20. Chase DeJong | RHP

Chase DeJong was born on December 29, 1993 and is one of the few, but slowly growing, number of players in the system who were not alive the last time the Jays made the playoffs. A 6’5” 190-pound right-hander out of Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, the Blue Jays selected DeJong in the 2nd round, 81st overall in the 2012 draft and signed DeJong away from a commitment to the University of Southern California with supplemental first-round money. The DeJongs have the Blue Jays in their blood, as Chase’s cousin, Jordan DeJong, was a relief pitcher in Toronto’s system in the mid-2000’s and threw 9 major league innings for the Blue Jays in 2007. Although he wasn’t ranked on all of the Top 100 draft prospect lists, DeJong was ranked 78th by MLB.com.

In his senior year, DeJong sported an 0.82 ERA (or 1.03, depending on the source) over 76.2 innings. He struck out 103 batters and hitters put up a .132 batting average against the right-hander. In his three seasons of high school ball, DeJong threw 199 innings with a 1.80 ERA with 240 strikeouts. He posted similarly impressive numbers at the beginning of his professional career. DeJong pitched 12 innings over 6 appearances in the Gulf Coast League. He allowed seven hits and a walk with 15 strikeouts.

DeJong throws a fastball that sits right around 89, but can reach 92. He also is able to consistently command a curveball and a changeup. The curve sits at 75-77 and often shows some hard movement, but can occasionally get loopy. DeJong throws his changeup at 81-83 and some of his coaches have called it his strikeout pitch. DeJong possesses clean mechanics and he reportedly has a free and easy motion with a consistent release point.

It is expected that he’ll gain velocity as he gets bigger and stronger. That combination of projectability and the potential for three above-average pitches was something the Jays couldn’t ignore on draft day. Although he wasn’t the most advanced or flashiest prospect, DeJong could rise rapidly up the prospect list as he matures.

19. Kevin Pillar | OF

Pillar’s claim to fame before being drafted by the Blue Jays was a 54 game hitting streak he compiled during his senior season at Division II California State University-Dominguez Hills.  Selected in the 32nd round of the 2011 draft, the 6-foot, 200 pound right-handed hitter has continued to make his presence felt with the bat.  He endured such a rough start to his pro career in Bluefield last year that he asked to have his batting average removed from the scoreboard.  Pillar rebounded quite nicely to finish the year with a .347 batting average which landed him a berth to the Appalachian League All-Star team.  His season was not done yet as he was called up to Vancouver for its playoff run.  All he did was record at least one hit in the five games he played, batting .391 with a homer to help the C’s win the league title.

Pillar continued his hitting exploits with Lansing in 2012, highlighted by a 6-for-6 game in May that was capped off by a grand slam.  It was performances like those that convinced the Midwest League to hand him its Most Valuable Player award, even though he was called up to Dunedin in July.  He continued to hit for a high average in the Florida State League but he drew six percent fewer walks than he did in Lansing.  On the flip side, he struck out four percent less from Lansing to Dunedin.  One area that Pillar needs to improve with the bat is his power.  Last season, he posted an isolated power average of .187 with Bluefield.  That evaporated this season to .128 in Lansing and .091 in Dunedin.

Pillar’s running game took a quantum leap forward.  After stealing just eight bases last year, he swiped 51 bags this season – 35 of them with Lansing.  That speed has served him well in the outfield as he has played all three positions but is expected to settle into a corner. 

Named the best hitting prospect in the Midwest League by Baseball America, Pillar has a .331 career minor league average to date.  He emulates his game after Pete Rose and Cal Ripken Jr.   Turning 24 on January 4, Pillar is on target to join New Hampshire to start the 2013 season.  A good showing there could lead to a promotion to Triple-A Buffalo, and perhaps a trip to Toronto before the season is out. Currently, he is playing in the Arizona Fall League.

