One of the great things about coming down to Spring Training is that you meet so many fans from all over. Sure, there are a lot of Canadians down here to catch a glimpse of the Blue Jays or maybe an autograph, but there are also a lot of scouts and baseball writers.
One such person who I've met in Dunedin is Zach Mortimer, a writer for Baseball Prospectus who has been checking out the Blue Jays camp over the past several days. We got to talking last week and caught up this afternoon for an interview after the Blue Jays intrasquad games today. It wasn't a long chat -- we got chased away by a security guard who wanted to close up the complex -- but Zach shed some interesting light on the world of scouting and what he thought of the Blue Jays organization, as well as some of the prospects he's seen over the past few days.
Ok, this isn't really part of the interview, but I got Zach to send me his list of the Blue Jays' top 10 prospects. In fact, one of the first thing we talked about when we met down in Dunedin was my top 20 list that I published just a few days before I went down to Florida. So it's only fitting that we conclude our discussion with Zach with his top 10 list.
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Zach Mortimer's Blue Jays Top 10
2. Daniel Norris LHP: Plus fastball, Potential for plus CB and CH. All background reports how great the makeup is. Still only 19 and if you want to look at stats from last year look at these:
FIP 3.82, K/9 8.95, and a BABIP over .375. In layman's terms Norris got about as unlucky as humanly possibly last year. Potential 2/3 starter.
3. Robert Osuna RHP: Plus Fastball, plus CB, solid avg CH. Body lacks physical projection. He is sort of a what you see is what you get. Advanced pitchability for someone his age. Projects as a solid number 3 starter.
4. Alberto Tirado RHP: Easy Plus Fastball maybe more, Slider could be the same thing getting potential 7 grades, and the changeup is a little further behind but people like the life on it and he is able to throw it with consistent armspeed.
5. Marcus Stroman RHP: Plus fastball, Plus Plus Slider. I think he is the closer of the future for the Blue Jays and it won’t be long until he is there.
6. Matt Smoral LHP: Potentially Plus FB, SL, and CH. Could be an absolute monster. Huge frame with long levers. Long way to go but could be more than a number 3 starter.
7. Sean Nolin LHP: Avg FB, Plus CH, Above avg CB and SL. He is going to be a big leaguer. I’m not sure he will be more than a number 4 starter but he won’t be worse than a 5.
8. DJ Davis CF: Elite speed, plus arm, plus power potential, hit tool and routes in the OF need a lot of work. Could be a monster, could never get to AA.
9. Santiago Nessy C: Plus power and plus arm. Big frame good receiver behind the plate. Seemed like a good leader also. Really like this kid reminds me a lot of Royals Sal Perez. He might not have as much pop but they seem like similar players.
10. Chase DeJong RHP: Currently Avg Fb, with slightly below avg CB/CH. However scouts really like this kids future saying that each of his pitches have the ability to go up atleast a full grade. Could be a mid rotation guy, long way to go.
Honorable Mention:
Adonys Cardona
Franklin Barretto
Mitch Nay
Anthony Alford
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That completes the interview/discussions with Zach Mortimer. Zach will send me some tidbits throughout the season, so I look forward to hearing more from him!
Part 1 of the interview can be found here: Part 1
Part 2 of the interview can be found here: Part 2
Don't forget to follow us on Twitter -- @jaysfromaway
If you want to find Zach, you can find him on Twitter -- @zachmort
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