Future Blue Jays Newsletter

Some thoughts on the Blue Jays player accommodations in Vancouver and more, some sleeper prospects, and early thoughts on players facing Rule 5 eligibility in this edition.

Jays Doing it Right in the Lower Mainland

If there’s one thing the Blue Jays have led the way in over the past few years, it’s how their minor league players are treated. The Jays were among the first organizations to pay their prospects a living wage, hired nutritionists and other sport science experts to show players how to train, recover, and eat properly, and built a state-of-the-art minor league complex. They also moved away from the host family concept, and housed their Vancouver players in a guest residence at the University of British Columbia campus, providing a bus shuttle service to get the players to Nat Bailey.

Vancouver was mentioned specifically in an excellent article Jen Ramos Eisen wrote about the challenges international players face in their first few years of stateside play as they get accustomed to a new language and culture.

No, the Jays are not a top-ranked farm system, according to most industry experts. But it bears repeating that a player like Davis Schneider, a low-bonus 28th round pick who likely had to find an off season job to supplement his income prior to the changes the organization made, might have never reached the majors. You could probably say the same for a guy like Spencer Horwitz. Being paid a decent salary allowed them to focus on their training in the off season, and look where they are now. With covered workout fields that let players get their reps in during inclement weather, the minor league complex is attracting more and more Blue Jays prospects to spend their winters in Dunedin.

C‘s President Dunn in Vancouver

Ok, I’ll show myself out after that one.

But it’s not exaggerating that there likely would be no minor league baseball in Vancouver today without the Herculean efforts of Vancouver President Andy Dunn, who announced he is stepping down from the team.

Vancouver had been without a minor league team since 1999 - even with a division-winning club, that incarnation of the C’s finished dead last in all of AAA in attendance. When Vancouver businessmen Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney brought baseball back to the city in 2006, they hired Dunn (a former minor league player who had worked his way through the executive ranks up to MLB) the following year. The challenges Dunn faced were huge - he had an aging stadium, a disinterested fanbase, and an affiliation with Oakland. Under Dunn’s watch, stadium, washroom, concession, and marketing upgrades were made. He lobbied the Blue Jays when their Player Development Contract with Auburn of the former New York-Penn league ended in 2010 to make the Canadians the Blue Jays their short-season affiliate, and the rest was history. Nat Bailey became the place to be, and the C’s were wildly successful on the field and at the gate. Even with uncooperative weather last season, an average of just under 5000 fans per game watched the club, who led the Northwest League in attendance.

Mooney and Kerr admitted that they knew nothing about running a baseball franchise, which is why they brought in Dunn. His stay originally was going to be short-term, but it extended to over a decade and a half. Perhaps when the C’s were sold to minor league conglomerate Diamond Holdings last season, the writing was on the wall for Dunn. Perhaps he agreed to stay on for a year to help with the transition, or maybe he was ready for a new challenge. People I’ve spoken to in the C’s front office can not say enough good things about him, and no doubt he’ll surface somewhere soon.

I have a lot of “baseball friends” around the Blue Jays system. Some are of the virtual kind, while others I get to meet in person. Luckily, I have several of them in Vancouver, and I always enjoy reuniting with them when I visit. Unfortunately, I never did get to cross paths with Andy, but I have reached out to him. Hopefully, I’ll have something for you all in a subsequent newsletter.

One Last Thing About the C’s……

I didn’t mean for this edition to be so Canadians-centric, but I know you all count on me to stay on top of these things. Plus, it gives me a chance to share a tale….

Part of the C’s entry into this brave new MiLB world was an agreement to upgrade the facilities at Nat Bailey, which is not an easy task. New weight and fitness training rooms were added under the stands last year, as was an indoor batting cage to start to bring the venerable old stadium up to standards. Now news of $20 million more in improvements are to be made, including upgrading the clubhouses, which could be best described as……well, crowded.

