From BA's most recent Hot Sheet chat:
Gregg (513): Vlad Jr - is it too early to call him a generational talent ?
J.J. Cooper: He's special. He's an awesome prospect. It depends on your definition of "generational talent." Mike Trout is one of the greatest players in baseball history and he was a prospect during this decade. They are of the same generation, so from that aspect, it's hard to say he's a "once in a generation" type player. And as much as I love Guerrero as a prospect, he'll play in the big leagues at the same time as Miguel Cabrera, so there's some generational overlap there too. But I could also say he's as advanced a 19-year-old hitter as we've seen in this generation, so I could make the argument that such a qualifier makes him a generational talent.
psw (long beach, ca.): How long do you think Vlad jr. will stay at double a
J.J. Cooper: The argument for keeping him in Double-A is to let him continue to work on his glove. As a hitter, Double-A isn't challenging enough. Triple-A probably wouldn't be either. And I think MLB pitching would be challenging but not too much for him right now. I do think he'd struggle if you had him face the NL All-Star pitching staff right now.
Andrew (Alberta (Canada)): With Kevin Smith's hot start to the season, has he surpassed Warmoth on the Jays depth chart? Or is it too early for that? Thanks
J.J. Cooper: That's a fascinating question. He hasn't surpassed him on the depth chart yet as the reason he's overmatching LoA pitchers is because Warmoth is in HiA blocking that spot. As good as Smith's year is, and it's been outstanding, he should be too good for that league. But his success is likely to get the Blue Jays thinking about working some sort of job-sharing arrangement in Dunedin before too long, maybe play both at 2B a little too and some DH. Warmoth isn't ready for Double-A (and Bo Bichette is there), but Smith is more than ready for HiA.
AA (FL): Any concern about Bo Bichette's lack of power? Seems to be going through a slow stretch recently, but hasn't hit a HR all year. Any changes to his approach or just small sample size? Thanks!
J.J. Cooper: He's been going through a slow stretch, but he's a 20 year old in Double-A adjusting to a new level. I'm not worried.