First off I would like to wish Jays Nation a Happy Easter, and hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday (with a lot of baseball watching).  I know I did.

It was a tough decision to decide who would take Prospect of the Week honours this time around.  I’m glad it was tough because that means the Blue Jays prospects are excelling and showing their talents. The 2008 First Year Player’s Draft was full of talent, and both of this week’s POTW were drafted from that pool.

This week’s best pitcher could see time at the Major League level this year if he can pitch in a consistent manner.  I’m proud to give New Hampshire Fisher Cats RHP Zach Stewart with Blue Jays Pitching Prospect of the Week honours.

Stewart pitched  6.2 innings on April 18th, allowing only 1 run (0 earned), on 2 hits, while striking out 5.  He showed great command not walking any batters, and took the win in a 7-3 Fisher Cats victory over the New Britain Rock Cats.

Zach Stewart could see some time in the Toronto Blue Jays Rotation - Photo by Mike Cassese, REUTERS

Stewart was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 3rd round of the 2008 MLB First Year Player’s Draft, and was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009 along with Edwin Encarnacion, and Josh Roenicke in exchange for Scott Rolen. Zach was ranked by MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo as the Blue Jays 6th best prospect, making him the 2nd best pitching prospect behind RHP Kyle Drabek.  Stewart is currently 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA over 18.2 innings of work.

Honourable Pitching Lines of the Week:

RHP Chad Beck (New Hampshire Fisher Cats): 1-0, 0.00ERA, 7IP, 4H, 6K, 2BB
RHP Nestor Molina (Dunedin Blue Jays): 1-0, 0.00ERA, 5IP, 3H, 5K, 0BB
RHP Drew Hutchison (Lansing Lugnuts): 1-0, 1.50ERA, 6IP, 6H, 1BB, 6K

As I turn to my Hitting Prospect of the Week, I had a short list of about 4 or 5 names.  It was a great week for some young prospects, but Dunedin Blue Jays catcher AJ Jimenez took the honours, continuing his fantastic start to the 2011 Florida State League season.

Jimenez batted 12/26 for an average of .462, while hitting a home run, batting in 4, while scoring 5 runs himself.  The highlight of the week for AJ came on Friday, where he had a 4/5 night, scoring 2 runs in an 11-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Yankees.  Through 14 games, Jimenez is batting .418 with 2 home runs and 9 runs batted in.

Jimenez is amongst a number of great catching prospects in the Blue Jays organization - Photo by Nick Laham, Getty Images North America

Hailing from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Jimenez was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 9th round of the 2008 MLB Draft.  Playing in his first full season of Advanced A ball with the Dunedin Blue Jays, Jimenez looks to make a name for himself in an extremely deep pool of catching prospects the Blue Jays are holding.  With the likes of JP Arencibia, Travis d’Arnaud, Brian Jeroloman, and Carlos Perez behind the plate at various levels, the young 20 year old Jimenez could be used as a future trade chip for a team looking for solid defence behind the plate, and great plate discipline while in the batter’s box.

Honourable Hitting Lines of the Week:

3B Brett Lawrie (Las Vegas 51′s): 11/26, .423AVG, 3HR, 5RBI, 7R, 2SB
RF Moises Sierra (New Hampshire Fisher Cats): 6/15, .400, 1HR, 5RBI, 3R
1B David Cooper (Las Vegas 51′s): 12/29, .414, 0HR, 4RBI, 4R, 7 Doubles

 

Congratulations to both Zach Stewart and AJ Jimenez for being this week’s Blue Jays Prospects of the Week!

Prospect of the Week History:

Week 1 (April 11-17): RHP Nestor Molina, 3B Brett Lawrie
Week 2 (April 18-24): RHP Zach Stewart, C AJ Jimenez