When the name of Brett Wallace surfaced as the departing Blue Jays prospect, plenty of Jays’ fans had questions. We have been hearing for a few months how he is one of the top three prospects in the Jays minor league system and that he was being groomed as the heir apparent at first base. In fact, the Jays were expected to move Lyle Overbay at the deadline to make room for Wallace to gain a promotion to the big club and begin to acclimatize himself to the Major Leagues as early as August 1.

So if you were like me and heard that Alex Anthopoulos has traded Wallace for a 19 year old outfielder in Class A ball, you would want to know a thing or two about him.

Here’s some of what is known about Anthony Gose.

He was Philadelphia’s 2nd round pick in the June 2008 Amateur Draft and has been sought by the Jays in prior trade talks, particularly in the Roy Halladay deal. Toronto’s scouts, according to a radio interview with Anthopoulos, have been unanimous in their very high praise for his talents.

At his tender age, he is already demonstrating out standing physical skills. His glove work in the field has him earmarked as a future Gold Glove candidate. At bat, he is carving the reputation as a phenomenal speedster. Last year, he stole 76 bases in A ball with Lakewood in the South Atlantic League and this year he’s advanced to high A ball, with Clearwater of the Florida State League, where he has registered 36 more thefts in 103 games. A closer look at other stats might make an observer scratch his head, though. In 245 games in the minors, his batting average is only around .260 and his stolen base success rate is at an ordinary 70%.

The overriding stat is on his birth certificate, though. He’s one of a handful of high end prospects who is in high A ball and is destined to continue his rapid movement up the minor league ladder.

Anthopoulos also said that he feels fortunate to acquire an outfielder with this skill set. In addition, while Wallace is still regarded as a top prospect, he plays the corner infield positions, where there are many more similarly skilled top candidates in the minors.

In short, the upside on Gose is higher than that for Wallace, in the eyes of Jays’ management.

Based on Anthopoulos’ early track record and the thorough nature of their scouting reports, Blue Jay fans should feel confident about this deal.

Jose Bautista strike two more home runs to reach the 30 homer mark, which is five more than any other hitter in the entire major leagues, as part of a 4-4 night that saw him drive in five runs.

The Jays don’t have to move him this year, as he is still controllable by the Jays for one more year, before he can file for free agency.

So, this morning Alex Anthopoulos is looking at the chance to move Bautista at a time where he is playing the best baseball of his career. In addition to leading the majors in homers, he’s also showing off a rifle of a throwing arm, which he used to throw out another base runner from his right field position.

It’s that combination of skills that makes him a prized commodity today.

We’ve spoken about the decision that Jose has, in terms of possibly negotiating a long –term deal with the Jays based on this outstanding season. His alternative is to consider the scenario of trying to repeat, or approximate, his 2010 stats to capitalize on his potential windfall in unrestricted free agency, which come his way a year from now.

Anthopoulos has a different scenario to consider. He will look at numerous trade proposals in the next five days and his challenge is to set the bar high enough to maximize the return on Bautista. It seems very strange to be talking about trading such a hot commodity, but there is a risk that Bautista might eventually walk away for a couple of draft picks.

Scott Downs has similarly set himself apart from all other lefty relief pitchers and last night he also highlighted those skills in retiring the Orioles in his 1.1 innings of work to close off a potential rally and seal the win.

Downs has been a model of consistency in the Jays’ bullpen for six seasons, posting a 3.13 ERA in 327 appearances as a Blue Jay.

He is rumored to be pursued by the Yankees and Red Sox, which can only serve to drive his trade value straight up.

Ah, the beauty of a favorable bargaining position. Alex Anthopoulos should savor it.

He also needs to make the right decision with each of these two talented players on the trading block.

The best part of this win was seeing homers fly off the bats of Aaron Hill and Adam Lind, who are unfortunately viewed as the biggest underachievers on the club.

We have noted that they are defending Silver Slugger award winners who combined for 71 homers and 222 rbis last season.

