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Put New Haven's batters with Charleston's pitchers, and you'd have a pretty fine team. As it stands, though, a lot of losses last night for Toronto's farm clubs.

Syracuse 5-1 Richmond 2-5

In winning the opening game of a doubleheader with the Braves, Corey Thurman continued to put up impressive numbers: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. His season line is now 2-1, 2.93, 7 GS, 30 IP, 27 H, 14 BB, 26 K, 19.7% K/BF; over his last four starts, his line is 16 IP, 7 H, 7 BB, 16 K. At this rate, Thurman and Jason Arnold may both be in the Show by August. In the nightcap, starter Evan Thomas (0-4, 7.01) took the loss, but it was Jason Kershner who gave up the most damage (2 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K).

New Haven 7-6 Binghampton 15-7

Oof. The good news is that the pitchers who got lit up in this doubleheader sweep aren’t top prospects: Chris Baker and Pete Bauer combined to allow 13 runs on 22 hits in just 7 2/3 innings. With Arnold’s promotion to Syracuse, the Ravens are looking like the Texas Rangers of AA: all hit, no pitch. Alexis Rios went 3-for-7 with 2 Rs and 2 RBIs, while Gabe Gross homered (his 4th) and drove in 3 on the day.

Tampa 7, Dunedin 4

Dustin McGowan has been proceeding slowly up the organization ladder, and one of the reasons is that he’s not yet terribly consistent. Last night he gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in 4 1/3 IP, with 5 H, 3 BB and 4 Ks. Russ Adams singled and doubled in four ABs, but made his team-leading 17th error in 51 games at shortstop.

Greensboro 2, Charleston 1 (16 innings)

A marathon loss for the Alley-Cats at least produced some fine pitching lines. Ismael Ramirez: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (season: 3-1, 1.99, 45 IP, 29 H, 12 BB, 27 K, 16% KBF); Ramon Mora: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K (season: 2-0, 4.57, 21 IP, 28 H, 5 BB, 26 K, 28% KBF); and Adam Peterson: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (season: 2-4, 2.19, 24 IP, 15 H, 13 BB, 19 K, 24 % KBF)
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_Jabonoso - Wednesday, May 28 2003 @ 12:32 PM EDT (#101565) #
Gideon:
Several question from your report.
-Are you worried by Arnold and Thurman's high bbs rate? This regarding their chances in the Bigs...
-P Bauer has been starting without success in AA for three years, being a tall pitcher with a very heavy fastball, should not be tried as a closer, just before you drop him all together? ( I´m sure that the Brewers would pick up him rigth away )
-Russ Adams fielding? Was not the very M Bordick impressed with his abilities? Most comentators told everybody not to worry with A level fielding statistics, but if he is going to be our SS of the future...
-What a good collection of good arms in A and low A level, as much as the last draft is raved, we should know more about our team and farm school in Dominicana, there are 5 to 10 good looking prospects already in the USA!
Dave Till - Wednesday, May 28 2003 @ 02:19 PM EDT (#101566) #
This isn't directly related, but I wanted to mention it somewhere: according to ESPN, Indianapolis pitcher, and ex-Jay, Pasqual Coco was recently ejected for arguing with Buffalo outfielder Coco Crisp.
Jordan - Wednesday, May 28 2003 @ 02:34 PM EDT (#101567) #
Jabonso, I'm not too concerned with their walk rates at this point, given that their K/IP ratios are great (close to 1/1) and their BB/K rates are at least decent (Jason's about 3/1, though Corey's 2/1), but it definitely is something to keep an eye on, even at AAA. There's a difference between walks issued because you haven't yet perfected command of your fastball and slider, and walks issued because batters aren't chasing those 3-2 splitters and change-ups out of the strike zone. The former is correctable; the latter makes you Scott Cassidy. This might be more of a problem for Thurman than for Arnold, but I'm confident both can overcome these issues to be effective big-league starters.

Bauer is one of a number of examples that drafting a college pitcher is no guarantee of future success. A 2000 2nd-round pick out of the University of South Carolina, Bauer is huge (6'7", 250 lbs) and throws in the low-90s with reportedly fine breaking stuff. But he has the opposite problem of poor command: his pitches catch too much of the plate. He really has stalled out career-wise, and he turns 25 in November, so you're right that the bullpen would probably be a good call at this point.

I'm not really worried about Russ Adams' defence -- everything I've heard (and briefly seen) about him says he has tremendous instincts and a natural feel for fielding. What I don't know is the nature of these errors: is he bouncing throws to first? Is he not setting up properly before he throws? Is he trying to make spectacular plays on grounders deep in the hole and throwing the ball away? These are all correctable problems, but it's worth noting his mounting E total. Adams may yet go to second base, but I'll tell you, shortstop may be this organization's weakest position. Did someone say Bobby Crosby for Shannon Stewart the other day?

It's a terrific crop of pitchers in A-Ball, for certain. There's reason to be very optimistic. But because I'm Mr. Cloudy, I'll also toss out two words that give us all pause: Francisco Rosario. I'm hoping to see the David Bushes and Dustin McGowans have an injury-free season at AA before getting really excited; getting out of A-Ball healthy and effective is a pretty major accomplishment these days.
_Jabonoso - Wednesday, May 28 2003 @ 03:36 PM EDT (#101568) #
Thank you, both for the report and your answer!
Is there a way to know more about:
-Russ Adams' nature of his mistakes.
-what's is going on in Dominicana, I've heard somewhere that the three best BJ's Dominican prospects ever are yet to come to USA!
_Jabonoso - Wednesday, May 28 2003 @ 03:49 PM EDT (#101569) #
In another order of ideas. Ari van Gaalen was signed? ( draft and follow from Canada )
_DS - Wednesday, May 28 2003 @ 05:18 PM EDT (#101570) #
Jabonoso,

I don't know if this is any help, but here is the list of all the Blue Jay prospects, domestic and foreign.

http://bluejays.mlb.com/tor/downloads/organizational_roster.pdf
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