Kuzul

Under the control of J.P. Ricciardi, the Toronto Blue Jays never really accomplished what he set out to do: make the playoffs under a five-year plan. Ricciardi opted to try the free-agent approach to winning, and he failed pretty badly.

AJ Burnett, who only stayed until his player option came. Frank Thomas, who was pretty washed up by this point in his career. BJ Ryan, who lost all control after Tommy John surgery. These guys were Ricciardi’s undoings. 

Ricciardi, in a lot of baseball minds, was a decent drafter. He had some stumbling blocks early on, such as picking Russ Adams in the first round and at the time passing on Troy Tulowitzki by picking LHP Ricky Romero. Romero has since gone on to silence his critics this season and make that non-pick of Tulowitzki sting a little less. 

Last season, though, Ricciardi and management failed to sign a number of draft picks such as James Paxton, Jake Eliopoulos, and Jake Barrett. That may of been a blessing in disguise: Paxton was drafted 132nd overall by the Mariners (instead of in the second round by the Jays last year) and Eliopoulos went in the 15th round to the Dodgers.

To Ricciardi’s credit, he did draft the likes of Ricky Romero, Aaron Hill, Shaun Marcum and Brett Cecil.

So here we go, counting down the Jays’ top prospects. Parentheses the change from where Baseball America had them ranked last season.

10. RHP Asher Wojciechowski (unranked)

Team: Auburn DoubleDays (Rookie)

2010 Stats: 9 IP 4 H 1 ER 3 BB 10 K’s

It’s early on, but his numbers are the best out of the drafted players this year. Deck McGuire still hasn’t signed, so this guy has quickly became the Jays’ best prospect so far from the 2010 draft who are currently playing in the Jays minor league system. At 6’4″ 235 lbs, Asher is a dominating presence on the mound and his stuff has overmatched his competition in Auburn.

9. RHP Zach Stewart (1)

Team: New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA) 

2010 Stats: 74.1 IP 72 H 36 ER 32 BB 62 K 4.36 ERA

He didn’t have the greatest of years, but he’s no slouch, either. I still believe in my gut he turns into the team’s closer down the line, and to that I say, welcome. The Jays haven’t had a reliable closer since the days of Billy Koch in his rookie year.

8. RHP Chad Jenkins (3)

Team: Dunedin Blue Jays (High A) and Lansing Lugnuts (Low A)

2010 Stats: 85 IP 94 H 35 ER 13 BB 67 K 3.69 ERA

For an older pitcher playing in low-A ball, you would think his numbers would be better than they were, but they weren’t. That’s why his stock fell from last year. His control has been pretty darn good, and the ERA is a nice stat. Recently, he earned a promotion to Dunedin where he earned his first quality start with the Jays.

7. RHP Henderson Alvarez (5)

Team: Dunedin Blue Jays (High A)

2010 Stats: 65.1 IP 74 H 22 ER 13 BB 47 K’s 3.03 ERA

While he won’t blow you away, his control is probably the best among Blue Jays prospect pitchers. He doesn’t project to be a top-two starter, but his control and arm will earn him a starting pitching job eventually in the league. I haven’t seen a lot on him, but his small stature reminds me a little bit of Ervin Santana and Pedro Martinez. Those would probably be some good comparisons for him.

6. C Carlos Perez (10)

Team: Auburn DoubleDays (Rookie)

2010 Stats: 1 HR 7 RBI .333 AVG .405 OBP .951 OPS

Finally, a Blue Jays positional player. Perez has been tearing it up to start the season this year. He is regarded as one of the Jays’ better prospects, and his stats are showing why. 

5. OF Jake Marisnick  (Up 6)

Team: Gulf Coast Blue Jays (Gulf Coast League)

2010 Stats: 1 HR 4 RBI 3 SB 0 CS .364 AVG .444 OBP 1.051 OPS

Jake’s game reminds me a lot of Grady Sizemore. His combination of size, speed, and developing power lend himself to that comparison. If the Jays end up getting a player that is similar to Sizemore, but someone who will hopefully hit for a better average, this may turn out to be one of Ricciardi’s best-drafted players, especially considering where he ended up drafting him.

4. C Travis d’Arnaud (Unranked)

Team: Dunedin Blue Jays (High A)

2010 Stats: 5 HR 29 RBI 2 SB .339 OBP .436 SLG .775 OPS

The first of three prospects who came to Toronto in the Roy Halladay deal this summer. Travis is having a good start to the year. His calling card is his defence, and he’s shown that off this year. His bat started off hot, cooled down, and, in the last five games, has returned once again. He is close to earning a promotion to AA New Hampshire.

