BA has published their top ten prospects for 2016. It is interesting to note that all ten of last years top ten are still with the system, none were traded this year. That is not surprising after last years clear-out sale.
The top 10 are:
Vlad Jr Anthony Alford Sean Reid-Foley Conner Greene Richard Urena Rowdy Tellez TJ Zeuch Bo Bichette Jon Harris Justin Maese
Eight of these prospects are repeated from 2015. The two dropping off are Max Pentecost and DJ Davis. Also, the two players acquired from Pittsburgh in the Hutchison/Liriano deal, Reese McGuire and Max Ramirez, did not make the top ten.
Some notes from the write-ups follow. Some at the club have compared Vlad Jr.'s offensive potential to EE. Anthony Alford is still playing with a knee brace. Conner Greene gets some negative reports on attention to detail and between starts routines. Jon Harris has four pitches but none are plus. Justin Maese profiles like Aaron Sanchez and Henderson Alvarez except he doesn't throw as hard.
BA also includes some supplementary information. The best tools does not have many surprises. Richard Urena is the best defensive infielder and Reggie Pruitt the best defensive outfielder. The draft and prospecting section are somewhat troubling. Here are the Jays number one draft picks for the last ten years:
Kevin Ahrens David Cooper Chad Jenkins Deck McGuire Tyler Beede DJ Davis Phil Bickford Jeff Hoffman Jon Harris TJ Zeuch
That list is an indictment of the Jays drafts.
In a similar vein, the Jays number one prospect over the last ten years includes such notables as Travis Snider, Zach Stewart, Kyle Drabek, Travis D'Arnaud, Adam Lind and Daniel Norris. There are no guarantees in being number one.
There will be a chat this afternoon.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20161026102308413