2007 Toronto Blue Jays Prospects

by John Sickels on Dec 9, 2006 6:50 PM EST in News

Adam Lind, OF, Grade A- (his bat is not a fluke)
Travis Snider, OF, Grade A- (outstanding hitter)
Ricky Romero, LHP, B (I think he'll rebound)
Curtis Thigpen, C, B- (good bat, good glove, lacks home run power)
Ryan Patterson, OF, C+ (tons of power, but could end up like Ryan Ludwick)
David Purcey, LHP, C+ (great arm, command a problem)
Jesse Litsch, RHP, C+ (good command, but stuff isn't the best)
Brandon Magee, RHP, C+ (good arm, good command, but already 23)
Davis Romero, LHP, C+ (Short but a good pitcher)
Kyle Yates, RHP, C+ (excellent curve)
Josh Banks, RHP, C+ (good command, but stuff isn't thebest)
Jean Machi, RHP, C+ (good arm, nice free agent pickup)
Chi-Hung Cheng, LHP, C+ (will have to prove himself at higher levels)
Anthony Hatch, INF, C+ (promising bat)
Dustin Majewski, OF, C+ (drew 100 walks, good glove, some power)
Francisco Rosario, RHP, C (great arm, but I don't trust him to throw strikes)
Chip Cannon, 1B, C (Good power, but Arizona Fall League numbers look flukey)
Ryan Kosterman, INF, C (possible utility candidate)
Kyle Ginley, RHP, C (live arm from 2006 draft)
Chase Lirette, RHP, C (strike thrower from 2006 draft)

Others: Yohermyn Chavez, OF; Jordan DeJong, RHP; Chris Emanuele, OF; Eric Fowler, LHP; Graham Godfrey, RHP; Rey Gonzalez, RHP; Luke Hopkins, 1B; Brian Jeroloman, C; Cory Patton, OF; Brian Pettway, OF; Paul Phillips, RHP; Ty Taubenheim, RHP; Tracy Thorpe, RHP; Jamie Vermilyea, RHP.

The Blue Jays In One Sentence: Toronto has two outstanding bats, but the system drops off quickly after that, as the pitchers with the best stuff lack command, and the pitchers with the best command lack stuff.

There is a HUGE amount of uncertainty on this list, and what ends up in the book may look different. The Grade C+/C guys are interchangeable depending on what you want to emphasize. For example, you can make a case for Rosario in the Top Ten or even the Top Five, but I just don't think he will ever throw enough strikes to live up to his potential.

ALL GRADES ARE PRELIMINARY. If you hate a grade, feel free to make a case for me to change it, though remember that cases phrased respectfully using logic and facts are more likely to be viewed positively than those featuring insults and invective.

There is a lot of slack in the B-/C+/C range and players may move up and down depending on how my thinking progresses. Feel free to make comments, point out sleepers I may have missed, etc. Note that there is only a limited amount of space in the book, and the max I can do is 35-36 players per team.

And, as always, there is the helpful reminder to Buy My Book, which will lay out reports for all these guys (and more) in detail.

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Comments

Lind

John,

You just made my day. If Wells is traded, I see Lind winning the AL ROY.

by GregJP on Dec 9, 2006 7:04 PM EST 0 recs

ABS

Does Wells need to be traded for this guy to play?? With the big hurt coming in, he wont be DH'ng. He will have to out play Reed Johnson who had a pretty good year as a part timer.

I too hope he playes and has some success.

by ChrisRef19 on Dec 9, 2006 7:16 PM EST up 0 recs

Johnson

Reed Johnson has historically hit lefties much better, with insufficiently good stats against RHP to start for most teams (in 2006, he improved against RHP). Lind and he would be a great platoon, with Johnson probably ending up with ~50% playing time, as he can also play any of the 3 OF positions when one of Rios, Wells, Thomas needs a break.

