As previously noted, I will be in minor league camp this coming weekend along with my trusty camera.  I will be there to see the minor league players getting ready for their season which starts a week after the major leagues do.  While I am there there might be some questions that are looking for answers.  There was some discussion yesterday about Justin Jackson and where was he going to play this season?  I will ask about that this coming weekend.  But is there anything else you want me to ask about?

The battle for starting pitcher jobs is likely to be one of the most interesting contests of spring training.  There are several new pitchers looking for their first professional assignment.  Will Deck McGuire and Asher Wojciechowski get assigned to Lansing or Dunedin?  Will any of the kids get to start in Lansing?  Is Henderson Alvarez ready for AA?  Who will get the fifth starting job on these teams?

All of this ignores the battle at the major league level for the #4 and #5 jobs.  And wait until you see the battle at Lansing, they could fill two teams with starters.

The final hitting position in our series is outfielders.  We are not writing a story on designated hitters, in the minor leagues the DH is usually filled by rotation.  Sometimes you have two good players at a position, for example last season Dunedin had Travis d'Arnaud and Yan Gomes, both catchers who were hitting well.  The DH position could be used to get extra at-bats for both.  The DH position also allows a team to get at-bats for the reserves. 

Outfield is not considered a position of strength for the Jays but there are several outfielders whose 2011 performance will be closely watched.  Can Darin Mastroianni handle AAA?  Same question for Adam Loewen?  How will Moises Sierra return from an injury filled year?  Will Anthony Gose improve his hitting?  Those are some of the more interesting story lines for 2011.

Today we continue our series on organizational depth with a look at the middle infielders.

Yesterday we looked at catchers, a position of strength for the Jays system.  Today it is corner infielders where, other than Brett Lawrie, most of the players are well down the prospect lists.

Baseball season approaches, and none too soon.  As we wait for spring training to begin it is a good time to carefully look at the Blue Jays minor league teams and try to understand how the players will fit into those teams.  In this first part we will look at the catchers, then follow with corner infielders, middle infielders, outfielders and starting pitchers.

And away we go......

With two weeks to go to pitchers and catchers reporting we need some baseball to satisfy our needs until the 2011 season gets underway.  So in that light I have some video, some pictures and some notes to divert your attention until things really get going.

First the notes.  I touched base with a few of my Blue Jay front office connections this week and here are a few of the things I heard:

The most surprising move in the Jays minor league managerial shuffle involved the recently retired Mike Redmond being named the new manager of the Lansing Lugnuts.  The 13-year major league veteran replaces fellow former major league backstop Sal Fasano, who moves up to Double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.



Mike Redmond in the Indians bullpen prior to a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Energy Field May 5th.

Toronto's AFL affiliate, the Peoria Javelinas, played in the championship game on Saturday and lost 3-2 to Scottsdale. Let's finish up our AFL coverage by looking at how the Jays representatives performed over the month-and-a-half-long season.

It's been three weeks since the last update. What have the guys been up to? Playing baseball, probably.

Baseball America released their Blue Jays top ten prospect list today.  There is no surprise at number one but there are some surprises further down the list.

Been wondering how the Jays' AFL players have been doing?

The Top 30 prospects series demonstrated the strength of the Blue Jays minor league system compared to the past couple of seasons. Several prospects were left off the Top 30 list who would have been comfortable inclusions a year or two ago. Given the depth of the system, the Minor League Crew decided to profile some additional prospects worth keeping an eye during the offseason and coming year. This list is in alphabetical order and shouldn't necessarily be considered the next 9 best prospects in the system. Rather, these are names that we highlighted, some familiar and some not so familiar, who are some of the players who could move onto the Top 30 list at the end of the 2011 season.

Today we wrap up our 2010 Blue Jays Top Prospects 30 with numbers 10-1. For 30-21 click here. For 20-11 click here.

Today we look at the prospects rated at 20 though 11. For prospects 30-21 click here.