Arizona Fall League rosters have been announced. Every fall, each major-league team sends six minor-leaguers to Arizona to continue their development. The players chosen aren't always the organization's top prospects, but each one of them has a reason for being selected. Here's a quick look at the six Blue Jays who'll be on the roster of the Peoria Javelinas.
Russ Adams, SS, New Haven
Clearly the best of the players on his way to the desert, last year's first-round draft choice has put up solid numbers at High-A Dunedin and at Double-A New Haven this season. His raw numbers aren't spectacular, but he's been coming on stronger more recently, especially in the power department. He has a 63/65 BB/K ratio combined at the two levels and has swiped 15 bases in 18 tries. However, Aaron Hill is coming up fast behind him, tearing up the NY-Penn League and batting a solid .280/.345/.373 in his first 75 AB in Dunedin, less than three months after being drafted. And unlike Adams, Hill projects confidently as a shortstop. The writing is on the wall for Russ, whose long-rumoured shift to second base might just begin this autumn. Adams faded somewhat down the stretch last year, so this may also be an effort to continue stretching him out for a 162-game season -- not to mention the fact that JP clearly wants him in Toronto sooner rather than later. Watch the boxscores to see where he plays and whether he can handle the late-season heat.
Tyrell Godwin, OF, New Haven
Along with Jason Waugh, Tyrell is one of two organizational dark horses in the outfield. After a mildly disappointing and injury-plagued career with the Jays' minor-league clubs, Godwin put together a solid if unspectacular year at Dunedin, .273/.348/.332 in 322 ABs (29/39 BB/K, 20/7 SB/CS), demonstrating very little power but playing every day. Considering his age (24) and performance, he was an easy choice to promote to New Haven last month, and he's responded pretty well so far, .296/.321/.407, showing off a little more power but losing the strike zone entirely (just 2 walks in 81 AB). Tyrell has come on strong down the stretch, and the club may want to see a little more of him, and to further test his stamina. I don't think he has any real future with the club -- he resembles Rich Thompson fairly closely -- and 40-man roster time is coming up, so the club may want to see whether it has someone worth keeping here.
Dominic Rich, 2B, New Haven
Speaking of injury-plagued and disappointing.... Rich suffered a groin injury early in the year and dwelt in the low .200s during the first half of the season for a Ravens club that was tearing up the Eastern League offensively. But the warm weather seemed to spark a turnaround, and he now has climbed to .266/.335/.354, not great but pretty good considering where he started from. His walks are below the organizational minimum (28/41 in 353 AB), his power has disappeared and the .335 he hit for Dunedin last year seems like a distant memory. But trunk injuries can have a domino effect on performance, and since Dom's come on pretty well in the second half, JP may want to see if he can further salvage his season. Gabe Gross had a horrendous first half last year at AA, but hit well in the AFL and carried that over into a terrific 2003. The organization may be hoping for the same sort of late fresh start for Dominic. Even though the middle infield is crowded and there's little chance he'll ever play in Toronto, I don't think Rich will be jettisoned by the Jays; they haven't given up on him yet. It's worth noting that Adams and Rich were considered the DP combo of the future before Aaron Hill came along and O-Dog Hudson turned out to have a golden glove; each of these guys still has a legitimate shot at the bigs at 2B. It's even more worth noting that Peoria's manager is Frank White, one of the most underrated defensive greats ever to play second base.
Jordan DeJong, RP, New Haven
An 18th-round draft choice in 2002, DeJong blew away the Pioneer League in his '02 debut but struggled somewhat in Dunedin this year, followed by even greater struggles at New Haven. Sending him to Arizona makes excellent sense; like Rich, he needs to wipe away the traces of a very tough Double-A campaign and see if he can get untracked again. Jordan is not your prototypical reliever; instead of one dominant pitch and something offspeed, he has four solid pitches, a repertoire that suggests he belongs in the rotation, not the pen. But he has to rediscover the strike zone first: he walked 18 in 29 innings at Dunedin and has allowed 17 in just 22 innings at New Haven. I imagine that refining his command will be at the top of his to-do list every time he takes the mound. With the Blue Jays desperate for relievers, a turnaround AFL campaign might even fast-track DeJong to the majors.
Cameron Reimers, SP, New Haven
A mild surprise to see Cam Reimers here. His 10-4, 3.03 mark for the Ravens this year is deceiving: his line (154 IP, 162 H, 33 BB, 89 K, 13.7% KBF) shows a guy who's not really fooling anyone in the Eastern League, which does not bode well for his chances against Triple-A hitters. Reimers reminds me a little of Vinny Chulk, who also posted gaudy numbers for the Jays AA team last season, but whose peripherals were similarly unimpressive and who hit a wall at Syracuse. Is this a showcase trip to Arizona, perhaps to get extra exposure for other teams who might want to pick him up? Or does the organization glimpse something in him that can be corrected to make him more dominant? We shall see.
Pete Bauer, SP, New Haven
I'll confess, I don't really get this one at all. A crashingly disappointing former 2nd-round pick (2000), Bauer is 5-5, 4.75 in 26 games this season (12 starts), with these gruesome numbers: 96 IP, 104 H, 42 BB, 57 K, 13.4% KBP, 8 HB, 9 WP. This is his third year at Double-A and he's still not breaking through. He's never had any success above A-Ball, and his towering 6'7", 245-lb frame hasn't helped him overpower anyone. In short, Bauer looks like organizational filler and little more, and I'm hard-pressed to see why he should be taking up an AFL roster spot ahead of someone like, say, Dave Gassner, another Double-A guy who's shown terrific strike-zone command and has been on fire lately, or even Dunedin's Jesse Harper. All I can figure is that the Jays didn't really have anyone else they wanted to play in Arizona, so they decided to tack a few more innings onto Bauer's arm. Either that, or his coaches see something in him that's clearly not evidenced by the numbers. My money's on the former.
