Clutchlings April Player and Pitcher of the Month

 

  The Dunedin Blue Jays had pro baseball's best record by the end of April, and it's no surprise that two D-Jays are our first Player and Pitcher of the month in the Blue Jays system.
   Outtfielder Dalton Pompey, a Mississsauga native, has put himself firmly on the scouting radar with a .354/.444/.490 line.  The 16th round pick in the 2010 draft has developed slowly, and has moved up one step at a time in the Jays organization.  This has been a breakout month for Pompey, who has stolen 14 bases without being caught.  A 2013 MILB Gold Glove winner, Pompey was the Florida State League's player of the week for April 21st to 27th.  With teammate Dwight Smith Jr, Pompey has formed a potent 1-2 combo at the top of the D-Jays batting order. The National Post's John Lott wrote an interesting article about Pompey's parents - you may argue with the process, but maybe not the results of their approach to raising an athlete.  It's still hard to tell what the future holds for Pompey, but he's been on a tear since about last August, and hasn't slowed down against more advanced competition in High A.  It's still early in the season, and the Rule 5 draft is half a year away, but the Jays will have to place Pompey on their 40 man roster by season's end or risk exposing him to that lottery.

   The Blue Jays system Pitcher of the Month is lefthander Matt Boyd.  The 6th round pick out of Oregon State in last year's draft was unhittable in the FSL, and was promoted to New Hampshire this week.  Boyd was 4-0, with a 0.29 ERA in 5 starts for the D-Jays. He allowed only one run, and a total of 23 baserunners in 31 innings, striking out 37 to boot.  In his first start against more advanced hitters, Boyd pitched respectably - giving up 5 hits and 2 runs in 4 innings, with 4 Ks.  Fellow Dunedin starter Daniel Norris, who posted a 0.75 ERA in 24 innings, and Buffalo starter Liam Hendriks, who went 4-0, 1.26 and has walked only 1 International League hitter in 28 innings, also merited consideration.  Marcus Stroman may be the odds-on candidate to be called upon to help shore up the major league rotation, but it's tough to look  past Hendriks, who pitched 7 innings in his last start.