Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine
4 for 5 with a rainout for the Blue Jay farm, a night featuring 4 great pitching performances and 8 home runs.



Indianapolis 1 @ Syracuse 6

When he first came to Triple-A in 2002, Cam Reimers mostly just saw. Last night he returned, and did a little conquering: freshly promoted from New Hampshire, Cam went 7 strong against the Indians of Indianapolis, allowing a single run on just 5 hits and a walk while striking out 3. Jason Kershner and Kevin Frederick finished up with a scoreless inning each.

Meanwhile, the SkyChief offence produced 6 runs on the strength of home runs from 2B Jorge Sequea (a 3-run jack) and 3B Glen Willams (his 19th of the year), a 3-hit night from SS Julius Matos, 2 hits from the ringer Delgado, and 2 hits including a three-bagger from C Guillermo Quiroz. DH Gabe Gross wore a collar for the evening, and Sequea committed a throwing error.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com.


New Hampshire @ Norwich – Rained Out


Dunedin 9 @ Brevard County 0

The D-Jays steamrolled the Manatees in Brevard County on the strength of a brilliant pitching performance from Ismael Ramirez: 7 innings, 2 singles, 1 walk, 8 tickets punched. Southpaw Tommi Ozuna kept the shutout and 2-hitter alive in his inning, despite walking three. Ed Buzachero finished up with just another scoreless inning, walking one batter.

On offence, it was the Raul & Miggy show, as DH Tablado banged out a single, double, and homer, while CF Negron completed the tag-team cycle by hitting triple, and added two singles while he was at it. Not to be left out, 1B Vito C socked a homer, and 2B Ryan Roberts collected a single, a walk, and a sac fly.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com.


Charleston 3 @ Lakewood 9

Jeremy Harper’s Charleston debut was shaky to say the least, as the BlueClaws raked him for 5 earned in 5 innings on 7 hits and 6 walks. Harper struck out 4, and kept the ball in the yard. Joaquin Canizal and Marcos Sandoval were no better in relief.

Like the two clubs higher up the organizational ladder who played this night, the Charlestons popped two home runs: DH Joey Reiman and LF Christian Snavely did the honours. C Robinzon Diaz had a double to show for his four trips.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com.


Brooklyn 4 @ Auburn 5 (10 innings)

The DoubleDays made things interesting against the Cyclones, as Joey McLaughlin Jr. blew a save by allowing a run in the ninth, but collected the win by sticking around and keeping the Cyclones off the board in the 10th. Junior allowed 2 hits in his 2 innings, striking out 2 and walking… none. It was Casey McKenzie to start the game, 5 innings with 2 runs on 6 hits, 3/2 K/BB, and John Wesley with a nice 3-inning relief stint, 1 run on 2 hits and a walk versus 4 Ks.

1B Chip Cannon smacked a two-run homer and a sac fly before being replaced by Dave Hicks. CF Aaron Mathews, SS Ryan Klosterman, and LF Adam Lind each slapped two singles; 2B Brian Hall was one better, with 3 base hits.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com.


Pulaski 7 @ Danville 1

The Danville Braves were no match for the P-Jay pitching this night, as lefty Chi Hung Cheng allowed them just a single run in 5-2/3 innings, 3 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts. It was ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ when 2004 21st-rounder Scott Roy came on in relief, as he breezed through the final 3-1/3 innings allowing 3 hits and no walks while striking out 6 himself.

1B Charles Anderson (now up to 8th in the Pulaski lineup) was good for 4 hits, including a double. DH Nick Thomas struck the biggest blow, a 3-run homer in the first inning. SS Mike Macaluso collected two base knocks and a baseball in the ribs.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com.


Three-Star Selection!

The Third Star: Cam Reimers, Syracuse. 7 innings, 1 run.

The Second Star: Raul Tablado, Dunedin. 7 bases on 3 hits.

The First Star: Ismael Ramirez, Dunedin. A dominant 7 shutout innings.


