We are two months away from opening day (actually two months away yesterday) and about two weeks from the start of spring training (Blue Jays pitchers and catchers report February 12). So, it is time we started to look at our 40-roster, take a look at where each player fits and what the questions are for each.
First up Anthony Alford.
Anthony was our 3rd round pick in the 2012 draft. He fell to the 3rd round because of a commitment to play football for Southern Miss. Happily enough for us, football didn’t work out and he’s been playing baseball full-time since 2015.
He quickly moved to the top of the Jays prospect list and was on everyone’s top 100 MLB prospects lists. Before last season he was #60 on Baseball America’s list, #47 on MLB’s list and #58 on Baseball Prospectus’ list.
And then came 2018.
Anthony had his first poor season in the minors. He hit just .240/.312/.344 with 17 steals (7 times caught), in 105 games in Buffalo.
Not surprisingly, he’s fallen off everyone’s top 100 prospects list.
How far does Anthony fall on the Blue Jays prospect lists?
Anthony dropped to number 5 on MLB’s top 30 list. And he’s fallen right off Baseball America’s top 10 Blue Jays prospect list. We will find out how far he falls on our list in the next couple of weeks.
The Jays are really loaded with prospects (though we are a little thin for outfield prospects) and many of them have passed him.
I’m guessing he’ll drop to somewhere in the 15-25 range on our list. Not that it matters, if he has a good 2019, he’ll be back up again.
Last year I asked “Would Anthony get 100 MLB at bats in 2018?” 75% of us figured he would, but we were wrong. He ended up with 25 (and his play didn’t really earn him that many).
Where does he play this year?
I’d still be up to trading Kevin Pillar for pitching help and having Alford play center, but I know that’s not going to happen. He’ll be in Buffalo trying to prove that last year was a one-off. Of course, I’d be happy if we traded Pillar and moved Grichuk into center. But then, I’d imagine if someone was willing to give up a decent pitcher or decent pitching prospect, Pillar would already be gone.
Anthony turns 25 in July and the clock is running, if he’s going to be major leaguer, he’s going to have to prove it soon.
Dalton Pompey is at the same spot, if he’s going to have a major league career, it’s got to start soon. As the Jays DFAed Danny Barnes instead of Dalton Pompey, after signing Galvis, the front office must feel he has some value. I think a decent spring and Pompey will be the fourth outfield, which would leave Alford playing in Buffalo and waiting for his shot.
Alford (and for that matter Pompey) is the type of player we claim to be looking for, athletic, exciting, able to steal a base or go first to third, leg out a double. I also thing he’s the kind of guy who is going to need 300 or more at bats to figure things out in the majors, it just doesn’t seem like major league teams have that sort of patience anymore.