Notes of spring: Blue Jays’ Guerrero, Bichette aren’t joined at hip
By Sam Dykstra/MiLB.com
DUNEDIN, Florida — Blue Jays director of player development Gil Kim wants to make one thing clear, right off the top. Minor League assignments won’t be determined for another week. As much as he’d love to tell the world where Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette and all the other prospects in the system will begin 2018, he just can’t yet.
“We want to get that out as soon as possible,” he said. “That’s what everybody is asking me and trust me, I hear you.”
Fair enough.
But it’s worth asking the follow-up: does the organization plan on playing the two together for the duration of their time not only in the Minors but with the Jays?
The club’s top two prospects tore up Class A Lansing as teenagers and were promoted at the same time to Class A Advanced Dunedin in early July. News broke of that promotion while both happened to be in Florida, participating in the All-Star Futures Game in Miami. Guerrero and Bichette — both of whom are ranked among MLB.com’s top 13 overall prospects — have developed a friendship on the left side of the infield. There is an argument to be made that if Toronto is really planning its future around these two that they should be be around each other, pushing each other as they each climb the Minor League ladder.
That may have worked in 2017, but Kim believes it’s not necessarily written in stone that the 18-year-old Guerrero needs to be with the 20-year-old Bichette or vice-versa.
“There may and probably will be a time in the future where they’re not playing together,” he said. “That being said, we look at each player individually, and maybe some of the checkmarks or some of the development goals we saw last year and the progress being made toward those goals resulted in the timing of the moves. It worked out to where they were together. Keeping those two guys together, obviously there are advantages to cultivating that camaraderie and that teammate leadership engagement. But at the same time, at some point they may not be together.”
Reading the tea leaves, it’s still likely that both uberprospects begin 2018 either back at Class A Advanced Dunedin or at Double-A New Hampshire. But if one enjoys a more successful first half, that may be the time the organization breaks up the pair for the first time since 2016, even if it means disrupting the chemistry for a time.
MORE FROM BLUE JAYS CAMP
— No. 3 prospect Anthony Alford is enjoying an impressive Grapefruit League campaign in Major League camp, going 8-for-25 (.320) with six extra-base hits in 11 games. That might be a continuation from the winter after the 23-year-old outfielder hit .352/.386/.505 with 10 extra-base hits and eight steals in 26 games in the Mexican Pacific League. After missing a good chunk of 2017 with a fractured hamate bone in his left wrist suffered in a Major League game, Alford — who began his Minor League career splitting time with college football — apparently begged the organization to find him a winter league spot and took advantage when he got his wish.
“One of the most impressive things about him going to winter ball was how badly he wanted to go to winter ball,” Kim said. “When the regular season ended, he did not have an open spot anywhere. He kept calling and asking how we could get those opportunities for him. An opportunity opened up. He got on it right away. He got valuable reps in center field and improved on his defensive reads. But then he was also able to face advanced pitching. The Mexican League has a lot of pitchers that will pitch you backwards and challenge hitters. He made those adjustments quickly and had a very productive season. Taking into account Anthony, compared to other players on the field, hasn’t had as many at-bats and reps as others, any repetitions he can get in any environment are helpful.”
— No. 4 prospect Nate Pearson is an interesting tweener. Organizations usually take slow roads with high school arms and get more aggressive with pitchers coming out of college. Toronto’s 2017 first-round pick, however, is a junior college pick who spent two years in college before going pro. There’s not an easy road map to follow here, although the fact that Pearson threw 101 innings between the College of Central Florida and the Jays system should give at least some idea of what he can handle in 2018. The 21-year-old right-hander has elite velocity with a high-90’s fastball, and his slider also has drawn raves.
“We think Nate’s going to indicate to us how aggressive we can get with him,” Kim said. “We can say since Nate arrived, he’s been one of our strongest in terms of his commitment to work ethic and routines. His recovery, his arm care, his emphasis on building the physical development areas that will help him as a pitcher has been impressive. He combines that with natural ability to throw mid- to upper-90’s with late life and a tight slider and good changeup. Nick will dictate that for us, but we are very excited about his commitment and how he leads by example.”
— The Jays struck gold with teenagers in 2017, and for anyone looking for the next young phenom in the system, it could be 17-year-old right-hander Eric Pardinho. Toronto signed the Brazil native for $1.4 million last July on the strength of his plus fastball and curveball. It’s highly unlikely Pardinho will see time with a full-season affiliate in 2018 after not pitching at all in the Minors last season, but the organization is salivating at what he can do when he dons Toronto blue.
“He has great mound presence,” Kim said. “He really knows how to pitch. He’s advanced for the age he’s at right now. With Pardinho, this will be his first year with the organization. The priority with first-year players is really to establish a relationship and trust right off the bat but also see where they are physically, mentally, where they are they with their tactical parts of the game and see where we can best help them. With Pardinho, he’s fit well right off the bat. This is about acclimation and learning about each other and then forming a development plan with him about how he can get better.”
— T.J. Zeuch’s first full season didn’t go exactly as planned. The 2016 first-rounder missed time with a back injury and was limited to 58 2/3 innings with Class A Advanced Dunedin. He made up for some of that with 18 1/3 frames in the Arizona Fall League and looked good Saturday in a live batting practice session that included facing Guerrero. The Jays are hopeful the 6-foot-7 right-hander can put in a healthy 2018 season because he might be the most physically imposing pitcher in the system.
“ When he’s at his best, he’s got maybe the steepest downhill plane with his fastball in the Minor Leagues,” Kim said.
— Speaking of injuries, Max Pentecost made his long-awaited official return to catching duties in 2017, making 20 starts behind the plate during the regular season. The 2014 first-rounder hadn’t caught in an official Minor League game since his Draft year after shoulder injuries sidelined him for all of 2015 and limited him to DH duties in 2016. The Kennesaw State product saw time at first base but only caught during his time in the AFL. Kim said the goal is to expand Pentecost’s catching load this season and that the organization still views him primarily as a catcher. It might not be just to Toronto that the 25-year-old will be showcasing his catching talents; Pentecost was Rule 5-eligible in the offseason but was neither added to the 40-man roster nor taken in the Draft. He’ll be eligible again next offseason, and a more robust catching resume could help him catch on in with the Jays or someone else.
