What's New on the Farm?

With speculation rising already that the Jays could be using farmhands to acquire another big bat for the lineup, it seems logical to take a bit of a gander at the Jays system to see what's there that could be for the taking. We've already seen a glimpse of David Purcey, who made his best left handed Daniel Cabrera impression in his major league debut.

For all the grief the Jays have had over the state of their relatively weak minor league system, most baseball experts agreed that the Jays had a very good 2007 draft. With that in mind, let's see how some of the newer young Jays are doing this year.

In Low A ball, there are a couple of names that stand out, including the Jays highest pick in last year's draft, Kevin Ahrens. From what I've been able to gather in my relatively quick research, Ahrens is showing some promise for a guy drafted right out of high school. The switch hitting third bagger has yet to hit a homer, but is hitting a respectable .291 thus far and is 3 for 3 in stolen base attempts.

Sandwich pick Justin Jackson is one of Ahrens teammates in Lansing. Jackson was a guy whose stock fell quite a bit in last year's draft, as he was once projected as a surefire top 20 pick. Scouts were dazzled by the high schoolers defensive prowress at shortstop, but there were concerns over his bat. Thus far, it looks like Jackson has been making some great strides in the hitting department. Hitting .313, Slugging .494, and already with a long ball, the speedy infielder is also an impressive 6 for 7 in stolen base attempts. Batter's Box recently saw Lansing play and came off most impressed with Jackson. I think it's pretty safe to say that we should start polishing up his Hall of Fame bust.

A guy I've never heard of until yesterday on JaysTalk with Ricciardi, is pitcher Kyle Ginley. He's destroying low A ball thus far, and a promotion seems likely. The kid thus far is 5-0 with a 1.24 ERA, with 36 Ks in 36 innings.

Moving up to Double A, Travis Snider is shitting the bed thus far, but there is no need to panic, given the small sample size... and the fact he's just two years out of high school. Snider's knocked a couple out of the park in New Hampshire, and his average has nowhere to go but up. As a top 15 prospect in all of baseball, he won't be hitting .143 come June.

Recently promoted Brett Cecil has let up 4 runs in 7 innings thus far in New Hampshire, and his rise to the majors will probably be quite swift, as he, unlike the other kids mentioned in this post, is out of college.