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With MLB rosters set to expand in September, this is a chance for most teams to bolster their major league depth by calling up some of their top prospects from the minors.

Unfortunately for the Toronto Blue Jays, there aren’t too many high-end prospects that the team can promote in September. This is largely because the Blue Jays have already called up most of their major league-ready prospects, such as Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez, earlier this season.

Most of Toronto’s remaining top prospects are now in Double-A ball or lower, meaning that they won’t be able to help the big league team this season.

This doesn’t mean that the Blue Jays won’t promote any minor league players in September, though. Let’s take a look at three players who could still earn a call-up next month.

A.J. Jimenez, Catcher

A.J. Jimenez has had a fine season in the minor leagues this year. The 24-year-old has hit .270/.309/.355 with one home run, 20 RBI and 18 runs scored in 53 games played at Triple-A Buffalo.

Offensive numbers aside, Jimenez has also shined defensively behind the plate this season. He’s thrown out 42 percent of base stealers, committed zero errors and has just two passed balls in 43 games played as catcher.

Jimenez may not be the impact bat that the Blue Jays need right now, but he’s a solid defense-first catcher who can hold his own offensively.

Calling Jimenez up in September and adding a third catcher on the roster will allow Toronto to rest Dioner Navarro or use him in a designated hitter role more often.

Sean Nolin, LHP

Sean Nolin certainly isn’t the Blue Jays’ top pitching prospect in the minor leagues, but he’s arguably the closest to the majors in the team’s farm system.

In 14 starts for Triple-A Buffalo this season, Nolin has posted a 4-4 record with a 2.89 ERA. The left-hander has also amassed 74 strikeouts and surrendered just 27 walks in 81.1 innings pitched.

While Nolin is a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, he likely lacks the stuff to be a starter in the majors. The 24-year-old’s fastball tops out in the low 90s, and his off-speed pitches are quite average.

This means that if Nolin is called up by Toronto in September, he’ll likely be sent to the bullpen. Considering that the Blue Jays only have two southpaws in their bullpen right now, Nolin should have no problems carving out a niche for himself as a reliever.

Daniel Norris, LHP

When the 2014 season started, nobody would’ve ever imagined Daniel Norris being on this list. After all, not many 21-year-old pitching prospects go from playing in Single-A ball to being considered as a September call-up within a span of a few months. But that’s exactly what Norris has done.

After posting a combined ERA of 2.22 and piling up 149 strikeouts in 113.2 innings pitched between Class A Advanced Dunedin, Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo this season, Norris is garnering plenty of consideration to be called up to the majors in September.

In fact, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has even hinted that Norris could be a candidate for a promotion in September.

Of course, it’s worth noting that if Norris is indeed called up by Toronto this season, it will be as a reliever. This will allow the team to preserve his innings while letting him get acclimated to the major leagues at the same time. The Blue Jays already used a similar approach earlier this season with Stroman and Sanchez.

All stats are from MILB.com and are current entering play on August 19, 2014.

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In baseball, managers are often placed in an unenviable position. They are usually the first targets of blame if anything goes wrong with their team over the course of the season.

But, if the team ends up doing well, managers rarely get the credit that they deserve.

Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has certainly experienced this firsthand. When the Blue Jays struggled during the 2013 season and finished with a 74-88 record, Gibbons wasn’t exactly a popular figure in Toronto. Here is an article published last year by Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun that wondered if it was time to remove Gibbons from his position.

Fast forward to the 2014 season. The Blue Jays are currently 63-56 and 1.5 games out of the second wild-card spot entering play on Monday. But, while Gibbons is no longer on the hot seat, he certainly hasn’t been given the proper credit that he deserves for the team’s turnaround either.

In fact, Gibbons has made several managerial decisions this season that have directly contributed to the team’s success. Let’s take a look at some of his smartest moves.

All stats are from MLB.com and are current entering play on August 11, 2014.

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While Jose Bautista, Melky Cabrera and Jose Reyes may be the top performers in the Toronto Blue Jays lineup right now, it’s important to not overlook the team’s bench, which has quietly been serving as the catalyst for Toronto’s offense.

After the Blue Jays lost Brett Lawrie, Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind to injuries one after another over the course of a month, the team’s offense was expected to stagnate as a result.

