Apr 25, 2018
Future Watch: Cavan Biggio's power surge lands him in top spot
New Hampshire infielder homered in three straight games as is riding a seven-game hitting streak.
These rankings are put together based on information gathered from various prospect sources, conversations with evaluators inside and outside the Jays organization, as well as personal opinion.
I am not a scout, so any notes gathered on pitcher mechanics or notable swing changes throughout the season are coming from an outside source.
While the first list on April 4 outlined who the top 20 prospects in the organization are, the purpose of this weekly ranking from this point forward is to highlight how players have done over the past seven days (from Wednesday through Tuesday) and shuffle them up accordingly.
If you see Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as the seventh name on the list one week, it doesn’t mean he’s suddenly the seventh-best prospect in the system. It just means six other prospects from this top 20 performed better over a seven-day period.
We hope you enjoy this weekly snapshot that will run through the end of August when minor league seasons come to a close.
1. INF Cavan Biggio
Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 23 (04/11/1995)
Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 203
Projected MLB ETA: 2020
Season stats: .333/.435/.725 with 4 HR, 14 RBI, 3 SB in 62 plate appearances at Double-A
Past week: .429/.519/.952 with 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB in 27 plate appearances at Double-A
It was quite the week for Craig’s kid, who homered in three straight games from Saturday through Monday and is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak. One of the most interesting aspects to Biggio’s hot start is he seems to be the latest to join the air ball revolution. After hitting 43.7 per cent fly balls last season, Biggio is hitting 56.4 per cent of his balls in the air now, with his ground-ball rate dropping from 35.8 per cent to 28.2 per cent. Defensively, with seven games at first base, five at second and one at third, Biggio is being groomed as another super-utility type, which seems to be the organizational philosophy lately with the way rosters are being constructed at the big-league level.
2. 2B/SS Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 24 (10/19/1993)
Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 185
Projected MLB ETA: Arrived April 20, 2018
Season stats: .347/.382/.510 with 1 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB in 55 plate appearances at Double-A; .273/.273/.273 with 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB in 11 MLB plate appearances
Past week: .316/.316/.474 with 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB in 19 plate appearances split between Double-A and majors
Somewhat surprisingly, Gurriel Jr. got the call to the majors last week, debuting a Yankee Stadium with a bang, collecting a pair of hits and three runs batted in. While it was a surprise to see the Jays call up Gurriel to be a backup, it’s not a total shock given he’s already closing in on his 25th birthday later this year, as well as the fact his contact skills should allow him to keep his head above water against elite pitching.
3. 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 19 (3/16/1999)
Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 200
Top 100 prospect rankings: Baseball America (3), MLB Pipeline (3), Keith Law ESPN (2), Baseball Prospectus (4), FanGraphs (3)
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: .328/.395/.516 with 2 HR, 19 RBI, 0 SB in 77 plate appearances at Double-A
Past week: .328/.429/.435 with 0 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB in 28 plate appearances at Double-A
Guerrero has been doing it all in his first month at Double-A, walking more than he’s striking out (still) and setting a New Hampshire franchise record for RBI in April with 19. In 197 minor- league games over parts of three seasons now, Vladdy Jr. has walked 116 times and struck out on just 104 occasions. That’s unheard of for anyone, let alone a teenager. With the Atlanta Braves calling up top prospect Ronald Acuna, you can make a case that Guerrero is now the No. 1 prospect still residing in the minors.
4. RHP Sean Reid-Foley
Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 22 (08/30/1995)
Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 220
Projected MLB ETA: 2020
Season stats: 3-0, 1.47 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 18.1 IP, 9 hits, 7 BB, 13 K at Double-A
Past week: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K against Reading Fightin’ Phils
You’d love to see a guy with a 97-mph and excellent stuff strike more guys out (6.4 K/9), but Reid-Foley is getting outs, and that’s all that matters in his second attempt at mastering the Double-A level. After his ground-ball rate sunk to 40.4 per cent last season, Reid-Foley’s bumped that to 46.8 per cent through three starts in 2018, and he has yet to allow a home run.
5. 1B Rowdy Tellez
Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 23 (03/16/1995)
Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 220
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: .205/.311/.231 with 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB in 45 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .300/.364/.350 with 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB in 22 plate appearances at Triple-A
It hasn’t been a good start for Tellez, but he’s currently riding a modest three-game hitting streak that’s seen him collect five hits in 12 at-bats. The issue, however, is he’s still showing next to nothing in the power department, which is a serious problem for a first baseman. Tellez has just one extra-base hit this season (a double), which comes on the heels of a .333 slugging percentage in his first go-round at Triple-A last year.
