Mikeleelop

51 Aaron Sanchez, RHP AGE: 22 DOB: 7/1/92 B/T: R/R HT: 6-4 WT: 200 W-L: 2-2 ERA: 1.09 IP: 33 SO: 27 BB: 9 Sanchez was filthy as a short reliever for the Jays (stats listed above) at the end of the year, pumping 96-98 mph bat-breaking fastballs that hitters just pounded into the ground when they could hit them at all, throwing the occasional plus breaking ball just for kicks and leaving his changeup, itself not a bad pitch, in the minors. Sanchez has shortened his stride substantially in the past two years, and although it hasn't impacted his stuff, his command isn't what it once was and he's putting the health of his arm at unnecessary risk. The Blue Jays are working on trying to get his arm back up a tick so that his elbow isn't so low and so he can work downhill more by staying on top of the ball through his delivery, a process that coincidentally means lengthening his stride a little. (Two other notable prospects to have this problem in recent years: Tyler Skaggs, who blew out his elbow out after the Angels restored his old stride, and Taijuan Walker, who has had a few bouts of shoulder soreness since shortening his own stride.) The Blue Jays believe he can be a starter, and they should, given his chance for three plus pitches. Sanchez has shown the capability to become a shutdown reliever, but that's a waste of his ultimate potential to pitch near the front of a rotation. Top level: Majors (Toronto) | 2014 rank: 30

42 Dalton Pompey, CF AGE: 22 DOB: 12/11/92 B/T: B/R HT: 6-2 WT: 195 AVG: .317 OBP: .392 OPS: .861 HR: 9 SB: 43 Pompey will try to accomplish the Herculean task of going from low Class A to major league leadoff hitter inside of two years, no small feat for the 22-year-old Canadian prospect who came to pro ball without a tremendous amount of playing experience. Pompey has an extremely advanced approach at the plate for someone so young, combining excellent pitch recognition with the ability to know what pitches to take. He's a switch-hitter with a shorter, simpler swing from the left side, much more balanced but using his lower half less, while on the right side he gets a little longer but with more rotation, likely to make somewhat less contact but hit for more power when he does. He's a plus runner with good instincts in center, and the Jays were impressed enough by his confidence and lack of panic (such as when he started out 3-for-36 in Double-A) that they were willing to promote him to the majors, his fourth level of the season, at the end of 2014. He needs to get stronger, but otherwise his bat and glove appear to be ready for the majors right now, with his eventual peak being that of a high-OBP, 40-steal leadoff hitter who plays plus defense in center field. Top level: Majors (Toronto) | 2014 rank: Unranked

18 Daniel Norris AGE: 21 DOB: 4/25/93 B/T: L/L HT: 6-2 WT: 180 W-L: 3-1 ERA: 3.18 IP: 22.2 SO: 38 BB: 8 The Blue Jays have done an excellent job turning raw teenage pitchers into legitimate starting-pitcher prospects, whether for trade (Syndergaard) or their own uses, as in the case of Norris, who entered their system as an erratic arm-strength guy who needed major delivery help just to be able to throw strikes. On any given night, Norris can show you four average or better pitches, with a plus slider and changeup and the ability to touch the mid-90s (though at the risk of coming out of his delivery). At 90-92, Norris can stay on line to the plate and maintains some fastball command, but when he humps up to try to throw harder he tends to land on the side of his foot and spin off, which is when he loses his command. He's athletic enough to be able to maintain a consistent delivery, and the raw stuff is certainly there -- he was fifth in the minors in strikeouts in 2014 -- for him to be a front-line major league starter. Top level: MLB (Toronto) | 2014 rank: Unranked

three jays Norris #18 Pompey #42 Sanchez #51

Before everyone continues to criticize AA for not filling problems at 2b and bullpen look at the overall quality of the everyday lineup. In the majors the Bluejays have one of the top five lineups. Sure 2b could have been upgraded, but can get by with Pompey in CF and izuturis/tolleson/goins/Kawasaki with the talent at every other position. Every other lineup in baseball has holes or question marks - Boston, LAA, Washington, LAD etc The bullpen is not settled. With Sanchez likely there to start and one or two late FA additions the pen should be acceptable. It all depends on how Cecil, Loup, Sanchez, Estrada, (Castro potentially) perform in pressure situations I am excited that the lineup black hole Thole may be on the way out. Of course AA may have just been piling horseshit for potential trade partners to hear, but I'm excited about that possibility.

Many good comments here I agree that everything Ive read on Pompey is that he has great makeup. Humble Canadian kid Also agree that makeup concerns gets thrown around far too casually and that black/Latino kids get the label far more frequently. I hope this is a case of that. Pompey seemed to adjust quite well to early struggles at a few levels LY and persevered to reach the majors Seemed to be a good kid

Dave Adams on MLBTR chat just said he has heard "makeup issue" concerns for Pompey Comment From CC: Is Dalton Pompey the next big thing? Tuesday January 27, 2015 3:03 C 3:03 Steve Adams: Have heard less than glowing things about his makeup First I've heard - makeup usually means lazy due to entitlement Anyone else see this anywhere??

as a realaccountant you can probably do it yourself or get one of your staff to do it for you

that's the scary thing. I think Rogers could allow this to happen

Cabrera to TB

Can a mod change the name of this thread to TV series/shows discussion?

This may be off topic but how about that second baseman?

I'm thinking trade. Not a lot left on the market

12 mill per season right?

And kimbrell next

Jays are not signing a fa starter

The hold up is that Cabrera is a felon

EE is going to dh 75% of the time. He wants that and his 1b defense is awful

would love for this situation to come forth, however the financial restrictions will not let it happen. We are stuck with Reyes - unfortunate. We will not acquire Shields - no money available, also term issue may come up

He's the awesome reporter who broke the news that the jays won the posting for darvish

on MLB radio just said they thought you could get Ardusal Cabrerra for 2years at $18million. Worth it for Jays to solidify 2B and have a back up at SS in case Reyes gets hurt???

I've been hoping to hear AA trades Navarro ever since they signed Martin. But as the days go by, I worry more that we will be "stuck" with him as a redundant player. Too good to be a backup catcher (unless they cut ties with Thole), and not good enough to warrant full time DH duty. I think the Jays (and EE) want EE to have most of the DH at bats. Also they would like to give reyes and bautista some off days from the turf and use the DH role for that. EE could play 1b for some of those days. This use will severely limit the number of games available at DH for Navarro. Do you think AA will swing a trade before spring training? during spring training OR in season before the trade deadline? What kind of return do you think is out there? Power bullpen arm ?

don't overlook Seattle projected at 89 don't know how they got to that number - Seattle has had a questionable off season IMO

which according to projections for the other teams will get them into the wild card game.

they've added two 5 WAR players but have significant uncertainty in the bullpen, fifth starter, 2B and CF The same issues as they had at the end of last season. I think the Jays need to fill the bullpen with some strong options then I will think AA had a great offseason. Its been good so far, but I don't think they have risen to the top of the AL East yet. I'm very worried about the "budget constraint" ******** that seems to be coming out. AA said they should be very close to a top10 payroll. That is the talk that makes me think Rogers won't let AA finish his job with the current lineup. Hope I'm wrong, but I have an uneasy feeling that we are close and won't get to finish the deal........