Minor League Update: July 6 | 40 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
_MatO - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 09:31 AM EDT (#53356) #
Joey McLaughlin blowing a save. Where have I heard that before?
Mike Green - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 10:31 AM EDT (#53357) #
Tablado's making a pretty formidable case for promotion: .351/.409/.662 in 154 ABs. Yes, it's only 154 ABs, and his W/K ratio of 14/39 is not great, but he's 22 and it would be nice to know if he can hold his own at double A. If so, he's a fine, fine prospect, as a shortstop who has been converted to third base.
_Ducey - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 10:43 AM EDT (#53358) #
I note that Tablado was drafted as a SS and is playing there now (although to make room for Roberts and Cota). Do we know he will not cut it as a SS? If he could play defence there with that kind of offence it would be a real bonus.

Was Chip Cannon lifted because he was injured?
Craig B - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 11:21 AM EDT (#53359) #
League Top 10s - Auburn

Chip Cannon - 2nd SLG, 1st HR, 10th RBI
Brian Hall - 8th AVG
Aaron Mathews - 8th H
Vinny Esposito - 7th 2B, 10th RBI
Eric Nielsen - 10th HR

Mike MacDonald - 3rd ERA, 7th WHIP
Matt Dalton - 6th W
Jayson Rodriguez - 6th W
Kristian Bell - 6th W
Erik Rico 6th W
Dewon Day 1st SV
Chris Leonard 9th SV
Craig B - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 11:30 AM EDT (#53360) #
League Top 10s - Pulaski

Nick Thomas - 2nd HR, 2nd RBI, 4th TB, 2nd BB, 6th OBP, 2nd SLG
Luke Hetherington - 7th R, 9th RBI, 6th BB,
Yuber Rodriguez - 7th H, 2nd RBI, 6th BB,
Charles Anderson - 1st 2B
Eugenio Velez - 5th 2B

Derek Tate - 5th ERA, 1st WHIP,
Chi-Hung Cheng - 6th ERA, 8th WHIP, 1st K
Adrian Martin - 7th K
Brian Grant - 1st W
Michael Rider - 1st W
Yesson Berroa - 1st W
Craig B - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 11:37 AM EDT (#53361) #
League Top 10s - Charleston

Clinton Johnson - 3rd R, 2nd 2B, 2nd BB
Ryan Roberts - 1st BB, 2nd OBP

Felix Romero - 6th W
Shaun Marcum - 6th W, 6th WHIP, 10th K
Tom Mastny - 4th ERA
Brian Reed - 7th SV
Justin James - 10th K
_Ryan01 - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 11:39 AM EDT (#53362) #
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2004/07/06/sports/sports01.txt
Ducey, there's no mention of any injury to Cannon in the Auburn Citizen's game story (COMN). Hicks has been sitting a lot so I would imagine it was just a routine switch after 2 plate appearances to get both players some at-bats.

If the Jays feel that Tablado might be able to handle SS in the majors then I'm sure they'll keep him there as long as they can, as they've done with Adams and Hill so far. He's certainly had his share of defensive difficulties but no moreso than the two SS ahead of him. I don't have the numbers in front of me to back it up, but I seem to remember the vast majority of Tablado's errors came at 3rd base before Roberts was called up.
Craig B - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 11:45 AM EDT (#53363) #
League Top 10s - Dunedin

Carlo Cota - 2nd R, 5th 2B
Jayce Tingler - 7th R, 2nd BB
Vito Chiaravalloti - 5th H, 1st 2B, 4th RBI, 6th TB, 5th BB, 10th OBP
Ron Davenport - 1st 2B, 10th HR, 2nd RBI, 8th TB, 5th SLG
Raul Tablado - 6th HR

Josh Banks - 2nd W
Ismael Ramirez - 2nd W, 10th ERA, 6th WHIP
Bubbie Buzachero - 2nd SV
Craig B - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 12:00 PM EDT (#53364) #
League Top 10s - New Hampshire

Tyrell Godwin - 8th R, 4th 3B, 2nd SB
Dominic Rich - 8th R
Justin Singleton - 3rd 3B
Anton French - 9th 3B
Danny Solano - 3rd BB
Aaron Hill - 5th BB

