- News Home
- Blogs
- Awards
- Minoring in Business
- Players of the Week
- Top 50 Prospects
- Releases
- RSS News Feeds
- Archive
- Events Home
- Winter Meetings
- Playoffs
- Promotional Seminar
- Job Fair
- All-Star Games
- First-Year Player Draft
- Rookie Career Development
Before the 2007 season began, MLB.com took an in-depth look at every big league team's Minor League system. Now, it's time to recap all 30 organizations, from top prospects to the recent draft class.
While it might seem like an uphill struggle being a team not in Boston or New York in the American League East, there are some good things happening north of the border in Toronto. The big-league club may not have competed for the Wild Card, but the Jays did finish over .500 for the second straight year for the first time since the 1999-2000 seasons. They did so with some help from the farm, most notably in the form of young pitchers establishing themselves as legitimate big-league starters. The system as a whole might not be that deep, but there's reason for hope there as well. The entire Jays system, including the Dominican Summer League clubs, finished with a .504 winning percentage. The upper levels didn't fare as well, though Double-A New Hampshire nearly squeaked into the Eastern League postseason despite a losing record, but there's a lot to look forward to lower down. The two short-season clubs finished .600 or better, thanks to an infusion from a draft that gave Toronto seven picks in the first two rounds, with Auburn winning the New York-Penn League title. Class A teams in Lansing and Dunedin also finished above .500, meaning that there could be reinforcements reaching Toronto in the future. Organizational Players of the Year PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Ryan Patterson, OF: The prediction was that he'd start in Double-A, get promoted to Triple-A and even get a September callup. We got the Double-A part right. It wasn't a terrible year as he hit 18 homers and 27 doubles, but his .448 SLG was a far cry from the .520 career mark entering the season. He's slated to play in the Arizona Fall League to see if he can rediscover some of that power stroke.
Ricky Romero, LHP: Injuries once again kept Romero from pitching the way he's capable. In 2006, he rebounded and finished strongly but this season, he pitched just 93 innings and finished with a 4.84 ERA. A shoulder injury forced him to miss nearly two months. As a result, he too will head to the AFL to try and make up for lost innings.
POSTSEASON SELECTIONS
Travis Snider, OF: In the preview, we said Snider would be the easy choice. Hey, can't fault us for taking a shot, but we should've stuck with the favorite. In his first full season, the 2006 first-rounder finished second in the Midwest League batting race (.313) while leading in slugging percentage (.525), OPS (.902), RBIs (93), tying for first in doubles (35) and finishing in the top 10 in homers and OBP.
A.J. Wideman, LHP: It wasn't a great year for Jays pitching prospects, but Wideman did his best to lead the group. His 14 wins led the organization and his 3.63 ERA was second for those who pitched full-season ball. He began the year in the Midwest League, but spent most of the 2007 season with Dunedin in the Florida State League, where his 11 victories tied for third and his 3.61 ERA was 11th. Climbed the Ladder
Jesse Litsch, RHP: The 2004 draft-and-follow began the year in New Hampshire and ended spending a majority of it in the big leagues. After going 8-2 with a 2.24 ERA in the Minors -- including two stellar starts in Triple-A -- Litsch became one of Blue Jays' most dependable starters in Toronto with a 3.81 ERA over 20 starts.
Curtis Thigpen, C: The Jays' catcher of the future became the catcher of now this summer. He didn't play regularly, though he did see 22 games of action behind the plate, as well as 14 games at first base. After hitting .285 in Triple-A, he hit .238 in 101 at-bats with Toronto. More importantly, he threw out four of 11 base stealers, nice improvement over what starter Gregg Zaun was able to do in 2007.
Travis Snider, OF: It's hard to say a first-round pick can exceed expectations, especially one who won his league's MVP in his first summer. But there's always the chance a young player can struggle with the transition to full-season ball or tire over the course of his first stab at a 140-game season. He hit the ground running by hitting .405 in April, hit a little lull in the middle of the season, but hit .342 in August to show he could handle the workload just fine. He's going to the AFL at the ripe old age of 19 and could start climbing the ladder in a real hurry in 2008. Kept Their Footing Josh Banks, RHP: It's hard to really gauge just how good the right-hander is. A huge 2005 led to a bad 2006 which led to a so-so 2007. In Syracuse for his second straight year, Banks did win 12 games and got a September callup, making his first big-league start. But he also had a pedestrian 4.63 ERA and a .284 batting average against. He did finish the season off on a good note, allowing just five earned runs in his last three starts spanning 20 2/3 IP.
