Your Toronto Blue Jays selected / stole Matt Daly in the 13th round, 399th overall, of the 2008 Amateur Draft. This year in High A ball he set new single-season team marks for both saves and appearances with 31 and 56 respectively. He was named a first-half Florida State League All-Star and was the winner of the COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD. Click here for the details on his award. Matt was also chosen to play in the AFL starting October 12th with the Peoria Javelinas.
Our boy Jesse caught up with Matt twice during the 2009 season.
In the first interview they discuss what types of things he looks for in the first 6 innings of a game to get an edge. He also talks about how his teammates in the bullpen keep him updated on the game situation while he's warming up to go in.
In the second interview, Matt goes into length about what the full experience is like when he is pitching for a save. Great stuff.
The signing deadline for our 2010 Amateur Draft Picks has come and gone. We ended up getting 33 of 56 picks - 14 of 16 from the top 10 rounds - to ink a deal. In honor of this, we here at 1BlueJaysWay have decided to put together a no BS list of prospects at every position for your enjoyment and reference.
What will separate this list from the many others out there, is the fact that we have actually seen most of these players first hand. Some of them for a prolonged period of time.
Let's get you warmed up with some insight from our boy Jesse:
Please Note:
For the purposes of this list, we
have defined prospect as a player who is 25 years of age or under and
has yet to appear in the Major Leagues. As such you will not find any
of the following names on our lists:
We had to put the line in the sand somewhere. All of these guys
have previous MLB experience and should be in the mix for full time jobs on your Toronto
Blue Jays next season.
Defensively, pretty good sometimes, but he has the tendency
to lapse, and those are generally costly. At the plate, he has a good approach and he has
some good power.
Great eye at the plate. Currently our most advanced position prospect in the entire system. Youngest player on the AAA roster. Can also play 3B and would be at the top of that list as well.
Plus Arm. Making huge strides as a hitter. Excellent work ethic and make-up.
Gets a pass on the age and MLB experience requirements due to his transition from pitcher to outfielder. Only in his second season as a full time hitter. Will be a minor league free agent at the end of this season.
1 out of every 4 throws is sensational, strong and accurate. Gaining plate discipline. Great body type (same body as Carl Crawford) but has the swing of a much smaller player, depriving him of all of his power.
89 - 97 mph fastball, plus curveball, working on 4 seam change up, 2 seam change up, 2 seam fastball and cutter.
Out pitch: curveball
Electric fastball. Uses the 2 seam change against left handed hitters.
Top prospect in the entire system. Described as a special talent by his pitching coach. Bulldog mentality. Maturity on the mound improving. Son of former Cy Young award winner.
Throws primarily sinkers and keeps the ball on the ground.
Converted from reliever to starter. Innings should be capped around 140 this year. Will need another season in the minors before his arm strength will be ready.
He’s all heart. Great intangibles. Gutted out more than his handful of saves. He’s only about 5’9 or so, but it’s not an
abnormally tiny with guts and brimstone thing like with Tim Collins.
His fastball is pretty straight and he likes to ride it right up the ladder on hitters.
With respect to pitching, we found it to be a hugely difficult category to rate because the best Major League
relievers are Minor League starters a majority of the time. We think that
Carreno and Perez are probably going to become relievers, and so might
Jenkins.
Anybody
with visions of playing shortstop in the Majors Leagues in the next 5 years not named Adeiny Hechavarria, will not be doing so in a Blue Jay uniform.
There are some positions - 1B, 2B, 3B - in the system where the Blue
Jays are thin.
There are some positions - Pitching, C, OF - in the system where the Blue Jays are strong.
The 2007 and 2008 drafts both look disastrous right now.
It’s weird…..we’ll call it the “Adeiny
Hechavarria” theory because he’s playing so much better in Double-A
than High-A. From what we’ve heard, High-A is a miserable place to
be, because of no crowd, temperature, and the coaching staff. (Hitting
coach Justin Mashore is a negative personality.) There are guys with poor
numbers there who we're nearly certain are going to put up terrific numbers
once they get to Double-A, even though it’s a much tougher level for so
many other reasons.