I'm not suggesting that Lind will always be a platoon player, but he murdered righties in 2006, and Johnson/Rios/Wells are all better defensively and hit lefties quite well, so it would weaken the team to play him against LHP.

I just hope he gets the chance to play against RHP. It would seem that he deserves it, and the 5 players they have for OF/DH should make a pretty good combination.

by BobbyMac on Dec 9, 2006 8:52 PM EST up 0 recs

Gordon

Gordon has got to be the favorite for Rookie of the Year, assuming he starts in KC.

Is Delmon Young still eligible? He has a shot too.

Lind would have a hard time outperforming those two, IMO. The two best prospects in baseball...

by ajohnst1 on Dec 10, 2006 4:40 PM EST up 0 recs

I will admit

I dont know much about Snider but I think A- might be overrated for him as well as Lind. I dont think Lind is better than Young. Especially since he has little defensive value. I would say that Lind is a B+ and Snider a B or B+ (I really know nothing of Snider so thats just a guess). I guess its bad but I figure if I dont know anyhting of Snider than its hard for me to believe hes an A- prospect.

by grozzy on Dec 9, 2006 7:06 PM EST 0 recs

dude

so what you're saying is "i think john's grade is too high because i don't know anything about this guy?" why post that? seriously.

by wily mo on Dec 9, 2006 7:12 PM EST up 0 recs

Sorry...

... in rereading my post I really do sound like an idiot. This is the points I meant to say:

1) I think Lind is overrated. He has no defensive value and I dont think he will be much more than an average 1B/DH/corner OF (factoring in D at OF). I think he is no better a hitter than Chris Young and nowhere near the overall player.

2.) I am surprised that Snider got such a high rating. I am surprised he considered to be at that level. I feel like A/A- level prospects are pretty generally well known and widely talked about as A/A- tend to be the best of the best in the minors and Snider just hasnt generated the buzz of most prospects of that level. Given my lack of knowledge I would have put him around a B or B+ just off what I had heard of him (very little).

I know John knows more than I (obviously) as do a large population of the regular visitors of this site. I was in a hurry and paying half attention so I ended up posting a worthless message. My bad.

Take care

by grozzy on Dec 9, 2006 10:39 PM EST up 0 recs

punishment

You are now required to watch a weekend series between the Blue Jays and Devil Rays . . . in Toronto!

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.

by Savoy on Dec 9, 2006 10:58 PM EST up 0 recs

ouch.

by wily mo on Dec 9, 2006 11:10 PM EST up 0 recs

'sallright.

i'm here to help!

it is interesting that snider grades higher than rowell, when most people have been treating them as kind of a pair.

by wily mo on Dec 9, 2006 11:13 PM EST up 0 recs

FWIW

Snider's defense appears to be better than Rowell's, albeit at a less-demanding position.

by battlekow on Dec 11, 2006 7:02 PM EST up 0 recs

I agree with grozzy

I'd take C Young over Lind, Snider, and their mommas right now....and I think most other scouts/managers would too....Maybe John likes the city of Toronto? Our community has ranked C Young as the #8 prospect in baseball, I have him as my #15...and Snider and Lind are uch farther down....

by daveh33 on Dec 10, 2006 2:28 AM EST up 0 recs

i wonder if its the association problem

I think its easier to round up Snider and Lind when looking at how good they are compared to the rest of the awful Blue Jays farm system. On the other hand its easier to round Young down when trying to separate Upton, him, and Gonzalez in the DBack system. If you think Upton is a step above Young but not a straight A, then it is easy to put Upton as an A- and then Young a step below at B+.

For the Jays, Lind and Snider are by far the top of the system and so if you want to show they are a few steps past anyone else its easy to round them up.

