Baseball America's Top 30 Blue Jays Prospects For 2018

Thursday, March 08 2018 @ 07:02 AM EST

Contributed by: #2JBrumfield

Here's a rundown of the Top 30 prospects in the Toronto Blue Jays system according to Baseball America.

2017 first round picks Logan Warmoth and Nate Pearson are two of the three highest-ranked newcomers on Baseball America's Top 30 Blue Jays prospects list.

Here is how Baseball America grades each player, based on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale:

75-80 - Franchise player/number one starter
65-70 - Perennial All-Star/number two starter
60 - Occasional All-Star/number two-three starter/game's best closer
55 - First division regular/number three-four starter/elite closer
50 - Number four starter/elite set-up reliever
45 - Second division regular/platoon/set-up reliever
40 - Reserve player/swingman/long reliever

Risk factors for each player are as follows:

Safe - player is ready to contribute in the majors this season and has shown a realistic ceiling
Low - player is likely to reach his ceiling and become a big leaguer barring injury
Medium - player still has some tools to sharpen for major league caliber skills but is fairly polished
High - player is a first-year draft pick, has plenty of projection involved or has a worrisome injury history
Extreme - teenager in rookie ball, a player with a significant history of injuries or struggles with a key skill (pitcher's control or hitter's strikeout rate) that is a significant barrier to reaching his potential

The Blue Jays have the 8th best system in MLB according to BA, up 12 spots from 2017.

No.#	Player	Position	Grade	Risk	2017 Rank
1	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	3B	75	High	1
2	Bo Bichette	SS	65	High	9
3	Anthony Alford	OF	55	Medium	2
4	Nate Pearson	RHP	55	Very High	NR
5	Lourdes Gourriel Jr.	SS/2B	55	Very High	3
6	Eric Pardinho	RHP	55	Extreme	NR
7	Danny Jansen	C	50	High	22
8	Logan Warmoth	SS	50	High	NR
9	Richard Urena	SS	45	Medium	6
10	Ryan Borucki	LHP	45	Medium	16
11	Sean Reid-Foley	RHP	50	High	4
12	T.J. Zeuch	RHP	50	High	8
13	Ryan Noda	1B/OF	50	Very High	NR
14	Edward Olivares*	OF	50	Very High	NR
15	Reese McGuire	C	45	High	13
16	Conner Greene**	RHP	45	High	5
17	Miguel Hiraldo	SS	50	Extreme	NR
18	Leonardo Jimenez	SS	50	Extreme	NR
19	Carlos Ramirez	RHP	40	Medium	NR
20	Riley Adams	C	45	High	NR
21	Rowdy Tellez	1B	40	Medium	7
22	Harold Ramirez	OF	40	Medium	14
23	Max Pentecost	C/1B	45	Very High	12
24	McGregory Contreras	C/1B	45	Very High	NR
25	Kevin Vicuna	SS	45	Very High	NR
26	Kevin Smith	SS	45	Very High	NR
27	Jordan Romano	RHP	40	High	24
28	Hagen Danner	C	45	Extreme	NR
29	Jon Harris	RHP	40	High	10
30	Yennsy Diaz	RHP	40	Very High	28

* - Traded to San Diego
** - Traded to St. Louis

The biggest risers on the list are Bichette (9 to 2), Jansen (22-7) and Borucki (16-10). The biggest fallers are Reid-Foley (11-4), Tellez (21-7), Harold Ramirez (22-14) and Harris, who nearly slid all the way off the list from 10 to 29. Harold Ramirez wasn't even the top Ramirez on the list as Carlos Ramirez made his first foray in the top 30. He's among 13 newcomers on the list, led by first-rounders Pearson and Warmoth as well as Pardinho in the top 10.

Top Rookie - Borucki

Breakout Prospect - Noda

Sleeper - Alejandro Melean, RHP

Projected 2021 Lineup

C - Jansen
1B - Justin Smoak
2B - Devon Travis
3B - Guerrero Jr.
SS - Bichette
LF - Alford
CF - Kevin Pillar
RF - Gourriel Jr.
DH - Tellez
#1 SP - Marcus Stroman
#2 SP - Aaron Sanchez
#3 SP - Pearson
#4 SP - Borucki
#5 SP - Reid-Foley
CL - Roberto Osuna

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