Baseball America: Blue Jays top-10 prospects

[TheHurl]

6. Max Pentecost, c Born: March 10, 1993. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 191. Drafted: Kennesaw State, 2014 (1st round). Signed by: Mike Tidick.

 

Background: Pentecost went unsigned as a Rangers seventh-round pick out of high school partly due to a stress fracture to his right elbow. He was a top performer in college, where he won the MVP of the Cape Cod League and led Kennesaw State to its first Super Regionals appearance.

 

Scouting Report: Pentecost is a premium athlete for a catcher. He was a top performer in college and finished second in the NCAA in batting average this spring (.422/.482/.627) while walking more than he struck out after finishing third in the Cape Code League in average (.356/.424/.538). Pentecost has an easy, quick and short stroke conducive to line drives to all fields. He flashes above-average raw power to his pull side but his swing path is geared more towards line drives to the gaps. He projects to hit for 12-15 home runs annually with high doubles production. Pentecost is a plus runner at present, though the wear and tear of the position will likely slow him down some. He has instincts on the bases and was never caught stealing in 25 tries during his college career. Pentecost has a quick release to his plus arm, albeit a sometimes inaccurate one, with a quick release and his receiving improved significantly, giving him the potential to be at least an average defender, if not better because of his athleticism, flexibility and receiving skills. The accuracy of his arm will be a developmental point of emphasis.

 

The Future: His debut was truncated because of nagging injuries, and Pentecost had surgery in October to repair a partial tear in his right labrum. But he is expected to be ready for the start of the season and will likely begin at Lansing or Dunedin.

 

2014 Club (Class) AVG OBP SLG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB

Vancouver (SS) .313 .322 .410 83 15 26 2 3 0 9 2 18 2

Bluefield ® .364 .364 .455 22 2 8 2 0 0 3 0 3 0

[TheHurl]

7. Roberto Osuna, rhp

 

 

Born: Feb. 7, 1995. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 230. Signed: Mexico, 2011. Signed by: Marco Paddy.

 

Background: Osuna was a highly-coveted amateur after running his fastball into the mid-90s as a 15-year in international play before signing for $1.5 million in 2011. He is the nephew of former 11-year major league veteran Antonio Osuna. Although this is Osuna’s fourth time making the Prospect Handbook, he is still just 19 years old. Osuna returned from Tommy John surgery in the second half of the season and was handled carefully upon his return, averaging less than three innings per start with the longest of his eight starts registering 4 1/3 innings. He is pitching in the Arizona Fall League to get additional innings.

 

Scouting Report: While Osuna’s fastball was not quite as firm this summer as before his injury, his heater still sat at 91-93 mph, touching 95 and could bump up a tick to its previous standards the further away from the surgery he gets. He has a loose, quick arm and throws very easily with a wrist wrap in the back. His top secondary offering is a changeup with plus potential that he has feel for. The consistency of his breaking ball will be a developmental point of emphasis, as it has flashed at least plus but consistently plays below that. Even though Osuna has routinely been one of the youngest players at each level, he has routinely missed bats, striking out 11.0 per nine in his career. His strikeout rate (12.3) would have easily led the Florida State League if he had enough innings to qualify–admittedly he was roughly 90 innings short. The organization is working on getting more life to Osuna’s fastball, which can play straight.

 

The Future: Osuna will likely have a chance to move up to Double-A at some point in 2015.

 

2014 Club (Class) W L ERA G GS CG SV IP H HR BB SO AVG

Blue Jays ® 0 0 0.00 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 .000

Dunedin (HiA) 0 2 6.55 7 7 0 0 22 28 3 9 30 .318

[TheHurl]

8. Richard Urena, ss

 

Born: Feb. 26, 1996. B-T: L-R. Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 170. Signed: Dominican Republic, 2012. Signed by: Ismael Cruz/Sandi Rosario/Luciano del Rosario.

 

Background: The Blue Jays’ lower minors has a talented trio of young, athletic shortstops signed from Latin America in 2011 and 2012: Dawel Lugo, Franklin Barreto and Richard Urena, who netted a $725,000 signing bonus and has the highest chance to stay at shortstop.

