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The shortstops at the top two levels in the Blue Jays system had good nights with their bats but only one of them enjoyed a victory on Monday.  Two affiliates blew huge leads, two lost in extra innings and there were two blowouts.  Another game boiled down to a play at the plate in a 2-6 Monday on the farm.


Reno 15 Las Vegas 8



Las Vegas shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria made an impact with his bat Monday night with two home runs.

Reno, NV - This will not be the first time you will read about a Jays affiliate blowing a huge lead.  The 51s led the Diamondbacks affiliate 7-1 at one point.  A Yan Gomes sacrifice fly sparked a four-run second inning, which consisted of an Eric Thames triple scoring on a Mike McCoy fielder's choice and a Jonathan Diaz two-run dinger.  In the fifth, Adeiny Hechavarria connected for a solo home run, his fifth, and Gomes went deep for a two-run shot, his ninth.  Hechavarria powered up again to hit his second homer of the game in the seventh to give the 51s an 8-7 lead.  Hechavarria added a single for a three-hit night and Anthony Gose was 2-for-5 with a pair of singles.  Travis Snider was the only other 51 to get aboard twice with a double and a walk.  McCoy was 1-for-4, Moises Sierra had a walk but David Cooper was 0-for-4.

Mississauga's Shawn Hill held the Aces to one run over his four innings but was roughed up for six runs over his last two.  He gave up one homer among his 10 hits and walked a pair.  Hill struck out one but 11 of his 15 outs were contained to the infield.  Jerry Gil (4-1) took the loss and blew the save against his former organization.  He was destroyed for seven runs on five hits and two walks (one intentionally) while recording just a single out.  Bobby Korecky threw more kerosene on the fire by allowing three inherited runners to score and one run of his own on two hits and a hit by pitch.


New Hampshire 6 Reading 3

Reading, PA - Brad Glenn got the ball rolling for New Hampshire by putting the ball over the fence, his 10th of the year, to start the second inning.  Mike McDade followed suit with a leadoff bomb of his own, his 13th, to start the third to key a three-run frame.  McDade drove in another run with a single in the fourth and a Kenen Bailli groundout brought in another to make it 6-0.  Ryan Goins had an awesome night at the dish by going 2-for-2 with three walks and his 10th stolen base.  McDade and Glenn joined Goins with a two-hit game with Glenn drawing a walk.  Brian Bocock singled and walked and Kevin Howard had a double.  Mark Sobolewski scored a run but was 0-for-4 with three Ks.  Jack Murphy and John Tolisano also came up empty in a combined eight trips to the dish.

Deck McGuire (4-9) survived two walks and a stolen base in the first, retired the side in the third and stranded a two-out triple in the third.  The three runs he gave up came in the fourth thanks to a three-run homer that was set up by two leadoff walks.  He settled down to retire six of the next seven Phillies hitters with the only runner reaching on a dropped ball by Howard at first.  He allowed two hits and four walks and struck out a pair of his five frames.  Five of his 11 outs in play were on the grass.  Matt Daly pitched a scoreless inning with a K-BB total of 1-1, Trystan Magnuson struck out a batter in a perfect frame and lefty Matt Wright punched out two of the three hitters he faced in a perfect eighth.  Ronald Uviedo overcame two hits in the ninth to post his sixth save.


Tampa 11 Dunedin 10 (10 Innings)

Tampa, FL - Dunedin built up an 8-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings.  Kevin Ahrens had a bases loaded walk in the first, Jon Talley cleared the bases with a double in the second and Michael Crouse slammed one over the wall with the bases full.  Ryan Schimpf led off the fifth with his 10th homer of the campaign before Crouse doubled home the tying run in the ninth to force the extra frame.  Jake Marisnick was the on-base leader with two singles and two walks. Schimpf added a single and a walk to his long ball and Ahrens had two walks to go along with a single.  Talley was aboard twice with a walk and Koby Clemens singled and made it to ball four once.  Jonathan Jones and Oliver Dominguez made the hit column and Marcus Knecht was 0-for-4 with a walk.

