TORONTO – Conner Greene figured he had a pretty good sense of what the Rogers Centre is like from catching games and highlights on TV. Then he made his first visit to the ballpark, took it all in and let his imagination run wild.
"Man, this is incredible," he said leaning back in a leather chair inside the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse. "Stepping out on that field you could almost feel the energy these fans would bring just by seeing the seats. It’s just more motivation, more fuel for the fire to keep to my plan, keep to my process and eventually make it to where I want to go, and excel once I do it."
Creating some familiarity with the dome while dangling a sniff of the big-league life are parts of what the Blue Jays aimed to achieve this week during their Rookie Development Program. Greene, the promising 21-year-old right-hander who finished 2016 at double-A New Hampshire, was one of 11 prospects invited by the club to participate in preparatory sessions with coaches, executives and staffers from across the organization.
"The main objective of the camp is to acclimate the players to what life would be like as a major-league baseball player with the Blue Jays," said player development director Gil Kim. "We acclimate players to the faces they’ll see, the facilities they’ll use, the city of Toronto, the day-to-day schedule. …
"The more comfortable they can feel with everything going on, the higher a likelihood they can enjoy success, and that’s what we’re trying to do here."
Touted youngsters Rowdy Tellez, Anthony Alford, Richard Urena, Sean Reid-Foley and Reese McGuire, Rule 5 pick Glenn Sparkman plus emerging prospects like Wil Browning, Ryan Borucki, Tim Mayza and Jon Berti were the other participants. Each was selected because the Blue Jays feel they have a chance "to help the big-league team relatively soon, not necessarily this year but maybe in the next couple of years," said Kim.
Their week included things like a mock advance meeting conducted by Blue Jays hitting coach Brook Jacoby and bullpen coach Dane Johnson, work with first base coach Tim Leiper, a stay at a team hotel and a chance to talk ball with Pat Hentgen and Paul Quantrill.
"You get to learn from everybody," said Tellez, a hard-hitting first base prospect. "You get to learn what their mindset is, how everything goes, how players prepare. It’s been an awesome experience. I’m really excited for this year coming up."
Tellez is expected to start next season at triple-A Buffalo after a strong year at double-A New Hampshire and a winter ball stint with Estrellas in the Dominican Republic, an important symbol of maturation within the Blue Jays farm system.
While the upper levels aren’t yet as robust as the Blue Jays would like, the talent gap with the lower levels of the system is starting to close. McGuire, a 21-year-old catcher acquired from Pittsburgh in the Francisco Liriano deal this summer, might also start at triple-A with Greene, Alford and Urena pushing toward there as well.
And even though the Blue Jays lean toward caution when promoting prospects, each is now a strong performance and organizational need away from the big-leagues.
"We’re all so close, no matter what level you’re at – there’s always a chance to get called up," said McGuire. "I can’t control where I go but I’m going to be able to control my game, my attitude and my effort, going out there and doing whatever it takes to get the win for the team."
The rapid ascents to the big-leagues made by relievers Danny Barnes and Matt Dermody last year is heartening for Browning, a righty who reached Buffalo last season, Mayza, a lefty who hit New Hampshire, and Borucki, a lefty who finished at advanced-A Dunedin and was added to the 40-man roster. Sparkman, plucked from the Royals system, must make the Blue Jays out of camp or be offered back to Kansas City.
"I was so proud of Danny Barnes and Derm and Chad Girodo, they really put in the hard work and it paid off," said Browning. "It shows that if you keep going at it, you’ll get your opportunity."
The progress of Reid-Foley, who Kim said is fine after missing time at season’s end with a forearm issue, and Greene will be closely monitored as they’re the next wave of starting pitching prospects in the Blue Jays system, an area that lacks upper-level depth.
Reid-Foley pointed to gains made in his focus and routine as the primary progress point for him during a strong season, similar to Greene, who has also packed on 16 pounds of muscle since last spring while following the same program ace righty Aaron Sanchez used last winter.
"It’s been fun because progress is addicting, seeing yourself make gains in areas that have always been difficult for me, because I’ve always been very skinny and lanky and tall," says Greene, who’s up to 204 pounds. "Just working with Aaron, too, the kid is forcing food down my mouth and we’re getting after it together."
Greene’s workouts with Sanchez have been at the club’s facilities in Dunedin, Fla., and underline the importance of interactions between current big-leaguers and minor-leaguers. Urena, a 20-year-old shortstop who finished last year at New Hampshire, points to Troy Tulowitzki as one of the shortstops he most admires, and while they weren’t together this week, the prospect got a good idea of how the superstar prepares himself.
"The interaction with the other players as well as the staff has been very positive," Urena said in comments interpreted by team official Sam Lima. "I’m hoping to take away as much as I can from all the stuff we’re learning from all the staff here. One of the important things is the respect for one another and exactly what the expectations are once players make it up here to the major leagues. That’s been very helpful."
The Blue Jays are hopeful that Urena and the others one day earn a return engagement to apply those lessons.
