Blue Jays MiLB All Stars

Now that the regular season has finished at the A-ball level, and is coming to a close for the higher levels, it’s a good time to take stock of the system on something of a position-by-position basis. Here are your 2023 Blue Jays Organization All Stars.

Catcher

 Phil Clarke, New Hampshire

This is the thinnest position in the system by a considerable margin. Even though he was repeating AA, Clarke does not get enough credit for his handling of a pitching staff. His numbers (.260/.384/.385) certainly were pedestrian at best, but his is a steadying presence behind the plate, and he’s one of those types whose work often doesn’t show up in boxscores.

1st Base

Spencer Horwitz, Buffalo

Horwitz’ hit-over-power profile has been well established, but something seemed to happen with his swing after a brief June audition in the big leagues. Horwitz posted a 1.154 OPS in July, and followed that up with a 1.130 in August. 25 of his hits this summer were for extra bases, and he mashed right-handed pitching.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Horwitz projects as a big power guy as a big leaguer, but his ability to drive the ball and get on base, coupled with Brandon Belt seeming to wear down as the season progressed means that the Blue Jays have a fairly large offseason decision to make.

2nd Base

Davis Schneider, Buffalo

It’s been a long time since there’s been as big of a feel-good story as that of the 2017 28th round draft pick. Schneider hadn’t played a game above High A in his first four season in the system; less than two years later, he’s hitting cleanup for a team hunting for a postseason berth. Schneider truly is the patron saint of Organizational Players.

Fans may have forgotten that in 2019, the Blue Jays took the bold step of paying their minor league players better. After the 2021 season, MLB agreed to provide housing for their prospects; the Blue Jays jumped aboard, taking over part of a hotel residence at UBC for their players in Vancouver. Toronto had earlier led the way in providing a nutritionist at each level.

It’s hard to put into word how much these developments improved the lives of MiLB players. The raise in pay meant that most players didn’t need to get an offseason job, and could devote themselves more to training. Having standard accommodations meant that players weren’t trying to find a landlord who was willing to rent a place for six (or less) months, didn’t have to share a two-bedroom apartment with six guys, or weren’t stuck with a teammates’ portion of the rent when said player was promoted or released.

The new and vastly improved minor league complex at Dunedin, coupled with the improvements in pay and food mean that more and more minor leaguers can come to Florida in the offseason for training and instruction. Players can now eat, sleep, train, and just generally live better, and Schneider - who wouldn’t even have been drafted in today’s 20 round draft - is one of the first products of that much improved system.

 Short Stop

Ernie Clement, Buffalo/Toronto

I’d rather have a prospect in this position, but you just can’t ignore how well Clement played on both sides of the ball in Buffalo.

Honourable Mention:

One day we may mark 2023 as the season Leo Jimenez finally arrived. Finally healthy for a full season, Jimenez has posted a career-high .776 OPS, and earned an August promotion to AAA.

Jimenez is not a flashy, highlight-reel defender, but he has the quick-twitch athleticism the Blue Jays covet. Look, I don’t want to say he’s going to nudge Bo Bichette over, but this is a future big league short stop.

3rd Base

Damiano Palmegiani, New Hampshire/Buffalo

Finally, some CanCon.

Surrey, BC product Palemgiani had a breakout 2022 season, and while there are certainly some areas of his game on which to improve, it’s perhaps time to think of him as a potential role-playing big leaguer one day.

Palmegiani slashed .249/.351/.463 at AA, earning a promotion to Buffalo several weeks ago. In a small sample, he’s raked (1.278 OPS) at AAA, although he’s yet to play at 3rd, where he received most of his reps at New Hampshire. He was adequate at that position, maybe showing a bit less range than you’d like to see, while demonstrating the kind of inconsistent D typical of someone still learning the position - an error on a fairly routing groundball one inning, then a near highlight-reel one a few innings later. He’s made progress, but he certainly still is a bat-first player at this point.

Palmegiani tends to be pull-happy, and will have to start to use more of the field. He’s limited defensively, but this bat-first future 1B/DH guy is ahead of schedule. He doesn’t need to be protected from the Rule 5 until next offseason, so there’s still a developmental window for him.

OF

Alan Roden, Vancouver/New Hampshire

The Blue Jays did not have a player who rocketed through the system this year, but perhaps no position player made as much progress as last year’s 3rd round pick. Roden’s .896 OPS earned him a summer promotion to AA, where he’s continued to hit and get on base (.926 OPS).

