A tip of the 2003 "T-Bird" cap to Bauxite brent for bringing to our attention that John Sickels has released his Top 20 prospects list for your Toronto Blue Jays. For contrast and comparison, check out Baseball America's Top 10 list for 2010, the Hardball Times Top 10 and Batter's Box Top 30 here, here and here.
Josh Roenicke pitches against the Angels August 21st at the Rogers Centre. He gave up a hit to allow an inherited run to score but he pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to help the Jays beat the Halos 5-4.
Roenicke, acquired from Cincinnati in the Scott Rolen deal at the July trading deadline, is rated by John Sickels as the #7 prospect in the Jays system while BA rates him #7 as well. He did not make the Hardball Times Top 10 or the Batter's Box Top 30. Personally, it never occured to me Roenicke was eligible in my personal Top 30. The fact he had already pitched for the Reds was the reason I didn't consider him and he is a relatively old for a prospect at the age of 27. Still, Sickels says Roenicke could be a potential closer for the big club. He finished the year in Toronto with a 7.13 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with a K-BB total of 19-12.
John Sickels' #1 prospect is recently acquired slugger Brett Wallace from the Oakland/St. Louis farm system. Former Reds hurler Zach Stewart checks in at #2, ex-Phillies farmhands took up the #3 and #4 spots with pitcher Kyle Drabek and catcher Travis D'Arnaud and 2009 first round pitcher Chad Jenkins rounded out the top five.
Wallace, Stewart and Drabek are graded B+ by Sickels with D'Arnaud getting a B while Jenkins and '08 first round first baseman David Cooper (the #6 prospect) received a B -. Sickels criticizes the Jays '07 high school draft and suggests player development and coaching may be to blame for their struggles. He also knocks the club for failing to sign the three draft picks (pitchers James Paxton, Jake Eliopoulos and Jake Barrett) in this year's draft. He does say the Jays have built good depth on the pitching side, especially in the pen but the hitting remains thin.
As far as notable comparisons on all the prospect lists..........
Baseball America and Sickels were high on GCL catching propsect Carlos Perez at #9 and #10 respectively. BA was higher on 2009 draft pick Jake Marisnick than Sickels, who rated the outfielder #11. Batter's Box had him at #29.
Other wide variances of opinion was centered around Las Vegas backstop J.P. Arencibia, rated #2 by BA, #5 by BB and #8 by THT but just #17 by JS. We rated Dunedin outfielder Moises Sierra as our #2 prospect and THT had him at #8 but he failed to make the BA Top 10 or JS Top 20.
Keep in mind the BA Top 10 list was released before the Roy Halladay trade so it's a good bet three names on its Top 10 list now may be bumped off by the time BA releases its AL East Top 10 Prospects Issue and its Prospects Handbook.
What do you think of Sickels' assessment or the other ratings of the Jays farm system? Bauxites, the floor is yours!
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20091224052202742