Including last night’s totals, they have combined for 28 homers and only 83 rbis.

When considering that the ballclub is leading the majors in power hitting totals, can you imagine what they might be if these guys posted repeats of their 2009 stats?

The Orioles proved a great remedy for them last night but they had their own highlight-reel effort from Matt Wieters, who hit homers from both sides of the plate.

I have to tempt fate and get a closer look at this mastery of the O’s so I will be in attendance.

The pitching matchup is another favorable one for the home side as Ricky Romero is 2-0 against Baltimore this season, pitching impressively both times out.

For Baltimore, it will be veteran Kevin Millwood, who is a pitiful 2-9, with a horrendous 5.82 ERA, the worst of his 14 year career in the big leagues. Against the Jays, he’s 0-2 this season.

If I were a betting man, this one looks too easy.

Should the Jays lose tonight, I will accept my share of the blame.

Maybe the uncertainty that he was facing had a hand in him getting off to such a dreadful start this season.

He was batting .211 through the first two months of this season and looked like a dead man walking through the final stages of his tenure as a Blue Jay.

Why are we so certain that his time is up in Toronto?

The answer lies in the Roy Halladay trade that netted top prospect Brett Wallace, a blue chip prospect who has the makings of a power hitting corner infielder. Right after the deal was done, Overbay was interviewed and asked about what the implications would be for him. He readily acknowledged that the Jays didn’t acquire him as a long-range prospect. Wallace has backed up that assessment by enjoying a very good year with AAA Las Vegas. The 6’2” 205 lb. left handed hitter has collected 18 homers and driven in 60 runs in 92 games and has an OPS of .869.

Overbay, for his part, dusted himself off and gotten over the early slump, climbing back to a more expected level of play in recent weeks.

Since June 1, he is hitting .296 and playing his usual flawless defense. In addition, the erratic Edwin Encarnacion, at third base, has to be thrilled with Overbay’s glovework as he has been saved from a number of additional errors to his fielding totals. Overbay is clearly established as one of the best fielding first basemen in all of baseball.

The timing of Overbay’s revival couldn’t b better from Alex Anthopoulos’ point of view. It gives him another tradable commodity that should be in demand as the trade deadline approaches.  

Looking back over his time as a Blue Jay, Overbay has delivered exactly what was expected of him. He’s also handled himself with a lot of class. For that he should be congratulated, particularly if his time in Toronto is coming to an end in the next few days.

Buck has delivered more than advertised as the Jays top catcher on the big club. He has played in 75 games, slugging 13 homers and driving in 45 rbis to rank among the most productive catchers in the major leagues. We’ve already mentioned that the most likely destination for Buck is to deal with the Red Sox., who is dealing with two ailing veteran catchers on their roster.

After seeing how Alex Anthopoulos pulled off a great deal to bring in Yunel Escobar as the new everyday shortstop, you can bet that rival GMs are aware that the Jays are doing their homework. That makes you wonder just what type of return he may get for the veteran receiver.

The great news here, too, is the fact that top catching prospect, J P Arencibia is putting up amazing power numbers in Las Vegas, with 28 homers and an OPS of 1.046. If and when he is promoted to the Jays, he will be given plenty of work over the remaining schedule, to assert himself in the Major Leagues.

A number of scouts are looking at the Jays’ bullpen, with the L A Dodgers apparently quite interested in Downs and Gregg. Their set-up spot needs an upgrade as George Sherrill has faltered in the role on the left coast. If that move comes to pass, Shawn Camp would figure to step up to the closer role and the Jays may also bring Josh Roanoke into that mix. He’s been regarded as a real possibility to become the Jays closer of the future.

This brings us to Jose Bautista.

The Major League’s home run leader, with 26 round trippers to date, has put himself in a very enviable position. He may also have priced himself outside Toronto’s salary structure, as he is in position to earn a huge increase in salary arbitration this off-season.

What Anthopoulos has to figure out is whether Bautista can be resigned at a team-friendly figure.

