THE RISE, FALL, RISE OF POMPEY
Prospect feels ‘lucky’ after all the injuries — and the big-league door is still open
BUFFALO, N.Y.— There was a time when Dalton Pompey didn’t know if he would be able to get back to being a regular, everyday baseball player
Once the No. 2 prospect in the Blue Jays organization, the 25-year-old outfielder has suffered from a laundry list of injuries since his big-league debut as a September call-up in 2014 and ultimately playing an important role on Toronto’s post-season roster the following fall.
There was turf toe, a bone bruise on his heel, a sprained knee and a concussion in 2016, though he still managed more than 100 games between the majors and minors. In 2017, another concussion, followed by a bone bruise to his knee, limited him to 13 games between the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and the Class-A Dunedin Blue Jays.
“It’s pretty depressing being in Florida for that long,” Pompey said of his rehab last year. “You’re on the same program every day. To come here and actually be able to play baseball, be around these guys and get back into it is definitely a good feeling.”
Pompey considered most of the injuries no more than minor setbacks. But the uncertainty that came with last year’s concussion made him fear that his career was in jeopardy. The sensitivity to light and blurred vision were scary, but the feeling of being in a fog lingered the most — and felt the most threatening.
“With the wrist and the knee, I knew I’d be back, but with the concussion it was kind of like every single day I felt off and I didn’t feel like myself,” he said. “After that for two months straight, I kind of didn’t know if I was going to get back to the point that I wanted to be at.”
Eventually, it got better. One day near the end of May, Pompey woke up and felt fine. The next day, he woke up and felt fine again. It was “from zero to 100,” he said. He was back — and grateful for it.
“I was one of the lucky ones because some people, I guess, never feel right,” he said.
It’s with that same gratitude that Pompey is approaching this season. He once again started the year on the sidelines with a wrist injury suffered at spring training. But he was back in Buffalo by late April and is hitting .244 with five RBIs and five stolen bases heading into Friday night’s game against Syracuse.
This year is about staying on the field, whatever level that may be at, Pompey said. As long as he has the chance to play every day, he believes he can prove his abilities. It feels like a long time since he’s had a chance to do that, and he’s enjoying the moment.
“Even starting to play every day again, just because I haven’t really had much consistency with that, this year kind of feels like ages from when I last actually played,” he said.
Getting Pompey back into the Blue Jays’ lineup this season would likely require an injury to one of their current outfielders.
Teoscar Hernandez has already made the jump to the majors.
But there is even more outfield competition for Pompey at the Triple-A level in Anthony Alford and Dwight Smith Jr., who was called up on Thursday. Neither Kevin Pillar nor Randal Grichuk, both arbitration eligible at year’s end, become free agents until 2021, but space could open up heading into next season, with both Curtis Granderson and Steve Pearce on the cusp of free agency.
Pompey has played both left field and centre in the majors.
Manager John Gibbons said the Blue Jays still think Pompey has a chance to be a really good player, if he can stay healthy.
“When he’s on the field, he does a lot of things naturally,” Gibbons said.
“He’s probably the best base stealer in the organization. He shows when he gets up here he’s got great instincts at it, he can fly. It’s all in there.”
Still, Pompey’s plight gives the manager pause: Was he rushed into the big leagues as a 21-yearold in 2014?
“He’s the kind of guy you root for, and since I was the manager here when he came and then it didn’t work out right away, I feel bad that maybe we rushed him before he was ready.”
“But by no means does that mean it’s over. If he goes out and puts out a good year and is playing well, there’s a job for him. There always has been,” Gibbons added.
Rushed isn’t the word Pompey would use, but there were times when he felt overwhelmed.
Not physically, but mentally. After quick trips through Double-A and Triple-A, competing every day against big-league pitchers was hard, and it wore on his defence.
“It’s been a couple of years since then so I feel like I’ve matured,” Pompey said.
“I can’t go back. Obviously I wish things were a little bit different, but I can’t change the past so I can only just focus on the now, and I feel like in the now I’m definitely in a better frame of mind.”
Amid all the debate about bringing top prospects Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 19, and Bo Bichette, 20, up to the big leagues as soon as possible, one of Toronto’s sticking points has been the value of playing at each level in the minor leagues.
For a former top prospect, a guy who rose perhaps too quickly, Pompey said he “100 per cent” sees the value in getting reps at each level.
“I always tell the younger guys that,” he said. “I’m like: Everybody wants to get there quick, but it’s about staying there. That’s the main goal. If you get there at 20 but then you’re up and down the whole time, or you get there at 22, 23 and you stay, I feel like those extra years of sacrifice will be worth it in the end. I just tell them: Make sure that you’re ready. You don’t want to go there and not be ready.”
If and when Pompey will be ready again remains to be seen, but for now he’s just intent on showing up and competing. Whether he goes 4-for-4 or 0for-4, he appreciates being back in the game. “Just try to enjoy it, because you never know when it’s going to end.”