Hamyltowne wrote:Michael Bradley wrote:It's possible, but not something I would count on as far as D'Arnaud starting out great and maintaining it (which is what I meant by "hit the ground running"). Even Lawrie is struggling now offensively.
You do realise 'hit-the-ground-running' prospects are rare. Not every team has one.
I didn't say it was common (although the Rays seem to have had a lot of luck in that area) but it is certainly significant for the Jays if they intend on using minor league talent to plug MLB holes. In most cases the younger players will struggle initially, which is why a solid foundation has to be there to make up for that uncertainty. And "hit the ground running" doesn't necessarily mean Albert Pujols type careers. I'd argue Romero fits that category, as he started out league average and got progressively better (i.e. he didn't suck for 2 years and then become decent). With Gose and Hech, I'd imagine their MLB careers will start very, very poorly at the plate as they adjust to the bigs. D'Arnaud is more of a sure thing, but he'll have growing pains too. Which just further pushes back the timetable for the Jays to compete, assuming they intend on using those guys as big leaguers within the next year or two.
