Don’t Jump: Life is good on The Farm

Photo credit:Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

5 years ago

14 losses in the last 20 games. Seven of the team’s regulars are hitting under under .250. Attendance is way down, the bullpen is shook, and the rotation has been, frankly, terrible.

Yeah, things have been shit. But there’s still a boatload of games left, a lot of talent on the roster that could start clicking at any time, a Wild Card spot still within reach (though barely), and a whole lot of things to be excited about when it comes to the Blue Jays system.

So, let’s focus on the positive things for a few minutes, shall we?

You don’t need to look much farther than the new Hampshire Fisher Cats to find a few doses of sweet, sweet optimism and hope for the not-to-distant future and that starts, obviously, with the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball.

Incase you haven’t heard, Vlady Jr., is still absolutely mashing as the youngest player in all of Double-A. Aside from crushing dingers off of hotel windows and continuing his steady development in the thicc-ness department, the 19-year-old’s numbers continue to swell after every single outing, and they’re starting to get quite silly. His .427 average leads the Eastern League (and probably every other league on the planet), as does his on-base percentage (.479), slugging percentage (.707), and OPS (1.186) — which is tops in all of Double-A.

Vlady’s bat is clearly major-league ready, and his murderous run with New Hampshire over nearly 200 at-bats will more than likely lead to a call up to Triple-A Buffalo in the very near future. And, depending what the team decides to do with Josh Donaldson over the coming weeks, Guerrero could (and probably should) be manning the hot corner with the big club sometime this summer.

The good vibes don’t stop with Vlady, either. Not even close.

Fisher Cats teammate Cavan Biggio wasn’t in the Blue Jays top-tier of prospects entering the season (MLB.com listed him 19th), but all that has changed since the 23-year-old starting going off on Double-A pitching over the past month and a half. The second baseman is tied for tops in the Eastern League with 12 home runs, while his egregious 1.110 OPS ranks third. He’s slashing a phenomenal .299/.431/.679 and has been more than holding his own defensively.

The third skull of New Hampshire’s three-headed monster belongs to Bo Bichette, who ranked No. 2 amongst Blue Jays prospects and No. 11 overall at the start of 2018, according to MLB.com. Though he’s struggled at the dish as of late — completely expected and pretty standard for a 20-year-old — he’s still slashing a respectable .250/.328/.386 with a .715 OPS.

Meanwhile, here’s how some of the team’s notable prospects are faring (or have fared) in Triple-A Buffalo this season:

Danny Jansen, C, 2018 Prospect Rank: 6 — .312/.424/.486, 19 RBI, .910 OPS

Ryan Borucki, LHP, 2018 Prospect Rank: 8 — 45.1 innings, 3.57 ERA, 1.24 WHIP

Rowdy Tellez, 1B, 2018 Prospect Rank: 15 — .263/.338/.373, 13 RBI, .711 OPS

And how the highly-touted arms in New Hampshire are making out:

Jordan Romano, RHP, 2018 Prospect Rank: 27 — 53 innings, 2.04 ERA, 0.87 WHIP

Sean Ried-Foley, RHP, 2018 Prospect Rank: 10 — 44.1 innings, 2.03 ERA, 1.06 WHIP

T.J. Zeuch, RHP, 2018 Prospect Rank: 9 — 22.2 innings, 4.76 ERA, 1.59 WHIP

Jon Harris, RHP, 2018 Prospect Rank: 30 — 39.2 innings, 7.04 ERA, 1.66 WHIP

Finally, how the rest of Toronto’s top prospects have performed in High-A Dunedin:

Logan Warmoth, SS, 2018 Prospect Rank: 5 — .243/.322/.316, 12 RBI, .637 OPS

Riley Adams, C, 2018 Prospect Rank: 16 — .223/.297/.354, 15 RBI, .650 OPS