| Minor League Year in Review: AAA Syracuse Chiefs |
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There were very few bright points in the 2007 Syracuse Chiefs’ campaign. The Jays’ AAA affiliate finished the year at 64-80, good for a distant 5th place finish in the International League’s 6-team North Division. The Chiefs ranked 5th of 14 in runs scored, which was good, but 13th of 14 in team ERA, which was not so good. As such, it’s no surprise that the club has yielded a handful of MLB-ready position players and very slim pickings for pitchers. The Good:
 Adam Lind: highest hi-5s in the land Diaz was little-known before this season but has torn his way through the minors and may well end up as part of catching tandem with Gregg Zaun at some point next season. Diaz had a terrific .306/.341/.383 line in A Dunedin in 2006, earning him a rapid promotion to AA New Hampshire in 2007. The 24-year-old Diaz would have joined the Jays this September after another fantastic minor league campaign (.316/.344/.409 in 301 AA ABs and .338/.358/.431 in 65 ABs in AAA) had he not broken his hand in August. He’s not entirely polished; more patience at the plate would be nice and he has a reputation as a brash, strong-armed defender who needs to work on his game-calling skills and blocking balls in the dirt. Nevertheless, he remains one of the more exciting prospects in the Jays system and plays a position where we’ll need an infusion of fresh blood in the near future. Watch for him in spring training.  Robinzon Diaz: The Challenger I Thigpen, like Lind, is currently up with the big club. A versatile (he can play 1B and 2B), athletic 24-year-old, Thigpen put up a solid .285/.348/.391 line in half a season in Syracuse this year. Since then, things haven’t been going so well in very limited action in the bigs. He’s supposed to be ahead of Diaz on the C depth chart, but has played sparingly since his early June call up to TO despite promises that he’d get in at least two starts a week behind the plate. One has to suspect that the Jays’ front office is not entirely comfortable with his defensive skill set, prompting speculation this summer that he might be converted to 2B with Aaron Hill slotting over to SS. That said, Zaunie won’t be here forever and J-Mac is an underwhelming everyday SS, so don’t be too surprised if Thigpen ends up earning some playing time in ’08.
Thigpen: The Challenger II The Bad:
All three have had brief cups of coffee in TO over the last few years and shown little to get excited about. Hattig was a prototypical Moneyball player in the Red Sox system, posting a high OBP and SLG %, but regressed after coming over the Jays in a mid-2004 trade. At 27, his window of opportunity has probably closed after a lackluster .268/.341/.421 year at a power position. Still, nobody can take away the fact that he was the first native of Guam to play a game in the major leagues. Similar story for Roberts, who’s had a couple of chances to earn his way onto the big club as a utility IF. The tattoo-covered 27-year-old always wanted to find out how far he could make it in baseball before going back to medical school, an option that he should feel fortunate to have as a fall back position. Taubenheim was a throw-in from the Brewers in the Lyle Overbay trade. He gave the Jays a few shitty starts in 2006 and continued much in the same vein at Syracuse in 2007. He gives up an alarming number of hits, walks and homeruns, so if he gets any significant innings in TO next season you’ll know that things have gone horribly wrong. It would take a King Ralph scenario for you to ever see him in a Jays uni again. Running out of Time:
Santos was a former 1st round pick who came over from Arizona with Glaus prior to the 2006 season with a bat that was supposed to be his meal ticket. Santos has yo-yoed between AA and AAA from 2004 to the present, failing to live up to early expectations. This might well be due to the fact that the D-backs rushed him along (he was in AAA at 21), slowing his development. He’s got pop (20 HR in and 34 2B in 432 AA ABs)—no one questions that—but he’s looked badly overmatched in each of his stints at AAA, including a short stay in Syracuse this year. The big club desperately needs a SS, but Santos has a lot of work to do before he enters the conversation. The Perpetual AAAA Player Award:
There was a time when Griffin was considered something of a prospect. In 2005 he hit .254/.335/.475 with 30 HR and 103 RBI. He was hurt in 2006, but rebounded with a .252/.330/.488 line with 26 HR and 83 RBI in 2007. His glove is considered a liability, he doesn’t walk enough for a power hitter, and he’s inching ever closer to 30. It was fun while it lasted. Once a top 1B prospect in the Brewers System, the 32-year-old Barker has played 1324 minor league games over the past decade. Hello, Bull Durham! The Russ Adams Award:
Despite an unimpressive 2006 at Syracuse in which he made little progress with the bat and none with his suspect glove, Russ Adams gets an undeserved call up and is positioning himself nicely to stick around in ’08 with a solid September. If Adams can become the New Hinske (playing adequate D at a handful of positions and providing a LH bat off the bench), JP’s 2002 1st round pick will likely win a spot as a utility man with the big club next season. If he were a cat, he’d be on his 9th life.
Time to be a man, Rusty. Honourable Mention:
He’s Canadian (Wallaceburg, ON), which we like around these parts. Best of luck, young man.             |
