Mikeleelop

Yadier Alvarez, right-handed pitcher, age 18 Arguably the most intriguing prospect of the three, the 6-foot-3, 175-pound right-hander from Matanzas didn't have any professional experience in Cuba's top league, but he has made a name for himself on the international scouting scene in the past few weeks. Alvarez has a fastball that touches 98 mph with a plus slider and an above-average changeup, prompting one high-ranking National League official to say Alvarez was the best 18-year-old pitcher he had ever seen. Like Ibanez, Alvarez is subject to the international signing guidelines, but he won't be able to sign with a Major League team until the next signing period, which starts on July 2, because he did not register in time to be eligible during the current signing period. Moreover, Alvarez is in the early stages of establishing residency, the first step in becoming eligible to sign with a Major League team, so it's unclear when he will be available. The Dodgers, D-backs, Rockies, Nationals, Blue Jays, Padres, A's, Cardinals, Twins and Brewers have all been linked to the young right-hander. Granted, Alvarez is raw and could use some polish, particularly with his command, but he is positioning himself to be the most sought-after player during the next international signing period.

Long term the jays need a bunch of positional players to add to their long term pitching prospects

orioles can't keep all three of Flaherty, Cabrera or Schoop can they??

agree totally, top 10 payroll is not the relevant issue. its putting on the payroll restriction when the team is in playoff position and basically tying the hands of AA. that is ******** rogers has market share like the dodgers and Yankees but plays "small market" when push comes to shove - that is the issue Go after the Cuban free agents now when the team is close - what difference would Oliveria make in the Jays lineup this year instead of the old cripple Izturis??? but jays won't - staying within their payroll parameters

lets hope that the jays do plan on blowing up the international budget next session and nab Guerrero jr and a couple of other studs As far as the Cubans go, Oliveria seems like such a good fit for Toronto at 2B, but that is wishful thinking. Also his defence may not fit at 2b with Reyes limited range at short. You can't have two poor fielders up the middle..... here's to hoping

well the savings on Donaldson arbitration can get the Jays a bottom rung reliever to add to the mix

#7 is very positive ranking for the Jays. Offence is dependent on health of JB, EE and JD - but these guys can mash like no other threesome in MLB NIce to see an unbiased opinion that focuses on the positives with this team and not just what the Jays are lacking or what they didn't do

3/30 likely doesn't get this done. Ben Badler says he's in line for Tomas dollars. $10-11mil AAV he looks big, not a typical 2B - probably ends up playing 3b for someone

(Delaware ): Conforto or Barreto? Top 101 Chat: Give me Barreto. JoJo (SD): You can watch one 50-101 arm and bat on loop during #bathnight. Go. Top 101 Chat: Bat: Francisco Mejia. Arm: Jeff Hoffman

Daniel Norris (Toronto): What type of performance do you see from me in 2015 (assuming I land the 5th starter spot)? Will I hit the ground running or struggle to adjust a bit? Top 101 Chat: We'll have to see how things are progressing in terms of returning to form after your surgery to remove bone spurs, Daniel, but assuming you land the 5th starter spot, I think things will be a bit uneven as you continue to find the consistency of your release and keeping the heater in the lower tier more often. Cutter will miss bats and continue to trust the changeup.

Peter Gabriel (In Your Eyes): Assuming Sanchez, Norris, and Pompey all graduate in 2015, can you give us your rough guess as to their top 5 prospects by year's end? Matt Smoral made some progress towards the end of 2014, could he be a guy that could really put it together and explode on the prospect scene this season? Top 101 Chat: Alright. Nick has passed off the baton to me (Mellen) so let's keep this going! Smoral was tabbed as an On The Rise guy in this year's Top 10 so we definitely see it possible that he's a player who could bump up into the 10 best prospects within the system at this time next year. It's going to come down to the continued progress keeping the delivery in check and maintaining the arm slot. Some evaluators are more bullish on him as a reliever in the long-run, but an Andrew Miller type if fairly valuable at the end of the day. As for potential Top 5 by year end? Hoffman is going to be a tough read because of the rehab, but if things are going well and the reports indicate the stuff is returning he's in there for me. Like Labourt, Pentecost, and Castro as well. Give me Alford as the 5th name.

Mo (MN): Hey Nick who was your favorite guy from the 2014 MLB draft that did not make the list? Top 101 Chat: Touki Toussaint, Michael Chavis, Sean Reid-Foley, Jack Flaherty, Derek Fisher, Max Pentecost, Michael Kopech, Luis Ortiz, Forrest Wall. There's been a solid influx of low-minors talent.

