

Observations: She's a lawyer and therefore is way, way smarter than me. Not sure if I could keep up with her champagne tastes on my beer budget.


8: Sophia A @SofiaColombia Colombia

Just a Girl From Colombia http://bit.ly/YQTfV













Sample tweet: Jeez i should come on here like once a month of something right ?

Observations: Normally I would have selected a better sample tweet for y'all but since she's only tweeted once, that's all you get. If you click through the link in her bio you'll find a extra special little treat.


7: Virginia Alvarez @AlvarezMVC Venezuela/Valencia


















Sample tweet: Everything is in Spanish.

Observation: A super glamorous chica that can't possibly communicate with me = dreamy


6: Adeline Shellhaas @Adelineixesh














Sample tweet: I love crazy sexual activity

Observation: WOW


5: Brennan Reurink @brennanr CANADA Kinesiology & Psych grad. Social butterfly & Jays fan. I'm a very lucky lady & I've got the greatest friends and family in the world.














Sample tweet: Watching some great #Jays baseball, in PJs, snacking on Cap'n Crunch cereal. #littlethings #lifeisgood

Observation: That's Brennan on the left in the picture above. I sometimes dream about her previous avatar, the one with the glass of wine and the taupe walls. Probably a little too much.


4: Jenn Siegner @Jenser12 Stratford Ontario Jays fan since the beginning!! I♥Robbie Alomar


















Sample tweet: Best day ever,Jays in the afternoon and UFC at night! What more could a girl ask for??

Observation: Some guys have an issue with their significant other being tougher than they are. I certainly do not.


3: Maddy @SportyMads Sports are my life:) http://sportymads.blogspot.com/


















Sample tweet: Time to head to the bar. Tonight is going to be sloppy..:)

Observation: I can envision epic fights for the remote control while chilling on the couch with this babe. In the end she always wins and that's just swell. 


2: Melissa Couto @SmokeshowMel Jays fan, Vikings fan, history Master, lover of red meat and beer, future star of The Smoke Show Sports Show. Mostly, I talk about baseball because it rocks.



















Sample tweets:
  • The RedSox have made my Halloween costume choice easy. A chicken-greased jersey, a bottle of beer and an xbox controller and I'm Jon Lester.
  • Molina is taking charge with his fingers. #dirty
Observation: Her bio pretty much covers off my entire list of prerequisites with respect to a woman.


1: Jessica Nichols @realjessnichols Toronto Actor,Script Supervisor,Stunt,Stand In. Baseball/Football/Golf Fan. Muskoka/DT Toronto. Travelling South & Visiting Ball Parks. Figure Skater&Dancer















Sample tweet: for those few people I know that dont like baseball, really???

Observation: I am pretty sure there is something in this world I would rather do than go on a road trip to a baseball stadium with this goddess, it's just escaping my mind right now.


Quickly:

While I am on the topic of avatars, recently I made a change to mine and have received a little heat from the masses. Just to get you up to speed, I went from this:


to this:


The rational behind it was simple. I know that one day Brett Lawrie will rule all mankind and simply wanted to get ahead of the curve. Perhaps you can let me know if I am way off base on this one.



2011-11-08

Blue Jays Fair to Middlin’ Ways Continue


It is hard to believe now but there was a time for a glorious decade from the mid-1980’s through the 1994 strike and season cancellation when the Toronto Blue Jays were a dynasty that consistently beat the MLB odds and would play before packed sellout crowds at what was then known as the Sky Dome. Things have simply not been the same since that work stoppage, as fans turned away from the Blue Jays and baseball in droves and the team has been unable to keep up with the Jonses, or make that the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

The Blue Jays broke even with the MLB odds this year as they were 81-81 but 16 games out of first place. This has been the pattern of the Blue Jays in recent years, as they will often give fans a hint or tease at success only to then fall back as a small market type of team that actually plays in Canada’s largest market and a market with plenty of funds.