6. SS Bo Bichette
Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 20 (03/05/1998)
Height: 6-foot-0 | Weight: 200
Top 100 prospect rankings: Baseball America (8), MLB Pipeline (13), Keith Law ESPN (17), Baseball Prospectus (19), FanGraphs (9)
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: .296/.375/.423 with 0 HR, 7 RBI, 6 SB in 80 plate appearances at Double-A
Past week: .222/.300/.407 with 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB in 30 plate appearances at Double-A
Bichette produced his first-career two-triple game Tuesday night, giving him six extra-base hits on the season. His power numbers are down, but it’s hard to quibble with a start that has you hitting close to .300 as the second-youngest player in the Eastern League. In the field, Bichette has five errors in 14 games so far.
7. C/1B Max Pentecost
Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 25 (03/10/1993)
Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 191
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: .205/.234/.409 with 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB in 47 plate appearances at Double-A
Past week: .227/.227/.364 with 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB in 22 plate appearances at Double-A
Less than a month into the season, Pentecost has already caught eight games, leaving him nearly halfway to his total of 19 appearances behind the dish over five months last year. The offensive numbers may be muted due to the gruelling workload for a guy who’s been through numerous shoulder injuries, but it’s an important step for a prospect who will already be 26 heading into next season. The weekly updates will be interesting to monitor, but it’s more about the total body of work this year for Pentecost, who was passed over by 29 other major-league clubs in the Rule 5 Draft this past winter.
8. OF Anthony Alford
Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 23 (07/20/1994)
Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 215
Top 100 prospect rankings: Baseball America (60), MLB Pipeline (47), Keith Law ESPN (44), Baseball Prospectus (58), FanGraphs (36)
Projected MLB ETA: Made MLB debut May 19, 2017
Season stats: .143/.200/.143 with 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB in 15 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .143/.200/.143 with 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB in 15 plate appearances at Triple-A
His right hamstring injury now healed, Alford was activated from the DL and made his season debut at Triple-A, where he finished last season, on Friday. Fellow outfielder Dalton Pompey (wrist) joined him. The only goal for both of them right now is to stay healthy and get as many plate appearances as possible over the next couple of months. The outfield is crowded at the big-league level, but things can change quickly.
9. RHP T.J. Zeuch
Current affiliate: High-A Dunedin
Age: 22 (08/01/1995)
Height: 6-foot-7 | Weight: 225
Projected MLB ETA: 2020
Season stats: 2-2, 4.07 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 24.1 IP, 18 hits, 8 BB, 19 K at High-A
Past week: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K against Daytona Tortugas
Through four starts, Zeuch is doing exactly what got him drafted, getting ground-ball outs. His ground-ball rate is a healthy 61.2 per cent. The right-hander was bitten by the free pass in his lone start his past week, walking four against the Cincinnati Reds’ High-A affiliate.
10. OF/1B Ryan Noda
Current affiliate: Low-A Lansing
Age: 22 (03/30/1996)
Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 217
Projected MLB ETA: 2020
Season stats: .205/.516/.282 with 0 HR, 5 RBI, 7 SB in 64 plate appearances at Low-A
Past week: .143/.538/.143 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 5 SB in 26 plate appearances at Low-A
The University of Cincinnati product has been an on-base machine in the early going, but one who’s hitting .205 and showing very little power. His 35.9 per cent walk rate leads all minor-league hitters and Noda has reached base in all 14 games this season.
11. 2B Samad Taylor
Current affiliate: Low-A Lansing
Age: 19 (07/11/1998)
Height: 5-foot-10 | Weight: 160
Projected MLB ETA: 2022
Season stats: .240/.387/.360 with 1 HR, 2 RBI, 8 SB in 63 plate appearances at Low-A
Past week: .130/.310/.174 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 6 SB in 30 plate appearances at Low-A
Taylor has been a nice fit atop a potent Lugnuts lineup early in the season, getting on a base a whole lot, and then causing some havoc on the basepaths with eight steals in 14 games. Considering he walked just 3.8 per cent of the time in the Indians’ system before being traded at the deadline, his 11 walks in 63 plate appearances (17.5 per cent) is a huge step forward.
