Guerrero, Bichette, Pearson top list of Blue Jays' prospects
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) heads the Toronto Blue Jays list of top prospects. Photo Credit: Jay Blue
Courtesy of Toronto Blue Jays
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 3B (signed July, 2015)
- Started the season with Single-A Lansing and slashed .316/.409/.480 over 71 games...His 85 hits in 269 at-bats included 21-2B, 1-3B and 7-HR…Picked up 45 RBI and walked 40 times with just 34 strikeouts.
- Moved to Advanced-A on July 10th…Over 48 games with the Dunedin Blue Jays, improved in virtually all statistical categories compared to his time with the Lugnuts…Hit .333 with a .450 OBP while slugging .494 for a .944 OPS…Drew 36 walks to go against 28 Ks with 7-2B, 1-3B, 6-HR and 31-RBI.
- Hit .385 in August with 12-XBH and a 1.129 OPS, leading to Florida State League Player of the Month honours.
- Put together a .425 OBP over the course of 2017, which was the best among 353 qualified Class-A players…Also ranked T-3rd in OPS (.910) and T-4th in walks (76).
Bo Bichette – SS (2nd round, 2016)
- Began 2017 with Single-A Lansing and hit .371 in April, .388 in May and .421 in June before a promotion on July 10th…In 70 games as a Lugnut, hit .384 with 32-2B, 3-3B, 10-HR and 51-RBI…Even with a little more than half a season there, provided enough offence to be named Midwest League MVP and Prospect of the Year.
- In 40 games with Advanced-A Dunedin, slashed .323/.379/.463 with 9-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR and 23-RBI…Drew 14 walks and stole 10 bases.
- Ranked 1st in all of Class-A in 2017 with an average of .362, a .565 slugging percentage, and an OPS of .988…Also led all hitters with 41 doubles and ranked 2nd in OBP (.423), 3rd in hits (162), T-3rd in XBH (59) and T-10th in runs (88).
Nate Pearson – RHP (Round 1/#28, 2017)
- After his 1st-Round selection in June (28th overall), played one game in the Gulf Coast League for the Bluefield Blue Jays (1.0 IP, 1H, 2K) before being assigned to the Vancouver Canadians (Class-A Short Season).
- Allowed just 2 ER over 7 regular season outings for the C’s (19.0 IP) for a 0.95 ERA…Recorded 24 strikeouts with 5 walks while limiting opponents to a .097 average…Allowed one run on 4 hits over 8.0 innings of playoff action (2 starts) while striking out 14 batters.
Lourdes Gurriel - 2B/SS (signed November, 2016)
- Began the year in Advanced-A Dunedin where he hit only .197 (13-for-66) with just 2-XBH over 18 games…Spent time on the DL from April 6 to 19 and again from April 20 to June 19.
- After his promotion to AA New Hampshire on July 12, batted .241 (41-for-170) with 10-2B, 4-HR and 28-RBI over the course of 46 games.
Max Pentecost - C/1B (Round 1/#11, 2014)
- Batted .276 with 14-2B, 2-3B and 9-HR in 71 games for Advanced-A Dunedin…Drove in 54 runs with 23BB/62K…Slugged .434 with an OBP of .332.
- The often-injured 24-year-old had two DL stints this season…Played 22 games as a first baseman, was slotted in as DH on 30 occasions and made 19 starts as catcher.
- Named to the Florida State League All-Star team as a designated hitter.
Ryan Borucki – LHP (Round 15, 2012)
- Made 18 starts in the Florida State League for Advanced-A Dunedin, posting a 3.58 ERA (39 ER/98.0 IP) with 109 strikeouts (8th most in FSL) and 27 walks…Improved on those numbers after his promotion to AA New Hampshire, striking out 42 batters (8 walks) in 7 starts while putting up an ERA of 1.94 and an opponent’s average of .187.
- His final start of 2017 (26th start) included a Triple-A debut for the Bisons…Scattered 6 hits over 6 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts.
Logan Warmoth – SS (Round 1/#22, 2017)
- Selected in the 1st round in June by the Blue Jays (22nd overall) and hit .273 (6-for-22) in 6 games for Bluefield before a promotion to Vancouver (Class-A Short Season).
- Hit .306 (49-for-160) for the Canadians with 11-2B, 2-3B, 1-HR and 20-RBI in 39 contests…Posted a .775 OPS (3rd on team) while slugging .419 (also 3rd).
Rowdy Tellez - 1B (Round 30, 2013)
- Spent the entire year with Triple-A Buffalo, his first action at the AAA level…Struggled to start the season, batting .194 in April before reaching .228 on May 11th, only to see his average dip to .203 to start July and .199 at the end of the month.
- Spent the first half of the season with the knowledge that his mother was dealing with melanoma…Received word that her cancer was in remission in August, then batted .311 in the month with 8-XBH and 14-RBI while drawing 12 walks (.388 OBP, .776 OPS).
Anthony Alford – OF (Round 3, 2012)
- Hit .310 over 68 games for Double-A New Hampshire with 41 runs, 14-2B, 5-HR and 18 stolen bases…Also drew 35 walks (45 Ks) for a .406 OBP and an OPS of .835…Earned a call up to Toronto on May 19th and made his MLB debut that night at BAL (0-2, K)…Went 1-for-8 over 4 games for the Blue Jays before being placed on the DL with a left hamate fracture.
- Made his AAA debut on September 1 with Buffalo and went 4-for-12 with a double and a walk in 3 games as a Bison.
T.J. Zeuch – RHP (Round 1/#21, 2016)
- Made 11 starts and pitched to a 3.38 ERA (22 ER/58.2 IP) with Advanced-A Dunedin this season…Recorded 46 strikeouts with 17 walks for a 1.36 WHIP.
- Made two separate DL stints in 2017.
- Boasts a 93-97 mph fastball.
- Pitched 4.0 innings in the playoffs for Dunedin and allowed just one hit and one unearned run.