Southpaw Egan Smith only made it through two innings and left with a game WHIP of 4.5 on seven hits and two walks that led to four runs.  He struck out two and got three groundouts.  The Yankees added another run against Shawn Griffiths in his two frames on two hits and a walk.  He stranded two of three runners and picked up one K.  Like Smith, Jesse Hernandez surrendered four runs over two innings thanks to four hits, a walk and a hit by pitch but he did whiff a pair.  Dustin Antolin had one strikeout in a perfect frame.  Alan Farina was touched up for an unearned run on a Jon Talley error at first.  He was hurt by a leadoff walk and a single but struck out a batter.  Dayton Marze (2-4) saw a leadoff walk erased by his batterymate Clemens, who threw out the runner trying to steal second.  Marze was not as fortunate in the tenth when a leadoff single, a stolen base and a one-out double brought in the winning run.


South Bend 6 Lansing 5 (10 Innings)

South Bend, IN
- David Rollins managed to get through three scoreless frames despite two hits and walks against the Diamondbacks affiliate.  Rollins was bailed out by Chris Hawkins, who gunned down a runner at the plate from right field to end the first. He struck out two and got four groundouts.  Aleson Escalonte was not as lucky as Rollins as he was hurt by the long ball.  He surrendered two runs on three hits and three walks (one intentionally) over 2 2/3 innings while striking out one.  Philip Brua stranded two runners but fared even worse against the Diamondbacks affiliate, who got to him for three runs on five hits over 1 1/3 innings.  Brua struck out one and did not walk a batter.  Bryan Longpre shut the door on South Bend with two scoreless frames of one-hit ball.  The losing pitcher was Brandon Berl (2-4) as he recorded only one out while yielding the winning run on two hits and an intentional walk.

Gustavo Pierre and K.C. Hobson doubled home the first two Lansing runs in the third and sixth innings respectively.  Kevin Pillar lifted one out of the yard for a three-run homer to tie game at 5-5 in the ninth.  Carlos Perez led the hit parade with three singles and Kenny Wilson had two singles, a walk and two stolen bases to run his total to 26.  Hobson doubled twice and Pillar singled and stole his 31st base of the year to go with his homer.  Hawkins was 1-for-5, Jonathon Berti was 0-for-4 with a walk and Shane Opitz went 0-for-5.


Salem-Keizer 2 Vancouver 1



C's lefty Bobby Brosnahan kept Salem-Keizer off the scoreboard for five innings but would up with a no-decision.

Vancouver, BC - The C's went 0-for-2 in their Canada Day uniforms against the Giants affiliate on a rainy Monday afternoon at Nat Bailey Stadium.  Lefty Bobby Brosnahan used his 85-87 mile per hour fastball, his low-70s curveball and the odd changeup to pitch five shutout innings.  He scattered six hits and four fairly hard hit balls to the outfield but did not walk anyone while getting two Ks.  Batterymate Leo Hernandez helped him out in the fifth by throwing out a runner trying to steal second.  Cobourg, Ontario's Nick Purdy (0-1) pumped some fastballs in the 90-92 MPH range but allowed a leadoff homer in the sixth to break a scoreless tie.  He also gave up a double in his two innings but struck out a pair.  Tucker Donahue allowed the other run in the eighth inning on a walk, a hit by pitch and a single.  He did help erase a runner at home plate on a 1-2 putout.  He was around 92-93 with his heater.  Drew Permison worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning with a pair of groundouts.