 

Scouting Report: Urena has the physical ability necessary to remain at shortstop with an arm that is at least plus and has a quick release that can throw from any angle in addition to loose, athletic actions, soft hands and above-average lateral range to both sides. He has quick-twitch athleticism but will need to cut down his defensive miscues to remain at the position after fielding .917 this summer in the Appalachian League. A natural lefthanded hitter, Urena began switch-hitting this year and impressed evaluators with his bat. He has above-average bat speed with an easy stroke, and he works inside the ball with the ability to consistently drive the ball to the gaps and opposite field. After using a few different strides this season, Urena is still working to make his load and stride more consistent. But he has natural feel for the barrel and hand-eye coordination. His power projects to be below-average with 6-10 home runs and lots of doubles. He is an average to above-average runner out of the box who could slow to average once he gains more strength to his lean, athletic build .

 

The Future: Urena could be a two-way contributor and could challenge for a spot with a full-season club after being a top offensive performer in the Appy League this summer.

 

2014 Club (Class) AVG OBP SLG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB

Bluefield ® .318 .363 .433 217 35 69 15 2 2 20 16 51 5

Vancouver ® .242 .297 .364 33 3 8 2 1 0 5 3 5 1

[TheHurl]

9. Miguel Castro, rhp

 

 

Born: Dec. 24, 1994. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-5. Wt.: 190. Signed: Dominican Republic, 2011. Signed by: Ismael Cruz/Sandi Rosario.

 

Background: Only one team spent more money internationally in 2011 than the Blue Jays, who signed three players for more than a million dollars each. Castro signed for $180,000 as a January signee. His 2013 stateside debut was delayed by visa issues, but he dominated the Dominican Summer League and built on that performance this year, rising quickly to throw 30 innings across both A-ball levels later in the year.

 

Scouting Report: Castro is a physical specimen with a large frame, broad shoulders, long extremities and lean, wiry build. Castro’s fastball sat in the low-90s before he signed but now sits in the mid-90s and touches 99 with a loose arm after gaining some strength. His projectable body has drawn physical comparisons to a young Guillermo Mota. He has a quick arm and the ball jumps from his hand with extension out front from a long-striding delivery. His low three-quarters arm slot produces plus sinking life, arm-side run and angle that projects to get groundballs at an above-average clip. Castro pitches off of his fastball and his top secondary offering is a changeup with plus potential. His slider is still in its developmental stages and is not consistently average. But his hand speed and arm slot give his sweepy slider a chance to develop. Castro’s fastball velocity, life and extension make him tough on righthanded hitters, producing a 6:1 strikeout-walk ratio against same-side hitters in his career. Although his changeup has plus potential, Castro will need to perform better against lefthanded hitters, who have a 1.9 strikeout-walk ratio.

 

The Future: Castro will likely start the season in a Class A rotation, where the development of his breaking ball will be a focus.

 

2014 Club (Class) W L ERA G GS CG SV IP H HR BB SO AVG

Dunedin (HiA) 1 0 3.12 2 1 0 0 9 4 2 3 5 .143

Lansing (LoA) 1 1 3.74 4 4 0 0 22 10 2 7 20 .133

Vancouver (SS) 6 2 2.15 10 10 0 0 50 36 2 20 53 .202

[TheHurl]

10. Sean Reid-Foley, rhp Born: Aug. 30, 1995. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 220. Drafted: HS—Sandalwood, Jacksonville, 2014 (2nd round). Signed by: Matt Bishoff.

 

Background: Reid-Foley was a headlining prep arm in Florida, which had a bumper crop of prep pitchers in 2014. He was a showcase circuit veteran who impressed in the summer, and was in play for multiple teams in the first-round. He showed consistent velocity throughout the spring with the exception of his final outing before the draft at the Florida All-Star game in Sebring.

