Quick quiz: Which team led the Majors in ERA in 2008?

Unlikely answer: The Toronto Blue Jays, with a 3.49 composite ERA that was a comfortable two-tenths of a run better than their nearest challenger.

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For the Jays, though, it was sort of a good news/bad news/more good news scenario.

Good news: That glowing ERA can be largely attributed to a staff loaded with young talent that somehow hasn't received the same love as their American League East counterparts like the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees.

Bad news: Two of Toronto's key young arms, Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum, are expected to miss most or all of 2009 due to injury.

More good news: You'd be hard-pressed to find a system with a better cache of promising starters, all of whom could make their big league debuts this summer.

With spots up for grabs, the leading contenders who could make their Major League debuts next month include southpaws Brett Cecil, Brad Mills and Ricky Romero. Also in the mix is Canadian-born right-hander Scott Richmond, who made his big league debut at age 28, almost a decade after working in the Vancouver shipyards out of high school.

Brad Mills, LHP:
One of the leading contenders, along with fellow left-hander Brett Cecil, in the race for rotation spots, Mills made a good impression early in Spring Training when he limited a loaded Team USA lineup to one run on one hit over three innings. The Jays' Pitcher of the Year in the Minors in 2008 after going 13-6 with a 1.95 ERA at three levels, he is a savvy southpaw with an outstanding changeup. He received his degree in civil engineering from Arizona in 2007.

Scott Richmond, RHP:
The sixth Canadian to pitch for Toronto, the 29-year-old non-drafted free agent was one of the great stories of '08 as he made his affiliated debut 10 years after graduating from high school in Vancouver. He reached the Majors a few months later, posting a 4.00 ERA in five outings, and is Team Canada's ace in the World Baseball Classic.

Travis Snider, OF:
An early favorite for American League Rookie of the Year honors, the 2006 first-round pick out of high school in Washington combined to hit .275 with 23 homers and 91 RBIs before batting .301 down the stretch in the big leagues. Just turned 21, he is the top hitting prospect in the system, with power to all fields.

Tim Collins, LHP:
OK, let's get the "Tiny Tim" reference out of the way immediately for the 5-foot-7, 155-pounder. Collins posted a 1.58 ERA in 39 games at Lansing last summer, ranked 10th among Minor League relievers with 12.91 strikeouts per nine innings and boasted a .156 opponents batting average. He throws a plus curveball and a surprisingly effective fastball.

Brad Emaus, 2B/3B:
The 2007 11th-rounder out of Tulane is a gap hitter with great makeup and a plus arm who is still working on the transition from third base to second. He hit .302 with 12 homers and 71 RBIs at Dunedin last summer, and while none of his tools will wow you, he's a gamer who keeps improving all facets of his package.

Balbino Fuenmayor, 3B:
The 2008 season was a breakthrough campaign for Fuenmayor, who was signed out of Venezuela at age 16 and will play all of 2009 at 19. He won the Gulf Coast League batting crown with a system-best .307 average and is a hard worker who constantly strives to get better.

Moises Sierra, OF:
His teammates at Lansing called the 20-year-old Dominican "El Capitan" for his leadership. Sierra hit .246 with nine homers, 59 RBIs and 12 steals for the Lugnuts and boasts one of the best right field arms in the Minors.

Top Picks

2008: David Cooper, 1B:
The polished Cal-Berkeley product, taken with the 17th overall pick, was a quick sign who immediately made an impact at three stops. He batted .341 at short-season Auburn, .354 at Lansing and finally .304 at Dunedin. The left-handed hitter has a pure stroke.

2007: Kevin Ahrens, 3B:
The 16th overall pick -- and the Jays' first of seven picks in the first 88 slots -- moved from shortstop to third and continues to refine his defense with that transition. The switch-hitter out of high school in Houston has a strong arm and batted .259 with five homers and 42 RBIs at Lansing last summer in his full-season debut.

2006: Travis Snider, OF:
Snider has done nothing but hit since signing as the 14th overall pick. Now, he seems destined to stick around the big leagues for good. After hitting .275 with 23 homers and 91 RBIs at Dunedin, New Hampshire and Syracuse, he batted .301 in the Majors last September. The 5-foot-11, 245-pound spark plug has power to all fields.

2008 Draft Recap

OF Kenny Wilson (2): The speedy high school signee swiped 25 bases in the Gulf Coast League, good for fourth in the system. ... RHP Andrew Liebel (3) is a Cal State-Long Beach product who posted a 3.68 ERA in seven games at Auburn, walking only two over 14 2/3 innings while striking out 19. ... OF Markus Brisker (6) is an outstanding athlete with great speed for his 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame. He hit .306 with 13 steals in 32 games in the Gulf Coast League. ... RHP Robert Bell (18), drafted out of Rice, was Auburn's Pitcher of the Year as their relief ace, posting an 0.98 ERA in 19 games and fanning 39 over 27 2/3 innings without walking a batter. He limited New York-Penn League opponents to a .153 average. ... LHP Ryan Page (20) posted a 1.69 ERA in the Gulf Coast League, added six shutout innings at Auburn and an 0.82 ERA in 11 more at Dunedin.

Hitter of the Year -- C J.P. Arencibia:
The Jays 2008 Minor League Player of the Year after combining for 27 homers and 105 RBIs, Arencibia moves up to Toronto's new Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, which should only add to his numbers.

Pitcher of the Year -- LHP Brett Cecil:
It could be a tossup between Cecil and Brad Mills, based on time spent in the bigs, but the former Maryland Terp with the wicked slider combined for a 2.88 ERA at three levels in his first full season and is one of the gems of the system.

The last team standing in the carousel for Triple-A sites, the Jays ended up leaving their long-time Syracuse home for Las Vegas. ... Keep an eye on OF Eric Thames, a seventh-round pick last summer out of Pepperdine who did not play due to a torn quad muscle. Now healthy, he's an outstanding athlete making a good impression in camp. ... On the shelf for a little while is teenage sensation SS Gustavo Pierre, who signed at age 16 out of the Dominican Republic. He's recovering from Tommy John surgery and will be arriving in Florida shortly to continue his rehab. A tremendous athlete, he worked recently in the Dominican with farm director Dick Scott, who was especially impressed with how well he absorbed instruction, considering he does not yet speak English.

"He might be the hardest worker we have in the organization, and that's really saying something. Last year, he kept getting better and better and became more of a team leader. He wants to play every day. When his manager gave him a day off, he went in and very politely said he wasn't there on vacation."
--Toronto player development director Dick Scott on teenage prospect Balbino Fuenmayor.