The son of eight-year big league veteran Dwight Smith was a supplemental first round pick of the Blue Jays in 2011, taken 53rd overall.  That was the pick the Jays got for their brief rental of free-agent catcher Miguel Olivo.  Smith Jr. passed up a scholarship to Georgia Tech, signing for $800,000 - $125,000 above slot.  Despite signing last year, 2012 was his introduction to pro baseball and it was not exactly a good one with the bat. 

Despite an on-base-plus slugging perecentage of.629 in Bluefield, the Jays decided to challenge Smith Jr. with a promotion to Vancouver.  He fared even worse with the Canadians as his OPS sank to .504 and he did not go deep once.  The lowlight of the season came August 23 when he donned a platinum sombrero.  After getting a two-day breather, he went 2-for-2 with two walks August 26 but wrapped up the regular season by going hitless in his last 15 at-bats.  Including the playoffs, his hitless skid stretched to 0-for-19 but he did draw three walks – two of them coming in the third and final game of the Northwest League final.  His pinch-hit walk was part of a seven-run rally in the eighth inning to give the Canadians the championship.

The younger Smith was lauded for his hitting ability before the 2011 draft, with Baseball America touting his batting stroke as one of the best in his draft class.  Scouts praised his bat speed and his ability to keep his bat in the hitting zone.  Smith Jr, who adopted a leg kick at the suggestion of his father, was also lauded for his hitting approach to all fields and being able to drive the ball into the gaps.  The elder Smith believes his son will have more power and speed that he did in his career, which saw him bat .275 with the Cubs, Angels, Orioles and Braves.

Having turned just 20 years old October 26th, the Jays may ask Smith Jr. to head back to Vancouver before he graduates to full-season ball in 2013.

Stilson did not pitch an official professional inning after being signed in 2011, and 2012 marked his debut in the organization. Starting the season in Dunedin, while one of the youngest players in the FSL, he handled the opposition with relative ease over 13 starts, albeit the walk rate was a bit high (3.1/9) . Promoted to New Hampshire in mid-June, he hardly missed a beat, posting a solid 3.38 ERA through his first seven starts. A couple of shaky starts and a DL trip (right shoulder tightness)followed. The team did not consider the injury serious, but they had planned all along to manage his innings so when he came off the DL they shifted him to the bullpen for the season's final three weeks. He shut out the opposition in five of his eight relief appearances. While the control issues definitely needs work, and at least one report suggests he could handle adversity a bit better, the Blue Jays have been aggressive with him to this point and he will have a shot to break camp with Buffalo next spring.

 

16. Alberto Tirado | RHP

Tirado was the Jays player of the year in the GCL. Tirado was an under the radar prospect heading into 2012 but his performance caught a lot of attention. Tirado, a 17 year old, can get it up to 96 mph and pitches at 91-94. He also throws a change and a slider. Tirado is noted for his ability to keep his fastball down in the zone. Tirado was rewarded with a promotion to Bluefield late in the year. 

It would be aggressive of the Jays to send Tirado to Lansing to start 2013, look for him to stay in extended and then move to Bluefield. Tirado, like Dawel Lugo, has a December 1994 birthday. He will be 18 just before Christmas.

15. Matt Smoral | LHP

Matt Smoral only pitched in one game this season but he signed for $2M.  Not bad work if you can get it.  Smoral injured his foot in a scrimmage in March and that led to surgery.  The Jays hoped he would pitch before the end of the regular season but he didn't pitch until instructional league.

Smoral was the 24th ranked player in the draft and the Jays got him with the 50th pick.

Smoral was rated so high because he is big, 6'7", he throws from the left side, and his fastball sits 90-93mph and he hit 94 in that one game in March.  A big, hard-throwing lefty is always in demand.  Smoral, like all high school pitchers, needs to work on his off-speed pitches.  Smoral also throws from a low three quarter arm angle which can be tough on hitters. 

Having missed so much time in 2012 Smoral will start 2013 in extended spring and will have an innings limit for the season.




