The Toronto Blue Jays and general manager Alex Anthopoulos continued their active off-season today by signing six players to minor-league contracts.

The most notable of the players signed is that of former third overall pick in outfielder Corey Patterson.

Patterson, once a highly touted prospect, was selected third overall by the Chicago Cubs in the 1998 entry draft, but has not blossomed into the superstar everyone envisioned.

Over the course of eleven big league seasons split amongst the Cubs, two stints with the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals & Milwaukee Brewers the 31-year old Georgia native has a career batting average of .253 with 112HR, 395RBI & 205SB to go along with an on-base percentage of .292.

His best season was with the Cubs in 2004 as he hit .266 with 24HR, 72RBI & 32SB in 157 games played. He did however strike out a career high 168 times that season.

Patterson will most certainly compete for a bench role as a fourth outfielder and will add another speed threat to the team, which has been a focus for Anthopoulos in his tenure as general manager.

The team also added right-hander Winston Abreu, catcher Ryan Budde, left-hander Sean Henn, left-hander Mike Hinckley and right-hander Brian Stokes.

Abreu is a 33-year old pitcher originally signed as an amateur free-agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Atlanta Braves in 1993.

The 6’2, 170lbs pitcher has only 38 MLB appearances on his resume, spending the majority of his career in the minors.

In his Major League career Abreu has posted a record of 0-1 with an earned run average of 7.31 in 44.1 innings pitched allowing 57 hits, walking 19 and striking out 38 in stints with the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays & Cleveland Indians.

Across 15 minor-league seasons for several franchises Abreu has a career record of 54-47 with an ERA of 3.45 in 448 appearances, 87 of which were starts. In 924.2IP he has allowed 693 hits walking 424 and striking out 1144 hitters.

Abreu is primarily a fastball, slider combination pitcher, but he also features a change-up. He uses his fastball most frequently as it is technically his best pitch topping out at 92mph

Budde is a 31-year old catcher that came up in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s farm system, originally being drafted by the Halos in 12th round of the 2001 entry draft.

The 5’11, 210lbs right-handed hitting and throwing catcher has 29 games of MLB experience under his belt, spending the majority of his career in the minor-leagues.

In his 29 MLB games, the Oklahoma State graduate has a batting average of .212 with 1HR & 4RBI in 35 plate appearances to go along with 99.1IP behind the plate catching 25 percent of would-be base stealers.

In nine minor-league seasons his career batting average is .235 with 58HR & 292RBI in 668 games played across numerous levels. He also caught 36 percent of base stealers in the minors.

Blue Jays fans are familiar with Henn, as he was part of the Toronto franchise last season. The 29-year old left-hander was originally drafted by the New York Yankees in the 26th round of the 2000 entry draft and has 60 games of MLB experience with five career starts to his name. The appearances came with the Yankees, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins & Orioles.

Henn spent the 2010 season at Triple A Las Vegas pitching to a decent record of 3-4 with an ERA of 4.73 in 97 innings pitched across 38 games pitched, nine of which were starts.

Henn’s career Major League stats are not impressive posting a record of 2-9 with an ERA of 7.56 in 81IP while his minor-league numbers are more respectable with a record of 30-28 with an ERA of 3.75 in 626IP.

Henn features four pitches, which includes a fastball that tops out at 91mph to go along with a slider, curveball and change-up. Henn relies on the three-pitch mix of fastball, slider, change-up on the regular, while using his curveball scarcely.

The 28-year old Hinckley is a former third round selection, once drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 2001 entry draft.

The 6’3, 195lbs left-hander has a small amount of MLB experience with success, pitching in 28 games for the Washington Nationals posting a record of 0-0 with an ERA of 1.93 in 23.1IP.

In ten minor league seasons he has career numbers of 57-51 with an ERA of 4.05 in 1008.1IP allowing 1053 hits.

Rated by Baseball America as the 96th best prospect in 2003, the 60th best prospect in 2004 and the 29th best prospect in 2005 the ceiling for Hinckley is certainly high and he may end up being a low risk signing that really pays off for the Jays.

Stokes is a 31-year old right-hander who some might remember from last season as being the piece the Angels received via trade from the New York Mets in return for Gary Matthews Jr.

Brian Stokes was a very effective reliever for the Mets in 2009, so hopefully he can return to form for Toronto.

The 6’1, 210lbs righty was signed by the Rays as an amateur free-agent in 1998, making his MLB debut in 2006.

He has extensive MLB experience with the Angels, Rays & Mets having his best season in 2009 making a career high 69 appearances for New York, posting a record of 2-4 with an ERA of 3.97 in 70.1IP, allowing 72 hits, walking 38 and striking out 45.

Stokes features a mid-nineties fastball as well as a curve and change. He does throw a slider, but rarely uses it relying heavily on his best pitch, his fastball.

Stokes could be a major contender for a vacant spot in Toronto’s bullpen as the revamp is certainly on for the club from that perspective.

The Jays and Anthopoulos still have quite some time left in the off-season to make some substantial moves, but today’s pick-up of Patterson, Abreu, Budde, Henn, Hickley & Stokes is a good start for Spring Training invitees.