Balbino Fuenmayor struck out his first two times up but laced two solid singles up the middle in his final two at-bats.  He led off the ninth with a single and Nick Baligod's second base hit of the game pushed him up to second.  Fuenmayor made it to third on a Jordan Leyland's fielder's choice and scored on a Daniel Arcila groundout.  The Salem-Keizer first baseman retired Arcila by stepping on the bag but his throw was offline to second, allowing Leyland to make it safely.  Leyland was replaced by Eric Phillips.  Hernandez, who was making his first home start, was 0-for-17 to start the season but he fouled off some pitches before punching a single to right.  However, a strong throw by the right fielder to the plate meant Phillips was dead on arrival.  Phillips tried his best to run over the catcher but he held on to the ball for the game-ending out.  Matt Newman had a single and two walks for a perfect day at the dish and Ian Parmley was 1-for-4 but was caught stealing.  Jorge Flores was 0-for-3 but was hit by a pitch and stole a base.  Flores lost control of his bat three times, nearly hitting the pitcher twice on back to back pitches.  Leyland, Arcila and Derrick Chung were a combined 0-for-12.

Bluefield 2 Pulaski 1

Bluefield, WV - Jeremy Gabryszwski held the Mariners to three hits and struck out a pair over four scoreless frames.  Robert Osuna (1-0) gave up the lone run but limited the M's to three hits and a hit by pitch over three frames while whiffing four.  All five of his outs in play were on the ground.  Julio Carmona got the two inning save despite a hit and a walk.  He struck out one to give Bluefield pitchers a 7-1 K/BB total.

Jorge Vega-Rosado
singled home a Nico Taylor triple with two outs in the third.  Seth Conner drove in an Art Charles double with a single after Jacob Anderson bunted Charles over to third in the seventh.  Conner and Taylor were both 2-for-3 and Dwight Smith Jr. singled and walked.  Dickie Joe Thon was 0-for-4 while Matt Dean and Carlos Ramirez were 0-for-6 together.  Anderson was 0-for-2.

GCL Yankees 11 GCL Blue Jays 2

Tampa, FL
- The Jays scored the first run of the game in the second when Gabriel Cenas doubled and came in to score on a Cody Bartlett single to short and a throwing error by the shortstop.  D.J. Davis smacked his first professional home run to right field to start the fifth.  Cenas was 3-for-3 and was hit by a pitch while Davis and Jesus Gonzalez had two hits apiece.  Jorge Saez had a base hit and a base on balls. John Silviano and Dennis Jones walked once with Jones stealing a base.  Dawel Lugo and Justin Atkinson were 0-for-4.

Yeyfrey De Rosario (0-2) was whacked for four runs over 1 2/3 innings on five hits and a walk and struck out one.  Luis Mendez stranded a runner but was nicked for a run on three hits over 1 1/3 frames.  Tyler Gonzales was roughed up for four runs on three hits and two walks over one-third of an inning to shoot his ERA up to 108.00.  Tim Brechbuehler stranded two of three runners but was also touched up for a pair of runs on five hits over one inning.  Adaric Kelly was the best Jays pitcher in this one by stranding two runners and issuing just one walk over 2 2/3 scoreless innings.  Brandon Kaye allowed just one hit and struck one out to blank the Yanks in the ninth.

DSL Angels 9 DSL Blue Jays 2

San Pedro de Macoris, DR - Each team had nine hits and four errors but that was all they had in common.  The Jays actually led 2-0 after four innings.  Cesar Barazarte singled home a run in the first and Andres Sotillo scored on an errant pickoff throw by the catcher after he had doubled in the fourth.  Rolando Segovia and Deiferson Barreto had two hits apiece at the top of the order.  Angel Rojas, Ronniel Demorizi and Edwin Fuentes added one to the hit total.  Andres De Aza was 0-for-4 while Juan Kelly and Juan Tejada were left wanting with a combined 0-for-4.

Lefty Carlos Rodriguez (1-2) posted four shutout innings but could not retire any of the four hitters he faced in the fifth.  He gave up four runs on five hits and two walks.  Rodriguez struck out three and his groundout/flyout total was 7-1.  Southpaw Jonathan Torres went 1 1/3 innings, allowed both of his inherited runners to score and saw three more cross the plate on two hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. Gilberto Vielma saw two of three inherited runs score and he was victimized for two unearned runs on two hits, three walks and an HBP over 3 2/3 innings.  He did rack up four strikeouts.


