Aaron Sanchez did little to ease fan concerns about our pitching as he was wild in Buffalo. Pitching was easier to come by further down the line though. Nick Wells was pretty darn good in Bluefield. Your affiliates were 4-4 on the night.
COLUMBUS 8 Buffalo 1
Aaron Sanchez pitched and did not pitch particularly well. Sanchez allowed two earned over three and a third. He walked two and struck out three. Sanchez was reportedly up to 98mph with the fastball and felt healthy. Only 32 of his 63 pitches landed for strikes though.
To pick up on the conversation in the other thread on Jeff Hoffman and his breaking ball. The concern is real to my mind. Aaron Sanchez had a 70 curveball at the draft. Look at him now. It’s no longer a weapon. It seems as though the Jays draft these kids with true plus pitches and strikeout potential, only to strip them of these qualities. Based on their drafting and development, it would seem as though the club wants horses to fill out a rotation, not aces.
Portland 2 NEW HAMPSHIRE 7
A good looking night for the top third of the order. Dalton Pompey had two hits, including a triple and a walk. Jon Berti had three hits and a walk. He stole two bases as well. Finally, Dwight Smith Jr. homered and walked twice, driving in two runs.
Casey Lawrence was solid over six innings. He struck out four, allowing one earned on four hits and a walk.
DUNEDIN 6 St. Lucie 2
Starter Sean Reid-Foley pitched three and two-thirds of shutout ball. He struck out five, but walked four. Alberto Tirado struggled in his two-thirds of an inning of work. He allowed two earned on three walks. No hits allowed by Tirado. Brady Dragmire got the win with two and two-thirds of shutout ball.
Derrick Loveless had a three run homerun in the second to set the tone. Richard Urena keeps hitting. He had four hits, including a triple. Anthony Alford continues to plug along as well. He had two hits and is hitting .345 in High-A.
SOUTH BEND 10 Lansing 6
Keep this one short. D.J. Davis had two hits and Dawel Lugo collected two RBI’s. What’s going on with Davis. I could swear that every time I look he’s getting a few hits, but he doesn’t seem to be hitting at a high clip.
VANCOUVER 5 Everett 4
Lane Thomas led the way with a three run home run and Evan Smith pitched five shutout innings in relief as Vancouver held off a late Everett rally in the ninth.
BLUEFIELD 7 Bristol 0 (7 Innings)
Yeltsin Gudino had a nice little game. He collected three hits and a double, driving in two. D.J. McKnight homered and collected three RBIs. Nick Wells pitched very well. He struck out eight in six shutout innings. He walked two and allowed two hits.
Bluefield 3 BRISTOL 4 (8 Innings)
Andres Sotillo was just about the only Blue Jay to stick around for the second game. Sotillo was three-for-three and homered. The adventures of Jacob Brentz continued with three and two-thirds of two run, three walk, three hit, and four strikeout baseball. Brentz, of course, remains the immensely talented left hander who defined the term “raw” out of the draft.
GCL Tigers v. GCL Blue Jays RAIN
DSL Blue Jays 6 DSL REDS 9
Please see China fan’s excellent commentary on the previous thread.
Three Stars
3. Evan Smith
2. Andres Sotillo
1. Nick Wells
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