DUNEDIN, Fla. – When John Gibbons watches Anthony Alford work a count full and take a ball the opposite way, he sees evidence of a much-improved plate approach from the top prospect.
Alford, who’s now day-to-day because of right hamstring soreness, has continued his rapid development at the plate and in the field this spring, and his manager has taken note.
"I’ve seen such a huge improvement in the guy," Gibbons said. "He’s really got the whole game. He’s such a good outfielder, good baserunner, he’s got power, and what I think is very important, especially for young hitters, is he uses the whole field. He’s not strictly in there yanking everything."
Alford’s expected to start the season at triple-A alongside Teoscar Hernandez, Dalton Pompey and Dwight Smith Jr. — a group that gives the Blue Jays some legitimately intriguing depth beyond their big-league outfield of Kevin Pillar, Randal Grichuk, Curtis Granderson and Steve Pearce. When a need emerges, the Blue Jays will have some capable options available.
Pompey is now sidelined with right wrist soreness, but he threw from 60 feet Thursday morning and felt some improvement. “It’s heading in the right direction for sure,” he said.
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There’s also Smith Jr., who was optioned Thursday, but reached the big-leagues last year, and Roemon Fields, who stole 43 bases with a .355 on-base percentage in 103 games with Buffalo in 2017.
As for Alford, it’s not hard to envision a scenario where he becomes a tempting option for the big-league team at some point in 2018. So what does he need next? If you ask Gibbons, it’s mainly a question of reps.
"Really it’s just play X amount of games for experience so he runs through every situation," the manager said. "He doesn’t need to start focusing too much on this or that. Just go play. He’s such a natural talent, (development) will take care of itself."
Because of his time playing football, Alford has just 301 games of minor-league experience. By playing in Mexico and Australia in recent winters, he has made up for some lost time and now ranks 60th on Baseball America’s list of the game’s top prospects.
Even then, Alford is likely behind Hernandez on the Blue Jays’ outfield depth chart given how well Hernandez fared against big-league pitching last summer. The right-handed hitter posted a .908 OPS with eight home runs after the Blue Jays acquired him from the Houston Astros for Francisco Liriano. So far this spring, he’s second on the team with three home runs.
"I’ve only seen Teo good,” Gibbons said. He had a big month for us in September. He hit a lot of home runs, and not just that, but he’s a good defender."
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If Pearce’s calf soreness had persisted, then Hernandez’s chances of making the opening-day roster would have increased substantially. Pearce has resumed running, however, and made the trip to play in Fort Myers, Fla., Thursday. Grichuk had been scheduled to make the trip as well, but instead stayed back in Dunedin for another day of rest. Still, Grichuk says he’s gradually ramping up the intensity of his workouts again after a period of rest.
"We figured it’d be best to treat it and manage it instead of playing through it," he said.
At present, then, it’s hard to envision a scenario where Hernandez makes the team. But at the very least, he’s on the radar of team decision-makers.
"I don’t know how all of this shakes out, but he should hold down a spot out here for a number of years,” Gibbons said. “When that happens, I couldn’t tell you."
In a general sense, the same applies to the entire triple-A outfield. Even if they don’t have a clear path to Toronto just yet, they’ll seemingly be ready to contribute before long.
