Jays From the Couch looks at the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system as whole, highlighting the system’s leader in certain categories
With the end of Baseball’s minor league season and many MiLB playoffs all but wrapped up, it’s time to look at how the Blue Jays farm system stacked up against the rest of the league.
Matt Powers from SBNations did a great job ranking the five best farm systems according to hitters. Matt ranked the Blue Jays system 2nd, behind the loaded Chicago White Sox system. Matt justified Toronto’s slot by highlighting Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s sky high ceiling. He pumped the tires of Bo Bichette, five tool outfielder Anthony Alford, along with September call-ups Teoscar Hernandez and Richard Urena.
I love that Matt has the Blue Jays hitting prospects ranked so high. It gives the fanbase a ray of sunshine in an otherwise disappointing season for the major league teams.
While the performance of the system’s top hitting prospects is positive, the overall system actually struggled in the power department.
The Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system hit 761 home runs to lead all other organizations. The Blue Jays managed to hit just 435 long balls which placed them 4th from last. That’s just 68 home runs ahead of the last place Miami Marlins system.
Blue Jays MiLB Home Run Leaders
Connor Panas– 18HR
Edward Olivares-17HR
Raffy Lopez- 16HR
Bo Bichette- 14HR
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.- 13HR
Gunner Heidt- 13HR
We have very knowledgeable readers here at Jays From the Couch, they understand that power is more than just hitting the ball out the park. Isolated Power (ISO) is a measure of a hitter’s ability to hit for extra bases, rather, how often they can hit for extra bases.
An ISO of .150 is average, while an ISO closer to .200 is above average and closer to .100 is below.
The Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers each finished with a .149 ISO to lead all other organizations, while Miami came in last again. Toronto’s position didn’t improve, coming in tied for 3rd last with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves with a .111 ISO.
Blue Jays Full Season ISO (per level) Top 4
Triple-A
Teoscar Hernandez- .283
Raffy Lopez- .258
Danny Jansen– .224 (only 78 at-bats)
Mike Ohlman– .184
Double-A
Reese McGuire– .217
Ryan McBroom– .159 (trade to NYY)
Matt Dean– .155
Gunnar Heidt– .141
Advanced-A
Connor Panas- .199
Danny Jansen- .172
Vladimir Guerrero- .161
Max Pentecost– .157
A-Ball
Bo Bichette- .239
Bradley Jones– .234
Edward Olivares- .223
Mitch Nay– .171
I assumed that the Blue Jays inability to hit the long ball hurt their ISO values so I looked at extra base hits (doubles and triples) separately, hoping the outcome would be different.
The Blue Jays minor league system hit 1343 doubles and 217 triples, placing Toronto’s minor league system in 11th and 12th respectively.
Organizational Top 5 in Doubles
Bo Bichette- 41
Richard Urena- 36
Juan Kelly and Rowdy Tellez– 29
Vladimir Guerrero Jr- 28
Edward Olivares and Tim Lopes– 27
Honourable mention goes to Kevin Smith who hit 25 doubles in 61 games for the short-season Bluefield Blue Jays.
Organizational Top 5 in Triples
Edward Olivares- 10
Chavez Young and Roemon Fields– 6
Cavan Biggio and J.B. Woodman– 5
7 players tied with 4 triples
Final Thoughts
While it appears that Toronto’s minor league system could use more home run power, the system is doing an excellent job of developing players who are athletic enough to hit doubles and triples.
When looking at power numbers it is important to remember that home run power takes time to develop. With this in mind, we can expect better power numbers next season from a 19-yr-old Vlad, 20-yr-old Bo, and 22-yr-old Olivares and Urena.
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Lover of all things Toronto Blue Jays. Blue Jays MiLB fanatic. I strive for average while stumbling onto above average. Rogers isn’t cheap. Baseball is a business. Your right, but I’m more right.
