By Morgan Campbell Sports Reporter
DUNEDIN, Fla.–If you think the crowds at the Rogers Centre are small, try a game in the Dominican Summer League, bottom rung of the Blue Jays' minor-league ladder.
Pitching prospect Luis Perez, who played there in 2005 and '06, says he has never seen fewer spectators as a pro.
"When I would pitch, there would be, like, 30 fans," said Perez, who went 9-11 at Double-A New Hampshire last season. "Maybe 25."
In the DSL, kids as young as 16 compete to move one step closer to the majors and Florida's Gulf Coast League prospects fresh out of high school also toil in front of similarly miniscule crowds.
Those destinations aren't sexy, but they're essential, the entry points to a minor-league system Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos and his staff hope will help propel the Jays back to major-league glory.
With fine-tuning and a new attitude, they expect the farm system to blossom over the next few years.
"To produce impact major-league players. That's the primary goal," said Tony LaCava, the Jays' vice-president of baseball operations. "But there's definitely a philosophical change (from last season), not to say that what was done before was wrong."
Nobody in the Jays' front office wants to criticize the way former GM J.P. Ricciardi handled the farm system, but before Anthopoulos traded Roy Halladay to Philadelphia for three prospects Baseball America ranked the Jays' farm system 28th among 30 teams. And when that magazine released its list of 2010 prospects, only three Jays made the top 100: pitcher Kyle Drabek, first baseman Brett Wallace and catcher Travis D'Arnaud.
All three players came to the Jays in the Halladay trade.
Many observers single out the Minnesota Twins as an example of minor-league baseball done right, highlighting the club's emphasis on teaching fundamentals at every level. By drilling every prospect on the same style of play, the Twins ensure a smoother transition when a player is promoted.
Anthopoulos buys that theory, but only to a point.
He says every team, including the Jays, strives to implement a consistent style of play at all levels, but the Twins, who won the AL Central in 2009, have done it most successfully.
The numbers bear out the efficiency of the Twins' system.
Toronto's 40-man roster includes 16 players who began their pro careers in the Jays' system. Tampa Bay, which built a contender by parlaying bad finishes into great draft picks, also has 16.
Minnesota has 25.
To ensure similar success, Anthopoulos has introduced a number of measures.
He plans to visit every minor-league affiliate at least once this season, increasing communication between the Jays and their farm teams. He also increased minor-league players' per diem from $20 to $25, hoping the extra cash will allow them to buy healthier food. And he hired instructors to teach fielding and baserunning throughout the minors, fundamentals that should eventually trickle up to the majors.
"We want to have an identity as a team that plays good, hard-nosed, fundamental ball," Anthopoulos said over the phone while scouting a high school game in Florida.
But even as those players learn the skills that will ease their transition to the majors, their odds of reaching the Jays – let alone having an impact – remain shockingly slim.
Perez is the only player in Jays camp to have started his pro career with Toronto's Dominican Summer League affiliate. Of roughly 30 teammates from back then, Perez says he's one of only four still playing professionally and the only one still in the Jays' organization.
Anthopoulos estimates that of the roughly 50 players major-league teams draft each spring, only one ever becomes an above-average player in the majors. The Jays hope their renewed emphasis on scouting and minor-league development can yield two major-league standouts per draft.
And with the Jays scouting more high school players than they did under Ricciardi, prospects need even more minor-league polish before they're major-league ready. With minor-league camp set to open Saturday, the Jays wrapped up a week-long mini camp for roughly 30 of the most promising players from lower-level farm clubs.
"It's important that our younger players get more time together with our co-ordinators," LaCava said. "It's a little different than developing NCAA players."
It's not clear exactly how many wins the Jays' minor-league makeover will earn them in a few years, but the website www.baseballanalysts.com recently tried to quantify the effect of a strong farm system on the parent club.
They calculated that having the top farm in baseball in 2009 and 2010 will earn the Texas Rangers 31 wins over the next nine years, while owning the worst farm system would cost the Astros 36 losses over the same span.