Roden made some offseason adjustments at the plate, and while he has one of the more unique stances in the system, he’s consistently on time. His profile is more hit over power at the moment, but given that he has even more developmental time than does Palmegiani means that the power tool still can be worked on.

Roden is a good defender who gets good reads on flyballs, and has the arm strength to play RF.

Cameron Eden, Buffalo

Next to catching, the outfield is perhaps the thinnest group in terms of prospects, but let’s give some props to Eden, who became the first Buffalo Bison to hit the 50 stolen base mark in almost 40 years.

Eden is a fringe MLBer at best, but he’s a premium defender. He strikes out too much for a guy with his profile, but let’s give props to a guy who was thrown out only 4 times this season.

His work on the basepaths gives Eden a slight edge over Nathan Lukes.

Enmanuel Bonilla, DSL Blue Jays

Bonilla didn’t disappoint in his first pro season, slashing .307/.407/.429 in the DSL Complex League. One evaluator put a Manny Ramirez comp on his swing, and while that seems a bit of a reach, Bonilla easily will play stateside next year - maybe even at fullseason level at some point - and it’s easy to dream on this 17 year old, who showed an ability to draw walks this season. He’s a corner outfielder in the making, but it’s looking like the bat will play.

Designated Hitter

Will Robertson, New Hampshire

Robertson’s numbers over the first three months of the season did nothing to dispel the Org Guy label that has developed around the 2019 4th rounder, but he’s finished the season on a tear, slashing .306/.370/.622 over the season’s final three months, putting together 14-game on base streak, and 17 multi-hit games over that span.

Does that mean that a guy repeating AA is maybe starting to put things together (similar to his teammate, 2B Miguel Hiraldo)? Maybe not, but it’s an impressive run just the same. With 13 of his 19 HRs coming on the road, his totals were not necessarily influenced by New Hampshire’s short RF porch. At 25, though, Robertson’s days as a prospect are dwindling.

Utility

Rafael Lantigua, Buffalo

If Davis Schneider didn’t get the call to Toronto in August, it’s not far-fetched to say Lantigua might have.

With a similar build to Schneider, Lantigua has followed a similar path (he’s been in the org two seasons longer) from Org Guy to fringe MLBer. Lantigua may have a little less pop, but he’s better and more versatile defensively. He slashed (as of this writing) .295/417/.465, and has drawn 90 walks.

Lantigua was R5 eligible last fall, and the Jays very much risk losing him if he’s exposed again. But with a bit of a logjam of players with his profile in the system, the team may have to consider dealing him.

Starting Pitcher

Devereaux Harrison, Vancouver

It may not speak well of the organization’s pitchers this year that a reliever who was given what was supposed to be a one-off start in late May due to a shortage of starters in Vancouver’s rotation, but here we are.

Harrison was put on a 50-pitch limit, and the C’s hoped he’d get to the 3rd inning and have the bullpen take it from there. But Harrison went five strong frames, allowing but one hit and striking out six over five innings. Given another start, he came back to earth a bit, but then surrendered a total of only two earned run over his next four turns of the rotation. Along the way, he was named Northwest League Pitcher of the Week twice.

Harrison, a 9th round pick in 2022, throws a mid-90s fastball that he mixes with a plus slider and a changeup. He commands all of his pitches, and does an excellent job of sequencing. It will be interesting to see if he stays in the rotation next year - I’ll be asking.

Honourable mentions go to:

-Michael Dominguez, who busted out in a big way this season, reaching AA and fanning 117 hitters in 97 IP (with one start to go);

-Harrison’s rotation mate Adam Macko, who was easily the best pitching prospect in the system over the final two months of the season. Macko gets the start in the first game of the NWL championship series tonight.

-Fernando Perez, a rail-thin RHP who fanned better than a batter per inning in 10 FCL starts. He’s a name to watch next season.

Relief Pitcher

 Connor Cooke, Vancouver/New Hampshire/Buffalo

Cooke (whose middle name is Stutzman, in case you’re interested), pairs a mid to 90s high spin-rate fastball that gets in on hitters in a hurry with a very sweepy slider. He fanned an incredible 80 hitters in 43 IP. He creates uncomfortable ABs for hitters.