Earlier this week, the Blue Jays rewarded Simon Pond and Dustin McGowan with promotions to AAA and AA, respectively. There was a lot of speculation regarding what other changes would follow. Today we got at least part of the answer:
- Brandon League: promoted from Low-A Charleston to High-A Dunedin
- David Bush: promoted from High-A Dunedin to AA New Haven
- Jordan De Jong: promoted from High-A Dunedin to AA New Haven
Brandon League
Charleston 2003
2-3, 1.91, 12 G, 12 GS, 70 IP, 58 H, 18 BB, 61 K, 1 HR, 22% KBF
Auburn 2002
7-2, 3.15, 16 G, 16 GS, 86 IP, 80 H, 23 BB, 72 K, 2 HR, 20% KBF
Toronto's second-round draft choice out of a Hawaiian high school in 2001 becomes the youngest player with Dunedin, as he was the youngest man in Charleston. But League is pitching beyond his years: one season after manhandling the NY-Penn League, Brandon jumped a level and became even more dominating. Coming into this season, he already had command of a blistering mid-90s sinking fastball and had a pretty nice change-up; he just needed to refine his breaking stuff. Mission accomplished, apparently. The Sally League is good to pitchers, and so is the FSL, but it does provide more of a test. League may not get a real challenge till he hits AA, but he won't be doing that this year. Temper your expectations, as with all A-Ball pitchers, but this is a rising star.
David Bush
Dunedin 2003
7-3, 2.81, 14 G, 14 GS, 77 IP, 64 H, 9 BB, 75 K, 6 HR, 24% KBF
Auburn 2002
1-1, 2.82, 18 G, 10 Svs, 22 IP, 13 H, 7 BB, 39 K, 1 HR
Dunedin 2002
0-1, 2.03, 7 G, 0 Svs, 13 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 9 K, 1 HR
David is the most intriguing pitching prospect in the organization. The team's second-round pick in 2002, Bush was a closer when he was drafted, but his repertoire and command marked him out as a starter. His fastball sits comfortably in the low 90s (hitting the mid-90s on occasion) and his slider is in the high 80s; he can throw both for strikes anytime, along with a change-up that's well on its way. In fact, it's pretty clear that strikes is all Bush throws: he's walked just 4% of the batters he's faced professionally (his travelling buddy DeJong has walked 14%). How he handles New Haven will tell a lot about this young man's immediate future: he's smart, he's strong, and he knows how to pitch.
Jordan DeJong
Dunedin 2003
2-3, 2.79, 17 Saves, 29 IP, 23 H, 18 BB, 30 K, 2 HR
Auburn 2002
1-0, 0.00 2 G, 4 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Medicine Hat 2002
6-1, 1.43, 33 G, 16 Svs, 44 IP, 23 H, 10 BB, 62 K, 0 HR
Delighted as I am to see my namesake promoted to Dunedin, I'll admit it surprises me a little. DeJong was a distant 18th-round pick in 2002 out of Cal State Fullerton, but he dominated the rookie league in his introduction to pro ball. He started the year hot with Dunedin, but has been struggling of late. DeJong throws four pitches -- low-90s fastball, slider, curve and change -- but it's pretty clear that opposing batters are more than familiar with them: 41 baserunners in 29 innings is a Kelvimatic rate for a closer. Maybe he needs to seriously consider dropping at least one of these pitches, or at least concentrating on two of them. Unlike with his teammate Bush, who moved into the rotation this year, the organization seems content to keep DeJong in the bullpen for now. At New Haven, DeJong will face a whole new level of opposition: at 24, he's old enough, so it's pretty clear to me that the organization is challenging him. Let's see what happens.
For those who need a scorecard to keep track of the recent changes, here's where to find some of the Blue Jays' top prospects right now:
Charleston (Low-A)
Hitters: Miguel Negron
Pitchers: DJ Hanson, Sandy Nin, Ismael Ramirez
Dunedin (High-A)
Hitters: Russ Adams, Tyrell Godwin, Jason Perry
Pitchers: Jesse Harper, Brandon League, Justin Maureau, Vince Perkins, Adam Peterson, Chad Pleiness
New Haven (AA)
Hitters: Shawn Fagan, John-Ford Griffin, Gabe Gross, Guillermo Quiroz, Dominic Rich, Alexis Rios, Tim Whittaker
Pitchers: David Bush, Jordan DeJong, Dave Gassner, Dustin McGowan, Cam Reimers
Syracuse (AAA)
Hitters: Kevin Cash, Simon Pond, Rich Thompson, Jayson Werth (momentarily)
Pitchers: Jason Arnold, Corey Thurman (back down as of today)
What moves should we expect next? I think that by mid-season, Gabe Gross should be (and Alexis Rios could be) in Syracuse, while Chad Pleiness should soon be on his way to New Haven. Guillermo Quiroz will move up to Syracuse when Kevin Cash moves up to Toronto -- but it's not out of the realm of possibility that they could simply switch places. That would be quite a turn of events.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030615082414999