Pitching was the biggest reason for Toronto’s problems this year, as they ranked 24th in the major leagues for staff earned run average and 21st in quality starts. The poor performance by the pitching staff wasted a solid offensive season that saw the Blue Jays ranked a surprising 6th for runs scored and 5th in home runs. It is interesting to note the lack of a home field advantage for the Blue Jays as they won 39 games on the road compared to just 42 at home. Much of this has to do with the antiseptic sterile environment of Rogers Centre and a town that is obsessed with hockey’s Maple Leafs.

The bullpen blew a staggering 25 saves and lacks a quality starter at the 4th and 5th slots. Filling those slots will be the priority of the management staff in the off season. There is considerable depth in the Jays' developmental system and they expect to develop their own rising talent to fill other needs on their own.

The anchor of the team is, of course, Jose Bautista, who hit .302 with a whopping 43 home runs and 103 RBI, in 2011. Another Toronto mainstay is Yunel Escobar, who hit .290 and scored 77 runs with an ailing elbow down the stretch, but is expected to be healed when spring training begins.

With division rival Tampa Bay winning on a shoe string budget, there are simply no more excuses for teams like Toronto and 2012 will be a pivotal season.

______________________________________________

Be sure to follow 1BlueJaysWay on Twitter for stats, updates and insight.

2011-11-04

The Black Hole

Image courtesy of After Death

So what happens if your Toronto Blue Jays don’t re-sign Type A free agent Mr. Kelly Johnson to play 2B next season? 

Since the free agent class this year is.....well.....pretty weak and the farm system can only be described as "noticeably thin" at the position - even that might be too complimentary - we somehow found the initiative to examine all the other rosters in baseball and cherry pick a few potential candidates for his replacement if when the brain trust decides to explore the trade route. 

Like Northwood Mortgage, we’re working hard just for you!

A few things to consider:
  • Most MLB second basemen were either drafted or developed as shortstops. That being said there was absolutely zero chance we were going to look over all the Minor League players in every system, especially the ones below A Ball and try to guess who won’t stick at SS. As such, only players listed as 2B were included.
  • Whomever is picked up will probably end up hitting 8th or 9th in the order. Therefore it isn't downright essential that an impact player is acquired. That's quite a luxury.
  • All players in tiers 1, 2, 3 and 4 are currently listed on their team’s 40 man roster while the players in tier 5 are not.

Tier 1: The studs

These players are the young, controllable, high upside type guys that any GM craves. They project as starters right now.

Dustin Ackley 1988/02/26 1st round 2nd pick 2009 Only on this list because you’d call me stupid if he wasn’t. Pretty much untouchable right now. Bat control is fantastic. He will hit in the Majors.

Danny Espinosa 1987/04/25 3rd round 2008 This guy can hit bombs and steal bases at the big league level. Contact? Not so much. Yet.

Neil Walker 1985/09/10 1st round 11th pick 2004 In his first full season he played 159 games. A big body and a big bat to match.
 
Jose Altuve 1990/05/06 amateur free agent 2007 Clearly rushed up to the big league level but can you really blame them?


Tier 2: The buy low candidates

These guys are still starting on their clubs. For now. 

Gordon Beckham 1986/09/16 1st round 8th pick 2008 Pretty much all of his offensive numbers have been in a steady decline since his rookie campaign. Plus defender. 

Darwin Barney 1985/11/08 4th round 2007 Never really hit for a lot of power. Pretty much an all around unspectacular player yet still serviceable.


Tier 3: The best of the rest 

AKA the Marco Scutaro category

Current back up, platoon or utility men.

Trevor Plouffe 1986/06/15 1st round 20th pick 2004 He hit 15 bombs in less than 200 at bats in the International League (AAA)

Eric Sogard 1986/05/22 2nd round 2007 Walks more than he strikes out. Looks like a doubles machine in waiting. 

