Toronto Blue Jays' 2014 All-Prospect Team

After being in contention for most of the season, the Toronto Blue Jays have steadily faded out of the playoff race during these past few weeks. With just 20 games remaining on the schedule entering play on Monday, the Blue Jays (73-69) are 10 games out of the top spot in the American League East and five games out of the second wild-card spot in the AL.

Regardless of how the 2014 season ends for Toronto, the team will need to make plenty of moves in the offseason to order to be in contention next season. The Blue Jays have several players who will become free agents in the winter, such as Melky Cabrera and Casey Janssen. Toronto also holds team options on players like Brandon Morrow and Adam Lind. It’s unlikely that all of these players will be brought back.

While the Blue Jays will no doubt look for replacements in the free-agent market or via trade, these departures could also end up opening up a roster spot for some of Toronto’s top prospects.

With the 2014 minor league season over for most of the players in the Blue Jays’ farm system, it’s time to take a look at which of the team’s prospects at each position had the best performance this year and got closer to the major leagues. Here is the Blue Jays’ 2014 All-Prospect team.

Just a quick note before we begin. The prospects on this list aren’t simply selected based on stats. Other factors such as age, games played and the league level have also been taken into consideration. Also, prospects that were called up to the major leagues prior to the MLB roster expansion in September aren’t included on this list.

Catcher: A.J. Jimenez

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A.J. Jimenez had a decent season in the minors this year and was the arguably the best overall catcher in the Blue Jays’ farm system.

The 24-year-old started the 2014 season with Double-A New Hampshire, hitting just .223 in 25 games with the team. The catcher’s numbers got much better when he was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo, though, as he hit .260 with 24 RBI and 21 runs scored in 58 games played there.

Offensive stats aside, where Jimenez really shined this season was behind the plate. In 48 games played as catcher in Buffalo, he made no errors and had just two passed balls. He also showed off a terrific arm, gunning down 42 percent of all base stealers against him.

Despite having a good season in Triple-A, Jimenez is blocked from the majors by the Blue Jays’ current catching tandem of Dioner Navarro and Josh Thole. Navarro has had a good season and will be the starter for Toronto next year. Thole is knuckleballer R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher and likely won’t be replaced as long as Dickey remains in the Blue Jays rotation.

First Base: Matt Dean

Coming off a great 2013 season in the Appalachian League, Matt Dean built upon that past success this year while playing for Class-A Lansing.

In 113 games this season, the first baseman had a slash line of .281/.332/.429. He also had nine home runs, 51 RBI and 58 runs scored.

While he does use the whole field to hit, the one knock on Dean this year was his tendency to often chase pitches out of the zone. This led to a strikeout rate of roughly 26 percent and is something the right-handed batter will have to improve upon next season.

Dean’s impressive 2014 season earned him a selection to the Midwestern League Eastern Division All-Star team and definitely raised his stock within the organization. The 21-year-old should begin the 2015 season at Class A-Advanced Dunedin.

Second Base: Tim Locastro

Considering that second base is one of the shallowest positions in the Blue Jays’ farm system and doesn’t contain many big-name prospects, it’s likely that most Blue Jays fans haven’t heard of Tim Locastro yet.

Selected in the 13th round of the 2013 draft, Locastro played in just his second professional season this year and appeared in 67 games for Class A-Short Season Vancouver. He hit .313/.407/.367 with 27 RBI and 49 runs scored during that span.

Locastro also showed great speed on the basepaths, swiping a whopping 32 bases in 36 attempts. On the flip side, he’s not much of a power hitter and had just one long ball this season.

At the plate, the right-handed batter makes solid contact and sprays the ball to all fields. He struck out just 23 times in 256 at-bats.

While he started 33 games at second base this season, Locastro also played 12 games in the outfield. Being able to play both the infield and outfield could give the 22-year-old an edge over the other prospects in the Blue Jays’ farm system when the time comes for promotions this offseason.      

Shortstop: Franklin Barreto

Franklin Barreto is one of the Blue Jays’ top position prospects for good reason: He can flat-out hit the ball all over the field.

In 73 games this season for Class A-Short Season Vancouver, Barreto hit .311/.384/.481 with six home runs, 61 RBI and 65 runs scored. He also added 29 stolen bases in 34 attempts.

Keep in mind that Barreto is just 18 years old right now and still has plenty of time to grow and fill out his small, 5’9” frame. This means that he could potentially be even better at the plate in the future as he gets stronger and has increased bat speed.

Defensively, Barreto’s numbers are nowhere near as impressive as his offensive stats. The shortstop made a whopping 26 errors in just 68 games played. If these struggles continue in the future, it’s possible that the Blue Jays might decide to move him to a less taxing defensive position.

Barreto will likely be promoted to Class-A Lansing during this offseason. A strong performance there during the first few months of the 2015 season could soon earn him a promotion to Class A-Advanced Dunedin.