 

Scouting Report: Reid-Foley has the stuff to profile as a mid-rotation starter and possesses a large, durable build with broad shoulders and a physical lower half built to handle innings. He has a quick arm that produces a fastball that sits 91-95 mph and touches 97 with at least average glove-side run and downhill plane, and there is natural deception to his delivery. His top secondary offering is his slider that shows at least above-average potential. Reid-Foley’s changeup is a developmental point of emphasis, but it shows at least average potential. He threw a curveball that flashed average last summer, but did not throw it this spring or summer. His delivery, which has a very long stride and allows him to get extension out front, has a high elbow in the back that some scouts aren’t fond of, and he throws across his body some. But Reid-Foley is a competitive, aggressive strike-thrower.

 

The Future: Since Reid-Foley has present stuff he could vie for a rotation spot in Lansing or spend 2015 with a short-season club, which has been the organization’s most common developmental path with its highly drafted high school arms.

 

2014 Club (Class) W L ERA G GS CG SV IP H HR BB SO AVG

Blue Jays ® 1 2 4.76 9 6 0 0 23 21 1 10 25 .244

[TheHurl]

PROJECTED 2018 LINEUP

Catcher Max Pentecost

First Base Mitch Nay

Second Base Franklin Barreto

Third Base Brett Lawrie

Shortstop Richard Urena

Left Field Dwight Smith Jr.

Center Field Dalton Pompey

Right Field Jose Bautista

Designated Hitter Edwin Encarnacion

No. 1 Starter Marcus Stroman

No. 2 Starter Daniel Norris

No. 3 Starter Jeff Hoffman

No. 4 Starter Aaron Sanchez

No. 5 Starter Drew Hutchison

Closer Miguel Castro

[Jimcanuck]

Alford and DSJ for Urena and SRF. Still a pretty good top 15 with Smoral,Nay,Graveman,Alford,Nolin.

 

Alford lost too much development time to be top 10. We will see if he makes up for it in a single full season year.

[Angrioter]

I think it's more likely Sanchez is a bullpen arm than Castro.

 

or both in the bullpen.

Castro is just a hardthrower right now, he need to refine his secondary stuff.

[Angrioter]

He already has a studly SL.

 

Feel for the SL, but Inconsistent (ALA Jairo Labourt)

[Atothe]

He already has a studly SL.

 

It depends what evaluator you ask. The funny thing is that they probably still have an old Osuna scouting report or caught on a bad velocity day because he is consistently in the mid 90's now.

[Atothe]

Feel for the SL, but Inconsistent (ALA Jairo Labourt)

 

False Jairo has the second best slider in the system

[Angrioter]

False Jairo has the second best slider in the system

 

When he can dominate it.

[Atothe]

When he can dominate it.

 

he's got time, just turned 20

[Angrioter]

he's got time, just turned 20

 

I like him and Smoral over Tirado or DeJong

[Vdubfan]

Anyone subscribe to BA? They had a chat today about the Jays system. Can some of the best tidbits from there be posted?

[43211234]

When is he expected to start throwing again??

 

 

http://instagram.com/p/uUFiM5F1je/

[saskjayfan]

Aaron Sanchez is a ceiling guy? A failed starter who had 33 decent innings as a reliever?

 

and in a 109 PA's, Max Pentecost drew 2 walks, with a sub .100 iso. The sample size is small but not meaningless, i know he was semi-injured too but those numbers are a serious red flag especially considering he was an advanced college catcher playing against kiddies in the GCL and the NWL.

 

Say what you want about Graveman, but he put up a 2.92 FIP as a 23 year old in AAA, there's no reason to dismiss that.

 

how can Sanchez be a failed starter when he's never made a start before?