Russ Adams, SS, New Haven
Clearly the best of the players on his way to the desert, last year's first-round draft choice has put up solid numbers at High-A Dunedin and at Double-A New Haven this season. His raw numbers aren't spectacular, but he's been coming on stronger more recently, especially in the power department. He has a 63/65 BB/K ratio combined at the two levels and has swiped 15 bases in 18 tries. However, Aaron Hill is coming up fast behind him, tearing up the NY-Penn League and batting a solid .280/.345/.373 in his first 75 AB in Dunedin, less than three months after being drafted. And unlike Adams, Hill projects confidently as a shortstop. The writing is on the wall for Russ, whose long-rumoured shift to second base might just begin this autumn. Adams faded somewhat down the stretch last year, so this may also be an effort to continue stretching him out for a 162-game season -- not to mention the fact that JP clearly wants him in Toronto sooner rather than later. Watch the boxscores to see where he plays and whether he can handle the late-season heat.
Tyrell Godwin, OF, New Haven
Along with Jason Waugh, Tyrell is one of two organizational dark horses in the outfield. After a mildly disappointing and injury-plagued career with the Jays' minor-league clubs, Godwin put together a solid if unspectacular year at Dunedin, .273/.348/.332 in 322 ABs (29/39 BB/K, 20/7 SB/CS), demonstrating very little power but playing every day. Considering his age (24) and performance, he was an easy choice to promote to New Haven last month, and he's responded pretty well so far, .296/.321/.407, showing off a little more power but losing the strike zone entirely (just 2 walks in 81 AB). Tyrell has come on strong down the stretch, and the club may want to see a little more of him, and to further test his stamina. I don't think he has any real future with the club -- he resembles Rich Thompson fairly closely -- and 40-man roster time is coming up, so the club may want to see whether it has someone worth keeping here.
Dominic Rich, 2B, New Haven
Speaking of injury-plagued and disappointing.... Rich suffered a groin injury early in the year and dwelt in the low .200s during the first half of the season for a Ravens club that was tearing up the Eastern League offensively. But the warm weather seemed to spark a turnaround, and he now has climbed to .266/.335/.354, not great but pretty good considering where he started from. His walks are below the organizational minimum (28/41 in 353 AB), his power has disappeared and the .335 he hit for Dunedin last year seems like a distant memory. But trunk injuries can have a domino effect on performance, and since Dom's come on pretty well in the second half, JP may want to see if he can further salvage his season. Gabe Gross had a horrendous first half last year at AA, but hit well in the AFL and carried that over into a terrific 2003. The organization may be hoping for the same sort of late fresh start for Dominic. Even though the middle infield is crowded and there's little chance he'll ever play in Toronto, I don't think Rich will be jettisoned by the Jays; they haven't given up on him yet. It's worth noting that Adams and Rich were considered the DP combo of the future before Aaron Hill came along and O-Dog Hudson turned out to have a golden glove; each of these guys still has a legitimate shot at the bigs at 2B. It's even more worth noting that Peoria's manager is Frank White, one of the most underrated defensive greats ever to play second base.
Jordan DeJong, RP, New Haven
An 18th-round draft choice in 2002, DeJong blew away the Pioneer League in his '02 debut but struggled somewhat in Dunedin this year, followed by even greater struggles at New Haven. Sending him to Arizona makes excellent sense; like Rich, he needs to wipe away the traces of a very tough Double-A campaign and see if he can get untracked again. Jordan is not your prototypical reliever; instead of one dominant pitch and something offspeed, he has four solid pitches, a repertoire that suggests he belongs in the rotation, not the pen. But he has to rediscover the strike zone first: he walked 18 in 29 innings at Dunedin and has allowed 17 in just 22 innings at New Haven. I imagine that refining his command will be at the top of his to-do list every time he takes the mound. With the Blue Jays desperate for relievers, a turnaround AFL campaign might even fast-track DeJong to the majors.
Cameron Reimers, SP, New Haven
A mild surprise to see Cam Reimers here. His 10-4, 3.03 mark for the Ravens this year is deceiving: his line (154 IP, 162 H, 33 BB, 89 K, 13.7% KBF) shows a guy who's not really fooling anyone in the Eastern League, which does not bode well for his chances against Triple-A hitters. Reimers reminds me a little of Vinny Chulk, who also posted gaudy numbers for the Jays AA team last season, but whose peripherals were similarly unimpressive and who hit a wall at Syracuse. Is this a showcase trip to Arizona, perhaps to get extra exposure for other teams who might want to pick him up? Or does the organization glimpse something in him that can be corrected to make him more dominant? We shall see.
Pete Bauer, SP, New Haven
I'll confess, I don't really get this one at all. A crashingly disappointing former 2nd-round pick (2000), Bauer is 5-5, 4.75 in 26 games this season (12 starts), with these gruesome numbers: 96 IP, 104 H, 42 BB, 57 K, 13.4% KBP, 8 HB, 9 WP. This is his third year at Double-A and he's still not breaking through. He's never had any success above A-Ball, and his towering 6'7", 245-lb frame hasn't helped him overpower anyone. In short, Bauer looks like organizational filler and little more, and I'm hard-pressed to see why he should be taking up an AFL roster spot ahead of someone like, say, Dave Gassner, another Double-A guy who's shown terrific strike-zone command and has been on fire lately, or even Dunedin's Jesse Harper. All I can figure is that the Jays didn't really have anyone else they wanted to play in Arizona, so they decided to tack a few more innings onto Bauer's arm. Either that, or his coaches see something in him that's clearly not evidenced by the numbers. My money's on the former.