John may well have taken this into account and may just be quite high on Lind and Snider, but that is just my thoughts. As I pointed out earlier, john knows a lot more than I and as such I will definately keep a closer on Snider in the upcoming year.

by grozzy on Dec 10, 2006 2:54 AM EST up 0 recs

^Young, Lind, Snider

Some of us over at Baseball Digest Daily are putting together a prospect list that will start coming out next week, and our consensus agrees with a big separation between Young and the two Jays guys. I think if Lind and Snider end up becoming major stars, John will get some "I told you so"'s to a lot of people. :)

by BobbyMac on Dec 10, 2006 3:18 AM EST up 0 recs

Snider

will be REALLY good. If you don't know about him, here is your introduction. Although, if you don't know about him, you probably don't follow prospects too closely.

by TCapone30 on Dec 10, 2006 4:26 PM EST up 0 recs

245?

Is he really 5'11" tall, and 245 pounds?

John gave 20 position players an A or A- rating last year. I know he's good, I just don't think he's top-20 type of good. Not yet. I have no doubt that he's a strong candidate for getting there by next season, though. Just my 2c.

by BobbyMac on Dec 10, 2006 11:44 PM EST up 0 recs

Snider v. Rowell

Snider was considered the best pure bat in the draft.

He's 18 years old, and hit a park-adjusted .335/.420/.619 in the Appalachian League in his first exposure to professional pitching.

Rowell, by contrast, is 7 months older and hit a park-adj .320/.416/.500 in Appalachian before his promotion to Aberdeen. And although he plays a tougher position, he's no sure bet to stick at 3B. His defensive stats are pretty shaky according to minorleaguesplits.com.

So, if Rowell's a B+, yeah, Snider's an A-.

JP's best draft pick to date.

by Jurgen on Dec 11, 2006 10:01 PM EST up 0 recs

Rowell

Rowell is seven months younger than Snider. I posted a comparison of their defense above.

by battlekow on Dec 12, 2006 1:12 AM EST up 0 recs

comparison

re: "So, if Rowell's a B+, yeah, Snider's an A-."

That's like Hall of Fame logic. If a guy's not a top-20 position player in all the minors, I cannot see why he'd be an A-. If you disagree with one of the other guys who is in most people's top-20, that's a different discussion. All I suggested is to wait and see. Here's a complete list of Appy leaguers who hit .300/.400/.500 (or better), 2002-2006 (100+ ab):

2002 - Luis Jimenez (20)
2002 - Doug Deeds (20)
2002 - Jason Pridie (18)
2002 - Nate Gold (22)
2002 - Chris O'Riordan (22)
2003 - Sal Frisella (22)
2003 - Kevin Davidson (22)
2003 - Robinzon Diaz (19)
2003 - Joey Wolfe (22)
2004 - Ryan Finan (22)
2004 - Juan Gutierrez (22)
2004 - Mitch Einertson (18)
2004 - Tony Granadillo (19)
2004 - Horace Lawrence (23)
2004 - Charlie Anderson (22)
2005 - Rene Aqueron (23)
2005 - P.J. Hiser (23)
2005 - Maximiliano Ramirez (20)
2005 - Andrew Lopez (18)
2005 - John Matulia (18)
2006 - Kieron Pope (19)
2006 - William Rowell (17)
2006 - Travis Snider (18)

To be honest, I expected to find some luminaries in such a list.

by BobbyMac on Dec 13, 2006 3:26 AM EST up 0 recs

Balbino Fuenmayor

I noticed the absence of 3B Balbino Fuenmayor, who was ranked Toronto's #10 on BA.

He's very young (BD '89), was recently signed out of Venezuela, and has yet to play a game in the BJ's system to date.

Is this just a case of not having seen him play American ball yet?

by Guyute on Dec 9, 2006 7:06 PM EST 0 recs

dear lord

he's my age... and he's already playing pro!? What have I done with my time!?

by mroak89 on Dec 10, 2006 10:00 PM EST up 0 recs

Just wait 'til you're OLDER than these guys :p

by delomir on Dec 11, 2006 4:17 AM EST up 0 recs

Good list, but where's Balbino?

