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The votes are in for the Batter's Box Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month honours for May. The winners are both from the Dunedin Blue Jays, outfielder Marcus Knecht and lefthander Daniel Norris.



Marcus Knecht used one first-star and three second-star selections to capture Player of the Month honours. Daniel Norris rode three first-star selections by our Minor League crew to win Pitcher of the Month.

Scoring for our three-star selections is as follows - 5 points for a first star selection, 3 points for second star and 1 point for third. Knecht earned 14 points in May, one point ahead of Kevin Pillar (who was called up from Buffalo May 13) and four ahead of Bisons outfielder Brad Glenn, who was promoted from Double-A New Hampshire May 16. Norris racked up 15 points, edging out Deck McGuire by a single point and fellow Dunedin hurler Taylor Cole, who had 11 points. Liam Hendriks also finished with double digits on the basis of two first-star selections with Buffalo to help him earn a couple of starts with the big club.

Knecht has bounced back from a bad April in a huge way. The Toronto native, who will turn 24 on June 21, nearly doubled his .181 batting average in the season's first month to .361. Despite no home runs in May, the right-handed hitting Knecht slugged .542 thanks to seven doubles and three triples and knocked home 14 runs. He hopes to keep the arrow pointing upward after two disappointing seasons in the Flordida State League. Entering June, Knecht is batting .271 with a homer and 22 runs batted in.

As good as Norris was in April, he was even better in May as he brought his earned run average down to 0.68 as compared to 0.75 from the season's first month. In 26.1 innings, he struck out 34 batters and walked eight. The 21 year-old Johnson City, Tennessee native surrendered just 20 hits and limited Florida State League batters to a .206 batting average while winning his lone decision to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Overall, Norris has 22 points - two ahead of fellow lefty and April Pitcher of the Month Matt Boyd. The hitting leader is Dwight Smith Jr., the Player of the Month for April, who has 21 points. That puts him up two ahead of Pillar. So far, 63 different players have earned at least a point this season and 53 players received at least one vote this Month.

Congratulations to our winners this month. As the weather warms up, let's see whose performance takes off in June.
Marcus and Norris Joined The Chorus In May | 4 comments | Create New Account
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Richard S.S. - Monday, June 02 2014 @ 06:46 PM EDT (#287411) #
Blue Jays have Draft Picks 9 ($3,080,800) and 11 ($2,888,300) which are critical to get right (1st Round). One of these picks needs to be a quick MLB player (in 2-3 years, at most). Both these picks are protected for next year.

They hold Draft pick 49 ($1,128,800) which is a significant pick (under 50) which they need to get right (2nd Round). Some very top talent (top 10) might just fall to here. A.A shouldn`t miss this. This pick is protected for next year.

They also hold pick 83 ($661,800) which is another significant pick (under 100) which they need to get right (3rd Round). I don`t knows who falls, but frequently they go for a flyer here. This pick is also protected for next year, but no others are.

Beyond this point, Pick 114 ($458,000 - 4th Round) and Pick 144 ($343,000 - 5th Round) could be significant this year, as opposed to previous years, but I don`t know why?

The usual drafting of Seniors with the 6th - 10th Rounds ($897,800) is important for over-slot signings of others (plus 4.999% overage). I just think going after the very best ones is much more important this year.
Maldoff - Monday, June 02 2014 @ 09:17 PM EDT (#287414) #
BP posted a scouting report on Aaron Sanchez today. Can anyone summarize the main points?
Mike Green - Monday, June 02 2014 @ 09:19 PM EDT (#287415) #
Norris gave up 3 earned runs for the first time all season tonight, but Dalton Pompey came to the rescue with a 2 run homer and the D-Jays pulled out a 5-3 win. 
PeterG - Monday, June 02 2014 @ 10:11 PM EDT (#287419) #
re: BP report on Sanchez.

it was more positive than you might think. He was scouted 3 times, April 15, may 3rd and 10th

good raw stuff.....fastball in mid 90's, curve ball nasty, change up improving

fastball command the only issue.....not consistent

clearly he has been told to work on this as in last 2 starts viewed, threw nothing but fastballs for 1st 3 innings

Scout conclusions:  raw stuff evident and should continue to dominate as he progresses.......inconsistent fastball command does raise some doubts as to long term prognosis or potential......will view later in season for signs of improvement

I am thinking that if there is only one issue, it can be worked on, as was done with Daniel Norris, even at the expense of box score success, until he gets it right

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