After all, Encarnacion had hit .277 with 26 home runs and 70 RBI before going down with a quad strain. Lind was hitting .320, and Lawrie was one of the top clutch hitters on the team, batting .323 with runners in scoring position.

But despite those injuries, the Blue Jays have been able to maintain a top-five offense in the major leagues. Entering play on Friday, Toronto ranked third in the majors in runs scored.

This offensive success has largely come thanks to a deep bench that has been able to provide consistent production and to complement the remaining core hitters in the lineup.

Let’s take a closer look at three of these bench players who have provided such a huge spark to the team.

Munenori Kawasaki, 2B/3B/SS

Munenori Kawasaki gets a lot of attention because of his charming and energetic personality, but what often gets lost is his success at the plate this season.

The 33-year-old has hit .287/.336/.333 in 129 at-bats. The left-handed hitter’s numbers only get better as the game goes along, as evidenced by his .359 batting average during the seventh inning and later.

Defensively, Kawasaki has played all over the infield this season. He’s played second base the majority of the time, but he has also seen action at third base and shortstop.

Kawasaki was called up from Triple-A Buffalo after the Blue Jays had a spate of injuries. But after his performance up to this point, it’s hard to imagine him being sent back down, even after all the other regulars on the team are healthy again.

Juan Francisco, 1B/3B

Juan Francisco may not hit for a very high batting average and he may strike out a lot, but his power has been really valuable for a team that has lost one of the top sluggers in the game in Encarnacion.

In 236 at-bats this season, Francisco already has 16 home runs and 42 RBI. His left-handed power bat has been invaluable for the team when it faces right-handed pitching.

If the 27-year-old Francisco can figure out how to cut down his nearly 42 percent strikeout rate and put the ball in play more often, he has the potential to become an everyday player for the Blue Jays next year.

But for now, the team will take his current production.

Anthony Gose, OF

Once a hyped prospect in Toronto’s system, Anthony Gose’s ceiling at the major league level is probably closer to that of a fourth outfielder at this point.

In a part-time role with the Blue Jays this season, Gose has hit just .243. But because of an improved eye at the plate, he also has 20 walks in 180 plate appearances. This has boosted his OBP to a very respectable .347.

Despite having plus speed, Gose hasn’t been very active on the basepaths and hasn’t developed into a proficient base stealer. He has just 11 steals in 15 attempts this season.

That speed has served the 23-year-old well in the field, though, as he has the ability to get to hard-hit balls in center field quickly and has become one of the top defensive players on the team.

All stats are from Baseball-Reference.com and are current entering play on August 1, 2014.

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The Toronto Blue Jays have gotten back into contention by winning five of their last seven games coming out of the All-Star break.

Toronto is now just three games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the top spot in the American League East. The Blue Jays are also tied with the New York Yankees for the second wild-card spot in the AL.

Things will only get tougher from here on out though, as Toronto will leave the confines of Rogers Centre and embark on a 10-game road trip starting Friday.

While the Blue Jays have a very good 30-23 record at home, the team has gone just 24-26 on the road and is 2-8 in its last 10 away games.

The main reason for these lopsided splits is an offense that has been very inconsistent on the road. While the Blue Jays are second in the AL with 258 runs scored at home, the team is ranked 12th with just 209 runs scored when playing outside of Rogers Centre.

Toronto’s hitters have a slash line of .273/.335/.463 when playing at home, compared to a line of .249/.321/.390 on the road.

Considering the Blue Jays are the only AL East team aside from the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox to have a sub-.500 away record, these road splits definitely need to improve.

The first stop on this upcoming road trip will be in New York City, where Toronto will play a three-game series against the Yankees. The Blue Jays will then go to Fenway Park to play three games against the Red Sox before rounding things off with a four-game set against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

With the Yankees also just being three games back in the AL East, these next three games have the potential to alter the landscape in the division and will be extremely important for both teams.

Considering that Toronto has gone just 4-27 in Yankee Stadium since 2011 and has lost 16 straight games there (including being swept earlier this season), this will no doubt be the toughest series that the Blue Jays will play all week.

As the regular season winds down and the games become more important, it’s time for Toronto to start reversing its road misfortunes if it intends to contend this season.

*All stats are from MLB.com

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The Toronto Blue Jays designated reliever Sergio Santos for assignment on Monday, as reported by MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm (via MLB.com).