Beeston guaranteed they'd payroll would not go down

Twitter conversation regarding Bluejay payroll...... Passan gives a good link to Bluejay payroll spreadsheet. Nothing really new here but things don't add up Mike Lopinski ‏@Mikeleelop · 11m11 minutes ago So @JeffPassan says on @SNJeffBlair show that the Jays are $15million under last years payroll at this point, and that doesn't make sense @SNJeffBlair · 9m9 minutes ago @Mikeleelop @JeffPassan The fact is we don't know what the payroll is. Mike Lopinski ‏@Mikeleelop · 8m8 minutes ago @SNJeffBlair @JeffPassan but a simple comparison shows its lower than last year doesn't it? Beeston said it was going up Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan · 3m3 minutes ago @Mikeleelop @SNJeffBlair Based on this, even if Donaldson wins arb case, payroll looks like it's around $125M. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Ah4PW47PiAi-dGxHdU93c1NxcU9CUzRINmhBZy1RX1E&output=html … 11:37 AM - 9 Feb 2015 · Details

how does the below market value TV contract the Jays have with Rogers effect the player budget? one quality SP for depth, upgrade 2B, and a quality reliever would put the stacked lineup over the top.

I think the two young guys count against the pool. That leaves the jays out since they plan on going over budget next signing year on Vladimir jr. They could go after the 30 year old as a ufa

Damn autocorrect

It depends on the age and experience of the guy being signed Ben badger on baseball America does a great job explaining If they are under 23 with less than three years in the main Cuban league they count against international pool If older and experienced then they are regular FA

Np all good

Other than the dropping load part, I agree. How does the salary equate, unless they've built in currency exchange or trade deadline cushion

Belisaro going to Tampa on minor league deal

then don't read the thread. Law is sarcastic and very opinionated, but he does his work and forms his own rankings. There are others out there, but Law is pretty good and you can read McDaniel, Callis etc to get a bunch of opinions. no one is perfect in their assessments, not close.

bluejays top 10 1. Daniel Norris, LHP 2. Dalton Pompey, CF 3. Aaron Sanchez, RHP 4. Miguel Castro, RHP 5. Roberto Osuna, RHP 6. Jeff Hoffman, RHP 7. Max Pentecost, C 8. Richard Urena, SS 9. Jairo Labourt, LHP 10. Alberto Tirado, RHP Overview The Jays have dealt away a lot of prospects over the last two offseasons to build a major-league roster that could contend with the big boys in the AL East, so the system is much heavier on long-range prospects, mostly 20 and younger, and is probably as skewed toward Latin American signings as any farm system in the game. Castro just missed the top 100, working with a heavy fastball up to 96 mph and above-average or better changeup; his slider was a 40 to start the year but improved as the season went on, 82-86 and getting firmer. The main concern is that he's not built like a starter, 6-foot-6 or so and under 200 pounds. If he can handle the workload, he could be a No. 2 or 3, but a relief future seems a bit more probable. Osuna is getting back to close to where he was before Tommy John surgery, touching 96 in the AFL with a solid-average changeup. Hoffman had TJ surgery himself in May and probably won't see a mound until midyear; when healthy, he would sit 93-96 with a hard changeup (perhaps too hard) and a potentially plus curveball. Taking him at No. 9 overall was a bet on his athleticism and the Jays' ability to mold him into a pitcher, rather than a thrower. Pentecost had Tommy John surgery too, but that was in high school, and he still has a pin holding his elbow together. He actually throws well and is a plus runner, but the question on him is how much he'll hit -- it's an odd setup that produces some late barrel play, and he has to clear that to get the head into the zone. Urena and Dawel Lugo (11) are both promising middle infielders, with Urena more advanced on both sides of the ball, with better feel for contact and some emerging power; Lugo has better tools, but a worse approach, looking for anything he can connect with early in the count. Labourt was surprisingly wild at both levels this year, but the stuff was solid, 90-96 with life and a plus change, although he'll need a better slider to stay a starter. Tirado has plus life on a mid-90s fastball but has to throw more strikes; he's clearly a reliever going forward, but still, those guys can't walk a man an inning either. Mitch Nay (12) and Matt Dean (15) get some attention for good batting averages in the low minors, but neither has the power he'll need to profile at first base, where Dean is now and Nay seems likely to end up (or perhaps right field). Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley (13) was a polished high school pitcher whom the Blue Jays took in the second round, working mostly 91-93 in the spring with an above-average curveball. He has mid-rotation upside, but there's some reliever risk there as well. Toronto's big international signing this summer, Juan Meza (16), is a 6-foot right-hander with an average fastball and changeup and major-league average command already.

severino and Finnegan are pegged as relievers Hoffman has not thrown game pitch after TJ

depends who they go with - izturis is a defensive liability. Goins is not