Its time to get out top prospect list again. Each of the last 4 years we've added 10 to our list. We've gone from a top 10 prospects list to a 40 player list last year and now a 50 player list this year. The Jays minor league system has improved to the point that it seems worthwhile to look at 50 players in our little rundown.
Woodman663, Hugo and I each put together lists and we've combined them to make this list. We'll post them by groups of 5.
There isn't a lot of information out there about some of the guys at the back of our list.
50. Dalton Pompey: Dalton is the only guy of our 50 that only appeared on just one of our individual lists. Woodman likes him quite a bit. He's a switch hitting center fielder, from Mississauga Ontario. He has a a lot of potential. Just 18 last summer, he split the season between the Gulf Coast League and Bluefield, hitting .239/.358/.367 between the two, with 5 home runs and 23 stolen bases (just caught once). Speed and a good eye at the plate is a good combination. Hitting 5 home runs in pro ball at 18 years old suggests there could be some power there when he fills out.
49. Jesus Gonzalez: An international free agent signing from Venezuela from this past year. The Jays gave him a $1.4 million contract. A 6'1", 195 lb, outfielder, he's got a strong arm and the Jays figure he'll have speed, power and all the things you'd want from a corner outfielder, but, since he's 17, he's a long ways off.
48. Gabriel Cenas: Another international free agent signing, this one from 2010. He just turned 18 in October. He didn't hit much in his first shot in the DSL, just .208/..368/.226 in 19 games, not that you can read anything out of a handful of at bats. The team figures that he'll develop power and he's said to have a good arm at third base. At 6'1" and 175 he has a lot of filling out to do yet. He's a long ways off.
47. Jairo Labourt: An 17 year old international signing from the Dominican. He's a long way from the majors but he's 6'4", and can already throw 90+ MPH. You'd have to figure that, as he fills out, he'll add a few MPH to that fastball. Lefties that can do that are few. They say he has an 'advanced feel for breaking balls'. Jairo made 12 starts for the Jays Dominican Summer League team, posting a 2.23 ERA, allowing 29 hits, and 14 with 29 strikeouts in 36.1 innings.
46. Evan Crawford: Crawford was an 8th round draft pick back in 2008, out of Auburn University. After starting in previous seasons, last year he spent the entire season in the bullpen at New Hampshire. The Jay put him on their 40-man roster this summer. Minor league relievers aren't generally prospects but this one is left-handed, can hit 94 on the radar gun and they say his best pitch is his curve. He struck out 62 in 51 innings, for the Fisher Cats, while walking 21. He gets ground outs, 2.19 per fly out last year. He pitched in the Arizona Fall League this year and did a good job with a 3.18 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 17 innings. He should, at very least, be able to make the majors as a LOOGY.
Hugo should be around with numbers 41-45 in the next day or two.