To say the Jays have had a bad year is an understatement. Okay, to some finishing .500 (if they do) isn’t bad, and the 11 game winning streak was good, but when you spend the GDP of a small country to put the team together who achieved the feat, it’s worse than bad – it’s terrible.
But not is all doom and gloom perhaps, because there are always young players chomping at the bit to get a chance to play in the big leagues. For my own interest I decided to check in with some prospects to see how they are progressing. By no means is this intended to be a comprehensive scouting report, just a quick “check-in”. So, here are a few players the team still have after the trades, and may look to in the future to fill holes:
Sean Nolin, who had one game he wished went a different way in Toronto, has been fantastic in double A New Hampshire. He has a 7-3 record this year pitching 14 games with a 2.77 ERA, 74.2 innings pitched, 21 walks, 78 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP. Don’t be surprised if the Jays give Nolin a game or two to pitch this September, but I’m one person who has no problem with them taking their time with this pitching prospect.
Catching prospect AJ Jimenez who had to go through Tommy John surgery last season has had a great recovery and had some decent numbers in New Hampshire. In just 36 games he has 22 runs, 44 hits, 1 homerun, 17 RBIs and a .308 batting average. Of course he still has work to do, but don’t be surprised if we see the Jays prospect put on a Jays uniform in 2014-15 even if its just for a few games.
Pitching prospect Marcus Stroman has been criticized before about being undersized at 5’9, but he has a mid-90s fastball and a good breaking ball that stumps batters. Pitching in New Hampshire like Nolin, Stroman has a 5-2 record with a 2.99 ERA in 13 games with 69.1 innings pitched, 19 batters walked, 79 strikeouts with a 1.08 WHIP.
Sometimes people focus on top pitching prospects so much that they forget about the rest of the prospects. This season outfielder Kevin Pillar has been playing some impressive baseball splitting time in double A and triple A Buffalo in the Jays farm system. In New Hampshire, Pillar went 71 games with 44 runs, 95 hits, 5 homeruns, 30 RBI’s, 15 stolen bases and a .313 average. While in Buffalo in 35 games he has scored 22 runs, 47 hits, 4 homers, 18 RBI’s, 3 stolen bases with a .331 average. A player who used to be under the radar for a while now is grabbing the attention of the organization and with his consistent contact the Jays could have him also up this season, or next season for a few games.
There you have it, some of the Jays top prospects playing really well and hopefully will stay consistent enough to get a shot with the big club and stay in the Majors for years to come. As for the big club now they are far from taking the division, but if they can have a winning road trip they may still have a shot at a wildcard birth.
Feel Free to leave comments below. You can follow me on twitter @NVincelli, and follow the site @lastwordonsport.
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? Find more info at our “Join Our Team” page.
Main Photo Credit: Jaysprospects.com, CC