*** 3 Stars!!! ***



3.  Adeiny Hechavarria, Las Vegas. 
His OPS is up to .810, fueled by 19 doubles and four triples.


2.  Michael Crouse, Dunedin. 
Port Moody, BC native tripled his home run output to three after his two-homer game.


1.  Ryan Goins, New Hampshire
.  Batting .304 with 26 extra-base hits.


Extra Innings...

The New Hampshire Union Leader
speculates on the possibility of rehabbing Red Sox Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury playing in New Hampshire on the 4th of July.

MLive.com catches up with Lugnuts pitcher Aaron Sanchez, the Midwest League's pitcher of the week.

SouthCountyMail.com
has a feature on Bluefield's Seth Conner.

The Vancouver Province
looks at the aspirations of Canadians infielder Derrick Chung and has a chat with catcher Tucker Frawley.

CanadiansBaseball.com
looks at the conversion of Matt Johnson from the infield to the mound.
Goins Off Without A Hech! | 54 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
doc_alex - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:34 AM EDT (#259679) #
Is there anyone to be on the lookout for on the DSL Jays? I'm not to familiar with any of them. I know Cardona and Cenas are both playing in the GCL, are any of the Jays other big international signings playing in the DSL?
TamRa - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:56 AM EDT (#259681) #
The bonus babies on that roster are:

Pitchers-

Jesus Tenoco
Greylor Conde
Miguel Castro
Osman Guttierez
Manuel Cordova (hasn't pitched in a game yet)

Hitters-
2B Ronnie Demorzi
OF Andres DeAza
OF Juan Tejada

No one is really lighting things up though.
Kelekin - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 06:13 AM EDT (#259683) #
Love the Conner and Johnson stories.  Conner was a personal favourite last year and it's good to get an explanation as to why he was back in the GCL.  I honestly thought he'd be in Vancouver.

Hopefully Johnson can bring the heat.

Anders - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 02:31 PM EDT (#259705) #
I'm on my phone so I won't post the link, but Stroman just announced on twitter that he was signing
chips - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 02:37 PM EDT (#259706) #
I just read Marcus Stroman's twitter. He announced that he has signed and is a Blue Jay.
TamRa - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 02:42 PM EDT (#259707) #
Besides Conner, it's also a bit of trivia to note that the Jays are also working Koby Clemens behind the plate now. I'm unsure if he has a history there or if it's brand new.


Fascinating about Matt Johnson, I will be watching to see if a feel-good story develops there.


Cool beans about Storman, On the look out for the contract figure.
PeteMoss - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 02:48 PM EDT (#259708) #
Been a good couple of days off the field. I'm curious what they'll do with Stroman. I'd suspect that the Jays will try him as a starter until he proves he can't do it, but there has to be some thought of seeing how quick he can work through the system as a RP.
Mike Green - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 02:49 PM EDT (#259709) #
Stroman's signing got me wondering what happened to Stroh's beer, which wikipedia answered nicely.  Bud man, Stroh man, it's funny how the mind works. 
greenfrog - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:02 PM EDT (#259712) #
$1.8M signing bonus for Stroman, per Keith Law.
PeteMoss - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:06 PM EDT (#259713) #
Which would leave how much for any of the Round 10+ guys?
greenfrog - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:11 PM EDT (#259714) #
Well, after the DeJong signing Jim Callis tweeted that the Jays could spend as much as $2,131,340 on Stroman without forfeiting a 2013 draft pick.

So, if KLaw's info is accurate, the Jays still have $331,340 of surplus bonus money to work (i.e., without losing a 2013 pick).
greenfrog - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:13 PM EDT (#259715) #
If EE is gone after 2012, I really hope he plays well enough in the second half to warrant a qualifying offer. Extra picks make the amateur draft a lot more exciting.
Beyonder - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:14 PM EDT (#259716) #
Using BA's numbers, the Jays should now be $110,200 over the cap. Having now signed all the top ten guys, they are permitted up to $440,000 overage. Having already used $110,200 of that, they should now have $329,800 to play with in rounds 11+ (in excess of the 100G slot amounts).
whiterasta80 - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:28 PM EDT (#259717) #

Eternal optimist time:  We just added our setup man for September and October.  Time to go get a few starters and a bat.