For Santos, this move was just the latest development during what has been a very frustrating career in Toronto.

After a 30-save season with the Chicago White Sox in 2011, the hard-throwing right-hander was acquired by the Blue Jays in an offseason trade that year and handed the closer’s role heading into the 2012 season.

But Santos was never able to replicate his previous success with the White Sox in Toronto. He proceeded to blow two of his first four save opportunities in 2012 and posted a 9.00 ERA during his first six appearances of the season.

Those six appearances were the only times Santos pitched that year, as he went on the disabled list with shoulder soreness shortly after and later required season-ending shoulder surgery.

With Santos out, the Blue Jays handed the closer’s role to Casey Janssen, who permanently seized the job by saving 22 games in 2012.

2013 was supposed to be year of redemption for Santos. He came into spring training fully healthy and made five appearances in April in a setup role. But the reliever was soon on the DL again with a tricep strain, eventually requiring clean-up surgery on his right elbow and missing three months.

Returning in August, Santos was dominant during the rest of the season. He posted a 1.75 ERA and struck out 28 batters in 25.2 innings pitched during the 2013 season, leading to hopes that 2014 would be a breakout year.

With Janssen suffering an injury during 2014 spring training and expected to miss the first month of the season, Santos was named the team’s interim closer. But he again struggled, posting an 8.31 ERA in April and walking nine batters in 8.2 innings pitched during the month.

The Blue Jays finally removed Santos from the closer’s role after he blew three saves in four chances. Shortly after, he again went on the DL with elbow soreness. Toronto DFA’d Santos shortly after he returned from his injury.

According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (via Sportsnet.ca), Santos is now on waivers and will remain there until Wednesday. If no team claims him (something that is very likely considering that he’s still roughly owed $1.3 million this season), the 31-year-old will report to Triple-A Buffalo and attempt to rediscover his form in the minor leagues.

A demotion is always a tough outcome for any major leaguer. But for Santos, this was just the latest disappointing development in a career with the Blue Jays marred by injuries, underperformance and unfulfilled expectations.

*All stats are from baseball-reference.com

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2014 has been a turbulent year for the Toronto Blue Jays up to this point. Ironically, it has also been an up-and-down season for several of the team’s top prospects in the minor leagues.

While some players in Toronto’s farm system that were on the fringe previously have emerged as bona fide prospects this year, other players have regressed and seen their stocks significantly drop.

The 2014 MLB draft has also thrown the Blue Jays’ previous top-10 prospects list in flux, as some of the team’s newly drafted players have altered the organizational depth chart. This led me to create a new, unofficial list for the purpose of this article.

With that being said, let’s take a look at how Toronto’s current top 10 prospects did during Week 16 (July 13-July 20) and if their overall stocks rose or dropped based on their performances.

*No. 3 prospect Jeff Hoffman has not played this season and is not on this list.

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The Futures Game has always been a big part of MLB’s annual All-Star Weekend festivities. The game—which features a matchup of the United States team vs. the World team—allows fans to catch a glimpse of baseball’s next generation of stars in action.

The Toronto Blue Jays will have left-hander Daniel Norris and outfielder Dalton Pompey represent the organization at the Futures Game this year.

Interestingly, Blue Jays fans might even find themselves a bit divided when watching the game as Norris will represent the U.S. team, and the Canadian Pompey will represent the World team.

Let’s take an in-depth look at both of these prospects.

*All stats are from milb.com and are current entering play on July 8, 2014.

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Despite their recent struggles in June, the Toronto Blue Jays still hold the top spot in the American League East and have a 4.5 game lead over the second-place New York Yankees.

While the Blue Jays have looked like a playoff club for the most part this season, there have also been instances where their lack of depth in certain places has been exposed and cost them games. This doesn’t bode well for a team with aspirations to play in October.

With the trade deadline now less than two months away, it’s time for Toronto to start thinking about potential areas of improvement on the roster and shore up those weaknesses.

Let’s take a look at the three biggest issues that Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos needs to address at the trade deadline in order for his team to successfully compete down the stretch.

*All stats are from MLB.com

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One month into the 2014 season, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle has emerged not only as the best pitcher on the team’s rotation, but also as one of the best starters in the American League.