Gustavo Chacin - 3rd W,
Cam Reimers - 4th W, 3rd ERA, 3rd WHIP
Todd Ozias - 4th W, 9th ERA, 10th WHIP
Adam Peterson - 3rd SV
Craig B - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 12:01 PM EDT (#53365) #
League Top 10s - Syracuse

Who cares. What an awful, awful team.
_Sneeps - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 12:07 PM EDT (#53366) #
But Craig, you have to take look at the bright side... our Triple A shortstop can hit 1 homerun in nearly 300 AB's. That's something to get excited about.
robertdudek - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 12:19 PM EDT (#53367) #
The pitching is exceptionally thin right now in Syracuse - the hitters are coming around.
_Marc - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 12:42 PM EDT (#53368) #
Adams may only have one homerun at Syracuse but remember A) not everyone has to hit homeruns B) power is the last ability to develop with players and C) Adams is among the league leaders in doubles (which routinely turn into homers as players mature)
_johnnnyS99 - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 01:19 PM EDT (#53369) #
Cannon, may have only played in the first part of the game before it was delayed, and Hicks got to start the 2nd part of the suspended game.
_Nigel - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 01:33 PM EDT (#53370) #
Marc, I agree with all three of your points about Adams. However, he still has a SLG of .381 which, while not a disaster, isn't anything to write home about. Secondly, Adams is 24 so its not like he's going to develop a lot from an age perspective. I'd be more optimistic about increasing power due to age if he was 21/22. I'm not saying that he won't develop more power but this year is right in line with his past performance and due to his age I have a feeling that .350-.400 is the range on his projected SLG. Now I'll be the first to admit that if its the high end of that range, with his good strike zone control and he plays great defense he will be a useful major league regular. The low end of that range and I think he's a career utility guy. I guess that's why there's all the debate about his future. :)
_Marc - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 02:15 PM EDT (#53371) #
Adams would likely be more valuable to another team given that he could steal 30 bases and bunt. He's an interesting pick for a team that lives and dies with the homerun... I guess JP was flustered when the Padres took K. Greene right before they were going to take him.

I agree Adams likely won't develop power... he's not that type of player anyway. But one shouldn't rule it out.

Too many people believe a ball player is only valuable if he hits homeruns.
_S.K. in N.J. - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 02:26 PM EDT (#53372) #
Russ Adams, at least numbers-wise, reminds me of David Eckstein offensively. Eckstein in the minors also showed a great ability to draw walks and limit K's, decent ability to make contact, but go no where power, and that's basically what I expect from Adams.

He is what he is. He was a safe, no upside, "what you see is what you get" first round pick (I hope we passed on Kazmir because of financial reasons, not the dreaded high school pitcher crap).

I agree with Nigel in terms of where Adams' power will end up at the major league level, and a .400 SLG is the absolute ceiling. If he gets any higher than that, it will be one year where he hits .330. I'd expect a similar major league career to Eckstein, with more power. A typical season from him, if I were to make a guess, would be something along the lines of .270/.350/.360, give or take.

If the Jays trade Hudson to make room for Adams at 2B, I'll be disappointed. Honestly, if Hill turns out to be a suitable 3B offensively (and defensively), I'd move Adams and attempt to get a true SS from outside the organization.
_Loveshack - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 03:32 PM EDT (#53373) #
Hm. So are we saying that neither Hill nor Adams, our last two 1st round picks in the draft before this year, both shortstops, and neither one is cut out to be a major league shortstop? That doesnt sound very good to me. Why do you think this? Are either one likely to be better than Woodward? Better than Hinske (assuming a move to 3rd)? What are their major shortcomings, besides Adams lack of power which has already been discussed? Sorry for all the questions but I havent been following the minor leagues for very long.
_Ducey - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 03:36 PM EDT (#53374) #
http://www.baseballamerica.com/cgi-bin/statsfindplayer.pl?player=gassner
Here are former Jays farmhand Dave Gassner's number this year at AAA. COMN Not too shabby. I know - not enough strikeouts - but he would be the best starter at Syracuse right now
_JohnnyS99 - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 03:56 PM EDT (#53375) #
Loveshack, Jp has been quoted saying he drafted back to back short stops cause both are great athletes and can easily move to another postion if needed.
Mike Green - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 04:03 PM EDT (#53376) #
I always liked Gassner. It's touch and go whether he'll make it as a big-leaguer, but I think he's got a good shot. He's quite dependent on his defence, and probably more susceptible to ballpark influences than many. I'd like him better if he were in the Dodger system.