3. RHP Kyle Drabek (Unranked)

Team: New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA)

2010 Stats: 91 IP 81 H 33 ER 41 BB 72 K 3.26 ERA

Kyle is having a pretty good year this year for adjusting to a new team. His BB/K ratio leaves something to be desired, but he’s been very effective when he’s started nonetheless. He’s probably going to stay in New Hampshire for the year because the Pacific Coast League is where pitchers go to die for the most part. Look for him on the Blue Jays in 2011.

2. C JP Arencibia (2)

Team: Las Vegas 51’s (AAA)

2010 Stats: 17 HR 44 RBI .303 AVG .346 OBP .581 SLG .927 OPS

JP Arencibia has really started to evolve into that power-hitting catching prospect that the Jays hoped for when they drafted him. Last year he battled eyesight problems and a kidney ailment, so his numbers suffered as a result. This year he’s out to prove his critics wrong.

1. 1B/3B Brett Wallace (Unranked)

Team: Las Vegas 51’s (AAA)

2010 Stats: 14 HR 42 RBI .301 AVG .358 OBP .505 SLG .863 OPS

Wallace was probably the best player the Jays got in the Halladay deal, and the Jays had to trade OF Micheal Taylor to actually get him. Wallace has enjoyed a powerful season with the 51’s. He’s threatening to push Lyle Overbay out of his starting position with the Jays. Jays fans, don’t fret, that day is coming very soon.

Not Listed, but not Forgotten

Some prospects to not make the list, but I still feel are very good prospects include :

Darin Mastroianni, Brad Emaus, Michael McDade, Adeiny Hechavarria, AJ Jimenez, Ryan Goins, Kenny Wilson, Deck McGuire(unsigned), Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard, Tim Collins, Eric Thames and Moises Sierra.

Prospects who are falling fast out of the organization : 

Kevin Ahrens, Justin Jackson and David Cooper.

What are positions of strength : Obviously pitching and catching

Where We Need To Focus On Going Forward : A few more “toolsy” outfield prospects, some help up the middle of the infield and lastly a third baseman with some upside please. And you can’t have too much pitching.

Thanks for reading, any thoughts? Players I missed? Players that should’t be there?

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As we near the All Star Break, divisions begin to take shape and the contenders and pretenders begin to separate. At this time, general managers begin to look over their teams in search of what they may need for the stretch run.

In this three part series, I will examine the best available talent at this year’s trading deadline. I will outline salaries and future status as well, giving you an idea of their worth going forward.

Begin Slideshow

The game of baseball is rich in history and luster, but in the last two decades or so, the game has fallen out of favor in many baseball cities.

Ever since the players strike in 1994, baseball moved into the “Steroid Era.”

Fans were treated to the home run record being broken three times, but in fact, it can be argued all of them were “juiced,” so to baseball purists, the record still stands at 61. 

Today, the economy and fan attendance has a very high correlation.

Baseball teams who have a rich history, such as the Cleveland Indians, are seeing record lows in attendance.

Gone are the days of the consecutive sell out game streak at Jacobs Field. In its place is an Indians owner that is happy when the stadium is half full with around 23,000 fans. 

Back in the early 1990s, when the Skydome first opened, the Blue Jays were a team on the rise. The Skydome was filled every night with 50,000 loud fans and the team won two World Series in a row.

The following year saw the baseball strike.

Post-strike, attendance fell in Canada especially and the game essentially died.

The Montreal Expos were a team in the hunt when the strike of 94 called off the season.

When baseball returned, the fans didn’t in Montreal.

The team relocated to Washington and the city of Montreal remains without a team today.

The Blue Jays and Indians are averaging the least amount of fans to their games, averaging roughly 15,500 fans a night, a far cry from the 50,000 and 46,000 seat capacity of the ballparks respectively.

Recently, Alex Rios has said about baseball in Toronto; “Baseball is dead here.”

A team manager added, “Jays fans don’t show up because the team is like a book that you already know the ending to, so why bother reading it?” 

This message hit home to me so I respond with. “This story will have a different ending!”

The Plan to Revive Baseball Everywhere.

Step One: Division Re-Alignment

We’ll start off by realigning the divisions back to the two divisions per league.

In the American League, you play five series against your division (with two extra games played against two teams, cycled every three years), and two series against the other division (1 four and 1 three-gamer).

For example, the Yankees play BOS and TOR one extra time in year one, the next year they play TB and BAL, and then in year three, CLE and DET, and so on and it repeats over again.

This leaves the schedule at 141 games. 

Note: The schedule is shortened by about three and half weeks, this will be explained later.

I have not decided to switch teams from National to American League or visa versa, I believe that’s too much of a change.

