Breakout seasons in the minors gives the Blue Jays Top 10 a new look
By Cam Lewis
5 years agoHey, check it out! Large Adult Son content! Baseball America released its post-season organizational prospect top 10 rankings lists.
Here’s this year’s list…
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- Bo Bichette
- Danny Jansen
- Eric Pardinho
- Jordan Groshans
- Nate Pearson
- Kevin Smith
- Sean Reid-Foley
- Cavan Biggio
- Miguel Hiraldo
And, for the sake of comparison, here’s the list from this time last year…
- Vladmir Guerrero Jr.
- Bo Bichette
- Anthony Alford
- Nate Pearson
- Lourdes Gurriel
- Eric Pardinho
- Danny Jansen
- Logan Warmoth
- Richard Urena
- Ryan Borucki
From last year’s list to this year’s list, Ryan Borucki and Lourdes Gurriel were committed because they’ve graduated from prospect status. Both players saw major roles with the Blue Jays as time went along and are seem like virtual locks to be on the team again next year.
The other two notable departures from the list are Anthony Alford and Logan Warmoth.
- Alford last year was pegged as Toronto’s No. 3 prospect after the 2017 season but completely fell off a cliff in 2018, putting up a .654 OPS in his second go-around in Triple-A Buffalo.
- Warmoth was one of Toronto’s first-round picks in 2017, the other being Nate Pearson. Warmoth, a four-year senior, had a solid start to his professional career, but struggled mightily with the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays, slashing a .248/.322/.319 line over 75 games.
Now time for the positives! The Jays had a handful of breakout prospects last year.
- Cavan Biggio jumped from nowhere to No. 9 after an MVP season with Double-A New Hampshire.
- Sean Reid-Foley regained top prospect status after a disappointing 2017 season and now sits at No. 8 on the organization’s ranking.
- Kevin Smith, who wasn’t talked about much after being drafted by the Jays in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, had a huge breakout season between Dunedin and Lansing and now sits at No. 7.
- Jodan Groshans, the Jays first-round pick, hit the ground running right out of high school and comes in at No. 5.
- Miguel Hiraldo, Toronto’s prized international signing from 2017, hit pretty well in rookie ball and earned himself a spot at No. 10.
Finally, Eric Pardinho and Nate Pearson essentially swapped spots on the list. Pearson’s year was lost due to injury, but his arms still remains electric. Pardinho, as a 17-year-old, had a stupidly good season for Bluefield, posting a 2.88 ERA facing guys who, on average, were four years older than he was. Again, he’s 17.
Oh yeah, and, of course, Bo and Vlad remain at the top. The future is bright!
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