Batting: Eric Duncan's status keeps going down, but he is a decent AAA hitter at age 23 and can play the corners, so there's some value there. Cody Ransom is the hitter Juan Uribe wishes he could be, but Uribe's career is the one Ransom wishes he could have. Brett Gardner is crazy fast and that's it. Jason Lane's sudden MLB downturn the last two years is almost inexplicable, but with Shelley Duncan and Morgan Ensberg on the Yankees, he isn't going to get a shot. Greg Porter is a big outfielder with a big swing, and given his swing, he makes a surprising amount of contact. Add him to the list of Quad-A guys who are better than 20 starting corner guys in the majors.

Overall: There's no talent up the middle on this team, but plenty of pitchers and corner guys.

Syracuse Chiefs

Pitching: Josh Banks doesn't walk anyone, strikes out a lot of people, but allows a LOT of homers. It all adds up to him being a back-of-the-rotation guy, but he's probably better than Jesse Litsch. Bill Murphy is a good swing arm who might take a step forward this year. I have no idea why John Parrish gets chances with anyone anymore; when your walk rate is 8 BB/9 and people talk about how you've "improved your command" I stop caring. David Purcey is a big lefty with command problems, but if he improves his command by 10%, his stuff is good enough to stick somewhere. Tracy Thorpe is similar to Purcey, only he is two years older, righthanded, and a reliever, so his chances aren't as good. Still, plus stuff is plus stuff.

Batting: Robinzon Diaz is an odd player: a slap-hitting catcher. It's worked so far. Half of what I read about Curtis Thigpen says he's an offensive catcher who can't defend; the other half says he's a defensive catcher who can't hit. I guess it just averages out and Thigpen is OK at everything. If Tomas Perez is in the majors, Russ Adams should be. Chip Cannon is clubfooted (seriously he is, I'm not making fun) but damn he's got power. He essentially is the same player as Frank Thomas in everything but age and salary. Pedro Lopez plays exactly like you'd expect a shortstop named Pedro Lopez to play. Jorge Velandia always hits in AAA and hit well for the Rays in a callup last year. Makes you wonder why Eckstein makes the big bucks. Wayne Lydon, not Jim Edmonds, would make a ton of sense for the Padres in CF: he's crazy fast and can cover the ground. He also is a switch-hitter who isn't overmatched offensively. Yet, look who the Padres got and who the Blue Jays don't need. Adam Lind is a good young hitter who was rushed out the door by the Jays last year; some team should buy low. Matt Watson was a good AAA hitter, went to Japan, and is now back. He'll continue to be a good AAA hitter.

Overall: The Jays have a ton of money spent on average players in the majors. They have a ton of similar players in the minors. Take away Halladay, Burnett, Rios, and Wells, and all of a sudden it's hard to tell which roster is better. Sure is easy to tell which is more expensive. J.P. Ricciardi has badly mismanaged his team's budget.

Toledo Mud Hens

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