Jason Donald 1984/09/04 3rd round 2006 Doesn’t look like he will stick at SS too much longer. Good/great contact skill.

Robert Andino 1984/04/25 2nd round 2002 Does everything well and nothing superb. Can still play a legit big league SS. Arb eligible for the first time.

Jed Lowrie 1984/04/17 1st round 45th pick 2005 Lack of production in the Minors leads me to believe he’s a little overrated. Switch hitter who kills lefties. Also arb eligible for the first time.

Sean Rodriguez 1985/04/26 3rd round 2003 Might benefit from playing only one position as opposed to all over the field. Can he hit RHP? It wouldn't hurt to give him the opportunity to find out.

Ryan Raburn 1981/04/17 5th round 2001 Has never really been given a fair chance as an everyday player. Decent pop. Oldest guy in any tier. 

Eric Young Jr 1985/05/25 30th round 2003 Only played 43 innings at 2B last year. Can flat out fly on the bases when he somehow manages to get on them.

Jonathan Herrera 1984/11/03 amateur free agent 2002 Is a tad undersized and the power numbers reflect it. Might have some rage issues.

Chris Getz 1983/08/30 4th round 2005 Non tender candidate. No power what so ever.


Tier 4: The 2013/14 type guys

How many option years - if any – these players have left would need to be known prior to completing a trade. Some of these guys might be ready to start in 2012. That was a purposefully vague sentence. A full or even partial year in AAA would probably be beneficial for the player and Super 2 is a bitch.

Alexi Amarista 1989/04/06 amateur free agent 2007 He’s hit at every level in the Minors despite his size. Blocked behind a whole bunch of Scioscia-esqe veterans in LAA.

Steve Lombardozzi 1988/09/20 19th round 2008 Played over 125 games the last three years in a row. Above average speed. Switch hitter.

Logan Forsythe 1987/01/14 1st round 46th pick 2008 Rocked a .445 OBP in the PCL as a 24 year old. Can play a little 3B if need be. 

Adrian Cardenas 1987/10/10 1st round 37th pick 2006 Walks almost as much as he strikes out. 

DJ LeMahieu 1988/07/13 2nd round 2009 Great contact hitter. Plenty of time for the power to develop from doubles to round trippers.

Ryan Adams 1987/04/21 2nd round 2006 Solid looking power numbers in the Minors Leagues. 

Cord Phelps 1987/01/23 3rd round 2008 Made 5 errors in only 75 chances with the glove. The stick looks nice.

Taylor Green 1986/11/02 25th round 2005 This Canadian boy from out West can swing it and take a walk. 

Eric Farris 1986/03/03 4th round 2007 Managed a measly .689 OPS in the PCL? Is that even possible?
 
Harold Garcia 1986/10/25 non drafted free agent 2004 Missed most of 2011 with a knee injury. Never played above AA. Decent bat.

Tommy Field 1987/02/22 24th round 2008 Made the jump from AA to the Majors probably because of his glove. His power looks legit. So do the strike outs.

Ivan De Jesus 1987/01/05 2nd round 2005 Consistent success at every stop in the Minors. 

Jeudy Valdez 1989/05/05 non drafted free agent in 2005ish. Played SS all this year and 2B all last year. Shown some decent pop and better wheels. Dominican birth certificate could be a concern. Needs some time in AA but could move fast.


Tier 5: The prospects

We only took our search as far down as High A ball. Had to draw the line somewhere. Feel free to tell us all about the guys we missed. 

Henry Rodriguez 1990/02/09 non drafted free agent 2007 Hasn’t posted an average under .300 since 2007. Say what you want about batting average as a stat but that just has to count for something. Never played above the AA level. Great power/speed combo. Switch hitter. Consider him the priority player on this list. 

Greg Miclat
Ryan Cavan

Who would you realistically like to see play 2B in a Blue Jays uniform next year? 

Do you have your eye on a specific player that we either mentioned or didn't?