It is the quiet season, particularly for the minor leagues. Your minor league team has started to look at the top 30 list to be published in January and as usual there is great uncertainty at the bottom of the list. So I thought it would be fun to throw out some names that could be on the list, or were on the list last season, to see if there is a box consensus.
But before we get to that Shi Davidi published a farm system review last week and he had lots of good comments from Joe Sclafani, the Jays Director of player development.
On to the players list. How many of these players would you put in a top 30?
Miguel Hiraldo - Has been a semi regular on top 30's since he hit .300 in Bluefield pre-pandemic. Post pandemic he didn't hit well in Dunedin or Vancouver but was promoted each year and found himself in New Hampshire for 2023 at age 22. He had a better year there, hitting .275 with some pop, but is it enough to make a top 30 list?
Gabriel Martinez - seemed to be a prospect after an excellent 2022 including hitting .324 in 100 at-bats in Vancouver. He returned to Vancouver for 2023 and did much worse, hitting just .242.
Rainer Nunez - like Martinez had a break out 2022. He also retuned to Vancouver but he hit well there and earned a promotion to New Hampshire. In 78 games there he hit just .224 but he did hit 10 home runs.
Otto Lopez - he was injured for about half the season in Buffalo and hit .258 when he was available. He is 25 years old now and maybe it is too late for him to be anything other than a sometimes yo-yo player between AAA and the majors.
Alex De Jesus - has been promising in flashes, and has some pop, but doesn't seem to have enough to be considered a top 30 guy. On the plus side he is still just 21.
Zach Britton - played just 17 games this season and has been injury prone as a pro. Has never hit well although that's not an obstacle for a catcher. However he caught just two games this season with 9 games in the outfield and 7 at DH. Caught about 60% of his games in Vancouver last year so he might not be a great catcher.
Adrian Pinto - played just 35 games this season and has never had more than 175 at-bats in a season. Hasn't been a great hitter since the DSL. Still just 21 years old.
Manuel Beltre - Highly touted as an amateur but hasn't hit well as a pro. Hit .231 this season in Dunedin as a 19 year old.
Estiven Machado - hit just .187 in Vancouver this season.
Hayden Juenger - drafted in 2021 and zoomed though the system. Buffalo, however, was a shock to the system. A 6.33 ERA and 11 home runs given up in 54 innings.
Jimmy Robbins - had a breakout 2022 but regressed mightily in 2023. Always had fringy stuff that suffered when his control wasn't as good in 2023.
Adrian Hernandez - The change-up/screwball expert tried to get some extra velocity this season and that got him a trip back to AA. Where does he go from here?
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20231105102646407