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Four of the six affiliates sang the bullpen blues Monday night. Buffalo almost did and Bluefield hummed a few bars but did not have to break out into full song. New Hampshire and Vancouver had the night off.


Buffalo 7 Norfolk 4

Norfolk, VA - Here's hoping the parent club will follow suit for the next three games. The Bisons drew first blood against the Orioles affiliate with a pair of runs in the third inning. Kevin Pillar doubled home an Adron Chambers single and Pillar would score on a Ryan Schimpf sacrifice fly. An RBI single by Kevin Nolan and a two-run safety by Mike Nickeas in the sixth inning made it 5-1 Buffalo. Chambers belted a home run to start the ninth and Andy LaRoche brought in another run with a ground ball. Chambers and Pillar had three hits each with Pillar getting two doubles. Nolan, Brett Wallace and Jared Goedert all had two-hit nights.

P.J. Walters (4-2) lasted six strong innings by rolling back the Tide to just one run on four hits and two walks. He struck out four and divided his 12 outs in play evenly on the ground and in the air. Ryan Tepera worked a shutout seventh with just one hit. Rob Rasmussen pitched a scoreless eighth but was rung up for three runs on five hits in 1.1 frames. Bobby Korecky was called in to get the last two outs. He gave up two hits but he struck out two to get his 19th save.


Palm Beach 5 Dunedin 1

Dunedin, FL - Matt Boyd did his job against the Cardinals, pitching seven solid innings of one-run, three-hit ball with eight K's and zero walks. Seven of his 10 outs in play were on the ground. He set down the last eight hitters he faced and 11 of his last 12. Griffin Murphy (2-1) got the first hitter he faced but three singles and a home run to the next four batters put this one out of reach. He walked one and struck out one in his two-inning outing.

A Pierce Rankin RBI double plated the only Jays run in the fourth to even up the game at 1-1. Ian Parmley went 2-for-4 with a stolen base while Nick Baligod was 1-for-3 with a walk and a swipe. Emilio Guerrero, Gustavo Pierre and Jorge Saez also had base hits.


Fort Wayne 4 Lansing 3


Fort Wayne, IN
- Brad Allen met the minimum guidelines of a quality start with three runs allowed over six innings against the Padres affiliate. Two of the runs were the result of two homers. That was among seven hits in total but his peripherals were outstanding as he struck out eight without walking anyone and five of his eight outs in play did not leave the diamond. Francesco Gracesqui (1-2) gave up a gopher ball in his two innings of work. He gave up four hits and a walk but struck out three.

The Lugnuts scored the first run of the game when Dickie Joe Thon doubled and eventually scored on an error in the third inning. David Harris tripled home a run in the fourth and scored on a Derrick Loveless ground ball to give Lansing a brief 3-1 lead. Mitch Nay had the only multi-hit game by going 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Jason Leblebijian singled, walked twice and stole a bag. Loveless went 1-for 5 while swiping a pillow. D.J. Davis and Justin Atkinson also joined the hit parade. Matt Dean was 0-for-2 with a walk.


Bluefield 11 Burlington 7

Burlington, NC - Bluefield had to overcome a four-run deficit and a blown lead in extra innings to finally pull this one out against the Royals. The Jays first run came on a passed ball in the second inning. Rolando Segovia provided the second run with a poke over the wall in the fifth to give Bluefield a 2-1 advantage. They got the bats to get going to erase a 6-2 deficit when Rowdy Tellez connected for a three-run homer in the eighth. A Richard Urena double tied the game in the ninth but Kevin Garcia was thrown out at home to eventually send the game into overtime. Sean Hurley was thrown out at home trying to score from third base on a ground ball in the tenth but the Jays pushed across the go-ahead run with a Lydell Moseby bases-loaded walk. Josh Almonte would give Bluefield the lead for good by leading off the 12th inning with a home run. Another Moseby RBI walk brought in an insurance and two more runs would score on a wild pitch and a throwing error by the Burlington pitcher. Tellez, Almonte and Austin Davis all had three-hit nights. Segovia got aboard three times by walking twice. Urena was 2-for-7.

