The Toronto Blue Jays’ triple-A affiliate is about to get a little more interesting. Dalton Pompey, the Blue Jays’ top minor league position player, says he’s heading to Buffalo, the home of Toronto’s top minor league team.
“Heading to Buffalo tomorrow! Extremely excited,” Pompey wrote on Twitter. “So close I can almost taste it. My dream is starting to become a reality!”
Pompey, 21, is in the midst of a breakout season that earned him spots in the Futures Game and on Baseball America’s midseason ranking of the sport’s top 50 prospects. He ranked 47th on Baseball America’s list, second in the Blue Jays’ system behind only Daniel Norris, who’s scheduled to make his third triple-A start Thursday.
Pompey began the season with Class A Dunedin, where he batted .319/.397/.471 with 29 stolen bases in 70 games. He was then promoted to double-A New Hampshire, where he batted .295/.378/.473 with eight more steals. He has a respectable 49 walk to 74 strikeout ratio and has shown some power with 35 extra base hits.
The Mississauga, Ont., native battled tightness in his right quad earlier this summer, missing nearly two weeks before returning to the lineup Tuesday.
While it’s not clear whether Pompey has a chance to join the Blue Jays this September, he’s an important part of the team’s future, especially since big league outfielders Colby Rasmus and Melky Cabrera are scheduled to hit free agency after the year.
Pompey is not currently a member of Toronto’s 40-man roster.
