The minor leagues get going tonight with all four teams on the field.  The relevant local media have been introducing the new teams to their readers.

It was an early Christmas for a baseball fan at the minor league complex on Saturday.  On one field the AAA team were playing the AA team.  On another the Dunedin team were playing the Yankees.  On a third field the Lansing team were also playing the Yankees.  And on a fourth field the extended spring team were playing the Phillies.  Four games, five teams, playing at the same time.  You could develop a sore neck from swivelling around to check out something on another field.

Friday at minor league camp saw Henderson Alvarez starting for Dunedin and Gustavo Pierre hitting a home run.  The Jays also started laying out their rosters and Chad Jenkins goes to Lansing and Zach Stewart to New Hampshire.

Thursday saw the AAA and AA teams playing at home again.  There was a Jesse Litsch sighting.  And Tim Collins looked good.

I am in Dunedin and I spent the day at the minor league complex.  The teams for the regular season have not yet been selected but I did see two games at the same time.  In the morning all four diamonds were busy with workouts and batting practice.  In the afternoon the AAA and AA teams played the Phillies.

Baseball America reports that former Orioles and Rays first round pick Wade "Pete" Townsend has agreed to a minor league contract with Toronto and so has organizational soldier Howie Clark.

Dig that sound and shake it around you're mine , mine , mine

MLB.com released its Top 50 list of the best minor league prospects and two members of the Jays not only made the top 50 but the top 17.  See, I'll never lead you astray!

On Monday we looked at the Blue Jays 2004 prospects.  Today we will look at the 2004 prospects for the rest of the major leagues to see where, on the top 30 lists, major leaguers come from.

I recently came upon my old prospect guides and I thought it might be interesting to look back six years to see where  the Blue Jay prospects were rated.  Given the current uninspiring reviews of our farm system it might give us some hope that a lower rated prospect can make the jump to become a major league regular.

Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus are in agreement about who the top two prospects are in the Blue Jays system.  BP has released its list of the Top 11 Jays up and comers and if that's not enough, they take things four steps further.  A tip of the 1999 Jays Batting Practice cap to Bauxite jdog for the heads-up.

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed four players to minor league deals.  Jordan Bastian from bluejays.com says the team has inked left-handed pitcher Willie Collazo, infielder Jesus Merchan and outfielders Jorge Padilla and Chris "The Big" Lubanski.  Two of the four have played in the major leagues.

The biblical scripture known as Baseball America arrived in my mailbox yesterday and it's the issue I look forward to the most every year - the  Top 10 Prospects for the American League East! 

Featuring the Orioles Brian Matusz on the cover, it contains a revision of the Jays Top 10 list that BA posted on its website last month.  The changes reflect the three prospects added in the Roy Halladay deal and each of them ranked highly on the revamped list.

The Toronto Blue Jays have claimed shortstop Brian Bocock on waivers from San Francisco and they signed outfielder and 2003 first round pick Chris Lubanksi from Kansas City to a minor league deal.  If Lubanski makes it to Toronto, start printing up the "Little Lubanski Urban Achievers" t-shirts.

A tip of the 2003 "T-Bird" cap to Bauxite brent for bringing to our attention that John Sickels has released his Top 20 prospects list for your Toronto Blue Jays.  For contrast and comparison, check out Baseball America's Top 10 list for 2010, the Hardball Times Top 10 and Batter's Box Top 30 here, here and here.

BA published their top ten prospects today.  The mystery of who would be number one was finally solved, BA went with the Batters Box concensus and Zach Stewart ascended to the top of the list.