Sometimes on a congested roadway a lone vehicle will find a way to weave through the seams and cut up through the traffic, no matter how hard the task at hand may be. The catching position within the Blue Jays organization is such a highway, stuffed to the gills with enough talent to rival the oft-publicized New York Yankees farm system, or even surpass it.

Yet somehow catcher Yan Gomes has worked his way through the traffic and into the everyday lineup with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a remarkable feat-in-and-of-itself when you realize that Travis d’Arnaud has ruled the roost when it comes to the backstop since Opening Day. Thanks to a torrid August where he is batting .357, Gomes has found his way into 18 of the 21 games this month, where in past months he didn’t appear in half of the games played.

How has Gomes navigated to this point?

Gomes has posted a .259 average with 12HR and 41RBI in 61 games with the Fisher Cats this season.

Born in Brazil and raised in Miami, Gomes became a 10th round selection of the Blue Jays in 2009 (310th overall), by way of Barry University where he ended up after two prior seasons at the University of Tennessee.

Now in his third full season of pro ball, Gomes has emerged into a quality backup catching option. He could certainly gain a lot from his Fisher Cats manager Sal Fasano on this front, since Fasano spent the better part of nine Major League seasons doing an admirable job in that very role.

Gomes is certainly familiar with the backup role since he was forced to do such for eventual Toronto starting catcher J.P. Arencibia at Tennessee. His valuable bat earned him additional time at first base and he would go on to earn Freshman All-SEC honors and Second-Team All-SEC in his sophomore year. But he was determined to be the full-time starting catcher, so he left Tennessee after two years.

After transferring closer to home, to Division II power Barry University, Gomes took full control of the dish and became the highest rated catching prospect in Division II. The Jays took a chance on the athletic catcher and he has proved them right every step of the way, becoming the first member of Toronto’s 2009 draft class to reach Double-A New Hampshire with a continued drive to cut through the crowded mess in front of him.

How is his engine?

Gomes batting has diminished with each step up the pro ladder, but he is far from inept at the plate. He obviously does not swing the stick that d’Arnaud does, few players do regardless of the position, but Gomes has shown pop, hitting 12 home runs this season, which is fifth best on the Fisher Cats. And he has done so in only 67 games played this year. To put that into a bit of perspective, the four players above him, including d’Arnaud who leads the team with 18 homers, have all played in over 100 games thus far.

Gomes can also hold his own defensively and this may be the quality that helps him stand out in the road of talent ahead of him. This season with New Hampshire he has gunned down 34% of base runners trying to steal against him and in his three pro seasons he has thrown out 32% of would-be base stealers. In comparison, d’Arnaud has only gunned down 26% this year and 24% in his career and he is highly regarded as having one of the better guns in the Minors.

And as he showed at Tennessee, Gomes is also capable of being moved around. This season he has played 16 games at first base and 13 as the designated hitter. In 130 chances at first he only has one error.

Go straight or turn right?

With the road jammed with the likes of Arencibia, d’Arnaud, Jeroloman and Perez ahead of him, something is going to have to give in order for him to become the man with Toronto at the catching position. The odds of it happening are slim and he may need to find a less crowded place to squat or solidify himself at another position, but Gomes has already weaved his way to this point and he is sure to continue to cut and slice through the traffic until he gets to where he wants to be.