Jays #1 Minor League System - John Sickels

[baulderdash77]

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/1/2 ... #storyjump

1) Toronto Blue Jays: Eight B+ prospects with ridiculous depth behind them.
7) Tampa Bay Rays: Impact depth behind Matt Moore has slipped but this is still a robust organization.
11) Boston Red Sox: Large group of B- types who can improve. Hitting stronger than pitching at this point.
16) New York Yankees: You can make a case to rank them as high as 12 or 13. Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances are strong Grade B prospects for me and there is a nice balance between hitting and pitching.

[Relentless88]

I think this deserves its own thread. Good news for the Jays. AA has done a stellar job transforming our farm system from one of the worst to one of the best.

[guvernator]

Sickels must be on the jays' payroll. How dare anyone say a nice thing about the organization?

[Michael Bradley]

The only problem with the Jays system is there is a lot of quality depth but no real star prospects. Hopefully some of the younger players drafted in 2010 and 2011 will eventually develop into that calibre, or be used to acquire elite talent. Other than that, I agree, a great turnaround from what AA inherited two years ago.

[hyper316]

no wonder AA is trading with Chicago White Sox (last in ranking).

nice B+ prospects, but how many A prospects are there according to Sickels?

[Wally West]

Sickels must be on the jays' payroll. How dare anyone say a nice thing about the organization?

LOOOOL! Don't kill me!

The only problem with the Jays system is there is a lot of quality depth but no real star prospects. Hopefully some of the younger players drafted in 2010 and 2011 will eventually develop into that calibre, or be used to acquire elite talent. Other than that, I agree, a great turnaround from what AA inherited two years ago.

I think in a year's time after d'Arnaud and Gose finish Triple A and Marisnick finishes double A, they'll be considered star prospects and many baseball experts will see what Sickels sees now with the Blue Jays having the best farm system. It's almost crazy how deep our prospect depth is 1-30 and even after that.

[baulderdash77]

Marisnick and Gose are definitely star prospects. I actually think that some time in 2012 or 2013 we'll all be fapping about Marisnick as he tears through the system.

There's lots of star potential in our pitching depth in the minors. With this many B+ prospects several are going to pan out.

Travis D'Arnaud is definitely an all star potential catcher. He's going to have a heck of a time unseating JPA with the profile JPA's building up but eventually one of them is going to have to go.

[mikero]

No doubt AA has done an amazing job transforming the system. He should be able to stock up even more talent next draft, with 2 first rounders and another 3 picks in the supplemental round.

[Schad]

The only problem with the Jays system is there is a lot of quality depth but no real star prospects. Hopefully some of the younger players drafted in 2010 and 2011 will eventually develop into that calibre, or be used to acquire elite talent. Other than that, I agree, a great turnaround from what AA inherited two years ago.

Yeah, there are none who can be considered star prospects yet, but there are a half-dozen or more who could earn that distinction in the upcoming year, and Sickels has said as much.

[WpgPage]

The only problem with the Jays system is there is a lot of quality depth but no real star prospects. Hopefully some of the younger players drafted in 2010 and 2011 will eventually develop into that calibre, or be used to acquire elite talent. Other than that, I agree, a great turnaround from what AA inherited two years ago.

Yeah, there are none who can be considered star prospects yet, but there are a half-dozen or more who could earn that distinction in the upcoming year, and Sickels has said as much.

Also an A from Sickels is very rare, a B+ is a A on most grading scales it still means he thinks they are going to be very good players.

[Lateral Quicks]

Re: lack of star talent, I'd have to disagree. For starters last year alone the team promoted Alvarez and Lawrie, both of whom have star potential.

If Hutchison is now topping out at 95 on the radar gun, he could be an absolute beast. He should be up at some point this year.

Gose has undeniable star potential at a premium position. Again, we'll see him at some point this year.

d'Arnaud has all-star potential behind the plate - another premium position - with above average defense and offense. Again, we should see him at some point this year.

So it's arguable within a two year span the team will have promote five guys with legitimate star potential.

All that said, most of the "star" potential talent is in the lower leagues, starting with Marisnick.

[Michael Bradley]

The only problem with the Jays system is there is a lot of quality depth but no real star prospects. Hopefully some of the younger players drafted in 2010 and 2011 will eventually develop into that calibre, or be used to acquire elite talent. Other than that, I agree, a great turnaround from what AA inherited two years ago.

Yeah, there are none who can be considered star prospects yet, but there are a half-dozen or more who could earn that distinction in the upcoming year, and Sickels has said as much.

Agreed; some of the talent drafted in 2010 and 2011 have potential to become star prospects in the coming years, but as of right now most of that group consists of teenagers. It is a bit too early to project their ceilings IMO, at least not until they have more pro experience. The more near-ready talent looks very good (Hutch, D'Arnaud, Gose, etc), but no Price/Longoria type talent in that mix. Gose has high upside but equally high (or greater) bust potential. D'Arnaud lacks track record (he wasn't anything special in 2009 or 2010). And so on. The only star calibre bat in the system is no longer a prospect (Lawrie) and jury is still out on Alvarez (lack of K's, 3rd plus pitch, etc).

That is not a slight on the farm system, it has world's of upside, but as of right now, it lacks the front-end talent that the Jays need. That can, and probably will, change as the younger prospects move up though, as you mentioned. The next wave of talent (low-A and below) looks like the potential studs in the system, while the upper minors fall in the "very good" category for the most part.

[Schad]

Re: lack of star talent, I'd have to disagree. For starters last year alone the team promoted Alvarez and Lawrie, both of whom have star potential.

If Hutchison is now topping out at 95 on the radar gun, he could be an absolute beast. He should be up at some point this year.

Gose has undeniable star potential at a premium position. Again, we'll see him at some point this year.

d'Arnaud has all-star potential behind the plate - another premium position - with above average defense and offense. Again, we should see him at some point this year.

So it's arguable within a two year span the team will have promote five guys with legitimate star potential.

All that said, most of the "star" potential talent is in the lower leagues, starting with Marisnick.

I don't think anyone disagrees that those guys have star potential; it's the fact that they all are, to greater or lesser degrees, as yet unrealized. A large part of that is simply the fact that we're drafting young...there aren't a tonne of 23 year olds who are big-league ready, and Lawrie (who is undeniably a top tier prospect) has already graduated.

[CapeCrusader]

With Marisnick possibly coming up this season. Do you think they move him to LF? I heard they were moving him to RF, but of course we have Bautista.

[Schad]

With Marisnick possibly coming up this season. Do you think they move him to LF? I heard they were moving him to RF, but of course we have Bautista.

I'd be shocked if he made the bigs this season; he's only 20, and just spent the year in low-A. Best-case is probably that he finishes out this upcoming year in AA, and might see the big league roster in 2013.

[Strav]

very nice - waiting for Dagger or Torontoaces to somehow crap all over this thread.

[Wally West]

With Marisnick possibly coming up this season. Do you think they move him to LF? I heard they were moving him to RF, but of course we have Bautista.

I'd be shocked if he made the bigs this season; he's only 20, and just spent the year in low-A. Best-case is probably that he finishes out this upcoming year in AA, and might see the big league roster in 2013.

Best case would be he finishes the year in Triple A. Especially if management continues to be aggressive with out prospects and decides to promote Marisnick right away from Low A to Double A.

[CapeCrusader]

Good to know. Thanks guys.

[darth_federer]

very nice - waiting for Dagger or Torontoaces to somehow crap all over this thread.

[Mike Hunt]

Can't remember if I ever asked this question but for those in the know, will Chad Jenkins start an MLB game in 2012? And if he did, would that be a sign of good things or bad things?