I guess we have a pretty shallow farm system, but I was wondering where you would put Balbino Fuenmayor on that list. Chip Cannon has competition for the coolest sounding name in the organization.

by parrot11 on Dec 9, 2006 7:12 PM EST 0 recs

balbino

I just don't know enough about him. The scouting reports are good, but I want to see some North American data.

by John Sickels on Dec 9, 2006 8:37 PM EST up 0 recs

Lind vs. Young

I have to agree with grozzy that Lind shouldn't be rated higher than Young. Young's AAA numbers vs. Lind's AA numbers are very similar, but Lind is a year older and a level behind. Young displayed a better IsoD and IsoP this year as well. According to Baseballthinkfactory, while Tucson was a better park for 2B's(1.27 vs. .99), New Hampshire was a much better HR park this year (1.41 vs. .81). 50.9% of Young's hits went for extra bases, while only 39.8% of Lind's hit did. On the road, the numbers were 46% for Young vs. 36.4% for Lind.

Young plays a more important defensive position very well, while Lind is a DH masquerading as a 1B/LF. Young also is a good bet to steal 20 bases. If the grades for both players are based on an equal environment, I think Young still grades out at least half a letter grade higher than Lind. Taking their respective home parks into account for next season, I wouldn't be surprised to see Young outperform Lind. Arizona is the best park in the majors for HR's, and 5th for doubles. Toronto is 4th for HR's and 11th for doubles.

A lot of people will throw the 109 AB's in AAA or the 60 in the bigs Lind had as a reason why he might be an A-, but his AAA were inflated by an unsustainable batting average. Drop his average to a potentially high .320, and he ends up with an OPS of 944. Very good numbers, but a very small sample size. Same thing if you compare the MLB numbers for Young and Lind. I think Lind might have a couple of peak years that are better than Young's, but overall Young will have the better career.

I'd say Young A-, Lind B+.

I don't get enjoyment out of reading baseball books. I'd rather watch a sci-fi movie on TV. -Joe Morgan, Emmy winning BASEBALL analyst

by gatling on Dec 9, 2006 7:49 PM EST 0 recs

Yeah, I agree

Lind should be a B+ and so should Snider in my mind. I also think Patterson should be a B.

by Havok1517 on Dec 9, 2006 7:55 PM EST up 0 recs

I voted for Chris Young as A-

Snider was the consensus best bat of the draft, and he had a great year with Pulaski. I think he's earned that A- status. And if Lind keeps up his level of production this year, then yeah, he's an A- too.

by Jurgen on Dec 10, 2006 11:40 AM EST up 0 recs

To be fair

If Lind has another month of league MVP type ball, he won't be a prospect anymore.

Rios is the next Juan Gonzales, thats right, I said it.

by KaoticKlown on Dec 13, 2006 4:03 PM EST up 0 recs

lind is an A-

I think Lind is for sure an A-. I dont think lack of defense should drop a guys grade when we have a position in the game which does not require any defense. Lind will be a .300 25-30hr guy in the not so distant future.
David Ortiz and Hafner aren't the best defenders but they are A+ players

Dating Patsy's little sister!

by Jdog on Dec 9, 2006 8:52 PM EST 0 recs

In a sentence...

As John (sort of) says:

"The Blue Jays In One Sentence: [...] system drops off quickly [...], lack[s] stuff."

by BobbyMac on Dec 9, 2006 8:58 PM EST 0 recs

Nationals

I'd have to agree that the grades on Snider & Lind are too high. Lind was at an advanced age for AA, and is most likely a DH. Snider had a great year, no doubt, but I've also read projections of him being weak defensivly. I'd probably throw each back to a B+.

With that said, the scores throughout the system look very similar to those of the Nationals. The Jays should have a number of 1st round picks coming their way as FA compensation, let's hope JP & the brass can do a better job with the system than in the past.