DUNEDIN, Fla.–If you think the crowds at the Rogers Centre are small, try a game in the Dominican Summer League, bottom rung of the Blue Jays' minor-league ladder.
Pitching prospect Luis Perez, who played there in 2005 and '06, says he has never seen fewer spectators as a pro.
"When I would pitch, there would be, like, 30 fans," said Perez, who went 9-11 at Double-A New Hampshire last season. "Maybe 25."
In the DSL, kids as young as 16 compete to move one step closer to the majors and Florida's Gulf Coast League prospects fresh out of high school also toil in front of similarly miniscule crowds.
Those destinations aren't sexy, but they're essential, the entry points to a minor-league system Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos and his staff hope will help propel the Jays back to major-league glory.
With fine-tuning and a new attitude, they expect the farm system to blossom over the next few years.
"To produce impact major-league players. That's the primary goal," said Tony LaCava, the Jays' vice-president of baseball operations. "But there's definitely a philosophical change (from last season), not to say that what was done before was wrong."
Nobody in the Jays' front office wants to criticize the way former GM J.P. Ricciardi handled the farm system, but before Anthopoulos traded Roy Halladay to Philadelphia for three prospects Baseball America ranked the Jays' farm system 28th among 30 teams. And when that magazine released its list of 2010 prospects, only three Jays made the top 100: pitcher Kyle Drabek, first baseman Brett Wallace and catcher Travis D'Arnaud.
All three players came to the Jays in the Halladay trade.
Many observers single out the Minnesota Twins as an example of minor-league baseball done right, highlighting the club's emphasis on teaching fundamentals at every level. By drilling every prospect on the same style of play, the Twins ensure a smoother transition when a player is promoted.
Anthopoulos buys that theory, but only to a point.
He says every team, including the Jays, strives to implement a consistent style of play at all levels, but the Twins, who won the AL Central in 2009, have done it most successfully.
The numbers bear out the efficiency of the Twins' system.
Toronto's 40-man roster includes 16 players who began their pro careers in the Jays' system. Tampa Bay, which built a contender by parlaying bad finishes into great draft picks, also has 16.
Minnesota has 25.
To ensure similar success, Anthopoulos has introduced a number of measures.
He plans to visit every minor-league affiliate at least once this season, increasing communication between the Jays and their farm teams. He also increased minor-league players' per diem from $20 to $25, hoping the extra cash will allow them to buy healthier food. And he hired instructors to teach fielding and baserunning throughout the minors, fundamentals that should eventually trickle up to the majors.
"We want to have an identity as a team that plays good, hard-nosed, fundamental ball," Anthopoulos said over the phone while scouting a high school game in Florida.
But even as those players learn the skills that will ease their transition to the majors, their odds of reaching the Jays – let alone having an impact – remain shockingly slim.
Perez is the only player in Jays camp to have started his pro career with Toronto's Dominican Summer League affiliate. Of roughly 30 teammates from back then, Perez says he's one of only four still playing professionally and the only one still in the Jays' organization.
Anthopoulos estimates that of the roughly 50 players major-league teams draft each spring, only one ever becomes an above-average player in the majors. The Jays hope their renewed emphasis on scouting and minor-league development can yield two major-league standouts per draft.
And with the Jays scouting more high school players than they did under Ricciardi, prospects need even more minor-league polish before they're major-league ready. With minor-league camp set to open Saturday, the Jays wrapped up a week-long mini camp for roughly 30 of the most promising players from lower-level farm clubs.
"It's important that our younger players get more time together with our co-ordinators," LaCava said. "It's a little different than developing NCAA players."
It's not clear exactly how many wins the Jays' minor-league makeover will earn them in a few years, but the website www.baseballanalysts.com recently tried to quantify the effect of a strong farm system on the parent club.
They calculated that having the top farm in baseball in 2009 and 2010 will earn the Texas Rangers 31 wins over the next nine years, while owning the worst farm system would cost the Astros 36 losses over the same span.
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