Toronto Blue Jays Prospect Hot Sheet Part II: July 30 – August 12
Part II of the Toronto Blue Jays prospect hot sheet is now up. It was a good week for several position players in the upper levels of the Blue Jays’ farm system, including K.C. Hobson, Ryan Goins, Ryan Schimpf, Chris Hawkins, and Michael Crouse. In addition, Justin Nicolino turned in a couple of solid starts and Sean Nolin has come back from the disabled list on a high note.
LANSING LUGNUTS
Justin Nicolino – LHP – 15 IP, 14 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 11 K
Noah Syndergaard – RHP – 9.2 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Ian Kadish - RHP – 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Tyler Ybarra - LHP – 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB 5 K
Chris Hawkins – OF – 12/43, 2B, 4 BB, 5 K, 2 SB
Nick Baligod – OF – 13/36, 3 2B, HR, 7 BB, 6 K
K.C. Hobson - 1B – 16/50, 8 2B, 3B, 5 BB, 8 K
Gustavo Pierre – 3B – 15/42, 5 2B, HR, 4 BB, 12 K, SB, 3 CS
Michael Crouse - OF – 8/36, 2B, 3 HR, 7 BB, 13 K
My take: Justin Nicolino, as has been the case for the past couple of hot sheets, did not have a stat line that will blow you away. However, I watched Nicolino’s last start, and his curveball looked outstanding. As I reported in Prospect Power, Nicolino has an outstanding fastball/changeup combination. However, in his most recent start, he mixed in a much tighter curveball that generated a few swing-and-misses. This is a great sign for Nicolino, who consistently has command of two outstanding pitches. A solid breaking pitch will make Nicolino all the more dangerous.
Fun fact: Nick Baligod was a knuckle-baller in high school. If he doesn’t pan out as a hitter, perhaps the Blue Jays have their Dickey!
K.C. Hobson was lauded for an outstanding approach and solid hit tool when he was drafted out of Stockdale High School in 2009. Because of his frame, Hobson was thought to have plus power potential, but that hasn’t developed as expected. He is now in his third year for Lansing in the class-A Midwest League, and at 22, he’ll need to move up soon in order to maintain prospect status. He’s improved his power of late, slugging .561 over his past 10 games, and has been improving his batting average consistently throughout the season. If Hobson doesn’t move up to Dunedin this season, he’ll start there next year to sink or swim.
Michael Crouse is showing his power and solid eye at the plate, but the numbers clearly demonstrate that he still needs plenty of work on his approach. The Blue Jays will work on that again next year in spring training. With his tools, he’ll get more time than most to work out his issues.
DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS
Sean Nolin - LHP – 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Danny Barnes – RHP – 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Kevin Pillar – OF – 14/44, 3 2B, 3B, BB, 6 K, 5 SB
Kenny Wilson – OF – 15/45, 2 2B, HR, 4 BB, 7 K, 5 SB, 2 CS
My take: Not only did Sean Nolin have a solid first week off of the disabled list, he also had an outstanding start last night, racking up 10 strikeouts without walking a batter. Nolin has had an outstanding season on the whole, and it’s unfortunate that he missed so much time due to injury. Had he not missed time, I have little doubt that he would be New Hampshire right now.
Danny Barnes has big strikeout potential. He currently sports a 1.57 ERA in 46 innings with 57 strikeouts and just 16 walks.
Pillar and Wilson continue to get hits since coming up from Lansing.
NEW HAMPSHIRE FISHER CATS
Ryan Goins - SS – 14/44, 4 2B, HR, 5 BB, 2 K
Ryan Schimpf - OF – 9/35, 3 2B, 3 HR, 8 BB, 9 K
My take: Goins (pictured above), Schimpf, and Jake Marisnick are about the only players worth paying attention to in New Hampshire right now. Goins has been very impressive all year, hitting .287/.340/.390 on the season. Goins has a great arm and solid range in the middle infield and could fit in at third, short, or second in his big league career. With a sweet lefty swing, what are the chances that he is the one to eventually replace Kelly Johnson at second? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’d prefer to give him a look over Adeiny Hechavarria.
LAS VEGAS 51s
Mike McDade – 1B – 14/43, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 BB, 5 K
My take: The entire Las Vegas roster is in Toronto, and now Mike McDade is on the disabled list (surprise, surprise). I have nothing more to say.
Be sure to check out Part I of the hot sheets.
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Charles Davis is a baseball writer for www.RantSports.com with a specific focus on the Toronto Blue Jays, their farm system, and prospects league-wide. Read his articles here and follow him on Twitter @CPDavis90.
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