The Dunedin Blue Jays currently have a 16-14 record and sit in third place of the West Division of the Florida State League. The D-Jays are 1.5 games of Fort Myers. In this monthly review we’ll recap seven Dunedin prospects that caught my eye and see what this month has revealed.

Danny Core, RP

0-0, 2.29 ERA, 19.2 IP, 12 H, 2 HR, 2 BB, 17 K, 0.71 WHIP

Core is 24 and his time is quickly running out. It’s not out of the question for him to make the majors one day, but the odds are certainly against him. Core struggled last year at Lansing as a starter and was moved to the pen late in the season for Dunedin. He’s continued in that role this year and is pitching very well. If he continues to pitch like this at Dunedin he’ll got a promotion before too long, but he’ll need to pitch well in New Hampshire to prove himself as a prospect. His home run total and his four hit batters are the only negatives on his stat line, although they both matter less than his age.

Connor Falkenbach, RP

2-0, 2.77 ERA, 13 IP, 14 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 10 K, 1.23 WHIP

Falkenbach’s on here less for his prospect status and more because I have a soft spot for him, as I drafted him in a really really deep keeper league I used to be in, because I thought he was a legitimate prospect. He pitched three full years for the University of Florida, mainly in relief, and posted ERAs of 3.86, 3.34 and 3.15. He was a rare 43rd round pick who actually signs, but his status as a prospect is apparent in the fact he was a 43rd round pic in the first place. Falkenbach had a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings for Pulaski last year and has been the second-best arm out of the pen behind Core for Dunedin. I’m happy to see him doing well in the low minors, as he’ll always have this success to remember.

Ryan Klosterman, SS

.252/.303/.441, 111 AB, 28 H, 19 R, 6 2B, 5 HR, 7 BB, 30 K

Klosterman made it onto the “Rising and Falling” feature of the year-end minor league coverage as someone that fans should keep their eye on. The story is that Klosterman does a lot that becomes clear when one looks past his batting average. After spending last season at Lansing, Klosterman has struggled at Dunedin. His walk rate has fallen and he’s striking out a lot more than he has in the past. Not uncommon for a minor-league shortstop, he’s had a rough go in the field, making six errors. He’s continued his fine baserunning as he’s 5/5 in stolen base attempts and he’s displaying good power. However, unless he can get his batting average higher or display a better batting eye, his usefulness as a player will be limited.

Jesse Litsch, SP

2-3, 4.73 ERA, 32.1 IP, 36 H, 3 HR, 5 BB, 34 K, 1.27 WHIP

Litsch showed some promise last year with Pulaski and Auburn. He finished with a 2.85 ERA and a 74/16 K/BB ratio over 14 starts. One warning sign was that he did allow seven unearned runs to score, but Litsch only allowed 62 hits. The Jays were hoping the 21-year-old Litsch would continue his step forward this year and he was promoting aggressively, as he pitched 10 innings at Auburn and, in effect, skipped over both Auburn and Lansing. He’s not pitched incredibly well at Dunedin, but considering his age and the fact he’s been thrown into the deep end one has to be impressed. Litsch is allowing more hits than he did last year, but he still has a strong K/BB ratio. He leads the team in strikeouts and the only starter to allow less walks than him is 25-year-old non-prospect Brian Wolfe. A draft-and-follow, Litsch has put himself on the map and if he continues to hold his own at Dunedin it will be a successful year.

Dustin Majewski, OF

.269/.387/.387, 93 AB, 28 H, 15 R, 82B, 1 R, 18 BB, 14 K

The only regular at Dunedin to have more walks than strikeouts, Majewski is repeating High-A after putting up an .825 OPS for Stockton last year. He’s always possessed a pretty good batting eye, so it’s not a surprise that he’s doing well there, even if the BB/K ratio is going to fall from its current levels. The lack of homers is a concern, however. Majewski hit 20 last year for Stockton and he’ll need to display some power to keep pace with the more highly-regarded outfield prospects. His place on the organisational depth hart is apparent by the fact that he was asked to repeat a level despite a relatively successful year. He has played CF for Dunedin and has held his own, despite below-average range.

Ryan Patterson, OF

.283/.331/.469, 113 AB, 32 H, 20 R, 6 2B, 5 HR, 8 BB, 19 K

Patterson’s first full season will do a lot to determine whether the Box’s ranking of him as the #17 prospect in the system was too high, too low or just right. Patterson’s average has dropped about 50 points, which has caused his OBP to take a similar dive. His power has also dropped, quickly disappointing anybody who thought he might duplicate his .595 slugging percentage at Auburn. High-A will often bring players who dominate short-season ball down to earth and this is no exception. Patterson still has the 3rd-highest OPS on the team, behind two 24-year-old non-prospects in Josh Kreuzer and Ron Davenport, who failed his New Hampshire audition last year. He’s been holding his own, and that’s fine for a player’s first month in High-A.

Robert Ray, SP

2-2, 3.21 ERA, 28 IP, 30 H, 2 HR, 9 BB, 21 K, 1.39 ERA

Ray was ranked as the 25th best prospect in the Jays system at year’s end by Batter’s Box. It was speculated that he’d get a trip to Lansing as his reward, but the Jays bypassed that and promoted him to High-A. While there’s been no combined no-hitter yet this year, Ray has put up solid numbers for Dunedin. His numbers are comparable with Litsch, although he’s not striking out batters at the same rate. When one combines Ray, Litsch, Eric Fowler and Orlando Trias, who is currently in his first full-season in America, Dunedin has several starters worth tracking.