Future Watch: Vlad Jr. continues to crush Double-A pitching

Scott Mitchell

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These rankings are put together based on information gathered from various prospect sources, conversations with evaluators inside and outside the Jays' organization, as well as personal opinion. 

I am not a scout, so any notes gathered on pitcher mechanics or notable swing changes throughout the season are coming from an outside source.

While the first list to begin April outlined who the top 20 prospects in the organization are, the purpose of this weekly ranking from this point forward is to highlight how players have done over the past seven days (from Tuesday through the following Monday) and shuffle them up accordingly.

If you see Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as the seventh name on the list one week, it doesn't mean he's suddenly the seventh-best prospect in the system. It just means six other prospects from this top 20 performed better over a seven-day period.

We hope you enjoy this weekly snapshot that will run each Wednesday through the end of August when minor league seasons come to a close.

1. 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 19 (3/16/1999)
Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 200
Top 100 prospect rankings: Baseball America (3), MLB Pipeline (3), Keith Law ESPN (2), Baseball Prospectus (4), FanGraphs (3)
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: .421/.472/.697 with 8 HR, 45 RBI, 2 SB in 179 plate appearances at Double-A
Past week: .500/.563/.846 with 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB in 32 plate appearances at Double-A

What more can you say about Vlad Jr.? He's owned this top spot for a month now and is showing no signs of slowing down. At this point, it's safe to say he's mastered Double-A and he's ready for a new challenge, but he's also been 19 for a little more than two months and the Jays aren't in a rush. From a development standpoint, it's all starting to come together for Guerrero. After hitting 13 home runs all of last year, he's already got eight this year, and he's walked 17 times and struck out 17 times. The bat is elite and you can expect to see him in Triple-A in the near future.

2. LHP Ryan Borucki

Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 24 (03/31/1994)
Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 175
Projected MLB ETA: 2018
Season stats: 3-4, 3.40 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 39.2 IP, 35 H, 13 BB, 33 K at Triple-A
Past week: 1-0, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K at Triple-A

Borucki isn't an elite prospect by any means, but he's starting to feel a little bit underrated. He shredded the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (New York Yankees) last Friday, allowing just three hits over seven shutout innings. The strikeouts are down a bit this season from his breakout of a year ago — 9.4 K/9 to 7.5 K/9 — but his groundball rate has jumped to 57 per cent, which will help him in the American League East. If Borucki can build on his latest gem, he could be in line for a rotation look in Toronto soon.

3. 2B Samad Taylor

Current affiliate: Low-A Lansing
Age: 19 (07/11/1998)
Height: 5-foot-10 | Weight: 160
Projected MLB ETA: 2022
Season stats: .248/.335/.409 with 3 HR, 13 RBI, 14 SB in 156 plate appearances at Low-A
Past week: .375/.423/.625 with 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB in 26 plate appearances at Low-A

Taylor enjoyed an impact week, hitting his third home run, stealing a pair of bases and continuing to show sneaky pop for a player listed at 160 pounds with four extra-base hits. The middle infield may be a mess at the major-league level, but the pipeline is loaded with interesting up-the-middle players.

4. 2B/3B Cavan Biggio

Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 23 (04/11/1995)
Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 203
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: .297/.419/.680 with 12 HR, 33 RBI, 5 SB in 160 plate appearances at Double-A
Past week: .292/.433/.625 with 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB in 30 plate appearances at Double-A

Another one of those up-the-middle names, Biggio's glove isn't highly regarded, but if he continues to hit like this he could be a Marwin Gonzalez-type, a bat-first player who can move around the diamond. Whether he's at second, third or first, Biggio has been taking full advantage of lefty-friendly Northeast Delta Dental Stadium and he's toting around a 53.8 per cent fly ball rate thanks to swing adjustments.

5. 1B Rowdy Tellez

Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 23 (03/16/1995)
Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 220
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: .264/.350/.358 with 2 HR, 11 RBI, 3 SB in 123 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .444/.429/.667 with 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB in 21 plate appearances at Triple-A

After hitting just six home runs in over 500 plate appearances last season, Tellez swatted his second of the 2018 campaign this past week, a good sign for a player who absolutely needs to hit for some semblance of power to have a chance. Tellez had hits in all five games, including three multi-hit efforts. Since April 22, Tellez is slashing .319/.378/.443 in 90 plate appearances.

6. SS Logan Warmoth

Current affiliate: High-A Dunedin
Age: 22 (09/06/1995)
Height: 6-foot-0 | Weight: 190
Projected MLB ETA: 2020
Season stats: .257/.333/.333 with 1 HR, 12 RBI, 4 SB in 162 plate appearances at High-A
Past week: .360/.448/.400 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3 SB in 29 plate appearances at High-A

The 2017 first-round pick (22nd overall) enjoyed his best week of the season, collecting nine hits in seven games and stealing a trio of bases. While it's been a slow start offensively, the good news is Warmoth has bumped his walk rate to 9 per cent, doubling that number from his professional debut last year.

