Blue Jays Prospect Report - October 2017

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Blue Jays Prospect Report - October 2017

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Players appearing on Baseball America's League Top 20 Lists...


CALIFORNIA LEAGUE


12. Peter Lambert, RHP (Rockies) - Few 20-year-olds handle pitching in Lancaster well, but Lambert was one of them. The Southern California high school product sat 91-94 mph with his fastball, showed advanced feel for a potential plus changeup in the mid-80s and flashed a plus 78-82 curveball with a hard, late drop. With that arsenal and a fearless, competitive edge noted by evaluators, Lambert finished in the top five in the Cal League in WHIP (third), ERA (fourth), opponent average (fourth), innings (fourth) and strikeouts (fifth) despite his notoriously hitter-friendly home park.


CAROLINA LEAGUE

12. Willi Castro, SS (Indians) - After a middling season as a 19-year-old in the Midwest League, Castro moved up a level this year and broke out. A switch-hitter, Castro showed aptitude from both sides of the plate and little if any discernable platoon split. His .290 average was good for fourth in the Carolina League. Despite his slight build, Castro showed burgeoning power this season with 11 home runs. The total is one more than his career mark entering the season. His swing features a direct path to the ball and his extremely strong hands help him send balls out of the yard. He also improved his plate discipline this season. Specifically, he got better at laying off breaking balls out of the zone.

19. Jorge Alcala, RHP (Astros) - Alcala starts his arsenal with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and can reach up to 99 mph with armside life when he gets it down in the zone. If he leaves it up, the pitch straightens and he can get hit. He complements his fastball with an above-average changeup in the 86-90 mph range with excellent sinking action in the lower realms of that velo band. He can throw it too hard on occasion and it will flatten as a result.

EASTERN LEAGUE

7. Chris Shaw, OF/1B (Giants) - Shaw made a big impact in the short time he spent in the EL. He began his career as a first baseman, but the Giants began transitioning him to left field in Richmond and he stayed there at Triple-A Sacramento. Shaw's calling card is his big-time raw power. Managers raved about his batting-practice shows, with one comparing it to what he saw out of Joey Gallo years earlier. He's a tireless worker when it comes to maintaining his swing, and he projects as a thumper who can hit for average and power in the middle of the order.

15. Ryan McMahon, 1B/2B (Rockies) - Until this year, McMahon had played predominantly third base with some first base thrown in. The Rockies keyed on his athleticism, agility and good-but-not great power when they shifted him to second base on occasion at Hartford. Though he has some trouble with fastballs on the inside half, McMahon profiles as a line-drive type of hitter whose power could play up with Coors Field as his home park. He leveled out his swing plane this season and improved his contact rate and plate coverage. His speed grades as below-average.

FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE

15. JoJo Romero, LHP (Phillies) - Romero thrived in his first full year in the minors, finishing 11th overall with a 2.16 ERA in 129 innings. He joined Clearwater's rotation in July and didn't give up an earned run in four of his nine starts that lasted more than an inning. The lefty overmatched lower-level hitters with a mix of pitches that kept hitters from sitting on any one offering. Romero can reach 96 mph with his four-seam fastball but generally pitched at 91-94 mph, and he also used both a cut fastball and two-seamer that sat in the upper 80s and helped him pitch to both sides of the plate. He further flummoxed hitters with a changeup that played off his heater, and showed the ability to keep his average curvball and slider distinct from each other.

NORTHWEST LEAGUE

9. Javier Assad, RHP (Cubs) - The Cubs Signed Assad out of Mexico in 2015, and the thick-bodied righthander had a strong debut in the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2016, going 2-2, 2.87 in 37.2 innings. Assad built off of that performance with another solid season as a 20-year-old in the NWL. He went 5-6, 4.23 and had an exceptional outing in the playoffs against Vancouver in which he allowed one hit and struck out nine in six innings. Like fellow Cub Jose Albertos, Assad can run his fastball up to the mid-90s, touching 96 mph, but he generally works 90-94 mph, and he impressed opposing managers with his command of the pitch. Assad throws a full four-pitch mix and showed advanced pitching feel. His slider is his most effective secondary offering, grading ahead of his curveball, but both pitches have shape. Assad is able to add and subtract from his changeup and commands the pitch well.