Brandon Magee, RHP: Magee made a good impression last summer as a senior sign pitching in the New York-Penn League, and this year was to be a good test as the Blue Jays pushed the right-hander up to the Florida State League. The Bradley product responded with a 3.91 ERA over 156 2/3 IP for Dunedin. He was more effective in the second half with a 3.47 ERA in 15 post-break starts. Now 24, he'll have to show he's up to the challenge of Double-A quickly in 2008.
Ryan Patterson, OF: Like Magee, Patterson was a senior sign (out of LSU) who hit 25 homers in his first full season of 2006. He played most of the 2007 season at 24, hitting .267 in 111 games for New Hampshire. Some might consider that a slip, but Patterson did hit .290 in the second half of the season and saw most of his numbers -- OBP and SLG to name two -- improve after the All-Star break. Slipped a Rung Chip Cannon, 1B: Cannon has always shown tremendous power, with 27 in 2006 and 32 the year before that. But he had also struck out a tremendous amount while carrying a batting average that hovered around .260. Then he went to the AFL and things seemed to click against some pretty good competition. The first baseman won the league's MVP award by hitting .352 and leading the circuit in homers, RBIs, SLG and OPS. Ricky Romero, LHP: It's unfair to knock a guy when he's been hurt, but the truth of the matter is that Romero has been seriously slowed by injuries in his first two full seasons of pro ball. He missed a month in 2006 with a minor elbow issue, then missed twice that with shoulder trouble this past season. He'll play next season at 23, so there's plenty of time for him to climb back up the ladder in the way most thought he would when he was the first pitcher taken in the 2005 draft. On the Radar
Robinzon Diaz, C: It's not that Diaz hasn't had success since signing back in 2000. He's made league All-Star teams, both mid- and postseason, every year from 2004 until this past season. He was even a Futures Game participant back in 2004. But then he kind of stalled, spending the next two seasons with Dunedin. Things defenitely took off in 2007 for Diaz, who played all year at age 23. Between Double-A and a late callup to Triple-A, he hit .320. He went to the Futures Game for a second time and was also named an Eastern League All-Star. With Curtis Thigpen hitting the bigs and Diaz now not far behind, the Jays seem to have some catching depth, especially when you consider the next guy on the list.
Brian Jeroloman, C: He's never going to hit a ton, but that's not why the Jays drafted him in the sixth round of the 2006 draft. He is a gifted receiver who does a lot of things well behind the plate. He also, somewhat surprisingly, didn't handle the bat all that badly in the pitching-friendly Florida State League. After a very slow start (.220 in April), Jeroloman ended the season with a .259 average and .421 OBP in 290 at-bats. He led the league with 85 walks and was second in on-base percentage. Those might not seem like impressive numbers, but if he can contribute at that level along with his defensive presence, he's going to be a big leaguer for a long time. 2007 Draft Recap 1. Kevin Ahrens, 3B: The No. 16 overall pick was a shortstop in high school, but most see his future as a third baseman in the Chipper Jones mold. While he played a little short during his debut in the Gulf Coast League, Ahrens saw more time at the hot corner. He also was able to make some adjustments after a 5-for-31 (.161) start to his pro career at the plate. He hit .232 in July and .262 in August as he got more acclimated. In that final month, he also homered twice, drove in 12 runs and drew 11 walks in 19 games. The switch-hitter was much better from the right side (.302) vs. the left (.205).
2. J.P. Arencibia, C: A pulled muscle in his back hurt his stock in his junior season at Tennessee, otherwise he may not have been around at pick No. 21 in the first round for the Jays to take. He hit .254 with three homers and 25 RBIs in 63 games for Auburn in the New York-Penn League, helping the Doubledays win that league's title. He's known more for his bat -- a banged-up wrist from a hit by pitch hurt his power output -- than his glove, but he did throw out nearly 34 percent of attempted base stealers in his debut.
3. Brett Cecil, LHP: Taken No. 38 overall in the supplemental first round, Cecil could prove to be one of the steals of the draft if his pro debut was any indication. A reliever for most of his college career at Maryland, the Blue Jays stretched him out as a starter with fantastic results. Had he pitched enough innings, his 1.27 ERA would have led the New York-Penn League. He held hitters to a .197 batting average, striking out 56 while walking only 11 in 49 2/3 IP. And that was only during the regular season. His last start gave Auburn the New York-Penn title, and he went seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out eight.
Jonathan Mayo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs. |
