(Aug 6/2017)
Toronto Blue Jays Prospect Pulse
- Bo Bichette (SS/2B) began the season with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts, where he proceeded to light up the Midwest League to the tune of a .384/.448/.623 slash line, to go with 32 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 51 RBI's and 12 stolen bases. Since being promoted to the Class-A+ Dunedin Blue Jays on July 10th, all Bichette has done is keep hitting. In 23 games in the Florida State League, Bichette has posted a .371/.421/.474 slash line, to go with seven doubles, a home run, 12 RBI's and six stolen bases. On the season as a whole, Bichette has posted a 1.026 OPS in 381 AB's split across the two Class-A levels of the minor leagues. He may not be far off from a promotion to Double-A, which is really impressive considering he won't turn 20 until spring training 2018.
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3B) has had almost as an impressive season as Bichette, as the two have been nearly inseperable, starting out together in Lansing, being named to the 2017 All-Star Futures Game together, and receiving promotions to Dunedin at the same time. Guerrero Jr. hit .316/.409/.480 with 21 doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 45 RBI's, 6 stolen bases and a 40:34 BB:K ratio in 269 AB's for Lansing. Since being promoted to Dunedin, Vlad Jr. has hit .295/.423/.385 with four doubles, a home run, 10 RBI's, two stolen bases, and a 17:14 BB:K ratio in just 78 AB's. Those are impressive numbers for any player, let alone an 18-year-old, like Vladdy. For the season as a whole, he has walked 57 times compared to just 48 strikeouts through 347 AB's. Considering that Guerrero Jr. will play all of next season at just 19, there's an increasing chance that he makes his MLB debut before his 20th birthday.
- Ryan Borucki (LHP) has had a breakout season of his own. He began the season with Class-A+ Dunedin, for a second go around, after a tough 6 start stint there to begin the 2016 season. 2017 has been much different for Borucki. He posted a 3.58 ERA in 98 innings (18 starts) for Dunedin, striking out 109 batters while allowing just 95 hits and 27 walks, good for a 1.24 WHIP. The Blue Jays front office clearly liked what they saw, as they promoted the 23-year-old Borucki to Double-A New Hampshire on July 20th. Since then, he's made three impressive starts, logging seven innings in each, and posting a cumulative 0.43 ERA. He's allowed just 11 hits and three walks, while striking out 18 batters across the 21 IP. On the season as a whole, Borucki has posted a cumulative 3.03 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and .239 OPP AVG across 119 IP.
- Logan Warmoth (SS) was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round of the 2017 MLB Draft, 22nd overall. He signed with the team on June 29th for a reported $2,820,200. Warmoth made a quick six game cameo in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League, where he went 6-for-22 with a home run and a stolen base, before being promoted to the Class-A short season Vancouver Canadians. In 14 games since his arrival, Warmoth has posted a .345/.381/.552 slash line, with five doubles, two triples, a home run, seven RBI's and a stolen base. Warmoth had a 4 hit game in just his second game for Vancouver, and he reeled of a 12 game hit streak from July 13th-July 29th.
- Danny Jansen (C) has had a breakout season of his own. After hitting just .218/.313/.271 with Class-A+ Dunedin in 2016, Jansen returned there to start the 2017 season and tore the cover off the ball hitting .369/.422/.541 with six doubles, five home runs and 18 RBI's, racking up 45 hits in just 31 games. Promoted to Double-A New Hampshire on May 15th, Jansen continued to put up good numbers at the dish, by hitting .291/.378/.419 with 15 doubles, a triple, two home runs, 20 RBI's and a stolen base. The Blue Jays bumped the 2013 16th round pick up to Triple-A Buffalo on August 4th, and he's gone 2-for-5, with a double, a walk and two RBI's in his first two games at the highest minor league level. Safe to say Jansen has played his way into getting a long look in spring training 2018. He might even get a cup of coffee with the big league club in September.