It's really hard to evaluate the Kielty/Stewart trade now, because the development of Lilly and Gassner are works in progress.
Gerry - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 04:13 PM EDT (#53377) #
Nigel, Adams is 23 not 24. He will be 24 at the end of August.
_Nigel - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 04:30 PM EDT (#53378) #
Gerry, sorry my bad. I didn't go back and check. For some reason I thought it was June/July.
Craig B - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 05:55 PM EDT (#53379) #
Neomar Flores of Dunedin was named FSL Pitcher Of The Week. Congrats!
_Finn McCool - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 05:58 PM EDT (#53380) #
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/hotsheet2004.html
Well what do you know, Baseball America has finally desided to recognize Raul Tablado COMM
Craig B - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 05:59 PM EDT (#53381) #
I guess JP was flustered when the Padres took K. Greene right before they were going to take him

This is not true. Greene was apparently their #1 choice but Adams was right behind him on the draft board. There was no "flustered". The Jays knew who they were going to get and were very happy with Adams.

I agree with Nigel in terms of where Adams' power will end up at the major league level, and a .400 SLG is the absolute ceiling.

I'll take that bet. Adams will slug better than .400 in at least one major league season. You wanna do $100? E-mail me at craig@battersbox.ca and we'll write it up.
_Brian W - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 06:49 PM EDT (#53382) #
Not only is Tablado being recognized as a prospect, Vermilyea's perfect game got him into the top 20. It's been awhile since the Jays had anybody on BAs hot sheet.
_S.K. in N.J. - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 06:50 PM EDT (#53383) #
"I'll take that bet. Adams will slug better than .400 in at least one major league season. You wanna do $100? E-mail me at craig@battersbox.ca and we'll write it up."

Adams has maybe five home run power, and I might be generous there. His highest home run total in college was seven, and that was with aluminum bats.

With that said, Brady Anderson hit 50 home runs one year, so anything is possible. When I say .400 SLG is his ceiling, that means I don't expect him to consistently hit that mark. There's no accounting for career years or abnormal performance, but in terms of a norm, I don't see Adams hitting for a .400 SLG unless he has a career year (i.e. an unusually high average), or suddenly becomes a consistent .330 hitter.

Look at a guy like Juan Pierre. He's slugged .400+ once, and he needed Coors Field and a .327 BA to do it. In college, Adams slugged over .400 twice with BA's of .331 and .370. BA dependent singles hitters, with a hint of doubles power, are not good bets to be .400 SLG players, at least not as a norm.

But if you wanna bet he will slug .400 or better in at least TWO seasons, I'll take THAT bet. :)
_Jacko - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 06:58 PM EDT (#53384) #

I agree with Nigel in terms of where Adams' power will end up at the major league level, and a .400 SLG is the absolute ceiling. If he gets any higher than that, it will be one year where he hits .330. I'd expect a similar major league career to Eckstein, with more power. A typical season from him, if I were to make a guess, would be something along the lines of .270/.350/.360, give or take.

SK, while I agree their minor league profiles have been similar, Adams (6'1", 178) is quite a bit bigger than Eckstein (5'8", 165). It won't surprise me at all if Adams ends up developing some power in his late 20's.

The other thing to keep in mind here is that the 2002 draft did not have many other "big sticks" to take, so the best alternative might have been to go for the athletic shortstop. There weren't a lot of quality college bats available. The other first round hitters taken after Adams were:

16-Nick Swisher (moneyball, good patience and power)
19-James Loney (HS pick, health problems)
20-Denard Span (speed guy, has not hit)
23-Jeff Francoeur (HS pick, now in high-A)
26-John McCurdy (moneyball, has not hit)
27-Sergio Santos (more power, bad strikezone judgement)
33-Matt Whitney (HS pick, Aaron Boone basketball partner?)
39-Mark Teahen (moneyball pick, traded to KC, power is developing?)
41-Micah Schilling (has not hit)

With the exception of Swisher, none of those guys strikes me as being miles ahead of Adams.