7. RHP Sean Reid-Foley

Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 22 (08/30/1995)
Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 220
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: 5-0, 2.03 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 44.1 IP, 27 H, 20 BB, 52 K at Double-A
Past week: 0-0, 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K at Double-A

Repeating a level is never going to generate huge buzz in prospect circles, but the Jays are happy with the way Reid-Foley has come along through eight starts. Last year, problems with the long ball did him in, leading to a 5.09 ERA. After allowing 22 home runs in 2017, Reid-Foley has given up just three in 44.1 innings. There are some warning signs his 2.03 ERA won't last — his strand rate and batting average on balls in play aren't sustainable— but the strikeouts (10.6 K/9) and ground balls (54.5 per cent) are both elite.

8. C Riley Adams

Current affiliate: High-A Dunedin
Age: 21 (06/26/1996)
Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 225
Projected MLB ETA: 2021
Season stats: .210/.286/.336 with 2 HR, 14 RBI, 0 SB in 133 plate appearances at High-A
Past week: .263/.333/.526 with 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB in 21 plate appearances at High-A

Adams broke out against Daytona Tortugas pitching this week, collecting five hits in the three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds' affiliate. The best news is that three of those hits went for extra bases, including the big catcher's second home run of the season.

9. 2B/SS Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 24 (10/19/1993)
Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 185
Projected MLB ETA: Made MLB debut April 20, 2018
Season stats: .347/.382/.510 with 1 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB in 55 plate appearances at Double-A; .206/.229/.309 with 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB in 70 MLB plate appearances; .200/.250/.467 with 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB in 16 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .200/.250/.467 with 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB in 16 plate appearances at Triple-A

After big-league pitching started to expose him and the nuances of playing shortstop looked to be bogging him down as well, the Jays sent Gurriel back to Triple-A — a level he's never played at — for more seasoning. It was the right move, and he enjoyed a productive first week in upstate New York, crushing a grand slam and driving in seven runs.

10. SS Richard Urena

Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 22 (02/26/1996)
Height: 6-foot-0 | Weight: 185
Projected MLB ETA: Made MLB debut Sept. 1, 2017
Season stats: .278/.278/.444 with 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB in 19 MLB plate appearances; .125/.125/.125 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB in 8 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .273/.273/.545 with 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB in 12 MLB plate appearances

Despite having played just a handful of games after getting a late start to his season due to a ribcage injury, Urena, like Gurriel, was thrust into action with the big club before he was ready. He did hit his second big-league homer, but he struck out seven times in 19 trips to the plate and generally looked overmatched. He'll make up the Bisons' double play combo with Gurriel for now.

11. SS Bo Bichette

Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 20 (03/05/1998)
Height: 6-foot-0 | Weight: 200
Top 100 prospect rankings: Baseball America (8), MLB Pipeline (13), Keith Law ESPN (17), Baseball Prospectus (19), FanGraphs (9)
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: .258/.333/.387 with 1 HR, 15 RBI, 9 SB in 183 plate appearances at Double-A
Past week: .172/.242/.310 with 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB in 33 plate appearances at Double-A

Last year, Bichette's name was mentioned in unison with Guerrero. Not so much to start 2018. As Guerrero has flourished in his first look at Double-A pitching, Bichette has struggled, striking out more (20.2 per cent) and showing considerably less power, although he did pop his first home run this week, taking Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) reliever Chris Jensen deep. There's no reason to panic and stop believing, but it just goes to show that development isn't linear and every prospect will encounter bumps in the road.

12. C Danny Jansen

Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 23 (04/15/1995)
Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 225
Top 100 prospect rankings: FanGraphs (71)
Projected MLB ETA: 2018
Season stats: .300/.418/.450 with 2 HR, 16 RBI, 4 SB in 123 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .200/.500/.200 with 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 SB in 16 plate appearances at Triple-A

Jansen's numbers don't jump off the page, but when you dig deeper and see that he's walked 16 times and struck out just 16 times, you realize he's got an excellent plan each and every time he gets in the box. He didn't do much hitting this past week, but that .500 on-base percentage will do just fine. One notable change in Jansen's batted ball profile this season is that he's traded ground balls for line drives and is sporting a 24.1 per cent line drive rate. 