Francisco Rios was reamed for six runs in 4.1 innings that included a homer among his eight hits. He struck out four and walked nobody. Matt Smoral also pitched 4.1 innings but his work was of the shutout variety as he pitched a one-hitter with three walks and six K's. Chase Wellbrock (1-2) gave up a run on two hits but lasted 2.1 frames with a 4-0 K-BB total. Dusty Isaacs had a 3-1 K-BB ratio in his one inning to give Bluefield hurlers an impressive 17-4 strikeout/walk tally.


GCL Yankees2 3 GCL Blue Jays 2

Dunedin, FL - Guess what? Another bullpen meltdown! Hansel Rodriguez pitched the first two innings and was hacked for a run on a hit and two walks while striking out two. The pitching star in this one was Angel Perdomo. The lefty put up four shutout innings of four-hit ball with an 8-2 K-BB total. Francis Eduardo coughed up the lead by serving up a solo homer in the seventh and was victimized by an unearned run in the eighth after a Yeltsin Gudino error at short. He struck out a pair in his two innings of relief. Brandon Hinkle worked a one-hit ninth.

Edwin Fuentes drove the offence for the Jays in this one. His fourth inning home run tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth and his sacrifice fly in the sixth gave them the lead. Dave Pepe had a base hit, a base on balls and a hit by pitch. Fuentes, Deiferson Barreto, Lane Thomas and Juan Tejada all put notches in the hit and walk columns. Barreto, Tejada and Freddy Rodriguez stole one base apiece.



DSL Tigers 7 DSL Blue Jays 5


San Pedro de Macoris, DR - Here's another one that got away from the Jays in the late going after holding leads of 4-1 and 5-3. An Edward Olivares bases-loaded single resulted in Olivares clearing the bases and scoring himself after a fielding error by the Tigers center fielder. Olivares was only credited with one RBI. The other Blue Jays run came in the seventh when Luis Dominguez managed to score from third base after a rundown that involved Rodrigo Orozco who was picked off at first. Dominguez and Miguel Almonte both doubled and were hit by a pitch. Bryan Lizardo singled and walked. Jesus Severino and Francisco Rodriguez were 1-for-4.

Kelyn Jose was jilted for a pair of unearned runs over four innings on two hits and three walks but he struck out eight. Luis Gomez gave up another run over two innings on four hits and a walk but whiffed a pair. Jefry Martinez walked one, plunked one and struck out one over one-plus innings. Pedro Diaz (2-1) could not strand two inherited runners and was dinged for two of his own runs on four hits, including a home run. He hit a batter but he did strike out three in his two innings.