I do have to share a story to demonstrate just how small the C’s clubhouse is (names and dates won’t be included) from my visit there several years ago. There is a bathroom just beside the manager’s office, which is adjacent to the aged locker room. The ventilation in the whole place was…..what you’d expect from a facility built in 1951. Over the toilet was a warning to a certain minor league roving instructor whose diet must have contained both bulk and, well…..spicy content. The sign read “(NAME WITHHELD) DO NOT TAKE A SHIT IN HERE!!!!”

The only question is who will be paying for the renovations - Diamond Holdings, the C’s new owners, have not responded, nor has the City, apparently. Diamond certainly has the means to fund them.

Sleeper Prospects

Here are a couple of names to keep in mind…..a guy I like is Michael Turconi. Perhaps he profiles as more of a utility guy, but if you’re looking for a Davis Schneider-type of player who seemingly comes out of nowhere this year, the 15th round pick in 2022 could be your man. He struggled after a promotion to AA, but when I saw him in April, he was Vancouver’s best bat. Turconi gets on base, has a bit of pop, and can play all four infield positions.

You could make an argument that UT player Rafael Lantigua was Buffalo’s MVP last season. Certainly, Ernie Clement had more of an impact when he wasn’t in the majors, and Davis Schneider showed a ton of power, but from both an offensive and defensive standpoint, Lantigua was arguably better. He walked 98 times (2nd in the league), had 52 extra-base hits, stole 28 bases, and split his time between six positions (in order: LF, 3B, SS, RF, 2B, CF). His 12 HRs were not a lot compared to Schneider’s, and there was a thought when he declared free agency as a six-year minor league vet in November that he might seek an opportunity elsewhere, but he did re-sign a few weeks later. Yes, the Jays have a motherlode of up-the-middle guys, but Lanti has embraced the versatility the organization is trying to create with these players.

RHP Ryan Jennings, a 2022 4th rounder, missed much of the past two seasons with a shoulder issue, but when he was activated in September, he was one of Vancouver’s most effective pitchers down the stretch and into the playoffs. That performance was enough for the organization to invite him to spring training as a non-roster invitee.

LHP Adam Macko perhaps isn’t a sleeper, but it still seems like he’s due for a breakout. His innings were carefully managed at Vancouver (his 86 IP was more than double his career best), but he was added to the 40-man, and this should be the season the wraps are taken off a bit. Macko has the mix of pitches to be a Top 100 prospects player. This could be a huge season for him.

Thinking Ahead of the Rule 5

Yes, it is awfully early to begin thinking about the R5 draft, but believe me, the Player Development department is more than aware of which players are entering their Rule 5 eligibility.

Unlike the past few years, it doesn’t look like there will be a November crunch this time around. Chad Dallas and Damiano Palmegiani could both be eligible, but there is a better than good chance one or both with be added to the 40 by then. Barring a complete collapse this season, the pair should be locks for the 40 by the deadline otherwise. Connor Cooke likewise, faces R5 at the end of the year, but he shouldn’t last that long. Hayden Juenger had an up-and-down season at Buffalo after a breakout 2022, so he might be on the bubble. So might be Trenton Wallace, a lefty with a low-slot delivery who missed a good chunk of 2023.

Finally

Thanks so much to those who bought me a cup of coffee after I put the link up in the last newsletter. It does help to defray the few expenses I do have, but more importantly, the donations remind me just how loyal many of my readers are. I have been doing this for a baker’s dozen years now, and it truly is a labour of love. I’ve always been a grassroots baseball guy. When I was growing up, there were only two televised games per week, so our local men’s team was the closest thing to live, in-person baseball for many of us in the small Ontario town I grew up in (my dream, by the way, was to patrol CF for that team when I graduated from our minor baseball system, but that dream died when our arena, situated beside the ball diamond, was destroyed in a spectacular fire, and the field closed during its subsequent demolition and reconstruction). I love getting to minor league parks early before the gates open to pick up my media pass, talk to some players, coaches, and staff, and then just sit and watch as players go through their pre-game drills and warm ups. There’s no more of a relaxing feeling that I can think of.