Even after trading a considerable portion of their young talent away last off-season, the Toronto Blue Jays have impact players in the pipeline. Three of the Blue Jays’ right-handed pitching prospects made Baseball Prospectus’ annual list of the top 101 prospects in baseball.
Marcus Stroman ranked 27th, Aaron Sanchez ranked 31st and Alberto Tirado ranked 76th on a list led by Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox and Oscar Taveras of the St. Louis Cardinals
Sanchez, the 34th overall selection in the 2010 draft, spent the 2013 season with the class A Dunedin Blue Jays, posting a 3.34 ERA with 75 strikeouts and 40 walks in 20 starts. He hopes to advance to the upper minors in 2013, but understands that the Blue Jays don’t want to rush him.
“You’ve seen the talent that we have in this organization,” Sanchez said at the organization’s rookie camp. “With the young guys that we have and all of the arms who’ve gotten hurt in the past, they take a little more precautions with us young guys.”
Stroman has a chance to make an impact on the Blue Jays in 2013 after impressing in his first full season as a professional — and convincing doubters that he can indeed start against experienced hitters. The 22-year-old posted a 3.30 ERA with 129 strikeouts and just 27 walks at double-A New Hampshire, then pitched alongside Sanchez in the Arizona Fall League.
Manager John Gibbons says he’ll consider Stroman for the opening day roster, but it appears more likely that the 2012 first round pick will open the season in the minor leagues and try to work his way up.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to force that move, but I’m not going to be discouraged,” Stroman said earlier this month.
Tirado is a 6’1″ right-hander who turned 19 in December. The Dominican Republic native spent the 2013 season playing Rookie Ball, where he posted a 1.68 ERA with 44 strikeouts and 20 walks in 48.1 innings.
Two of the players Toronto traded to the New York Mets for R.A. Dickey also appear on the list, which was compiled by BP writer Jason Parks. Right-handed pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard ranks 11th overall, while catcher Travis d’Arnaud ranks 48th. Taijuan Walker of the Seattle Mariners, Archie Bradley of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kevin Gausman of the Baltimore Orioles are the only pitchers ranked higher than Syndergaard, who posted a 3.06 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 23 starts for New York’s minor league affiliates in 2013.
Earlier this off-season, Baseball America ranked Sanchez and Stroman first and second, respectively, among Blue Jays prospects. However, BA placed Tirado eighth in the organization behind outfielder D.J. Davis, third baseman Mitch Nay and others.
Sanchez ranked 31st on the Baseball Prospectus list in 2013, when Stroman and Tirado were not ranked.