12. LHP Ryan Borucki
Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 24 (03/31/1994)
Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 175
Projected MLB ETA: 2018
Season stats: 0-2, 6.43 ERA, 2.31 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 16 hits, 4 BB, 6 K at Triple-A
Past week: 3.2 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K against Norfolk Tides
The Baltimore Orioles’ top affiliate hit Borucki hard last Friday in the gangly lefty’s second start of the season. Borucki allowed 10 hits in just 3.2 innings, but some of it wasn’t exactly hard contact. Wait until the weather warms up to judge the pitching in Buffalo.
13. SS Logan Warmoth
Current affiliate: High-A Dunedin
Age: 22 (09/06/1995)
Height: 6-foot-0 | Weight: 190
Projected MLB ETA: 2020
Season stats: .196/.297/.250 with 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB in 64 plate appearances at High-A
Past week: .190/.261/.190 with 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB in 23 plate appearances at High-A
The most noticeable aspect of Warmoth’s batted ball profile is he’s hitting it on the ground 56.1 per cent of the time. That’s not going to allow for much power, but he’s got hits in three straight heading into Wednesday’s action.
14. C Danny Jansen
Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 23 (04/15/1995)
Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 225
Top 100 prospect rankings: FanGraphs (71)
Projected MLB ETA: 2018
Season stats: .281/.410/.469 with 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB in 39 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .143/.250/.214 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB in 16 plate appearances at Triple-A
This starts a run of three catchers who have struggled at the plate over the past week. Overall, however, Jansen is proving that last year’s breakout was no fluke, and his ability to get on base is an exciting base line for catcher production.
15. C Riley Adams
Current affiliate: High-A Dunedin
Age: 21 (06/26/1996)
Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 225
Projected MLB ETA: 2021
Season stats: .212/.241/.327 with 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB in 54 plate appearances at High-A
Past week: .222/.263/.222 with 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB in 19 plate appearances at High-A
After striking out in 22 per cent of his at-bats in Low-A last season, Adams’ strikeout rate has ballooned to 35.2 per cent in his first taste of the Florida State League.
16. C Reese McGuire
Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 23 (03/02/1995)
Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 215
Projected MLB ETA: 2018
Season stats: .160/.192/.160 with 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB in 26 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .154/.154/.154 with 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB in 13 plate appearances at Triple-A
McGuire’s start to the season has been slow, but all of the prospects in Buffalo get a performance pass for the weather issues they’ve had to endure during the first month of the baseball calendar. It hasn’t been pretty. The Bisons have played just 10 games, while the rest of the International League has played at least 15.
17. SS Richard Urena
Current affiliate: High-A Dunedin (rehab)
Age: 22 (02/26/1996)
Height: 6-foot-0 | Weight: 185
Projected MLB ETA: Made MLB debut Sept. 1, 2017
Season stats: .167/.143/.167 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB in 7 plate appearances at High-A
Past week: .167/.143/.167 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB in 7 plate appearances at High-A
Had Urena not started the year on the disabled list, he may have been the first middle infielder called up to the big leagues. Instead, it was Gurriel getting that call. Urena is currently rehabbing his intercostal strain with High-A Dunedin and should return to Triple-A once he’s ready.
18. RHP Nate Pearson
Current affiliate: High-A Dunedin
Age: 21 (08/20/1996)
Height: 6-foot-6 | Weight: 245
Top 100 prospect rankings: Baseball America (91), Keith Law ESPN (100), FanGraphs (76)
Projected MLB ETA: 2020
Season stats: N/A
Past week: N/A
Pearson has yet to pitch, but the Jays expect him to return to the mound in early May. He’s been dealing with a couple of mysterious ailments to begin his first full professional season.
19. RHP Eric Pardinho
Current affiliate: Extended spring training
Age: 17 (01/05/2001)
Height: 5-foot-10 | Weight: 155
Projected MLB ETA: 2024
Season stats: N/A
Past week: N/A
Pardinho will marinate in extended spring training as a 17-year-old until further notice. The right-hander already sits at No. 7 on MLB Pipeline’s list of top 30 Blue Jays prospects.
20. LHP Thomas Pannone
Current affiliate: Suspended
Age: 23 (04/28/1994)
Height: 6-foot-0 | Weight: 195
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: N/A
Past week: N/A
Handed an 80-game suspension by Major League Baseball in March for testing positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), Pannone isn’t eligible to return until June 30.