Beyond the Top 40: Tom's 2017 Just Missed List

Matt put up his ‘just missed list’ on Friday, so it is my turn. Just for the record, I had Osman Gutierrez at the bottom of my list too. He seems to be the right kind of player for the bottom of a 40-man prospect list, not really a prospect yet, but a good season and he would be.

I like doing the just missed lists. It’s fun to look at the guys we disagreed about and I like to use the posts to check on guys that kind of interest me for what ever reason.

And Matt, silly person he is, gave us a review of his ‘just missed out’ lists of the past, so I really ought to do the same.

Last year my list was Yennsy Diaz, Jesus Severino, the previously mentioned Osman Gutierrez, Hansel Rodriguez, L.B. Dantzler and Matt Dean.

• Diaz jumped on to the main list this year, all the way up to #24, so I’m kind of happy with that one.
• Severino is the kind of guy I tend to overvalue, a middle infielder with a good bat, at a low level. In 2016, he didn’t show that bat, hitting .213/.320/.278 at Bluefield. He’s young, just 19, so there is the chance he’ll return to the edge of prospect status, but I doubt it.
• Rodriguez was traded to the Padres in return for Melvin Upton. Before the trade, he was doing pretty good for Bluefield, 3.06 ERA in 6 starts. After, not so good, 6.97 in 6 starts.
• Dantzler and Dean were both guys that were supposed to find some power as they matured. Neither did, Dean (24) hit .215/.294/.313 with 5 homers in New Hampshire. Dantzler .235/.296/.301 with 1 homer in Dunedin.

In 2015 I had Griffin Murphy, Jesus Tinoco, Dantzler again, Jeremy Gabryszwski, Ryan Schimpf/Jon Berti and Casey Lawrence.

• Murphy was released in November.
• Tinoco was part of the trade for Tulowitzki. He had a rough year in A ball this year.
• Gabryszwski split time between New Hampshire and Dunedin. He made 28 starts, had a 4.34 ERA, with 24 walks and 100 strikeouts in 151 innings.
• Schimpf is in the Padres system, after being let go by the Jays. Berti had an ok year, hitting .254/.358/.364, with 29 steals, for the Fisher Cats.
• Lawrence split time between NH and Buffalo. He had a 4.17 ERA in 28 starts, 37 walks and 108 strikeouts in. He’s 29, and has never been a prospect, but he has done well for an undrafted player.

Let’s skip a few years, as this post is getting long. Back in 2012, my just missed list was: Chad Beck, Casey Lawrence (I always was interested in him), Danny Farquhar, Gustavo Pierre, Alan Farina and Jonathan Diaz.

• Farquhar is the star of the group. During the 2012 season, the Jays DFAed him and he was lost on waiver to the A’s, then the Yankees took him off waviers from the A’s. He was traded to the Mariners (for Ichiro), and had 3 seasons with them. Before last year he was traded to the Rays. Career he has a 3.81 ERA with 18 saves in 193 games.
• Chad Beck had a moment of being a sleeper prospect. Pete Rose, of all people, talked him up. He threw hard, could hit 96. He had a couple of cups of coffee with the Jays, in 2011 and 2012. In total a 5.50 ERA in 17 games, 18 innings. He was pitching in Independent ball last I saw.
• Diaz is an all glove, no hit infielder. He’s had 65 PA in the majors. Jays signed him as a minor league free agent this winter.
• Pierre was a possible ‘shortstop of the future’ for awhile, but neither his bat nor his glove came around. He played in the Phillies system last year.
• Farina was a reliever who put up good ERAs in the minors. He got tons of strikeouts 237 in 206 minor league innings, but he only made it up to Double A.

In 2011 my list was Nestor Molina, Stephen McQuail, Chuck Huggins, Lance Durham, Oliver Dominguez, Ryan Schimpf, Misaul Diaz, Gabriel Cenas, Santiago Nessy and Deivy Estrada. Yeah, a really long list. And most of the names have long been forgotten.

• Molina was a good looking prospect. He was traded to the White Sox for Sergio Santos and some of us were pissed off about the trade. He never did make it to the majors. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants this winter.
• Schimpf was mentioned above, Cenas was released by the Jays last year, most of the others are out of baseball now.

My just missed list this year:

Yorman Rodriguez was a free agent signing out of Venezuela. He’s just 19. 2016 was his second season in the Jays system. He split time between catcher and first base, hitting .318/.379/.438, with 14 stolen bases (caught 3 times) splitting time between the DOSL and the GCL. If he can stay a catcher, his bat looks looks really good, but then there are a lot of steps between GCL and the majors.

Alvaro Galindo is another international free agent signing, this time out of Columbia. He’s just 18, a right-handed pitcher, again in his second season in the Jays system. He was terrific in the DOSL, had an 8-0 record, with a 0.62 ERA, in 9 games, 43.1 innings. He allowed 29 hits, 12 walks and 46 strikeouts. He didn’t fair as well when moved up to the GCL, 6.23 ERA in 21 innings, 12 walk, 13 strikeouts. Kind of the usual, low 90’s fastball, working on curve and change.

Gunnar Heidt is 24, he played all the middle infield spots. Splitting time between Lansing and Dunedin last year, he hit .263/.345/.419, with 9 home runs, 22 steals, 43 walks and 101 strikeouts. At 24, he’d have to move up a level or two this year to make our prospect list this year. He was our 13th round draft pick, in 2014, dropping a couple of rounds because of a broken hand.

Tim Mayza rates a mention mostly because he’s a left-handed pitcher, who can throw fairly hard (mid-90’s). He’s been a reliever in our minor league system. He started last year in Dunedin, had a 1.66 ERA in 28 games, 48.2 innings (I really do appreciate minor league relievers pitching 2+ innings an appearance, I wish we could do that with major league relievers). He had 15 walks and 52 strikeouts. Moved up to New Hampshire, he didn’t do as well, but remember small sample size and all, 4.11 ERA, in 15.1 innings, 15 walks (ouch), 13 strikeouts. He’s 25 now. Lefty relievers can be worth their weight in gold, and can take a little longer to mature, so it’s worth keeping an eye on him.