Monday's Linescores


*** 3 Stars!!! ***



3. Matt Boyd, Dunedin - A 1.07 ERA and 72-15 K-BB total in 58.2 innings with the D-Jays.


2. Adron Chambers, Buffalo - Hitting .303 against right-handed pitching and .316 with runners on base.


1. Rowdy Tellez, Bluefield - Five multi-hit games in his last six contests and an .885 OPS in his last 10.


3 Stars images from MiLB.com.


Tuesday's Schedule & Probable Starters

DSL Blue Jays @ DSL Tigers, 10:30 am ET - TBA.
GCL Blue Jays @ GCL Yankees2, 12:00 pm ET - TBA.
Buffalo @ Norfolk, 12:05 pm ET - Raul Valdes (4-3, 3.60).
Dunedin @ Lakeland, 6:30 pm ET - Jeremy Gabryszwski (NR).
Bluefield @ Burlington, 7:00 pm ET - TBA.
New Hampshire @ Erie, 7:05 pm ET - TBA.
Lansing @ Fort Wayne, 7:05 pm ET - TBA.
Tellez & Chambers Made Victory Possible | 29 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
jester00 - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 12:36 AM EDT (#291324) #
I know its been asked before, but what the heck happened to Jake Anderson in Bluefield. Thought he was coming back soon, which last I heard was back in early July. Anyone got anything on him?
finch - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 01:00 AM EDT (#291325) #
I'm all aboard on the Matt Smoral train! He will have a Norris-type of breakout next year.
Kelekin - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 03:42 AM EDT (#291326) #
Tellez' SLG jumps another 30 points with that game. Smoral seemed to be cruising through his first 3.2 IP, then started having control issues towards the end. Still, it had been 7 appearances since he last walked more than 2 batters, which is progress. He clearly has the stuff, with the best K/9 among starters in the Appalachian League.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 09:02 AM EDT (#291334) #
Oddly, Tellez is slashing .323/.413/.710 in 32 PAs against LHP and .280/.323/.336 against RHP.  It's obviously a small sample, but early returns do suggest that he won't have the common LHH platoon issues.
whiterasta80 - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 11:28 AM EDT (#291343) #
I'm not sure he's facing advanced enough secondary offerings to really conclude anything about his LHP numbers to be honest. Encouraging yes, but I'll hold judgement until he hits an advanced level.
JB21 - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 12:27 PM EDT (#291345) #
Been to Wrigley twice. The first was a Friday afternoon game in August. Absolutely perfect day. Three of my buddies and I sat in the left field bleachers (right field sucks!) and arrived early to get a good seat and to watch Pujols, Glaus, and Ludwick put on a show playing pepper with the buildings on Waveland ave. Jim Edmonds hit two bombs (for the Cubs) and they ended up wih a walk off win (Henry Blanco single!). All in all probably my favourite Baseball park experience, especially with the couple hours after the game spent in Wrigleyville.

The second I was in town for work and for the first time in my life decided to buy one ticket and go alone. I sat right behind the plate and watched the Cubs beat the Brewers 1-0 on a sac fly! Surprisingly fun game though, perfect summer night weather. Couldn't ask for more.

I'm going to Minute Maid and Globe Life next week and that will only leave 6 parks left for me to hit. And while PNC may be the nicest (I haven't been to AT&T yet...) Wrigley is probably the best to watch a game.
JB21 - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 12:29 PM EDT (#291347) #
Oops, wrong thread, haha.
Richard S.S. - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 01:10 PM EDT (#291352) #
Rowdy Tellez was a high upside, major power hitter, probable 1st round talent that vanished from people minds because of his reported high demands. It was a surprise that he was drafted at all, not when he was. A.A. had significant extra cash (due to a non-signing) and threw big money at Jacob Brentz ($750 K) as well as Rowdy Tellez ($800 K). That's why the attention is on these two, we got them instead of Phil Bickford. Phooey with this year's draft pick, these are the initial gain, the draft pick's like free stuff.

People are waiting to see Tellez to put it all together, because he is legit power and talent.
uglyone - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 01:11 PM EDT (#291353) #
The system was already looking great in full season ball, but its looking even better now that rookie ball is up to a decent sample size.

With not just "interesting" but imo legit good to great performances these guys have vaulted themselves into "legit prospect" status already this year, if they weren't before, imo:


Bluefield

C D.Jansen (19): 146pa, 11.0bb%, 11.6k%, .294babip, .874ops, 153wrc+
SS R.Urena (18): 183pa, 6.6bb%, 20.8k%, .400babip, .824ops, 137wrc+
1B R.Tellez (19): 176pa, 7.4bb%, 13.1k%, .313babip, .757ops, 119wrc+

LHP M.Smoral (20): 33.2ip, 32.5k%, 11.5bb%, .365babip, 3.48era, 2.35fip
RHP R.Borucki (20): 33.1ip, 22.9k%, 4.6bb%, .261babip, 2.70era, 3.12fip
LHP E.Smith (18): 25.2ip, 19.3k%, 7.6bb%, .341babip, 3.86era, 3.39fip

GCL Jays

C J.Kelly (19): 127pa, 10.2bb%, 19.7k%, .386babip, .794ops, 130wrc+
OF L.Thomas (19): 139pa, 14.4bb%, 21.6k%, .360babip, .761ops, 123wrc+

LHP E.Smith (18): 12.0ip, 26.5k%, 6.1bb%, .333babip, 1.50era, 2.21fip
LHP A.Perdomo (20): 31.1ip, 29.9k%, 12.4bb%, .325babip, 2.59era, 2.83fip


Of note, Borucki was promoted to vancouver and had a great first start there, and i haven't included pentacost or heidt due to small sample size and advanced age, but both have impressed at two levels this year and both are doing well kn vancouver. Ideally at age 21 they'd at least end the year in lansing, though.