Eric Thames was a 7th round draft choice of the Blue Jays, out of Pepperdine University, in 2008. A lefty hitting slugger, Thames has developed into a prized prospect in the Toronto system.
Through 112 games this season, Thames has posted a .290 batting average, smashed 21 homeruns and driven in 87 runs. In 59 games at 2 levels last season, Thames posted a .310 average with 3 homeruns and 39 RBI.
We recently spoke with the California native about his progress, his team, his coaches and more. Check out the media player below to listen to the full interview.
Michael Crouse was selected by your Toronto Blue Jays in 16th Round (489th overall) of 2008 Amateur Draft. He was given a $150,000 signing bonus by scoutKevin Briand.
"Great body kid, he actually looks like (Alex) Rios physically," said
Blue Jays scouting director Jon Lalonde at the time he was drafted. "Athletic, a bit of a project,
he's going to take time in development and patience, but you can really
dream on him. He's got a really high ceiling."
Our boy Jesse - who in all fairness has only been watching him for not even a week - says this:
First thing that occurs to me is athleticism. I haven’t seen
anything mind-blowingly awesome… but he’s 19, he’s growing, he’s fast, he’s got
a quick bat, he works hard, he’s smart, he can play the outfield, he can throw…
He’s very clearly the sort of player whose ceiling is really high.
Thisembedded stats table comes courtesy of Baseball Reference.
Year
Age
Tm
Lg
Lev
Aff
G
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
TB
GDP
HBP
SH
SF
IBB
2008
17
Blue Jays
GULF
Rk
TOR
7
20
15
2
2
0
1
0
0
1
1
3
7
.133
.316
.267
.582
4
1
1
1
0
0
2009
18
Blue Jays
GULF
Rk
TOR
55
214
188
28
41
9
4
2
17
25
5
23
53
.218
.308
.340
.649
64
5
2
0
1
1
2010
19
2 Teams
2 Lgs
Rk-A
TOR
32
121
109
19
35
8
3
4
20
9
7
10
37
.321
.388
.560
.948
61
1
2
0
0
0
2010
19
Blue Jays
GULF
Rk
TOR
28
107
96
17
32
7
3
4
20
9
6
9
32
.333
.402
.594
.996
57
1
2
0
0
0
2010
19
Lansing
MIDW
A
TOR
4
14
13
2
3
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
5
.231
.286
.308
.593
4
0
0
0
0
0
3 Seasons
94
355
312
49
78
17
8
6
37
35
13
36
97
.250
.336
.413
.750
129
7
5
1
1
1
Rk (3 seasons)
90
341
299
47
75
16
8
6
37
35
12
35
92
.251
.338
.418
.756
125
7
5
1
1
1
A (1 season)
4
14
13
2
3
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
5
.231
.286
.308
.593
4
0
0
0
0
0
That looks very encouraging and all but......
What if I now told you he is a Canadian boy from out West?
Team: North Shore Twins (B.C. Premier Baseball League)
Hometown: Port Moody, B.C.
High School: Centennial (Coquitlam, British Columbia) "Centaurs"
Danny Farquhar is a 23-year-old pitching prospect currently playing with the Toronto Blue Jays' Double A affiliate, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. In 41 games in the Eastern League this year, Danny has posted a 2-3 record with 16 saves, a 4.33 ERA and a .211 batting average against. He has also struck out 55 batters in 54 innings pitched.
The righty hurler was a 10th round draft selection, by Toronto, in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In 2009, Farquhar was named a Florida State League All-star prior to being promoted to Double A. Between two levels last season, he posted a combined record of 2-4 with 22 saves and a 1.87 ERA.
1BlueJaysWay.com had the opportunity to speak with Danny about his tricky side-arm style, his pitch repertoire, his future and plenty more. Check out the media player below to listen to the full interview.
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