Dalton Pompey became a key contributor during last season’s playoff run with the Toroto Blue Jays, mostly filling in as a base-stealing option late in games.
The 23-year-old hasn’t appeared in a game with Toronto in 2016, but is expected to be among a handful of players to join the Blue Jays once rosters expand at the beginning of September.
Pompey, who is considered to be one of the top prospects in the Blue Jays’ minor-league system, spent the entire season with Toronto’s triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, but a litany of injuries hampered his production.
“The whole year as a whole has been pretty frustrating for me,” Pompey told Arden Zwelling on At the Letters. “With the injuries I’ve had to deal with, especially early on, it was hard for me to find any sort of consistency but I just (had) to keep grinding. Those are things I couldn’t avoid. I’ve been trying to play hard and those things happen and I just had to deal with it. It’s been tough. I’ve tried to look at the positives in everything and I’m happy how the year ended up. This is one of the first times in my career where I’ve really had to fight.”
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Pompey has hit just .267/.347/.351 with four home runs, 28 RBI, 71 strikeouts, and 40 walks, with 18 stolen bases in 295 plate appearances.
“There were times where I was really down on myself and questioning a lot of things in regards to getting called up and my overall performance,” he said. “At times, I think I was overthinking things and sometimes that helps me but sometimes it hurts me. Through it all, I’ve had the support of my family and my girlfriend and my brother and my friends have given me a lot of positive reinforcement and helped me get through the tough times. Looking back on the year and not being where I wanted to be, I can look back on these times and remember how I got through them and they won’t be as bad.”