TamRa - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:35 PM EDT (#259719) #
would really be sweet if he followed the course that Sale did.
sam - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:44 PM EDT (#259721) #
Why is there any optimism that the Jays will spend up to the 5% limit, when doing so would mean a 75% tax on that overage? Do we really believe that Rogers is willing to pay more (unnecessary) tax dollars?

whiterasta80 - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 03:53 PM EDT (#259724) #

Actually Sam, the draft is the only area that the Blue Jays have given us any indication that they might be willing to spend money for the past few years. 

sam - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:04 PM EDT (#259726) #
Yes, but this is a new era and do you see the Jays spending money just to be taxed more money?
Beyonder - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:07 PM EDT (#259727) #
Sam. Because the overage is tiny. I'm not saying they will (or should) do it, but an additional 330G is not going to stop Rogers from signing anyone if they think it is worth it. I doubt AA has to even check in for that level of approval.
Lylemcr - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:11 PM EDT (#259728) #

Nobody has talked about Barretto and Castro signing from the international market.  Barretto is supposed to be the prize catch this year and Castro was ranked #9.  The Jays are loading up in the middle.

 

THere is also this rumor today.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/07/blue-jays-looking-to-add-players.html

They are adding, they are not adding.  Rumors are funny..  Also this rumor states that the Jays are turning sour on Yunel Escobar.  Is the issue Yunel or Hech? 

sam - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:15 PM EDT (#259729) #
Fair enough, you have your beliefs and I have mine. I agree in the grand scheme of things the overage is small, however, I think it might be a tad naive to assume AA would not need any clearance from the accountants or Beeston and co. to spend to be taxed even more. My understanding is corporations generally prefer to avoid taxes and the "throwing away of money." I apologize to those who hold different beliefs or feel it necessary to rationalize how paying the tax is not "throwing away money," but an investment.
dan gordon - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:17 PM EDT (#259730) #
Nice job getting all of those top 7 guys signed and still having some overage room, which I think they will spend if it gets them one or more of the round 11+ guys that are good prospects.  Would love to see them bag Kellogg.
sam - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:29 PM EDT (#259731) #
Lylemcr, we discussed the IFA signings in another thread. The two kids are 16 and this year was considered a marginal IFA crop. It's nice that the Jays have shown some serious clout in the IFA market, but again there are so many questions about these guys, much more than a draft prospect that it's not worth getting excited about any of the prospects unti High-A at the very earliest.

Now I may have just gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, but I'll believe the "adding" pieces when I see it. It's not a knock on AA, but the price to acquire the guys needed to improve the 25 man roster has got to be astronomical and simply not something that AA has shown any interest in doing.

The interview was a little out of character for AA. I could be wrong, but my impression was that he rarely speaks as candidly about baseball operations as he did there. In part, it seems like the interview was more about placating the fan base than anything.
bpoz - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:29 PM EDT (#259732) #
There are a lot of HS players left unsigned. The penalty on the 5% is about $250K-$300K. That amount is not a big worry IMO.

The Jays should have all the necessary information on everyone they drafted by now:-
1) Signing demands.
2) Talent & projections on ability.

So how good do they think some of these guys are? They know but will just tell some party line. Which I think is fair.

I cannot understand the delay in announcements, if they already signed a few days ago. No HS picks, rounds 20-40 (DOB 93/94) have signed yet IMO. I can see that there is no room in SS teams for them and that they will just work out in Dunedin.
Why no news? Maybe they are haggling over $, like the top offer is $30,000 but the draftee wants $40,000, which is still under the $100,000 threshold. I mean with the twitter media, these kids would not keep silent IMO.
China fan - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:30 PM EDT (#259733) #
Mike McDade must be a frustrated guy these days. He's long overdue for a promotion to Las Vegas, but it still hasn't happened. Even with the Lind promotion, IB is still occupied by Cooper and now the DH slot is being occupied by one of the regular outfielders (Sierra last night) because the OF is clogged with Gose/Snider/Thames. Maybe the Mountain Man will finally get his chance at AAA when Snider is promoted to the majors.
Beyonder - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:35 PM EDT (#259734) #
Sam. Far from naive, it would be mildly shocking if an executive in charge of an approximately 90 million dollar annual salary budget has to seek approval for a 330G expenditure, regardless of whether it is classified as a tax.