AL East

NYY, BOS, TOR, TB, BAL, CLE, DET

AL West

TEX, LAA, OAK, SEA, MIN, CWS, KC

In the National League, since there are more teams, the schedule is worked a little differently. You play four series, with one series being a four-game series.

This makes 91 games (13 games against each team) within the division leaving the remaining 50 games. There is also six games each against the other divisional teams. 

This leaves 48 games, with the remaining two games played against the other division to be cycled through every four years. Example: ATL plays COL and SD two extra times in year one, then for year two they play SF and ARI two extra times and so on.

NL East

ATL, NYM, FLA, PHI, WSH, PIT, CIN, MIL

NL West

COL, SD, SF, ARI, LAD, HOU, CHC, STL

The total here is 141 games which means in my plan that I’m scrapping inter-league play. It’s a dying breed in my opinion.

The only way its fair for everyone is if they play every team.

Some divisions are easier, some divisions are harder.

Step Two: Revenue Sharing

Since baseball will never go to a hard cap, this is a way to help out the struggling teams.

This has worked pretty nicely in the NHL, and in baseball, this could be a valuable option for teams.

Granted the NHL also has a hard cap, but it’s just an idea I’m throwing out there. 

This offers teams some extra cash to go after a big name free agent or two knowing they may have some extra cash in their back pocket.

The Blue Jays lost Roy Halladay mostly because they could not afford him anymore.

Doc often brought on average 2,500-5,000 more fans in the seats each time he pitched.

Star players have that kind of impact. Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Ken Griffey Jr. are past players that often brought big crowds with them.

Step 3:Expansion of Playoffs 

This is my last and most important step.

People often say, “If you know the ending, why bother reading the book?” as a reason why to not show up to some teams games.

These teams make a good run, but always fall short come September. 

Teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Oakland Athletics are just a few teams that seem to fall into this lull, and to no one’s surprised that they are ranked in the bottom tier in terms of home attendance.

With this thought in mind, I believe expanding the playoffs to eight teams is great for the game.

The rounds of 16 and eight are each five games series, while the LCS and World Series are both seven game series.

Granted, this runs late into the year when the snow falls, but I believe with the season shortened slightly by roughly three weeks, this will allow for playoff expansion.

Each division winner gets a top three spot, while the Wild Card winner from years part gets the fourth spot, with the remaining four spots taken from the other teams.

Looking at the AL East this year. They have currently the four best teams in the AL and only two will make the playoffs. That makes little to no sense to me. Thus, the reason for the article.

Playoffs energize cities and ball-clubs, but most of all, during the dog days of August and well into September, if teams are in playoffs races, it just makes for a better baseball atmosphere.

Also, playoff baseball brings in extra team revenue, a great thing to have in today’s economy.

If the playoffs started right now the standings would finish like this for playoff seeding.

AL

TB/MIN/TEX/NYY/BOS/TOR/OAK/DET

NL

SD/ATL/STL/LAD/CIN/PHI/SF/COL

Doesn’t this make for a more exciting regular season? It also limits travel and saves teams money in the long run.

Summary:

1. Division Realignment, lower season schedule to 141 games.

2. Revenue Sharing to allow smaller market teams the ability to compete with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, etc.

3. Expansion of playoffs to eight teams

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The game of baseball is rich in history and luster, but recently, in the last two decades or so, the game has fallen out of favor in many baseball cities. Players went on strike, teams have folded, and lastly, a large portion players went on steroids, rewriting the record books and making 50-year-old records vanish. Today, in many baseball minds, those records come with an asterisk next to them.

Baseball, ever since the strike of 1994, has seen attendance dwindle in many baseball markets. Baseball lost the Montreal Expos, who moved to Washington after seasons of only averaging 7,600 and 9,400 fans a night. 

To the casual baseball fan, the game is slow, it’s boring, and in many cities, it’s a quiet setting. 

Today, baseball teams who have a rich history, such as the Cleveland Indians, are seeing record lows in attendance. Gone are the days of the consecutive sellout game streak at Jacobs Field. Now Indians brass are happy when the stadium is half full with around 23,000 fans. 

Back in the early 1990s, when the Skydome first opened, the Blue Jays were a team on the rise, little knowing they would win two straight World Series titles. The Skydome was filled every night with 50,000 loud fans. After the strike occurred, the fans began to disappear and the team began to unwind and disappear. In its place was a 90-loss team and a stadium that become more of an eyesore than an architectural gem. 

Today, the Blue Jays and Indians are averaging the least amount of fans to their games, averaging roughly 15,500 fans a night, a far cry from the 50,000 and 46,000 seat capacity of the ballparks.

