MudSnakes
10-10-2004, 03:12 PM
The Arizona Fall League has started and the Jays have several prospects playing for the Peoria Saguaros under Syracuse manager Marty Pevey's watchful eye. Hopefully the Jays minor league system will be able to supply a steady stream of homegrown talent to the big team over the next couple of years. With no budget for big free-agent signings and extensions for its own players, this seems the most likely route for the team to regain its winning ways.
Here's the article about the Jays in the AFL:
Hill headlines Jays' Fall Leaguers
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com (10/07/2004 7:00 PM ET)
TORONTO -- The baseball season is irretrievably over in Toronto, pushed out by plunging temperatures and the close of the regular season. The offseason soldiers on, though, starting with fall ball on the other side of the continent.
The Arizona Fall League has already started its session, opening its doors to some of the most intriguing young players in the game. The Blue Jays sent a talent-rich class headed by Aaron Hill, perhaps the top offensive prospect in the organization. Add a couple high-profile arms and the Jays have plenty of reason to watch the Arizona box scores.
That part won't be hard. The baby Blue Jays are all on the same team -- the Peoria Saguaros, helmed by Marty Pevey. That's a reassuring piece of info for Toronto's brain-trust as Pevey, the manager at Triple-A Syracuse, will make sure he puts the young Jays in the best position to succeed. He's already coached two of the players, and he'll see the rest next season.
Hill definitely leads this group, both in terms of name recognition and future potential. The shortstop was Toronto's first-round pick in 2003, and he's done nothing to diminish his status ever since. Hill batted .280 with 11 homers and 26 doubles at Double-A New Hampshire this season, helping lead the way to the Eastern League championship. He was also named an All-Star and the MVP of the 2004 Futures Game.
If everything works out according to plan, the Jays think the 22-year-old could join the Major League club by next August. Plate discipline is among Hill's noted skills -- he walked 63 times, contrasted by just 61 strikeouts.
John Hattig has the same strengths, but he's also two years older. The third baseman came from Boston in exchange for Terry Adams at the end of July, resulting in a season that was split into two stops at Double-A. Combined, the 24-year-old batted .298 with 22 homers and 28 doubles in 400 at-bats. Hattig fits the mold of a promising player, but the Jays want to see him perform in Triple-A before they make any pronouncements on his future.
The final big bat is the biggest of all -- 6-foot-3, 225-pound Vito Chiaravalloti, who won the New York-Penn League's Triple Crown in his first pro season. Though some of his offense subsided when he moved up to the Florida State League, he still had a successful 2004 campaign: Chiaravalloti batted .267 with 37 extra-base hits, driving in 63 runs for Dunedin.
Any way you look at it, the pitchers are a lot more raw than the hitters. Jason Arnold has the most experience of the bunch, but he needs a big fall season to work back into the team's plans. The right-hander was limited by a shoulder injury for most of the year, putting up a 1-3 record with a 3.65 ERA at Syracuse. He also had brief rehab stints at both New Hampshire and Dunedin, but Toronto wants to test him against top-shelf competition.
Adam Peterson pumps in fastballs at 98 mph, but they often go out just as fast. The right-hander has made rapid progress since being selected in the fourth round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, but he has stalled in a big way at the upper levels. After Peterson went 2-2 with 15 saves and a 2.54 ERA at Double-A, the Jays tried to slot him into the big league bullpen.
The results were disastrous, and Peterson wasn't much better at Syracuse. Toronto is hoping it was just too much, too fast. With an AFL season and more Triple-A seasoning under his belt, Peterson should challenge for a relief role sometime in 2005.
Francisco Rosario is the final prospect, and he's also the hardest to read. The right-hander throws just as hard as Peterson, and the Jays think he may eventually be good enough to start in the big leagues. The Jays are still monitoring him carefully, however, as 2004 was his first season back from Tommy John surgery.
Rosario represents a conundrum, much like current Blue Jay Brandon League. Both have arms that are good enough to help the big club in 2005. However, with some more time, they could develop into front-line starters. Which leaves two questions: How long will that development take and can the Jays afford to wait?
Some of those answers will come out of the Arizona Fall League, and some new questions will undoubtedly be raised there as well. It should be an interesting season -- and not a moment too soon. With hockey on the fritz, the local sports scene in Toronto needs as much action as it can get.