In fact, it’s not too much of a stretch to say that Buehrle’s performance so far has put him in the conversation for a selection to the All-Star Game.  

Yes, you heard that right.

This is the same Mark Buehrle who has developed a reputation across the league of being consistent but mediocre throughout his career.

The consistency comes from the fact that the 35-year-old has put together a stretch of 13 straight seasons in which he’s had at least 10 wins and 200 innings pitched each season.

The mediocrity label many are quick to tab Buehrle with comes as a result of his career 3.84 ERA over those last 13 seasons.

But this year has been different, as Buehrle has gone 6-1 in his first seven starts while posting a 1.91 ERA. He’s walked just 12 hitters in 47 innings pitched and has surrendered only one home run during that span.

The six wins are the highest for any pitcher in the American League, while the 1.91 ERA ranks Buehrle second in the AL among all pitchers who have made at least seven starts.

The amazing part about this performance is that Buehrle hasn’t suddenly pulled a “Bartolo Colon” by beginning to throw harder with age.

His fastball tops out at 85 mph and the rest of his pitches are all soft. But the left-hander’s pinpoint command and knack for making the right pitch at the right time end up negating the lack of velocity.

Indeed, opposing hitters are sometimes so confused by the deceptive Buehrle that they end up swinging late—late!—on his mid-80s fastballs.

Another surprising fact about Buehrle’s torrid start to the 2014 season is that he’s been a notoriously slow starter in the past. It was just last year when he posted a 6.35 ERA in April before going on to post an ERA under 4.00 during three of the next five months.

The Blue Jays have certainly benefitted from Buehrle’s early-season dominance, as the rest of the pitchers in Toronto’s rotation who have made five starts or more all currently have ERAs over 4.00 and have combined for just six wins.

If Buehrle can continue this pace or even perform at a level somewhere close to this, he should find himself at Target Field in July making his first All-Star appearance since the 2009 season.

*All stats are from baseball-reference.com

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Expected to be a major strength for the team heading into the 2014 season, the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen has been very unreliable out of the gate.

Toronto has already lost several winnable games because of late-inning meltdowns. The Blue Jays relievers have picked up six of the team’s 15 losses, which were attributed to them after they were called in with a lead and ended up losing the game.

That’s not the only concerning stat. In fact, it’s not pretty whichever way you look at it.

The bullpen’s collective ERA of 4.90 ranks third to last in the American League. It has also surrendered the second-highest amount of walks in the AL with 52 and ranks third in most home runs allowed with 10.

From the seventh inning onward—when shutdown innings are required the most—the team’s ERA balloons to 5.33 and the WHIP grows to 1.55.

The most concerning part about the bullpen’s issues is that it’s not just a couple of relievers having problems, but rather, most of the unit is struggling at the moment.

Interim closer Sergio Santos has an 8.31 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched. He’s also given up nine hits and nine walks during that span.

Late-inning relievers Steve Delabar and Brett Cecil—who were both All-Stars last season—have posted ERAs of 4.22 and 5.23, respectively.

Long relievers Esmil Rogers and Todd Redmond have combined to give up 15 runs in 32.2 innings.

The struggle by the bullpen this season is a far cry from its performance last year, when it had posted a combined ERA of 3.37, fourth-best mark in the American League.

So why is the bullpen—consisting mostly of the same players as last season—struggling so badly this year?

One explanation could be related to the fact that Toronto’s starting pitchers have struggled to pitch deep into games, forcing the bullpen to throw extra innings.

The Blue Jays’ rotation ranks 11^th in the AL in innings pitched with 153.2. On the flip side, the team’s relief corps has pitched 93.2 innings already, the fourth-highest total in the AL. So fatigue and overuse could definitely be an issue here.

Another explanation could be the spring training injury to Casey Janssen that has caused him to miss the entire season so far.

Losing Janssen—the team’s closer for the previous two seasons—has forced Santos into the closer’s role and has reduced the overall depth of the bullpen.

Janssen is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment next week and could be rejoining the team shortly after that if it goes well. The Blue Jays are hoping his return brings some much-needed stability during late-game situations.

Whatever the issues are, the Blue Jays simply need more from their bullpen at this point in order to have a chance of contending this season.

*All stats are from MLB.com.

*Stats reflect games played until May 1, 2014.

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