If he can, that would bode very well for the Jays. If they can’t you better believe that their will be plenty of interest throughout the Majors, with contending teams lining up to acquire his power bat.

At the end of this trade deadline, we will be talking about more prospects in the system.

The building continues.

Add to that, the visual image of him having words with manager Cito Gaston, when he was pulled from the game in Baltimore on Saturday and it appears as though there is a lack of confidence issue that is gaining momentum here.

A quick look at Gregg’s save conversion rate this year (21 of 25 chances), shows that it is in line with his career rate and, at 84%, is not too shabby when compared to the better closers in baseball.

The sad reality is that he needs to have a clean save outing in his next start or the wolves among the Jays’ organization and fan base may clamor for a change.

Who are their other options?

Well, you can discount some of the young bullpen arms like David Purcey and Casey Janssen, who are used primarily in long relief or losing situations.

Scott Downs has become one of the best 8th inning set up guys in all of baseball, but has never really grabbed a couple of earlier chances at the closer role.

Jason Frasor, who was the club’s closer in his rookie year of 2004 and again, briefly, during a part of the 2009 season does not appear to have the true makeup of a closer and certainly does not have Gaston’s confidence any more, in game-saving situations.

That leaves Shawn Camp.

Camp has been the good soldier in the pen, actually enjoying his best season in the big leagues, this season. He has posted the club’s best numbers out of the pen as he has appeared in 43 games, pitching to an ERA of 2.44 in 48 innings of work. At 34 years of age he’s been around the big leagues for 7 seasons, earning 8 saves along the way. That total includes his rescue of Gregg’s implosion against the Orioles on the weekend.

Maybe it’s time to give this unsung veteran a shot at the ninth inning role, if only to give Gregg some time out of the pressure cooker.

Who said the AL East was nothing but bad news for the Blue Jays?

In yesterday’s game, the most satisfied player had to be newly acquired shortstop Yunel Escobar, who hit the club’s first grand slam and added another rbi to pace the club to an easy 10-1 win.

There’s nothing like an offensive outburst to make a newcomer an instant hit in his early days as a Blue Jay. He also erased the goose egg in his home run column for 2010. It appears he has also had no trouble fitting in with the Latin component of this roster, no doubt easing his transition.

This trade already looks like a huge win for the Jays.

The series sweep also vaults the Jays two games over the .500 mark and with a sift schedule coming up, gives a feel-good air to all things around this team.

Travis Snider has been sent to AA ball to work out the final kinks before he rejoins the Major League roster and that will also lead to more tinkering with the roster.

The Jays already lead the majors in the long-ball category and Snider will only help that.

All of a sudden, more observers are seeing a similarity with the way the championship Jays’ teams were built.

That team had Devon White and Robbie Alomar, two speedsters at the top of the order. This one has Fred Lewis and Escobar.

The Jays used to have mashers like Paul Molitor, Joe Carter, Dave Winfield and John Olerud.

Now, they offer a veritable procession of long ball threats.

If we look at the rest of the daunting AL opponents, we can see that Toronto’s lot is improving

In Boston, we see an aging roster that is being hammered by injury. The two go hand in hand.

In Tampa, a young core has gotten older and at least a couple of those players will head to free agency, in Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena.

As for New York, we all expect that, like always, they will spend their way out of any trouble.

Take heart Jays fans, your club is in position to make big gains against two of their three road blocks in the AL East. They already own the other team.

In terms of your contract situation with the Jays, you are on a one-year contract for $2.4 M and are one more season away from potential free agency.

You are approaching a key decision time at the end of this season.

If you believe that this offensive explosion is truly a once in a career-type season for you, your asking bargaining position should lead you to seek a long term contract with the Jays as this season winds down. One would think that at the age of 29 (turning 30 on October 19), that you are certainly capable of playing at least another 4-5 years in the big leagues.   

You have also positioned yourself to seek a healthy increase over your current salary and earn consideration as a key piece of the Blue Jays over that same 4-5 year horizon.

