- Full name Aaron Dean
- Born
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Organization Prospect Rankings
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The Blue Jays have a bevy of righthanded starters who are close in talent, polish and ceiling. One organization official said you could put all their names in a hat--not including Charles Kegley and Brian Cardwell--and put them in prospect order that way. Like Brandon Lyon, Dean is a young and somewhat polished pitcher who was procured through the draft-and-follow process. He fits scouts' ideal for a long, lean righthander, and he has shown more than projectability. He has experienced plenty of success in pro ball, including a dominant debut in 1999, when he was a New York-Penn League all-star. Dean's polish and maturity led the Blue Jays to give him an emergency start at Double-A last year, where he battled through six innings and gave up only one run. Dean has decent movement on his 88-92 mph fastball and should improve his velocity a tick or two with time. His sharp, true curveball is a strikeout pitch, and his developing changeup has developed nicely. Dean will start at Dunedin in 2001.