14. Santiago Nessy | C

Nessy flew into the Blue Jays nest as a 16 year-old from Venezuela, signing for $750,000 as an international free agent.  He was scouted by Marco Paddy, the team’s Director of Latin American operations at the time.  The Jays were attracted to the raw power in Nessy’s bat.  The right-handed hitting catcher has been compared to Seattle catcher/designated hitter Jesus Montero and Detroit catcher Victor Martinez, in a best case scenario.

Overcoming an early hamstring injury, Nessy’s power began to show itself in Bluefield this season as he connected for eight home runs that helped produce a .200 isolated power average.  That earned him a late call-up to Vancouver, where he homered in his first at-bat.  The nine home runs this year almost doubled his career total of five over the previous two seasons.  However, he continues to have contact issues as he struck out in over a quarter of his plate appearances and only walked just over seven percent of the time.

Being 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, there were concerns about Nessy’s ability to stay behind the plate but he made strides with the tools of ignorance in 2012.  He was rated as the 10th best prospect in the Appalachian League by Baseball America and league managers praised his blocking skills, arm strength, effort level and game-calling ability.  Vancouver Canadians manager Clayton McCullough told the CanadiansClippings blog that Nessy has the “tools to be a front-line catcher”, citing his athleticism, mobility and arm strength behind the plate.  He threw out potential basestealers at a 33 percent clip in Bluefield and nailed two of three runners trying to steal during his brief time in Vancouver.  However, he has had trouble keeping the ball in front of him with 25 passed balls in 110 games behind the dish in his minor league career.

Nessy turns 20 December 8th and he may be back with Vancouver in 2013 before transitioning to full-season ball.

13. Christian Lopes | 2B

Christian Lopes didn't sneak up on anyone. He's been a high profile amateur baseball player since he was 12 and ESPN was writing stories about him before he ever played a game as a high school senior. Lopes was a shortstop in high school, as so many eventual big leaguers were, but the Jays drafted him with an eye towards second base, as most scouts expected. As a high schooler Lopes was praised not only for his hitting ability but also for his calm, methodical professional work ethic and attitude. Lopes took a month or so to get acclimated to pro ball having been aggressively placed in Bluefield rather than the GCL. Then he took off. Over his last 20 games for Bluefield, his OPS was .986 which promoted the Jays to promote him to the Vancouver squad to soak up the playoff drive. He may return there in 2013, or a strong Spring might place him on the Lansing full-season squad. Lopes is the best 2B in the Blue Jays system, and he will most likely advance on a relatively fast track.

12. AJ Jimenez | C

 AJ Jimenez had Tommy John surgery in May and as a result had only 100 at-bats in New Hampshire.  The elbow injury was impacting his hitting more than it was hit throwing.  The recovery time for position players from TJ is shorter than for pitchers so look for Jimenez to be in New Hampshire to start 2013 in a mixed DH/catcher role to start.

In 2011 Jimenez continued to progress as a catcher.  He earned raves for his defense and registered a 115 wRC+ with Dunedin.  Jimenez is a free swinger, he doesn't walk much but he doesn't strike out much either.  It was expected that AA would be a test of that approach but the injury stopped that progression.  Jimenez was born in 1990 and will be just 22 at the start of next season, he has time.

11. Sean Nolin | LHP

In two and a half years Nolin has gone from sleeper, to (briefly) disappointment, to interesting guy, to legitimate exciting prospect. Ranking #27 on this list a year ago, Nolin was coming off an impressive season in the Midwest League. Not satisfied he went to Dunedin this year and improved his ERA dramatically, cut his hits allowed rate and maintained his impressive walk and strikeout performance. Nolin might have been a mid-season promotion, like Stilson, had he not been forced to the DL by a lingering lat injury for almost seven weeks. When he came off the DL in late July he was better than ever and closed the season with three impressive turns for New Hampshire. His ERA after coming off the DL was 1.26 over seven starts. Look for him at the front of the AA rotation next spring, and don't be surprised if he spends a good chunk of the season in Buffalo and has us wondering if a September call-up is in the works.