Marc Hulet - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 01:32 PM EDT (#291355) #
Of those listed as interesting, my biggest issue is Juan Kelly. He's showing an interesting hit tool but he's not a catcher and too short to be an ideal first baseman. The one name I would keep an eye on is Juan Tejada... he's raw with swing-and-miss issues but he has a good arm in RF, can play some CF and has developing power.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 02:04 PM EDT (#291356) #
Tejada is 20 years old and striking out well over once per game in Rookie ball.  He didn't do much in the DSL at age 19.  He's a longshot, but youneverknow.
uglyone - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 02:20 PM EDT (#291357) #
Oh, Kelly is not a C as listed? And they've shuffled him all the way over to the other end of the defensive spectrum? Ah that stinks. You're right that he's a midget without the power to be a 1B, then, and doesn't belong on that list of legit prospects.

Wait a sec....B/R says he's played 9gms at C this year and 37 total (22 and 71 @1B, 1 and 9 @3B). Are you sure catcher is completely out of the question for him? Even after the yan gomes experience?

Tejada i thought about including, but i figure he stays in the "interesting follow" category right now instead of "legit prospect". No questioning the raw power, at least. The guys i included as legit prospects had good to very good lines right across the board, and definitele age appropriate for the levels. Tejada is a bit old to be K-ing that much in the GCL i think.
metafour - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 02:23 PM EDT (#291358) #
Tejada's tools are legit.  Chris King has seen him numerous times and he's commented on the power+speed combo several times.  Internet observers spend too much time contemplating results in the low minors, when tools are much more important at that level.  I fail to see what his DSL results have to do with anything; those are rarely any sort of indicator.
uglyone - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 02:28 PM EDT (#291359) #
Tools are nice but there's a very solid history to support healthy skepticism for prospects striking out 30% of the time in rookie ball.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 02:45 PM EDT (#291360) #
Tools at age 20 in Rookie Ball....phooey.  D.J. Davis has good tools too.  He's a much more advanced version of Tejada, and at least at his age and level, there is reasonable hope that he'll overcome his very significant weaknesses.

Incidentally, I've always felt that the ability to make contact was a pretty important tool for a 20 year old.  Maybe the most important tool in fact. Gerry describes it as "the hit tool" and that works for me.

uglyone - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 02:50 PM EDT (#291361) #
The list of jays who were considered real prospects atbsome point who struck out more than 28% of the time in the GCL since 2006 is a pretty clear warning....and all these guys were a year or two younger than Tejada...

D.J.Davis
D.Thon
M.Crouse
A.J.Jimenez
A.Charles
E.Eiland
K.Wilson
J.Talley

These guys sputtered out pretty quickly for the most part. Jimenez looks like the only one who'll make it, and then only as a defensive catcher....and he was only 18 in the GCL, not 20.

Tejada sounds like a Crouse type maybe....which isn't bad, and definitely worth following....but IMO still fringy all the way until he shows some legit stikezone improvement.
metafour - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 02:51 PM EDT (#291362) #
Yes, but what you fail to realize is that a 6'3 CF/RF with power, speed, and a big arm who strikes out too much is still a better Pro prospect than a 5'10 155 pound slap-hitting C/1B tweener.  It is common sense.  Even though the likelihood is low, Tejada can still improve on his contact rate and approach at the plate.  Juan Kelly's deficiencies are physical by nature and therefore he's kind of shit out of luck because his only chance at MLB success would require him to become a plus defensive catcher, which he clearly isn't likely to become given how they've used him this year (specifically playing him at 1B for the majority of the season).  He'd have to become a truly elite contact/approach hitter otherwise to offset the defensive deficiency, which is much less likely than it would be for Tejada to improve enough in the strikeout department for his other tools to play at the MLB level.  Even looking at age; Tejada is only 5 months older than Kelly.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 03:05 PM EDT (#291364) #
Juan Kelly is actually 20 too.  I'll grant you that he isn't much of a prospect either, taking into account age, developmental level and tools.  If you want to argue that Tejada is a better prospect than Kelly, fair enough (although personally, I'd hold out greater hope that Kelly makes it as some kind of utility player than Tejada makes it at all).  Both have a tremendous amount of work to do to make it to the Show and the odds are pretty heavily stacked against them.
uglyone - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 03:12 PM EDT (#291365) #
Meh, we're not going back to valuing prospects by height again, are we?