And when you save as much on the draft as the Jays did this year (as a result of the new CBA), even the most penny pinching owner loosens up.

I realise that "Rogers is Cheap" is a popular theme in these parts (and it may be true), there is no need to take it to extremes.
uglyone - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:40 PM EDT (#259735) #
1) For the record, I am officially starting the Art Charles bandwagon.

2) Mike McDade has an .845ops in his 2nd go around in AA at age 23, as a 1B. Nothing about that screams "promote me", IMO.

3) #FreeMarcusStroman
PeteMoss - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 04:42 PM EDT (#259736) #
They've already spend above their limit already so they are already paying a tax which would indicate a willingness to pay it.
92-93 - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 05:00 PM EDT (#259738) #
"I could be wrong, but my impression was that he rarely speaks as candidly about baseball operations as he did there. In part, it seems like the interview was more about placating the fan base than anything."

Bingo. The attendance has been terrible for LAA/KC, all things considered.
sam - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 05:03 PM EDT (#259740) #
I accept your points. Look, I don't win here. If the guys like Kellogg, Heyman, Cuas don't sign the story will be they weren't offered enough money. Or $300,000 wasn't enough for them to forgo the scholarship, not because the Jays were cheap. That's the way it will be spun. If they do sign, awesome we have some more prospects.
China fan - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 05:07 PM EDT (#259742) #
Cooper is 2 years older than McDade, is hitting in a much more hitter-friendly league, and has an OPS that is .015 better than McDade. Basically they have the same OPS. If Cooper deserves to play in the PCL, why not the guy who is posting the same OPS in a more pitching-friendly environment at a two-years-younger age?

Or there's Moises Sierra, who also has the same OPS as Cooper, and is older than McDade and is currently the DH in Las Vegas.

I'm not saying that Sierra or Cooper should be demoted -- they both deserve to be in Las Vegas. But I think McDade could post the same numbers, or better, in the PCL, and he is younger than both.
#2JBrumfield - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 05:08 PM EDT (#259743) #
Here's a tweet from Marcus Stroman (@mstrooo7)

"Down here in Dunedin, FL for a couple more days then off to Vancouver, Canada! The journey begins. Love it! #HDMH #blessed"

Happy to see a high pick come to Vancouver.  I hope he makes his C's debut this weekend!
greenfrog - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 05:19 PM EDT (#259744) #
The pitching injuries aside, the Jays have a lot to be happy about this year. A lot of good news on the farm (in addition to the usual luminaries, Marisnick has been heating up for a while) and the draft/IFA additions look promising. Rasmus's development is a huge plus as well, and EE may yet produce a couple of unexpected extra draft picks in 2013 (if he isn't extended).
bpoz - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 05:30 PM EDT (#259745) #
When AA was silent, that was his game plan IMO. If he suddenly decided to talk more then IMO this is his new game plan.

I still think that he will be rumored on everything.

I am probably misquoting, but I cannot believe that he is only looking to improve the 2012 ML team. And I know that his time is valuable. When the Gose for Wallace trade was made, it did not effect the ML team. I liked that trade even though 1B was thin in the organization.
Kelekin - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 05:38 PM EDT (#259746) #
I'm mixed on this.  They might be able to sign an extra guy or two, but none of us know what the policy is on this.  Either way, we have 12 days to find out.

I'm a little less excited on the Kellogg front.  I don't quite have the "oh my god we must sign all Canadians" instinct.  Irvin and Lopez would be the two nicest picks, though I wouldn't be upset over guys like Heyman and Kellogg.

sam - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 05:52 PM EDT (#259748) #
Yah, Irvin might be the best of the bunch. His signing would be considered a real coup.
China fan - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 05:58 PM EDT (#259749) #
Whenever I read about Matt Johnson, I immediately think about the seminal 1980s British post-punk band "The The."

