TORONTO -- Toronto's top two picks in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft got their first taste of the Major Leagues on Saturday afternoon.

Shortstop Kevin Ahrens and catcher J.P. Arencibia were both on hand at Rogers Centre to take part in batting practice with the Blue Jays. Ahrens looked pretty nervous when he first stepped into the batter's box, but after taking a few swings he began to show the type of offensive prowess that made him Toronto's first pick and the 16th overall in the Draft.

"My heart was beating pretty fast," Ahrens said. "I had the adrenaline rushing, but I just tried to settle down and take some good swings. It was a blast."

After signing his first contract with the Jays in June, Ahrens began playing in the Gulf Coast League, where he hit .230 with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 48 games. When Ahrens is done in Toronto, he will head to the instructional league in Florida to continue his workouts, and is expected to join low-Class A Lansing next season.

Arencibia, meanwhile, was immediately thrown into a pennant race with Class A Auburn. The 21-year-old helped lead the Doubledays to their first title since 1998 by hitting a game-winning two-run homer in the championship game against Brooklyn. He finishing the season hitting .254 with three home runs and 25 RBIs.

"We had a great team and coaching staff," Arencibia said. "We played well towards the end of the year and that was easily my most memorable moment so far."

The former University of Tennessee student finished third in school history in total bases (381), fourth in RBIs (165), and tied for fifth in home runs (33). No one has questioned his ability at the plate, but the jury is still out on whether he has what it takes to become a Major League catcher.

According to the Jays director of player development, Dick Scott, all the early reports have come back positive.

"He got a lot better," Scott said. "I think it's just catching every day -- playing 5-6 times a week -- which they don't do in college. I think that forced him to concentrate on things a lot more. He definitely has enough arm strength to catch and he's very athletic. I think he'll be fine."

Arencibia will likely begin next season with high-Class A Dunedin.

Status quo for now: Saturday was supposed to be the day Toronto announced changes to its coaching staff, but when general manager J.P. Ricciardi was approached by a group of reporters he said official decisions have still not been made.

"I think tomorrow we'll be able to announce something," Ricciardi said. "We still have some things to iron out with some of the coaches."

One of the hold-ups could possibly be the status of bench coach Ernie Whitt. It's already been confirmed that third-base coach Brian Butterfield will be taking over Whitt's duties at the end of the season. Whitt has reportedly been offered a job as the first-base coach, but appears unhappy with the demotion, and it's still unknown whether he'll decide to stick with the team or pursue other opportunities.

Other coaching announcements expected to be made will be the dismissal of hitting coach Mickey Brantley and the promotion of Marty Pevey to third-base coach.

Webster winners: The Jays' eight recipients of this season's R. Howard Webster Awards were on hand for a pregame ceremony prior to Saturday afternoon's contest against the Devil Rays. The awards honor the most valuable player at each of Toronto's Minor League levels.

The winners included: Triple-A starter Josh Banks (12-10, 4.63); outfielder David Smith (.276, 24 homers, 70 RBIs) of Double-A New Hampshire; Class A Dunedin first baseman Josh Kreuzer (.309, 20, 71); Class A Lansing outfielder Travis Snider (.313, 16, 93), who was Toronto's top selection in the '06 Draft; Class A Auburn left-hander Brett Cecil (1-0, 1.27 ERA); outfielder Johermyn Chavez (.301, 6, 21) of the Gulf Coast League Jays; and outfielders Welington Ramirez (.270, 3, 30) and Yensy Perez (.298) of Dominican Summer League Team Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

Spreading it out: Jays left fielder Adam Lind helped Toronto match a club record by hitting a two-run homer on Friday night. The Jays now have nine players this season with at least 10 home runs. That's the second time the Jays have accomplished such a feat in as many seasons and just the fourth time in the history of their organization.

Streaking: Jays second baseman Aaron Hill extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a double against the Devil Rays on Friday night. Hill is batting .459 (28-for-61) with eight doubles and two home runs over that span. Since the beginning of September, the 25-year-old leads the American League in batting average (.408), hits (42), and runs (23).

Still no Rusty: Jays third baseman Russ Adams sat out his second consecutive game with a sore right shoulder. It's still unknown whether Adams will be available for Toronto's season finale on Sunday. Hector Luna took over third base duties and batted eighth on Saturday against Tampa Bay.

McDonald's campaign comes to an end: Shortstop John McDonald will be kept out of Toronto's final game of the season after aggravating his sports hernia injury, which is a slight tear of the lower abdominal muscles, on Friday night against Tampa Bay. McDonald was removed prior to the seventh inning of that game and did not play on Saturday. He's scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday and is expected to face three to six weeks of recovery time before he is able to begin his offseason workouts.

McDonald finishes the season hitting .251 with one home run and 31 RBIs. He recorded career highs in RBIs, games played (123) and hits (82).

Did you know? Hill's 47 doubles this season are the most by an AL second baseman since Baltimore's Brian Roberts (50) and Cleveland's Ronnie Belliard (47) in 2004.

Coming up: A.J. Burnett (10-7, 3.49 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for Toronto when the Blue Jays close out the 2007 season against the Devil Rays at 1:07 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre. Tampa Bay will counter with right-hander Jason Hammel (2-5, 6.08 ERA).