Source: toronto.bluejays.mlb.com (http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/tor/news/tor_news.jsp?ymd=20041007&content_id=886750&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp)
Here's the article about the Jays in the AFL:
Hill headlines Jays' Fall Leaguers
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com (10/07/2004 7:00 PM ET)
TORONTO -- The baseball season is irretrievably over in Toronto, pushed out by plunging temperatures and the close of the regular season. The offseason soldiers on, though, starting with fall ball on the other side of the continent.
The Arizona Fall League has already started its session, opening its doors to some of the most intriguing young players in the game. The Blue Jays sent a talent-rich class headed by Aaron Hill, perhaps the top offensive prospect in the organization. Add a couple high-profile arms and the Jays have plenty of reason to watch the Arizona box scores.
That part won't be hard. The baby Blue Jays are all on the same team -- the Peoria Saguaros, helmed by Marty Pevey. That's a reassuring piece of info for Toronto's brain-trust as Pevey, the manager at Triple-A Syracuse, will make sure he puts the young Jays in the best position to succeed. He's already coached two of the players, and he'll see the rest next season.
Hill definitely leads this group, both in terms of name recognition and future potential. The shortstop was Toronto's first-round pick in 2003, and he's done nothing to diminish his status ever since. Hill batted .280 with 11 homers and 26 doubles at Double-A New Hampshire this season, helping lead the way to the Eastern League championship. He was also named an All-Star and the MVP of the 2004 Futures Game.
If everything works out according to plan, the Jays think the 22-year-old could join the Major League club by next August. Plate discipline is among Hill's noted skills -- he walked 63 times, contrasted by just 61 strikeouts.
John Hattig has the same strengths, but he's also two years older. The third baseman came from Boston in exchange for Terry Adams at the end of July, resulting in a season that was split into two stops at Double-A. Combined, the 24-year-old batted .298 with 22 homers and 28 doubles in 400 at-bats. Hattig fits the mold of a promising player, but the Jays want to see him perform in Triple-A before they make any pronouncements on his future.
The final big bat is the biggest of all -- 6-foot-3, 225-pound Vito Chiaravalloti, who won the New York-Penn League's Triple Crown in his first pro season. Though some of his offense subsided when he moved up to the Florida State League, he still had a successful 2004 campaign: Chiaravalloti batted .267 with 37 extra-base hits, driving in 63 runs for Dunedin.
Any way you look at it, the pitchers are a lot more raw than the hitters. Jason Arnold has the most experience of the bunch, but he needs a big fall season to work back into the team's plans. The right-hander was limited by a shoulder injury for most of the year, putting up a 1-3 record with a 3.65 ERA at Syracuse. He also had brief rehab stints at both New Hampshire and Dunedin, but Toronto wants to test him against top-shelf competition.
Adam Peterson pumps in fastballs at 98 mph, but they often go out just as fast. The right-hander has made rapid progress since being selected in the fourth round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, but he has stalled in a big way at the upper levels. After Peterson went 2-2 with 15 saves and a 2.54 ERA at Double-A, the Jays tried to slot him into the big league bullpen.
The results were disastrous, and Peterson wasn't much better at Syracuse. Toronto is hoping it was just too much, too fast. With an AFL season and more Triple-A seasoning under his belt, Peterson should challenge for a relief role sometime in 2005.
Francisco Rosario is the final prospect, and he's also the hardest to read. The right-hander throws just as hard as Peterson, and the Jays think he may eventually be good enough to start in the big leagues. The Jays are still monitoring him carefully, however, as 2004 was his first season back from Tommy John surgery.
Rosario represents a conundrum, much like current Blue Jay Brandon League. Both have arms that are good enough to help the big club in 2005. However, with some more time, they could develop into front-line starters. Which leaves two questions: How long will that development take and can the Jays afford to wait?
Some of those answers will come out of the Arizona Fall League, and some new questions will undoubtedly be raised there as well. It should be an interesting season -- and not a moment too soon. With hockey on the fritz, the local sports scene in Toronto needs as much action as it can get.
Source: toronto.bluejays.mlb.com (http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/tor/news/tor_news.jsp?ymd=20041007&content_id=886750&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp)