By Bob Elliott
Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos was in Dunedin Monday watching his class-A affiliate.
“There’s one reason and one reason only he’s watching Dunedin,” said one evaluator. “Dalton Pompey. He might be the best player in the league. Look at the year he’s having with the bat and he’s probably the best outfielder in the league.
“It’s a good idea to bear down on your own guys — and they have had a ton of their own scouts in there. You made fewer mistake when you scout your own team.”
Mississauga’s Pompey, an Oakville Royals grad, is eighth in hitting at .312, leads the league in stolen bases with 27 and is fourth in OPS at .852.
As the clock ticks towards the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline a number of teams who may make pitching available have had sent their scouts to Dunedin to evaluate the Jays prospects.
Taylor Cole pitched Monday morning in a loss to Brevard County allowing four earned runs on eight hits and three walks. Ben White pitched Sunday afternoon — three runs on eight hits — in a loss to Brevard.
Drawing the attention of other teams besides Pompey others drawing interest from other scouts are outfielder Dwight Smith (.266 average, five homers, 28 RBIs in 69 games, .733 OPS), third baseman Gustavo Pierre (.251, four homers, 25 RBIs, .640 OPS) and 6-foot-5 shortstop Emilio Guerrero (.297, six homers, 29 RBIs in 59 games, .682 OPS). Matt Boyd is 5-1 with an 0.67 ERA after six starts at New Hampshire (0-2, 8.31) walking 11 and fanning 61 in 69 Dunedin innings. Cole is 5-4 with a 2.86 ERA, with 21 walks and 103 strikeouts in 88 innings. White is 3-4 with a 5.01 ERA with 17 walks and 38 whiffs in 70 innings.