Mop Up Duty

3 writers & daily updates on a wide range of baseball topics, including prospects.

by TheK on Dec 9, 2006 9:06 PM EST 0 recs

Aaron Matthews

Saw this on minorleagebaseball.com

Florida State League
Aaron Mathews, Dunedin
.448 (13-29), 5 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 SB, .793 SLG
Mathews ended the season in spectacular fashion, as he collected five multiple-hit games and drove in seven runs. On Friday, the 24-year-old went 4-for-5 with two homers, a double, and three runs scored, but Dunedin lost to Clearwater by a score of 8-7. On Sunday, Mathews drove in a season-high four runs as the Blue Jays pounded the Threshers, 15-8.

Sleeper?

by colinadam on Dec 9, 2006 9:15 PM EST 0 recs

Ismael Ramirez

Not sure if he was forgotten or if he's just not up there on the list.
As a 25 yr old he basically dominated in New Hampshire last year throwing 108 innings with a 2.08 era 75K/32BB. Was promoted to Syracuse and threw 18 innings with a 4.50 era.

I would not be suprised to see him in Toronto at some point this coming season.

Dating Patsy's little sister!

by Jdog on Dec 9, 2006 9:57 PM EST 0 recs

Don't agree with Lind's grade

Don't see how you can give him a A- and Chris Young a B- I think most people here would take Young over Lind any day. Lind should be a B+

by nate050904 on Dec 9, 2006 11:28 PM EST 0 recs

Young

Sorry Young was given a B+ should still be an A- either way.

by nate050904 on Dec 9, 2006 11:28 PM EST 0 recs

young

I already decided to change Young to an A-.

by John Sickels on Dec 10, 2006 10:26 AM EST up 0 recs

Love the old Logo

Thats all.

by fredo on Dec 9, 2006 11:33 PM EST 0 recs

Logo love...

made my day, thanks John...and what happened to Santos last year? With the need for a SS, it's too bad he's been unable to put it together...

by almantle on Dec 10, 2006 9:32 AM EST up 0 recs

i was thinkng of Beane/JP trades

jays need pitching, haren/blanton/harden seem to be avaialble

does Lind/Romero/something else seem like a fair deal for haren/harden??

beane wanted milledge/heilman + from the mets

by rayver723 on Dec 9, 2006 11:52 PM EST 0 recs

would not do that deal

Toronto needs to keep developing their farm system.

by Jurgen on Dec 10, 2006 11:41 AM EST up 0 recs

Lee Gronkiewicz

He's so old he's not techincally a prospect, but he's never had a whiff of the majors and has great numbers every year at AAA. What do you think about him? Why isn't he up here as a bullpen guy, I think he could be a good one.

by eeleye on Dec 10, 2006 12:51 AM EST 0 recs

I just

can't imagine Snider ahead of, say, Carlos Gonzalez. There are only 25 or so A- guys in all the minors. Is Snider really THAT good?

by Brickhaus on Dec 10, 2006 1:15 AM EST 0 recs

age + performance = greatness

Snider might be a bad-bodied one trick pony, but he tore the Appy league a new one as an 18 year old. That's really hard to do. When you have the season he had against guys who are on average 3 years older than you, it usually means you are pretty special.

I think a great comparison is Daric Barton. Though Snider looks like he has little a more power while Barton appears to be a better contact hitter (i.e. less strikeouts).

by slackerjack on Dec 11, 2006 1:19 PM EST up 0 recs

Barton

is a terrible comparison. K:BB is close but that's where it stops. Snider is a big dude and should get bigger. Barton had questions about his power and still does. Snider - not so much as he outslugged Barton by a good margin, yet with similar OBP and contact rates.

by slurve on Dec 11, 2006 1:38 PM EST up 0 recs

seasonal age?

