Toronto Blue Jays Organizational Depth: First Base

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

In order to get a good assessment of where things stand in terms of organizational depth, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at what each level of the minors has to offer the Toronto Blue Jays. I’m going to approach this in an inverse order, giving you a look at the more obscure names first and the most obvious MLB players last.

Kicking things off is a player who didn’t get a massive bonus like so many other international free agents but is making the most of his opportunity so far.

Dominican Summer League Blue Jays

Enmanuel Moreta, 20 years old, Bats Right, 6’3″ 215 lbs

• Signed as an international free agent in July of 2013. He was not ranked within the Top 30 international prospects list as presented by Baseball America.
• Was named the DSL Minor League Player of the year (Webster Award) by the Jays in 2014.

Stats

Signed during the same season the Toronto Blue Jays spent $1.29 million on SS Yeltsin Gudino, a player who has yet to break the Mendoza line and has been a bust so far, they got a lot more value by signing Moreta to an immensely cheaper deal. That year, he was also part of a whopping 14 players signed on the international market by the Jays. In Moreta’s case, he signed for an amount so small that it didn’t even warrant being listed on any site I could find (likely below $20,000). Since then, all Moreta has done is hit and lead his team in most categories.

Jay Blue of Blue Jays From Away said the following of Moreta after the 2014 season ended:

"“The first baseman led the club in slugging with a .437 mark and, of the players who played all year, he was the most well rounded (although his speed seems non-existent). Moreta’s 21 doubles and seven triples led the club while he still managed to hit for a solid batting average of .287 with a good OBP of .367.”"

It’s interesting that the Jays decide to have him remain in the DSL after having such a great year. A move up to the GCL would have made some sense. As it was, he spent the year in the Dominican and regressed in many areas. It’ll be interesting to see if the Jays decide to move him up for 2016 and how well he does once that decision is made. If he makes the jump and succeeds, he could gain some prominence as a Jays prospect. However, if he struggles to progress once again, it may be hard for him to move up enough to get a shot at such a power-hitting focused position.

Next: A Texas born and raised Scott is next