Not saying that these descriptions are accurate for these two, but i'll take a 5'10" (legit) catcher with a 130wrc+ and good peripherals over a 6'3" corner OF with a 140wrc+ and awful peripherals as a prospect every day of the week.

But, as said, if Kelly is not a C, then he doesn't belong on any list.
metafour - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 03:17 PM EDT (#291366) #
(although personally, I'd hold out greater hope that Kelly makes it as some kind of utility player than Tejada makes it at all)

How? There are all sorts of players who bounce around the MLB who strike out too much but have offsetting tools (usually power, but also defense and speed) that make them playable at some level (eg: Jeff Francoeur, even Juan Francisco).  The list of tiny, no-power, slap-hitting 1B/DH/C tweeners is non-existent.  What exactly is Kelly going to "Utility" as? He can't play any of the infield positions.  He clearly can't catch otherwise they'd be giving him way more time there.  When you're in the GCL and are relegated to playing 1B at 5'10 155 pounds, there clearly isn't much hope for you defensively.  And with little to no defensive hope, his bat simply doesn't even come close to being good enough to project any sort of MLB impact.
Nigel - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 03:20 PM EDT (#291367) #
I don't have anything to add to the Kelly/Tejada discussion but if you are looking at one more name to follow at the Rookie ball level I would add Segovia to the list.  A 19 year old 2B with a nice mixture of speed and some surprising pop for his stature.  His 104 RC+ is being held down by a someone low BABIP of .260.  He has shown some ability to keep his BB% over 10% over the past 2 years.  He does seem to come up with a fairly high number of nagging injuries as he has had 2 or 3 stretches of missing 2-5 games in a row.
metafour - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 03:23 PM EDT (#291368) #
But, as said, if Kelly is not a C, then he doesn't belong on any list.

He's not a catcher.  9 out of 33 games played at catcher.  If he actually projected as even 'average', they'd be giving him more time behind the plate.
uglyone - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 03:26 PM EDT (#291369) #
"There are all sorts of players who bounce around the MLB who strike out too much"

Not who struck out 30+% of the time in rookie ball, there aren't.
CeeBee - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 04:17 PM EDT (#291370) #
Interesting list and interesting comments. Prospects are such fun to follow even if most of them flame out long before they hit AAA. I do agree that for the first time in a good long while the Jays actually have a fair number of legit prospects at every level if one includes recently promoted to or from AAA guys.Sure appears to my uneducated eye that the system is getting stronger and I'm glad AA hasn't bowed to the pressure and traded off too many assets yet.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 04:38 PM EDT (#291371) #
I am wondering whether there has ever been a major league player who had any kind of significant career who struck over in more than 30% of his PAs at age 20 in Rookie ball.  There must be, but I am having trouble finding him.  Rob Deer has, according to The Baseball Cube, a contact tool of 6 out of 100 (the lowest I have ever seen).  He made it out of Rookie League at age 18 and struck out 115 times in 127 games in the Midwest League at age 19.  Mark Reynolds didn't do anything like this.  Found one- Drew Stubbs

So, maybe Tejada can become Drew Stubbs...
uglyone - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 04:41 PM EDT (#291372) #
I took a look and came up empty too.

Except for Melky Mesa and his 16 career plate appearances.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 05:09 PM EDT (#291374) #
Ryan Howard had similar strikeout issues (and also had a 6 contact rating from the baseball cube).  Howard struck out 55 times in 199 PAs in the NYPL at age 21, and more than a strikeout per game in the Sally League at age 22.  Tejada can probably do as well as that, but Stubbs is probably a better target than Howard.
finch - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 06:21 PM EDT (#291376) #
Speaking of prospects...Sean Reid-Foley with an impressive start today. 2 H 0 BB and 6 SO over 4.2 innings.
Richard S.S. - Tuesday, August 05 2014 @ 06:43 PM EDT (#291379) #
Blue Jays post is up.
Tellez & Chambers Made Victory Possible | 29 comments | Create New Account
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