At seasonal age 18, Barton was hitting: .313/.445/.511 in the tough Midwest league. They're difficult to compare, since Snider was born in February, and Barton in August, but panning Barton because he had a lot slugging at age 17 seems like a bit of overkill, considering the great slugging he showed the following two seasons (ages 18 and 19).

by BobbyMac on Dec 11, 2006 3:21 PM EST up 0 recs

Tearing up the Appy League

isn't necessarily that hard to do. Mitch Einertson did it in 2004, for example, and hasn't done anything since.

For now, I think it makes sense to be cautious in projecting Snider until we see what he does in a full-season league.

Mike Emeigh http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/minor_key/

by MikeE on Dec 12, 2006 10:35 AM EST up 0 recs

grade A

I agree, sometimes a player can be an A player in a unidimensional way. Ortiz is a great player. Lind may be a great player but his fielding is a work in progress. I don't see why Snider won't be THAT great.

by eeleye on Dec 10, 2006 1:33 AM EST 0 recs

Chris Young - Valuation

Chris Young often gets compared to Mike Cameron. Assume we get in our starship, set the control for the heart of the sun, change course and whip around the sun above warp 10, and ended up in the year 2021 where we saw that Chris Young had EXACTLY the same career as Mike Cameron.

Now assume we can make it back to present day (after saving some whales).

What grade is Young worth?

by okbluejays on Dec 10, 2006 11:47 AM EST 0 recs

re

Mike Cameron has had a hell of a career. If you believe Tangotiger's correct and defense is 40% of a player's value, then Cameron has been one of the very best players in baseball. Even if you don't quite but that, the only way you get to Cameron being less than an All-Star quality player is if you're like the beat writers and ignore defense entirely amongst non-middle infielders.

by bootsy on Dec 10, 2006 2:35 PM EST up 0 recs

parks

Mike Cameron has also spent almost every season in parks that hinder his power, so his offensive ability has actually been better than people think. If the 8th "skill" is choosing an agent, he's not so good at that one.

by BobbyMac on Dec 10, 2006 11:27 PM EST up 0 recs

Snider make-up

I know a little about Snider. He played ball at Jackson High, in Mill Creek, WA, which is across the street from my house. I am a teacher, and I know several teachers and coaches at the school who know Travis and have had him in their classes. He also works out in the gym I belong too and I have seen him in there lifitng wieghts.

As a ball player, the kid can flat-out rake. The only questions I have heard come from his size. There is talk that he may be too big to play 3B in the majors and will eventually move to first.
He is not super fast, but is an intelligent baserunner.

As a student and a person, he has incredible make-up. He is smart, and an over-achiever. His parents are involved in his life and raised him with a good head on his shoulders. He is responsible and thoughtful for a teenager.

I don't know him personally, but these are things that his teachers and coaches have told me. An A- may be high, but the difference between that and a B+ may not be much.

best wishes,

by Robinson Checo on Dec 10, 2006 1:16 PM EST 0 recs

3B

Snider isn't a 3b, nor is his size the question. Are you sure you aren't actually thinking of Bill Rowell, the tall 3b draftee of the Orioles?

by mckeeno on Dec 10, 2006 4:46 PM EST up 0 recs

position

Snider played 3B in high school.

by Robinson Checo on Dec 10, 2006 7:14 PM EST up 0 recs

RF in High School

Travis Snider was a right fielder in high school...coached against him twice last year. Above average outfielder in high school with a very accurate arm. Not sure where he'll eventually end up (LF/RF/DH), but the guy can flat out hit.

by KangsBaseball on Dec 11, 2006 12:35 PM EST up 0 recs

...interesting...

...the Jays had a pretty good system for depth not so long ago...in just a few short years, they don't even have depth...they've always had a few top potential guys up top, but, with the struggles/setbacks of McGowan, Rosario, Bush, etc, suddenly the whole organization is not so focussed on farm development anymore...