You are probably thinking it may be a good time to open yourself to negotiating a long-term deal with Alex Anthopoulos.

On the other hand, you are only one year away from potential unrestricted free agency.

If you hit over 35 homers and continue to excel defensively this year and manage to duplicate these numbers again next year, you are going to be a very hot commodity and really could capitalize with a huge contract.

What if you do drop off next season and return to your regular career standard of 13-15 homers? You will not be as marketable then.

The timing and reward for the decisions you make now or in the next year will be about your best (and probably last) opportunity to hit on a big contract.

It will be interesting to see what you and your agent decide to do.

He has given some roster players a chance to really prove their worth with playing time that would not have been available on some other teams.

Today he has parlayed the outstanding career-year that 33-year old Alex Gonzalez has put together and sent him to the Atlanta Braves as part of a five player deal. The Braves are hoping to see Gonzalez continue his unprecedented offensive production, which has seen him hit 17 homers and drive in 50 runs.

He goes to the Braves along with two minor leaguers, LHP Tim Collins and infielder Tyler Pastornicky. Neither of these players is regarded as a high-level prospect.

In return, the Jays will receive Yunel Escobar, the Braves starting shortstop, since he turned pro in 2007. While Escobar is regarded as a player with star potential, he has fallen on hard times in his underachieving 2010 season. Despite his current struggles, there is a lot to like about Escobar, who is controllable by the Jays for two more years. He will probably benefit to a change in scenery as he hopes to rediscover his power stroke in Toronto.

Jays also receive LHP Jo-Jo Reyes, who was in his third year as a Major Leaguer with the Braves. He has bounced between AAA Gwinnet in the International League as a starter and has yet to really establish himself in the big leagues. He, too, is a controllable asset for the Jays.

This is a good deal for Toronto, as they look for Escobar, who is a patient hitter with a career .291 hitter, with a similarly impressive .368 OBP.

The Jays are expecting that Escobar bounces back to those career norms and not continue his struggles during the 2010 campaign.  This could be a big win for Toronto.

Buck has provided that kind of offense for the Jays through much of the first half of this season. In addition, he has been a workhorse behind the plate, working very hard and learning the nuances associated with each member of an inexperienced starting rotation.

When considering his offensive totals, he is on pace to set career highs in batting average, slugging, homers and rbis.

He was signed to a one-year, $2 M contract at the start of the season and is turning into a nice bargaining chip for the Jays.

They have to look no further than within their division to find potential suitors for Buck’s services.

The Red Sox have a pair of veteran catchers, in Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek, who are currently on the disabled list and are in obvious need at that position. The Yankees are always in the discussion when it comes to potential moves involving Boston. In New York the veteran Jorge Posada has seen less playing time behind the plate and endured a significant drop in his power numbers so far this season. While Francisco Cervelli has been a nice defensive backup he has no pop in his bat.

The Jays are not pressured to resign Buck because they are looking at their top minor league prospect, J P Arencibia, who has made great progress in his professional development this season. He is currently batting .319 with 25 homers and 64 rbi with AAA Las Vegas. His patience at the plate, combined with his power numbers also translates into an OPS of 1.030, too.

In addition, backup catcher, Jose Molina, has also delivered the goods, albeit in fewer appearances. He is batting .282 in his 85 at bats, which being very solid defensively in his reserve role. The Jays have a club option on his services at around $1 M, for next season and he may be a good foil and mentor for Arencibia, should the rookie be promoted to the Major League roster next year. 

There is no real pressure on the Jays to make any changes this season. The Jays can certainly could plan to finish the year with John Buck on their roster, no matter their other options. He figures to be a top free agent at his position this off-season, if he’s not dealt by the July 31 deadline. As we saw last year, his free agent status and subsequent move elsewhere would give the Jays another compensatory draft pick in next year’s amateur draft. They certainly capitalized that way when other former Jays were lost in free agency.

All in all, the John Buck experiment has been a success, with at least one more dividend to come.