13. Miguel Aparicio, OF (Rangers) - Signed out of Venezuela in 2015 and sent to the Dominican Summer League in 2016, Aparicio played his first season stateside this summer. He opened the year with an aggressive assignment at low Class A Hickory but moved down to Spokane after batting just .176/.255/.247 with the Crawdads. The 18-year-old rebounded nicely in the NWL, where he batted .293/.333/.395. Aparicio was part of the same international class that yielded Rangers top prospect Leody Taveras. While Aparicio doesn't have Taveras' explosiveness–his speed and arm strength are both fringy–there's a lot to like about his tool set. His manager at Spokane, Hagen, said what impressed him most about Aparicio was his bat-to-ball skills. The lefthanded hitter has a short, quick swing and advanced barrel awareness, and he showed a knack for making contact throughout the summer. He hits line drives to all fields and could hit for more power as he gets stronger.

14. Eudy Ramos, 3B/1B (Diamondbacks) - There's a significant drop-off in power between Ramos' 13-homer season in the Rookie-level Pioneer League in 2016 and his four-homer season at Hillsboro in 2017. At first glance, that could be alarming, but there's a method behind it. Ramos' 2017 goal was to cut down on strikeouts, which he accomplished, cutting a 33 percent rate in 2016 to 23 percent this season. The next step? Ramos will look to marry that approach with his home run hitting ability. The thick-bodied third baseman boasts plus raw power; he needs refinement to his offensive approach and experience to learn to tap into it consistently.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

9. Ryan McMahon, 1B/2B (Rockies) - McMahon reduced his strikeout rate markedly this season to about 18 percent, all while maintaining power and connecting for a career-high 20 home runs. He has a long, lean frame and large strike zone, but he improved his plate coverage this season by leveling his swing. He lost loft in his swing in the process, but enhanced selectivity helped his power play.

12. Chris Shaw, OF (Giants) - The hulking lefthanded batter slammed 24 home runs this season despite playing half his games in spacious parks at Double-A Richmond and then Sacramento. "He's got big-time power," Sacramento manager Dave Brundage said. "He's a pretty polished guy, even though he's not a finished product." Like most power hitters, Shaw trades some strikeouts for his plus power, but he hits the ball hard enough for an average hit tool.

PIONEER LEAGUE

11. Eduardo Diaz, OF (Diamondbacks) - Diaz has been an under-the-radar prospect, but the native Venezuelan put his name on the map in his second pro year with a breakout season at Missoula. He's got plenty of tools and just needs more experience to refine his game, and he consistently plays hard and with a lot of energy. Diaz's improvement at the plate came when his direction got better and he was able to use the whole field. He hunts for and can crush fastballs but still struggles with offspeed pitches. His hand-eye coordination is so good that for now he gets away with the subpar pitch recognition, but improving his approach at the plate is his biggest need. He has a good swing with gap power and should grow into more over-the-fence pop with added strength. Diaz projects to be a plus center fielder, with above-average to plus speed and an above-average arm. He's a good baserunner who was successful on 11 of 13 stolen base opportunities.

14. Janser Lara, RHP (Royals) - Lara, who signed for $200,000 in 2015, stood out for premium velocity from a slender frame. He attacks hitters with a fastball sitting 93-96 mph and touching as high as 100 this year, with the velo coming from his quick arm and a clean, effortless delivery that he repeats well. Lara's secondary pitches include a 76-83 mph curveball that is more like a hard slider but with good curveball break. He's actually got two changeups–one that he throws like a circle-change as well as a split-finger changeup that had some late cutting action at times.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE

7. Luis Castillo, RHP (Reds) - igned out of the Dominican Republic at age 18, Castillo was traded twice as a prospect despite hitting 100 mph and winning Florida State League pitcher-of-the-year honors in 2016. For a power pitcher, he has fine control and ranked first in walk rate (1.5 per nine innings) among pitchers who qualified for the SL ranking. The Reds called him to the majors from Double-A on June 23. Castillo sits 97 mph with his top-of-the-scale fastball and mixes in a swing-and-miss, high-80s changeup that keeps batters off balance whether located in the zone or as a chase pitch. With the help of Pensacola coach Danny Darwin, Castillo tightened his mid-80s slider to above-average and also added a mid-90s two-seamer as a groundball pitch.

TEXAS LEAGUE

8. Edwin Rios, 1B/3B (Dodgers) - Considered by many to be the best pure hitter in the TL, Rios played 77 games for Tulsa before a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City on July 7. Before departing, Rios led the league in OPS (.891), and he continued to hit for average and power in Triple-A. A physical lefthanded batter with an advanced approach, Rios can drive the ball to all fields and has maintained a high line-drive rate as a pro. He hit 24 home runs overall this season, and his power profiles well on an infield corner.

2023 GM Totals: 1780 W - 1460 L | 0.549 wpct | 89-73 (avg 162 G record)
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