...they'll have an intersting choice to make with Rosario, McGowan, and even Towers coming up since the clocks are ticking...Rios looks good but the organization needs to develop more than OFs...but at least they've had no problem developing OFs (i.e. Stewart, Wells, Rios, Lind, Snider, etc..)...

by basemonkey on Dec 10, 2006 4:37 PM EST 0 recs

Hey John,

Any thoughts on Erik Kratz and/or Adam Calderone? Calderone was named "best speed" by Baseball America, and Kratz reached AAA last year. Thanks!

by JohnLL on Dec 10, 2006 5:05 PM EST 0 recs

A- for Snider

What about Travis Snider gives him a higher grade than Billy Rowell (B+)?

by gunkdog on Dec 10, 2006 6:29 PM EST 0 recs

He's better

SNIDER > rowell

albo4lyfe - you listening?

by slurve on Dec 11, 2006 9:18 AM EST up 0 recs

I like Snider

Isn't Travis Snider like 18!? I remember reading a stat somewhere that he had like twice as many bases then at bats. That's cool. My only issue with him is that he is kind of a shorty but that didn't hurt Tony Gwynn.

by AdRoK on Dec 10, 2006 6:53 PM EST 0 recs

That would give him a slugging %

...of 2.000, which he most assuredly did not have. Twice as many total bases as at bats? He had 110 total bases in 194 ABs, for a slugging percentage of .567. Good, but not quite as "cool" as a 2.000 slg.

Does anyone know what Billy Butler's grade was after his first pro season at Idaho Falls? He was also 18 at that point, and had already been labelled as a future DH, but destroyed that league to the tune of a 1.084 OPS in 260 ABs.

I don't know how the competition compares between the Appalachian league and the Pioneer League, but Snider seems comparable to Butler after his first taste of pro-ball. Butler's numbers were better, though...so if Butler was an A-, maybe Snider should be a B+?

by ajohnst1 on Dec 11, 2006 1:49 PM EST up 0 recs

Appy vs. Pioneer

Here's how the leagues stacked up last year:

APPY .255/.334/.368
PIO .264/.347/.391

They're both hitters' leagues, but the Pioneer much more so.

by Mr Met on Dec 11, 2006 1:58 PM EST up 0 recs

Butler vs Snider

Snider is a better natural athlete than Butler and he isn't a 100% shoe-in as a future DH. For his size, Snider actually has pretty nice athleticism and could evolve into a positional player. He'll never win a Gold Glove, but people make him out to be a terrible fielder when in reality he isn't that bad.

by metafour on Dec 12, 2006 12:12 AM EST up 0 recs

Seconded

Snider is a big kid, for sure, but he's mobile for his size and when I saw him in the Appy League he busted it down the line every time.

The way he's talked about on message boards, it might sound like he's got a Prince Fielder-type body, but he reminded me maybe of Carlos Lee -- at least the early 2000s Lee, before he added two chins.

by Mr Met on Dec 16, 2006 11:37 AM EST up 0 recs

Rosario seems low

Rosario was a C+ last year, and while he didn't have great success in Toronto, his Syracuse numbers were really strong - walk rate under 3, K rate over 10, with a good GB/FB ratio. I don't believe he warrants a downgrade to C. I would have guessed him at a B- prior to seeing the list.

He's probably past the point where you could see him as a starter, but he could certainly be an effective reliever next year.

by Pistol on Dec 10, 2006 8:58 PM EST 0 recs

2007 Toronto Blue Jays Prospect List

As a fan I have seen a number of Fisher Cats games
and listened to all the rest, and I was surprised
to see David Purcey and Jessie Litsch listed as high as they were while Mike Mac Donald was not included in the list. Both Purcey and Litsch struggled a great deal last year.

by blackbearem on Dec 11, 2006 3:35 PM EST 0 recs

Mike McDonald

Mike McDonald has average stuff (at best) which is why he wont ever make a Top Prospect list. Purcey and Litsch both have far better stuff which is why they rank higher as prospects, even though they didn't perform as well.

by metafour on Dec 11, 2006 5:49 PM EST up 0 recs