Third Base: Mitch Nay

Like Franklin Barreto, Mitch Nay is one of the Blue Jays’ most highly touted position prospects because of his offensive ability.

That ability was on full display this season, as Nay had a very impressive year with the bat. The 20-year-old hit .285/.342/.389 with three home runs, 59 RBI and 57 runs scored in 120 games with Class-A Lansing.

This performance earned Nay a selection to the Midwestern League Eastern Division All-Star team and a promotion to Class A-Advanced Dunedin.

Nay struggled in the 11 games he played in Dunedin, though, hitting just .189 in 11 games. But the experience gained from those games should still be beneficial for the third baseman as he returns to Dunedin again next season.

Outfield: Dalton Pompey

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Unlike some of the other names on this list, Dalton Pompey wasn’t a very highly touted prospect entering the 2014 season. Now, just a few months later, the Canadian outfielder has become one of the biggest names in the Blue Jays’ farm system.

Starting the year with Class A-Advanced Dunedin, Pompey worked his way up to Double-A New Hampshire and then to Triple-A Buffalo. He hit a combined .317/.392/.469 with nine home runs, 51 RBI, 84 runs scored and 43 stolen bases in 113 games split between those three teams.

The biggest promotion of the season for Pompey came in September, when the Blue Jays called him up to the major leagues once the MLB rosters expanded.

With outfielders Colby Rasmus and Melky Cabrera both free agents at the end of the season, the 21-year-old Pompey could be manning the outfield for the Blue Jays on a full-time basis as soon as next season.

Outfield: Dwight Smith Jr.

Dwight Smith Jr. followed up his 2013 breakout campaign with an even better season this year despite moving up a level.

Playing for Class A-Advanced Dunedin, the outfielder hit .284/.363/.453 with 12 home runs, 60 RBI and 83 runs scored in 121 games this season.

Offensively, Smith Jr. has solid mechanics and a mature approach at the plate. His swing has a nice blend of both contact and power, allowing him to regularly put the ball in play. The left-handed batter struck out just 69 times in 472 at-bats.

Defensively, Smith Jr.’s speed gives him good range in the outfield, but he lacks the arm strength to effectively play centre field at the major league level and profiles more as a corner outfielder in the future.

Look for Smith Jr. to begin the 2015 season in Double-A New Hampshire. From there on out, it’s only a matter of time before the promising 21-year-old is knocking on the door to the major leagues.  

Outfield: Derrick Loveless

After a mediocre season in the Appalachian League last year, Derrick Loveless broke out in a big way this season.

The 21-year-old hit .264/.363/.390 with six home runs, 55 RBI and 58 runs scored in 119 games with Class-A Lansing. He also added 17 stolen bases in 24 attempts.

Despite the high OBP, there were still a few flaws with Loveless’ approach at the plate. He struck out in 28 percent of his total at-bats this season and often struggled to put balls in play. This is something he’ll have to improve next season.

The Blue Jays will likely promote Loveless to Class A-Advanced Dunedin this offseason. Provided that he can overcome his high strikeout rate and raise his batting average, Loveless should steadily climb the minor league ladder during the next couple of years.

Starting Pitcher: Daniel Norris

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Daniel Norris was simply dominant this season and deserves to be the starting pitcher on the Blue Jays’ 2014 All-Prospect team.

At just the age of 21, Norris pitched his way through three different levels in the minor leagues this season (Class A-Advanced Dunedin, Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo).

The left-hander posted a combined 12-2 record along with a 2.53 ERA in 124.2 innings pitched between those three teams. He also struck out a whopping 163 batters during that span.

Norris’ big season earned him a call-up to the major leagues in September. While he’s going to be working out of the Blue Jays bullpen for the rest of this season, look for Norris to be competing for a spot in Toronto’s starting rotation during spring training next year.  

Relief Pitcher: Kendall Graveman

If we were going by just ERA or win/loss record, it would be Kendall Graveman—not Daniel Norris—who would be the starting pitcher for the Blue Jays’ 2014 All-Prospect team. But, considering that Norris is younger and has more upside, it’s probably more accurate to slot the 23-year-old Graveman into a relief role on the team.

This doesn’t change the fact that Graveman was one of the best starting pitchers in the Blue Jays’ farm system this season, though. The right-hander began the year pitching for Class-A Lansing. From there, he moved up through three different levels in the minors and ended his minor league season in Triple-A Buffalo.

Graveman’s overall stats this season were simply incredible. He posted a 14-6 record with a 1.83 ERA in 167.1 innings pitched.

While he doesn’t have swing-and-miss stuff, Graveman’s excellent command of his pitches makes him an effective pitcher. He pitches to contact and only gave up 31 walks this season.

Based on his strong year, there’s no doubt that Graveman deserved his call-up to the major leagues in September. While he’ll pitch out of the Blue Jays bullpen during the remainder of this season, it will be interesting to see what Toronto decides to do with Graveman next year.

*All stats are from MILB.com and MLB.com. These stats are current entering play on September 6, 2014.