Recently, Alex Rios has said, “Baseball is dead here.” A team manager added, “Jays fans don’t show up because they’re like a book that you already know the ending to, so why bother reading it?” And to that I say, it’s time for baseball to try something new and become more current to today’s fans.

This maybe a bit far fetched, but my idea I believe is logical and makes the game at least more interesting.

The Plan (bear with me its a tad complicated)

Step One: Division Re-Alignment

We’ll start off by realigning the divisions back to the two divisions per league. In the American League, you play five series against your division (with two extra games played against two teams, cycled every three years), and two series against the other division (1 four and 1 three-gamer).

For example, the Yankees play BOS and TOR one extra time in year one, the next year they play TB and BAL, and then in year three, CLE and DET, and so on and repeats over again.

This leaves the schedule at 141 games. Note: The schedule is shortened by about three and half weeks, this will be explained later.

I have not decided to switch teams from National to American League or visa versa, I believe that’s too much of a change. Example: Making MIL an AL West team and moving the Mets in the AL East and moving the Rays to the NL East.

AL East

NYY, BOS, TOR, TB, BAL, CLE, DET

AL West

TEX, LAA, OAK, SEA, MIN, CWS, KC

In the National League, since there are more teams, the schedule is worked a little differently. You play four series, with one series  being a four game series. Makes 91 games (13 games against each team) within division leaving the remaining 50 games, 6 games each against the other division.

This leaves 48 games, with the remaining two games played against the other division to be cycled through every four years. Example: ATL plays COL and SD two extra times in year one, then for year two they play SF and ARI two extra times and so on.

NL East

ATL, NYM, FLA, PHI, WSH, PIT, CIN, MIL

NL West

COL, SD, SF, ARI, LAD, HOU, CHC, STL

The total here is 141 games which means in my plan, I’m scraping inter-league play. It’s a dying breed in my opinion. The only way its fair for everyone is if they play every team. Some divisions are easier, some divisions are harder. For example, the Blue Jays play the Phillies, Rockies, Giants, Diamondbacks, and Cardinals, while avoiding teams like the Astros, Pirates, Nationals and Cubs.

Step Two: Revenue Sharing

Since baseball will never go to a hard cap—at least, that’s my opinion—this is a way to help out the struggling teams. This has worked pretty nicely in the NHL, and in baseball, this could be a valuable option for teams. Granted the NHL also has a hard cap, but it’s just an idea I’m throwing out there. 

This offers teams some extra cash to go after a big name free agent or two knowing they may have some extra cash in their back pocket. The Blue Jays lost Roy Halladay mostly because they could not afford him anymore. Doc often brought on average 2,500-5,000 more fans in the seats each time he pitched.

Star players have that kind of impact. Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Ken Griffey Jr. are past players that often brought big crowds with them.

Step Three: Nationally Televise MLB Draft on ESPN/TSN (Canada)

This is an attempt to make the game’s young and upcoming stars more noticeable on the national stage. The NBA, NFL, and NHL drafts all have their drafts nationally televised, yet for baseball I see nothing.

Granted, the MLB network broadcasts the draft, but there isn’t near the amount of attention brought to this draft and its often forgotten about. I’ve heard about Strasburg and Bryce Harper getting national attention, but nobody else seems to be heard from unless you read baseball prospect magazines.

Step Four: Expansion of Playoffs 

This is my last and most important step. People often say, “If you know the ending, why bother reading the book?” as a reason why to not show up to some teams games. They make a good run, but always fall short come September.

Teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Oakland Athletics are just a few teams that seem to fall into this lull, and to no one’s surprise they are ranked in the bottom tier in terms of home attendance.

With this thought in mind, I believe expanding the playoffs to eight teams is great for the game.

The rounds of 16 and eight are each five games series, while the LCS and World Series are both seven game series.

Granted, this runs late into the year when the snow flies, but I believe with the season shortened slightly but roughly three weeks, this will allow for playoff expansion.

Each division winner gets a top three spot, while the Wild Card winner from years part gets the fourth spot, with the remaining four spots taken from the other teams.

Looking at the AL East this year. They have currently the four best teams in the AL and only two will make the playoffs. That makes little to no sense to me. Thus, the reason for the article.

Playoffs energize cities and ball-clubs, but most of all, during the dog days of August and well into September, if teams are in playoffs races, it just makes for a better baseball atmosphere.

If the playoffs started right now the standings would finish like this for playoff seeding.

AL

TB/MIN/TEX/NYY/BOS/TOR/OAK/DET

NL

SD/ATL/STL/LAD/CIN/PHI/SF/COL

Doesn’t this make for a more exciting regular season? It also limits travel and saves teams money in the long run.

Thoughts on this nasty long article I wrote after a few too many Heineken’s?

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com