ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins believes there is no singular philosophy to guide where prospects are placed, that the individual needs of a given player must be considered in order to find the right spot.
Physical and fundamental gains along with results are part of the package, but a bigger piece from his perspective is where an individual is at mentally, and whether the player has a sufficient foundation for advancement.
What specifically does foundation mean?
"When a player fails, what do they fall back on," Atkins says in an interview. "When a player has success, what do they look to do to continue it. When a player is looking to make an improvement, what do they go to do to push forward? Building the right routines, the right areas to focus on, the best ways to evaluate your process, learning what that means is hard.
"The physical, too, that all comes with it. I would look to the fundamental, as well. But typically for younger players the hardest one is the mental foundation."
That thought process guided the Blue Jays’ decision-making for their organizational rosters.
Led by director of player development Gil Kim, nearly everyone in the front office participated in the evaluation process that notably landed first baseman Rowdy Tellez at double-A New Hampshire with fellow top prospects centre-fielder Anthony Alford, shortstop Richard Urena and right-hander Conner Greene at single-A Dunedin.
Speedy outfielder Roemon Fields and hard-throwing relief candidate John Stilson are also at New Hampshire, while outfielder D.J. Davis, the 2012 first-rounder, Canadian righty Tom Robson and catcher Dan Jansen are all at Dunedin, as well.
Jonathan Harris, last year’s first-round pick, fellow right-hander Sean-Reid Foley, a second-rounder in 2014, and left-hander Angel Perdomo start the year at low-A Lansing.
Alford, ranked by Baseball America as the club’s top prospect, Greene, the club’s No. 2 and Fields all were candidates to start up a level, but the Blue Jays appear to have opted for caution as the new regime gets to know players in the system.
One school of thought is that prospects are never harmed by staying at a level too long, but they can certainly be hurt by getting pushed up too quickly. Along those lines, having players dominate at a level they’re too good for rather than just hitting a fundamental or physical accomplishment can be an ideal way to prove a promotion is warranted.
Tellez, Alford, Greene and Urena all impressed at big-league camp this past spring.
Tellez, 21, earned a promotion to New Hampshire despite appearing in only 35 games at advanced-A Dunedin last year after 68 games at Lansing. Surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his hand cut short his season but he posted an .839 OPS over 21 Arizona Fall League games.
"Really impressed with his confidence," says Atkins. "He’s becoming more agile, more effective overall as a complete player and we felt like (double-A) was the best environment for him."
Key for young power hitters like him, Atkins says, is "plate discipline. Beyond that, it’s always independent, but I think the thing that comes to mind first is power without plate discipline is not quite as exciting, and is something that usually doesn’t transition well."
Alford, 21, dominated in 57 games at Dunedin last year following a promotion from Lansing, but is back repeating a level. Given that 2015 was his first full season of baseball after giving up football, the Blue Jays still want him to make up for lost time.
"Unbelievable athlete, unbelievable person, unbelievable work ethic – really just lacking reps, he really hasn’t had a ton of at-bats because of his transition," says Atkins. "We wanted to make sure we were thoughtful of that."
Greene, 21, pitched at three levels last year, closing out with five starts at double-A, but begins this year back at Dunedin for a multitude of reasons.
"We see Conner as a major-league starting pitcher for many years, someone who can haul innings, potentially be at the top of the rotation," says Atkins. "In order to do that, your foundation needs to be incredible. It really wasn’t about where he’s been, it’s more about where we think he’s best suited, which environment is best for him to build that foundation."
Urena, 20, closed out last year with 30 games in Dunedin but struggled to a .582 OPS after posting a .726 OPS in 91 games at Lansing.
"He looks so much more experienced than his age," says Atkins, who praised Urena’s "really, really even-keeled temperament and the confidence and pure ease to his game as an offensive player. He can steal a base, obviously he can defend, the switch-hit ability will help, plate discipline needs to come but a really, really good heartbeat and clock on the baseball field."