2003 is a different story. I'm not sure why they took Hill ahead of Conor Jackson (or Brian Anderson).

One other random thing. While surfing around on sports-wired, I noticed another canadian guy there who I've never heard of before -- Joey Votto. He went to Richview Collegiate, and was taken in the 2nd round in 2002. He's playing really well in the FSL right now. It's the first I've ever heard of him. With all the hype surrounding Loewen and Francis, I guess he got lost in the shuffle?

Hey Coach, did you ever get a chance to see Votto play?
Coach - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 07:30 PM EDT (#53385) #
Jacko, though I've been aware of Votto for ages, our paths never crossed. The downtown high schools don't play the Etobicoke schools, and I don't think his teams ever made the Prentice Cup. He also played for the Etobicoke Rangers and a national youth team. I do know he was a fearsome hitter, who was considered pretty good around here at both 3B and C, but the Reds have moved him to 1B. He's actually in the Midwest League, not the FSL.
_Jacko - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 08:46 PM EDT (#53386) #

He's actually in the Midwest League, not the FSL.

Dayton vs. Daytona. My mistake :)
_greenfrog - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 09:06 PM EDT (#53387) #
One reason the Jays took Hill (and Adams) is makeup. Each also has a pretty complete--and still developing--set of baseball skills, although neither has shown much power to date. I think you have to take into account that both have had to adapt to different teams, ballparks, and progressively tougher pitching, as they rise quickly through the system.

Beane/JP/Epstein/DePodesta all put a premium on OBP (the Moneyball/Bill James philosophy: reduce the chances that your lineup will produce an out in any given situation). Both Hill and Adams fit this description pretty well. Each has shown that he can hit for average and get on base (both have a BB:K ratio of 1:1 or better).

Will their lack of power (and, possibly, inability to play SS) prevent them from becoming front-line players for the Jays? Time will tell, but given their respective ages (22 and 23), solid performances thus far, and ability to adapt, I think both have a decent shot.
Gerry - Tuesday, July 06 2004 @ 11:07 PM EDT (#53388) #
Jamie Vermilyea five more shutout innings, but he is human, he allowed six hits but no walks.

Gross and Vito had jacks in their games.
_Ryan01 - Wednesday, July 07 2004 @ 10:39 AM EDT (#53389) #
Sorry for the delay in today's report. Sports network seems to be down again, they must do their maintenance on Wednesdays. It should be up soon but the lack of game logs is slowing me down.
_Ryan01 - Wednesday, July 07 2004 @ 10:52 AM EDT (#53390) #
I should say work and lack of game logs are slowing me down.
_Fair Fan - Wednesday, July 07 2004 @ 02:03 PM EDT (#53391) #
Gerry - Chiafredo, Jova, and Snyder also hit jacks in their game. You seem to only mention the ones that battersbox, at this time, consider prospects. Other guys are playing well too.
Gerry - Wednesday, July 07 2004 @ 02:41 PM EDT (#53392) #
I was just giving a quick update, I did not want to steal all the thunder from the next days minor league report. Justin James pitched well also but I did not mention him, I was not trying to cover all the bases.

You are correct, I gave the headlines for the "big names" only.
_Ryan01 - Wednesday, July 07 2004 @ 02:50 PM EDT (#53393) #
Fair fan, if you head over to today's minor league update (Click on my name) you'll see Chiaffredo, Jova and Snyder are all mentioned.

In general we do focus on the more highly touted prospects as those are they guys that are of most interest to the majority of Bauxites but we do try to include the lesser known guys whenever their play merits it.
_Ryan01 - Wednesday, July 07 2004 @ 02:50 PM EDT (#53394) #
http://www.battersbox.ca/archives/00002044.shtml#36posts
Oops, click on my name for that link i promised above
_Ryan01 - Wednesday, July 07 2004 @ 02:54 PM EDT (#53395) #
http://www.battersbox.ca/archives/00002053.shtml#7posts
Oh my, I'm having an awful day. Seriously, COMN for the link I screwed up twice already.
Minor League Update: July 6 | 40 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.