"Seminal", however, is possibly an exaggeration.
Hodgie - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 06:24 PM EDT (#259751) #
So, now that Stroman has signed does anyone want to take a stab at what the Lansing and Dunedin rotations will look like for the playoffs? I can't help but wonder if the Lansing triplets won't see time in the FSL playoffs with the likes of Stroman and Osuna (and/or Comer, Norris, Gabryszwski) taking their place in Lansing. Allows for a similar progression to last year and still satisfies Anthopoulos' stated goal of playoff exposure for their prospects.
sam - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 06:48 PM EDT (#259753) #
Hodgie, good question. Without any confidence here, I'm going to say Nicolino perhaps gets the call-up to Dunedin first and pitches in the playoffs there. Stroman I hope gets a spot start in Dunedin. Woj hopefully has a few more good starts here and gets a promotion to AA. So the playoff rotation looks something like this:

1. Nolin (health)
2. Nicolino
3. Stroman
4. Lawrence

I think Jesse Hernandez probably goes down to pitch in the Lansing playoffs:

1. Hernandez
2. Sanchez
3. Syndergaard
4. Desclafani

Nicolino's polish I think is deserving of the promotion. I have no handle on this, Gerry is perhaps the best person on this.
sam - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 06:49 PM EDT (#259754) #
David Rollins is deserving of a playoff start as well.
Richard S.S. - Tuesday, July 03 2012 @ 09:29 PM EDT (#259757) #

I always thought signing LHP was a Priority with a capital 'P'.   Our record over the last two drafts is less than adequate, even including all LHP signed.   In 2010: Griffin Murphy, Justin Nicolino, Sean Nolin, Taylor Mitchell, Zak Adams and Arthur Charles made the list.   In 2011: Daniel Norris, David Rollins and Shane Davis made the list.   In 2012: Matt Smoral, Brad Delatte, Zakery Wasilewski, Shane Dawson, Alonzo Gonzales and Colton Turner are the only ones thus far making the list.   Still available are Ryan Kellogg, Ryan Borucki, Daniel Zamora and Cole Irvin.

And approximately $331,251.00 for over-slot signings.

Kelekin - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 12:02 AM EDT (#259761) #
I'm not sure I understand how signing 5-6+ LHP is considered inadequate.  How does this compare to other teams, before making that judgment call?
Richard S.S. - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 12:33 AM EDT (#259762) #

Ideally 2 LH Starters and 2-3 LH relievers per team is satisfactory (more would be better).   Given, that the Jays have 7 Minor League teams needing 5 LHP each.   Given, that every year you lose 8-10% of your Minor League rosters to: graduation to MLB teams; traded out of system; left baseball, willingly or not.

The world seems to run on accepting the minimum bid and working to minimum acceptable standards (minimum bid to minimum code).   I think I hold to a higher standard.   Why should Toronto do any less?   I think LHP are important acquisitions, but signing whomever they can with as little as they have available is also important.

TamRa - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 03:42 AM EDT (#259763) #
Back of the envelop projection for end of year minor league rotations (say the last two weeks and playoffs where applicable):

Las Vegas - Who really knows? No one important.

New Hampshire - McGuire/Jenkins/Stilson/Wojo/Pino

Dunedin - Nicolino/Sanchez/Syndergaard/Stroman/Hutchison
(I have the three kids being called up some time in August, Nicolino first - possibly as soon as Morrow finishes the presumed rehab turn. Also, I'm assuming Hutchison rebounds quickly enough to get a few re-hab starts in for the D-Jays)

Lansing - Rollins/DeSclafini/Avendano/Hernandez/Musgrove

Vancouver (assuming natural progression and not being skipped over as happened somewhat last year) -
Norris/Cardona/Gabryzwski/Osuna/Cole

Bluefield - Comer/Robson/Murphy/filler

GCL - Biggs/Labourt/DelRosario/Gonzales/Tirado


Based on nothing reliable - mostly intuition and stats.


