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Blue Jays prospect Anthony Gose working to restore ‘top prospect’ label

BUFFALO – Anthony Gose, suddenly, finally, is playing like he has something to prove. The Toronto Blue Jays seemingly forgotten prospect is biding his time with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

Gose had an obvious chip on his shoulder on Wednesday night for a game against the Rochester Red Wings. The once-prized prospect was again passed over for a promotion to the major leagues in favour of fellow outfielder Kevin Pillar, a 32nd round draft pick in 2011.

“Obviously he would love to be a guy that had that opportunity to be back in the big leagues,” Bisons manager Marty Brown said prior to their 8-3 win over Rochester. “Those are things that I can’t control and he can’t control. You could take Anthony Gose there right now and have a very good player. . . These choices are made by our general manager and [Blue Jays manager] John Gibbons, there’s no way you can control that other than go out and play.”

On Wednesday, Blue Jays manager Alex Anthopoulos made it sound like Gose might not be far behind in getting a callup, perhaps even by the end of the week. Still, Pillar getting the call and starting in left field for the Jays before Gose speaks volumes about his season, and perhaps, his stock.

Gose, just 23, is in his fifth full minor-league season and has 189 big-league at-bats over the last two seasons. If he’s getting impatient, he hasn’t always shown it on the field in 2013. He’s batting an unimpressive .240 on the season. The former second-round pick has a career .260 average in the minors, but is known more for his speed (249 career steals in the minors) and his prowess in centrefield (.975 fielding percentage, 15 outfield assists in 2013).

The Blue Jays aren’t exactly flush with outfield prospects. That was proven when Gose was recalled to the big-league team in May, perhaps prematurely. He lasted only 23 at-bats but hit .304 before being returned to Buffalo. Rather than motivate him, the taste of The Show seemed to mess with his psyche.

“He was called up and sent back down. After that he was not in the most positive place,” Brown said of Gose who batted .205 in May and June. “He’s learned there’s things that he can control and things that he can’t.

“Just because you’ve been at the game a certain amount of time doesn’t mean things are just going to happen for you, or be given to you. You have to go out and earn them and that’s what Anthony’s trying to do.”

There’s added pressure on baseball prospects to perform, and quickly, in 2013. Fans are more informed than ever. They can get boxscores and stats at the click of a button and instantly dissect those stats. It sometimes makes for a lack of patience on behalf of fans. If a prospect doesn’t fast track to the bigs, a la Bryce Haper or Manny Machada, he’s sometimes dubbed a bust. Search Gose’s name on Twitter and you’ll see a variety of opinions on his progress, and where he should be playing. Players are aware of it too.

“I don’t know how to spell Twitter. But these guys obviously pay attention a lot to what is said,” Brown said. “At some point you have to look at it and say ‘Is this a benefit to me?’ You can’t control what the fans are going to say. Until [fans] pay their money and come out and see the kid play for 10 games, then evaluate, I think they should probably keep their mouths shut. That’s just my opinion.”

When Gose returned to Buffalo after his stint in the majors he was, to some fanfare, placed ninth in the Bisons’ batting order. Brown says it was not a personal issue with his “good friend” and Gose simply had to earn his way back to the top of the order and play the game “the right way.”

In what Brown calls a sign of increasing maturity, Gose has played his best baseball in the second half. He’s batting .316 over his last 10 games, with seven steals and an .860 OPS.

“He has to continue to be consistent, as he has been for the last couple weeks. Not worry about what your average is or how many stolen bases you have and play to win,” Brown said. “When Anthony does that, everything else clicks. If he can do one thing a night to help you win, anything on top of that is gravy.

“So he’s starting to realize that and mature about what his game is.”

A major-league promotion – and chance to prove critics wrong may not be far behind.