13. C Reese McGuire

Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 23 (03/02/1995)
Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 215
Projected MLB ETA: 2018
Season stats: .170/.223/.250 with 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB in 95 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .235/.316/.412 with 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB in 19 plate appearances at Triple-A

McGuire's bat is showing signs of life, and he hit his second homer of the season Friday, taking Scranton/Wilkes-Barre reliever Cale Coshow deep. While offence is never going to be his calling card, McGuire's stellar defensive reputation is still intact at the highest level of the minors.

14. OF/1B Ryan Noda

Current affiliate: Low-A Lansing
Age: 22 (03/30/1996)
Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 217
Projected MLB ETA: 2020
Season stats: .190/.463/.286 with 0 HR, 12 RBI, 8 SB in 160 plate appearances at Low-A
Past week: .167/.464/.222 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB in 28 plate appearances at Low-A

There's a difference between patient and passive, which is exactly what the Jays are trying to iron out with Noda. His ridiculous 29.3 per cent walk rate — that's 48 free passes in 39 games — has allowed him to build up an impressive .463 on-base percentage, but Noda has been watching far too many hittable pitches go by him and it's led to a .202 batting average. Scouts love the raw power, but he'll never get to it if he doesn't swing the bat, they say.

15. OF Anthony Alford

Current affiliate: Triple-A Buffalo
Age: 23 (07/20/1994)
Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 215
Top 100 prospect rankings: Baseball America (60), MLB Pipeline (47), Keith Law ESPN (44), Baseball Prospectus (58), FanGraphs (36)
Projected MLB ETA: Made MLB debut May 19, 2017
Season stats: .143/.250/.143 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB in 16 MLB plate appearances; .148/.207/.167 with 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB in 58 plate appearances at Triple-A
Past week: .133/.188/.133 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB in 16 plate appearances at Triple-A

You can group Alford with Gurriel and Urena above. Injuries forced him into an early call up, and the rust from missing a month of action due to a hamstring strain showed. Now, Alford is back in Triple-A and the Jays would love to see him stay healthy and productive for a stretch, something that seems to elude the former football player every year.

16. RHP T.J. Zeuch

Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 22 (08/01/1995)
Height: 6-foot-7 | Weight: 225
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: 3-3, 3.47 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 36.1 IP, 34 H, 9 BB, 24 K at High-A; 0-2, 5.74 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 15.2 IP, 22 H, 4 BB, 9 K at Double-A
Past week: 0-1, 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K at Double-A

Zeuch's received a rude welcome to Double-A, pitching to a 5.74 ERA in three starts since being moved up. The peripheral numbers show he's been pitching better than the results, but he doesn't strike many guys out, so there are going to be days where the batted ball luck doesn't go his way. 

17. C Max Pentecost

Current affiliate: Double-A New Hampshire
Age: 25 (03/10/1993)
Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 191
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: .226/.282/.376 with 2 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB in 103 plate appearances at Double-A
Past week: .214/.313/.214 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB in 16 plate appearances at Double-A

Pentecost continues to struggle with the bat as he attempts to handle the rigours of being a full-time catcher. He hasn't shown much power and Double-A pitching has jumped his strikeout rate to 24.1 per cent. The good news is hasn't experienced any setbacks with the shoulder that shut him down in the Arizona Fall League last year. 

18. RHP Nate Pearson

Current affiliate: High-A Dunedin
Age: 21 (08/20/1996)
Height: 6-foot-6 | Weight: 245
Top 100 prospect rankings: Baseball America (91), Keith Law ESPN (100), FanGraphs (76)
Projected MLB ETA: 2020
Season stats: N/A
Past week: N/A

The 2017 first-round pick has been sidelined with a broken forearm since being hit with a comebacker May 7 in his season debut. He's scheduled to be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks. Pearson, who had a screw inserted into his pitching elbow in high school, is no stranger to injuries, and in addition to the oblique strain he suffered late in the spring, it has not been a good start to his first full pro season health-wise.

19. RHP Eric Pardinho

Current affiliate: Extended spring training
Age: 17 (01/05/2001)
Height: 5-foot-10 | Weight: 155
Projected MLB ETA: 2024
Season stats: N/A
Past week: N/A

The $1.4-million bonus baby from last year's July 2 international class will marinate in extended spring training as a 17-year-old until further notice. The Brazilian right-hander already sits at No. 7 on MLB Pipeline's list of top 30 Blue Jays prospects.

20. LHP Thomas Pannone

Current affiliate: Suspended
Age: 24 (04/28/1994)
Height: 6-foot-0 | Weight: 195
Projected MLB ETA: 2019
Season stats: N/A
Past week: N/A

Handed an 80-game suspension by Major League Baseball in March for testing positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), Pannone isn't eligible to return until June 30. Pannone is currently working out at the team's Dunedin complex and they're trying to maximize the downtime in this unfortunate situation.