A Crystal Ball Game


One of the best reasons to watch minor league ball is the chance to see the stars of the future.  Sounds like a cliche?  Well, there's plenty of fact to back the perception.  I was on hand in Syracuse July 20th, 2023 when the Triple A Mets hosted the Blue Jays' top farm club, the Buffalo Bisons.  Two summers before Toronto emerged as AL champions, three key players on that team were starring at AAA. Three players, a third of Blue Jays' future starting lineup.

First and foremost, it's Addison Barger.  The power hitting outfielder had an OK season for Buffalo, hitting .250 with eight homers -- hardly a prediction of future stardom.  But 21 homers and 34 doubles just set the table for a powerhouse post-season; Barger hit .367 in 17 post-season games, including a sizzling .480 in the World Series.

That's deserving of a couple of photos taken from the 3rd base photo well.

Ernie Clement also jumped from Buffalo to Toronto -- and like Barger, took his game up a couple levels when the Blue Jays made the World Series.  Unlike Barger, he'd had earlier MLB trials (with Cleveland and Oakland), before the A's released him in Spring Training 2023.  Signing with the Blue Jays, his .348 average at Buffalo helped punch his ticket back to the majors, where he's now a key member of the Toronto lineup. 

(Below:) Davis Schneider is a career Blue Jay -- a 28th round draft pick out of high school in 2017, who waited until 2023 to make his MLB debut.   While not a regular like Clement or Barger, he's part of an historic Toronto moment, homering to lead off game five of the '25 World Series; moments later, Vladimir Guerrero connected on the next pitch for a Fall Classic First.  


I'd call that a crystal ball game -- three Blue Jays minor leaguers two years shy of helping lead Toronto to a pennant and near-miss in the World Series!


 

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