Bluebird Banter Top Prospect Review: 11-20

We took a look at how our top ten prospect did this season back here. Now it is time to look at the guys that were 11-20 on our list. 

11. Henderson Alvarez: What a terrific season for Henderson. He started it in Dunedin and finished in Toronto. In between he had 14 starts and 1 relief appearance at New Hampshire, going 8 and 4 with a 2.86 ERA there. He struck out 66 and walked just 17 in 88 innings there.  For the Jays, he's had 10 starts, going 1-3 with a 3.53 ERA with 40 k and 8 walks in 63.2 innings. That's less than a walk a start. Pretty amazing. He is a ground ball throwing machine, which is a good thing. You have to figure that he has a great shot of coming out of spring training with a job in the rotation.

12. Aaron Sanchez: Sanchez started the year at Bluefield and finished at Vancouver, mostly to bolster the Canadian's playoff team. Aaron was one of our first round picks last year. He made 6 starts and 5 relief appearances for Bluefield, getting a 3-2 record, with a 5.48 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 18 walks in 42.2 innings. He's just turned 19, so he's a long from the majors yet, but he's had a good start to his pro career. He is 6'4" and just 190lb, so he has a fair bit of filling out to do. He gets a bunch of ground balls.

13. Eric Thames: Another prospect who had a great year. He hit .352/.423/.610 with 7 home runs and 45 RBI in 53 games in Vegas then got called up to Toronto where he hit .262/.313/.456 with 12 home runs in 95 games. Really, a heck of a rookie season. I'd like to see him get on base a little more, but he's just 24 so we can hope for a little improvement on all his numbers. His defense is, interesting I guess would be the best term. That or awful, but I don't see any reason to think that it won't improve.

14. Asher Wojciechowski: Another one of our first round picks from the 2010 draft. Asher made 22 starts for Dunedin (and 3 relief appearances). He went 11-9 with a 4.70 ERA, with 96 strikeouts and 31 walks in 130.1 innings in his first full pro season. He improved as the season went on. His ERA by month from May on: 6.06, 10.62, 3.97, 2.38 and 3.60. He turns 23 in December. The Jays will likely start him at New Hampshire next year.

15. Chad Jenkins: Our number 1 pick from 2009 started 2011 in Dunedin, going 4-5 there with a 3.07 ERA in 11 starts with 44 strikeouts and 14 walks in 67.1 innings. He was moved up to New Hampshire and went 5-7 with a 4.13 ERA in 16 starts there, picking up 74 k and 27 walks in 100.1 innings. He is another ground ball pitcher, who doesn't walk many. He's among a half dozen pitching prospects that could see some time in Toronto before the end of next season.

16. Moises Sierra: Moises was added to our 40-man roster before the season. He played the season at New Hampshire, and he had an injuries free season. It wasn't a bad year for a 22 year old, in his first season at Double-A, he hit .277/.342/.436 with 18 home runs in 133 games.  He is a good defensive player and has a strong arm in the outfield. If things go right for him (and wrong for a few others) he could see some time in Toronto by the end of next year.

17. Noah Syndergaard: Yet another of our first round picks from last year. He played in three different levels in his first real year of pro-ball (he did get into 5 games after signing last year). He started the year at Bluefield and may 5 starts there. Then moved up to Vancouver for 4 more starts and finished with 2 starts in Lansing. In total he made 11 starts, with 2 relief appearances. He was 5-2 with a 1.83 ERA. In 59 innings, he struck out 68 and walked 18 and he gets ground balls. Pretty good for a kid that just turned 19 in August. He looks good. He'll likely start in Lansing next year.

18. Dickie Thon : His season got a late start, since the doctors found a ‘blood disorder' in spring training. He only got into 45 games in the Gulf Coast league, hitting .223/.369/.322 with 3 homers. I figure we'll give him a mulligan for the year and hope that next year is better.

19. Drew Hutchison : Our 15^th round draft pick in 2009, he has outperformed his draft level. This year he pitched at 3 different levels. He started at Lansing, making 14 starts, was moved up to Dunedin for 10 starts and then made 3 more starts in New Hampshire. In total he went 14-5, with a 2.53 ERA, with 171 strikeouts with 35 walks in 149.1 innings. He turned 21 back in August.

20. Adonys Cardona : Our $2.8 million international free agent signing from last year. He played in the Gulf Coast League this year, appearing in 10 games, 7 starts. He was 1-3, 4.55 ERA. He struck out 35 and walked 12. He is just 17, so he's a long long way from the majors. Right now he is a hard throwing teenager with a lot of potential.