By Nathan Rode
December 19, 2011



Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible. Ages are as of April 1, 2011.

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TOP TEN PROSPECTS

1. Travis d'Arnaud, c 2. Anthony Gose, of 3. Jake Marisnick, of 4. Daniel Norris, lhp 5. Justin Nicolino, lhp 6. Aaron Sanchez, rhp 7. Noah Syndergaard, rhp 8. Deck McGuire, rhp 9. Drew Hutchison, rhp 10. Asher Wojciechowski, rhp

BEST TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average Travis d'Arnaud Best Power Hitter Travis d'Arnaud Best Strike Zone Discipline David Cooper Fastest Baserunner Anthony Gose Best Athlete Jake Marisnick Best Fastball Noah Syndergaard Best Curveball Aaron Sanchez Best Slider Deck McGuire Best Changup Justin Nicolino Best Control Drew Hutchison Best Defensive Catcher A.J. Jimenez Best Defensive Infielder Adeiny Hechavarria Best Infield Arm Adeiny Hechavarria Best Defensive OF Anthony Gose Best Outfield Arm Moises Sierra

PROJECTED 2015 LINEUP

Catcher Travis D'Arnaud First Base Adam Lind Second Base Yunel Escobar Third Base Brett Lawrie Shortstop Adienny Hechavarria Left Field Colby Rasmus Center Field Anthony Gose Right Field Jake Marisnick Designated Hitter Jose Bautista No. 1 Starter Ricky Romero No. 2 Starter Brandon Morrow No. 3 Starter Daniel Norris No. 4 Starter Justin Nicolino No. 5 Starter Aaron Sanchez Closer Sergio Santos

TOP PROSPECTS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Pos 2011 Org 2002 Josh Phelps, c Indians 2003 Dustin McGowan, rhp Blue Jays 2004 Alex Rios, of White Sox 2005 Brandon League, rhp Mariners 2006 Dustin McGowan, rhp Blue Jays 2007 Adam Lind, of Blue Jays 2008 Travis Snider, of Blue Jays 2009 Travis Snider, of Blue Jays 2010 Zach Stewart, rhp White Sox 2011 Kyle Drabek, rhp Blue Jays

TOP DRAFT PICKS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Pos 2011 Org 2003 Aaron Hill, SS Diamondbacks 2004 David Purcey, LHP Phillies 2005 Ricky Romero, LHP Blue Jays 2006 Travis Snider, OF Blue Jays 2007 Kevin Ahrens, 3B Blue Jays 2008 David Cooper, 1B Blue Jays 2009 Chad Jenkins, RHP Blue Jays 2010 Deck McGuire, RHP Blue Jays

LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY

Adeinys Hechavarria, 2010 $4,000,000 Adonis Cardona, 2010 $2,800,000 Ricky Romero, 2005 $2,400,000 Felipe Lopez, 1998 $2,000,000 Deck McGuire, 2010 $2,000,000 Daniel Norris, 2011 $2,000,000

BLUE JAYS LINKS

Blue Jays Team Page Blue Jays Top 10 Scouting Reports Last Year's Blue Jays Top 10 Prospects 2011 Draft: Blue Jays (Basic Database) 2011 Draft: Blue Jays (Advanced Database) 2011 Draft Report Cards: Toronto Blue Jays Complete Index of Top 10 Prospects Pre-Order the 2012 Prospect Handbook

Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has been on the job for just two years, and already he has presided over a dramatic makeover of his organization. Toronto still has to settle for the title of the best fourth-place team in baseball, which it has held for the last four seasons, including the final two under the reign of former GM J.P. Ricciardi. But the Jays are getting better in baseball's toughest division, and Anthopoulos has brought in as much young talent as any GM since he took over in October 2009.

His first big move was to deal Roy Halladay to the Phillies for three blue-chip prospects: Kyle Drabek, Travis d'Arnaud and Michael Taylor. Drabek ranked as Toronto's No. 1 prospect a year ago before graduating to the majors (where he struggled mightily) and has been succeeded by d'Arnaud. Taylor was flipped immediately to the Athletics for Brett Wallace, who was traded seven months later to the Astros for outfielder Anthony Gose, currently No. 2 in our Blue Jays prospect rankings.

Anthopoulos continually has shown a deft touch on the trade market. He has acquired Yunel Escobar, Brandon Morrow and Colby Rasmus for the big league club without giving up anyone who was a key part of the franchise's future. He miraculously dumped Vernon Wells and the $86 million remaining on his contract on the Angels and got Mike Napoli back in the deal, though Anthopoulos then traded Napoli for Frank Francisco.

The GM's best move may turn out to be the December 2010 deal that sent Shaun Marcum to the Brewers for Brett Lawrie, who should be Toronto's third baseman for years to come. Lawrie ranked as the Triple-A Pacific Coast League's top prospect in 2011 before hitting .293/.373/.580 in two months in the majors.

The influx of young talent has extended to the farm system as well, thanks to the Blue Jays' aggressive approach to the draft and international markets. Toronto spent a club-record $11.6 million on the 2010 draft and nearly matched that with $11 million in 2011, when first-round pick Tyler Beede turned down a $2.4 million offer to attend Vanderbilt.

The 2010 draft stocked the system with several promising pitchers, including five who made our Jays Top 10 Prospects list: Justin Nicolino, Aaron Sanchez, Deck McGuire, Noah Syndergaard and Asher Wojciechowski. All were part of Toronto's bounty of nine picks in the first three rounds.

The Blue Jays had eight choices in the top three rounds last June, and hauled in their best current pitching prospect (Daniel Norris), three more quality arms (Kevin Comer, Joe Musgrove, John Stilson) and a pair of intriguing bats (Dwight Smith Jr., Jacob Anderson). They also gave sandwich-round money to a couple of later-round position players, second baseman Christian Lopes and third baseman Matt Dean.

Toronto has asserted itself just as much internationally, starting with a $10 million major league contract for Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria in April 2010. The Blue Jays also have handed out seven-figure deals to Venezuelan righthander Adonis Cardona ($2.8 million in 2010), Venezuelan outfielder Wilmer Becerra and Dominican shortstop Dawel Lugo ($1.3 million each in 2011).

The White Sox took note, hiring away Marco Paddy, who had been Toronto's director of Latin American operations the last five years. The Jays replaced him with former Mets supervisor of Latin American operations Ismael Cruz.

Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects (How to subscribe)

Pre-Order the 2012 Prospect Handbook 30 scouting reports on every team