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| Speed to burn and hitting a ton in Buffalo. September call-up option? Trade bait? Career AAAA player? |
You've probably heard the Roemon Fields story by now. After going undrafted in 2013, he gave up the baseball dream and took a job delivering mail and selling over-priced hats at Lids in a mall near Seattle. A man's gotta earn a paycheque somehow. Respect.
Then an old coach got him a tryout in Vancouver in the Northwest League, and 3 seasons later he's hitting .317 in Buffalo and knocking on the door. Well, perhaps the September call-up door.
The book on Fields prior to this season was he has speed to burn (48 and 46 steals in the past two years!), takes great routes in CF, is an overall incredible athlete, but he needs work at the plate. Well seems he figured something out in Buffalo. Maybe our old friend Devon White, hitting coach and TBJ Legend, has had something to do with the improvement.
So where does Field sit among OF prospects for the Jays? Sexier options abound, like Anthony Alford and Dwight Smith, Jr., for example. And let's not forget poor Dalton Pompey either. He's healthy again and should see some time in Toronto any day now. Superman (KP) isn't going anywhere, and Pearce and Carrera are serviceable (Pearce may become trade bait soon). Even the 22MM Cuban defector Lourdes Gurriel, while struggling, presents a hefty commitment from the Jays. Talk about crowded! Fields would be more than hard-pressed to see any MLB time this year.
So why write a post of Roemon Fields? I love a good comeback story. I love speed. And if he ever amounts to something I get to say Atodaso. I fuckin' Atodaso.