Also, among the hitters:

Snider to Toronto right after the ASB

McDade to Vegas, possibly when Snider moves.

Bailli might get some time in AAA at some point too.

Nolan, when he's healthy, ought go to AA (Bocock is hardly the guy to block him)

Tally ought get some time in AA once McDade moves (although you have to wonder at some point if they want to short the D-Jays too much on talent for the playoffs)

Kevin Pillar needs to go to Dunedin but there's no open slot in the outfield, unless they go ahead and move Marisnick which I'm not inclined to think they will, particularly with NH sucking so bad this year.

Andy Burns could definitely move up if Nolan is promoted. Could see Kevin Patterson being promoted if Talley is just to fill the 1B spot.

Patterson moving would make room for Art Charles who is owning the league in Bluefield.
Fuenmayor has done well so far but an 11:1 K:BB ratio speaks to the hollowness of that achievement.

Any other move would be incidental (albeit you never know whom might get hot and earn a cup of coffee)

TamRa - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 04:03 AM EDT (#259764) #
and as soon as I post that I listen to Wilner interviewing Stroman and he tells Wilner the plan is to have him up to AA in a few weeks and possibly in Toronto by the end of the year (In September?) so scratch what I said about him in Dunedin apparently.

Which - "a few weeks" still seems to me to be likely to be at least six, maybe eight.

Sano - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 04:08 AM EDT (#259765) #
TamRa- Did Stroman say whether he'd be relieving or starting?
DJRob - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 04:14 AM EDT (#259766) #
It sounds like Stroman has the Hechavarria clause.
TamRa - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 06:29 AM EDT (#259767) #
he was asked who he patterend himself after (with Wilner saying something like "we won't make the easy Flash gordon reference) and Stroman said he watched a lot of Pedro's work, but that "with them talking about relieving, I like Kimbrel in Atlanta who's not very big either"

So, whilethey may have him start just for repetition in the minors, it certainly seems like the "fast track" plan has to do with relieving, at least initially. Again I wonder - the "Chris Sale Plan"?
whiterasta80 - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 12:33 PM EDT (#259786) #

Far too often we do the opposite but there's absolutely nothing wrong with letting a player pitch himself from the bullpen into the starting rotation.

Chris Sale being the prime example of that. If memory serves, David Wells did the same thing with us. 

 

John Northey - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 01:04 PM EDT (#259789) #
Yeah, Wells was mainly a reliever up here before shifting to the rotation.  Jimmy Key was a starter in the minors, relieved for a year in the majors then made the all-star team as a starter the following season.  The Jays haven't been doing it that way lately, but it has had successes before.
TamRa - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 04:35 PM EDT (#259806) #
on the other hand, if one takes "in a few weeks" completely literally then maybe he doesn't even get starts in the minors (or does but just technically for a 2 or 3 inning appearance at the beginning of a game as some do when rehabbing) and in that case it wouldn't be necessary to go 4 days between appearances.
PeteMoss - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 04:52 PM EDT (#259812) #
If there's a chance he's coming up in September.. I doubt the plan is to have him go 3 innings a pop.
PeteMoss - Wednesday, July 04 2012 @ 04:56 PM EDT (#259813) #
There's a reason why half-baked LHP are always finding jobs... its because there aren't many good ones out there. I don't think you need that many LH relievers in the minors anyways. Most teams are going to pigeon hole a guy into being a LOOGY in A ball.
TamRa - Thursday, July 05 2012 @ 03:21 AM EDT (#259837) #
wasn't really trying to specify 3 innings so much as saying that sometimes a team will have a special guy - usually rehabbing - who's normally a reliever pitch at the beginning of a game in order to be sure he gets ever how many pitches they wanted hi to get before the "real" starter takes over.

Looking back I agree there seems little reason for a guy who's on a reliever track to pitch more than 2 innings tops. Could just be one.
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