[GD]

1 Daniel Norris

2 Dalton Pompey

3 Jeff Hoffman

4 Aaron Sanchez

5 Roberto Osuna

6 Franklin Barreto

7 Miguel Castro

8 Max Pentecost

9 Mitch Nay

10 Richard Urena

[jayswin11]

Hoffman is our best MiLB prospect (Norris-Sanchez debuted)

 

Had he not been injured, Hoffman would have went #1. He's a stud. I look forward to him in the Jays rotation in 2018

[Stangstag]

Had he not been injured, Hoffman would have went #1. He's a stud. I look forward to him in the Jays rotation in 2018

 

2018? He's supposed to be fairly close to MLB-ready. I would say we see him sometime in 2016 (if not traded before then)

[Chappy]

2018? He's supposed to be fairly close to MLB-ready. I would say we see him sometime in 2016 (if not traded before then)

 

Yeah as long as he is healthy he should hopefully move through quickly.

[nmrch]

how can Sanchez be a failed starter when he's never made a start before?

 

Is this a serious post? You don't have to fail as a starter in the big leagues to be a failed starter, Sanchez has had about a 100 starts in the minor leagues and by any measure he's failed, especially if you look at the last two years. There are plenty of failed starters who begin their careers in the big leagues as a reliever and never start because you don't have to see someone fail in the big leagues before you can properly assess them.

[Boxcar]

Norris

Pompey

Sanchez

Hoffman

Osuna

Barreto

Castro

Pentecost

Nay

Graveman

 

for me.

 

How do you not have Dwight Smith on there, dumn dumn?

[nmrch]

How do you not have Dwight Smith on there, dumn dumn?

 

I call it the sexiness bias, there's nothing sexy about DSJ so it clouds's people perceptions about him. You can't dream on him to play GG defence or hit 40 homeruns or throw 100mph with a wicked curveball but people are overlooking the things he can do. It wouldn't surprise me if DSJ has the highest career WAR out of the current group after Pompey. But then again, i'm much higher on him than others.

[kgm1]

From the Chat

 

 

 

Clint Longenecker: Thanks for stopping by. This is an exciting system that saw some of its top prospects make it to the majors this year. This is also an exciting draft class to augment this system. Let’s dive in!

 

Brett (Stratford, ON, Canada): Who were you fringe players that just missed out on the top 10?

 

Clint Longenecker: The next grouping of players after the top 10, all of whom had an argument for being in the top 10 depending upon preference or risk tolerance, includes arguably the most major-league ready starter in the system in Kendall Graveman, who had a great year and shot up to the big leagues a year after signing $5,000, and a group of interesting lefthanders—Jairo Labourt, Ryan Borucki, Sean Nolin and Matt Smoral—and one of the top pure hitters in the system with Dwight Smith Jr.

 

 

Personally Graveman and Smith are in the top ten for me

[saskjayfan]

Is this a serious post? You don't have to fail as a starter in the big leagues to be a failed starter, Sanchez has had about a 100 starts in the minor leagues and by any measure he's failed, especially if you look at the last two years. There are plenty of failed starters who begin their careers in the big leagues as a reliever and never start because you don't have to see someone fail in the big leagues before you can properly assess them.

 

Is this a serious post? You're going to write a guy off for all the minor league starts he made from the ages of 17 to 21? The length of pitchers who struggled early and in the majors as well and went on to be great starting pitchers is long. There's no way Sanchez won't get a chance to start in the majors. When you're constantly changing your mechanics and working on different things, you won't necessarily be lights out. That's what the minors are for. It's called development.

[Hipfan]

Reading the article, and it notes the top prospect from the last 10 years. Wow...they have practically been all busts; Adam Lind is the best MLB player from the list. The last three years are d'Arnaud, Sanchez and Norris, so it's too early to tell for those guys, but man the Jays haven't developed many decent players over the last few years.

[GD]

here we go^^

[kgm1]

That was a short chat.

The whole chat would be pages and i haven't even read the f***ing thing all yet myself.

[Jimcanuck]

Is this a serious post? You don't have to fail as a starter in the big leagues to be a failed starter, Sanchez has had about a 100 starts in the minor leagues and by any measure he's failed, especially if you look at the last two years. There are plenty of failed starters who begin their careers in the big leagues as a reliever and never start because you don't have to see someone fail in the big leagues before you can properly assess them.

 

Wayyyyyy to early to call Sanchez a failed starter. Thank god you weren't in charge when Halladay had a rough go.