Dalton Pompey stepped to the plate in the ninth inning. The Blue Jays trailed by a run to the Baltimore Orioles in a recent Grapefruit League game, and with one swing, the young outfielder tied the score with a homer to deep center. The contest resulted in a 6-6 tie as both managers opted to end the meaningless game before extra innings. But a W was certainly tacked onto the left side of Pompey's growth column, as he continues to mature into the player the Blue Jays are sure he can be one day.

As a kid, Pompey watched so many Toronto Blue Jays teams fail to reach the playoffs. He was born right after the famous back-to-back World Series wins in Toronto led by the likes of Joe Carter and Paul Molitor; simply stories told to him about the Canadian glory days of baseball. A devoted fan, it didn't take long for Pompey to be thrown into the mix of a new age of success in Toronto.

Editor's note: Be sure to check out our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings tool, which is already loaded up with lots of great articles. Aside from staff rankings and ADP analysis across all positions, we also dig into MLB prospect rankings, and dynasty/keeper rankings as well.

2015 In Review

In the 2015 postseason, Pompey stole four bases, two in the ALDS and two in the ALCS, and showed just how much he could change the entire outcome of a game simply with his speed. Shades of Dave Roberts against the New York Yankees in the historic 2004 ALCS were spilled out onto the turf at the Rogers Centre and mirrored by Pompey's role as a pinch-runner last October. But the Jays have a much larger vision for Pompey's future, specifically as an everyday outfielder.

Pompey made the Opening Day roster last year based off of his tremendous play in the Arizona Fall League and during spring training, but quickly struggled on the big stage. He hit only .203 in April and struck out 20 times to his 16 hits for the month. Four at-bats into May, he was demoted to Triple-A and then to Double-A as his struggles continued. Although, Pompey inherited another chance in the Majors, and gave the Jays something else to cheer about amidst their late-season sprint into first place.

Despite batting only .167 in six at-bats, Pompey managed to score five runs, aided mainly by his three stolen bases. In five October at-bats, he accumulated four hits, two for extra bases, and scored two runs, contributing enough to earn him a spot on the team's postseason roster.

2016 Outlook

Once Ben Revere was traded to the Washington Nationals in the offseason, a spot opened up in the Blue Jays outfield; a spot likely to be acquired by Ezequiel Carrera. Toronto is looking for a fourth outfielder than can play all three outfield positions. Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar, and Michael Saunders are projected to start as the Jays roster continues to near closer to cap size.

Pompey has the skill set to play center, but the Jays have no intention of parting ways with a future gold glover in Pillar. The good news for Pompey is that Saunders has proved to be injury prone, but until something like that occurs, it's almost guaranteed that the Canada native will start the season back at Triple-A Buffalo.

Since Pompey is young, Toronto likely won't rush him into a permanent position in the Majors. He has shown a tremendous amount of maturity and confidence regarding his current situation.

“For me mentally it’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when it’s going to happen,” Pompey said, according to Sportsnet.ca. “That’s the mindset that I’ve taken. Even if it’s not now, at the beginning of the season, I know it’ll be at some point because like everybody’s been saying, it doesn’t take 25 guys, it usually takes 35, 40, 45 guys throughout the season.”

Conclusion

Pompey likely won't have a chance to affect fantasy lineups until the middle of the season, if called up, and can be ignored in all drafts. But, not for long, as he will certainly be a fantasy-relevant outfielder in the future because of his speed and hints of patience at the plate.

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