Batter's Box Interactive Magazine

3-1 for the affiliates with the good guys scoring five times in each. Except for Vegas who scored nine and lost.

Salt Lake 12    Las Vegas 9

Another day, another three hits for Brett Lawrie who doubled, homered (apparently 420 feet into the wind according to a KLaw chat question) and drove in three. Lawrie's now up to .410/.455/.656 in 61 AB. Not so bad. He didn't err in the field, either. David Cooper doubled home a pair in five trips while Ryan Shealy had a pair of hits and two RBI.

Mike MacDonald got destroyed in his five innings as did Rommie Lewis in his pair. Josh Roenicke was alright by comparison in his pair.

Binghamton 4    New Hampshire 5 (10 innings)

The Fisher Cats were outhit 13-5 but it mattered not as they came back from a 4-2 deficit in the 8th to win in the first extra frame. Anthony Gose had a double, two walks, a pair of runs, and a stolen base while Moises Sierra walked things off with a 10th inning homer as part of a two-hit, 3-RBI affair. Adeiny Hechavarria had a pair of hits and stole a base as well.

Not a ton worth mentioning on the mound. BJ LaMura started and was as mediocre as you'd expect a 30 year-old in AA to be. Clint Everts pitched well in relief and Alan Farina picked up the win with a scoreless tenth.

Dunedin 5    Tampa 1

Ryan Goins swung the big stick on Thursday by going 3-for-3 with a walk, double, and RBI. The 5-6-7 hitters (Kevin Ahrens, AJ Jimenez, Sean Ochinko) all had a pair of hits and a run scored. Ochinko actually doubled twice.

Nestor Molina started for the D-Jays and was quite effective going five shutout frames and allowing three hits while striking out five. He's now 2-1 with a 0.61 ERA and 16:3 K:BB in 14 innings. Aaron Loup struck out four in two perfect innings.

Lansing 5    West Michigan 3 (10 innings)

Something about fives on Thursday. Jake Marisnick homered and added a single and a walk while Marcus Brisker walked three times. Carlos Perez doubled in four trips while Michael Crouse tripled and scored the winning run.

Sam Strickland started and got knocked around but the bullpen filled in admirably by turning in 7.2 shutout frames highlighted by Scott Gracey's three frames and Steve Turnbull's seventh save. (Already?!)

Three Stars:

3rd Star: Ryan Goins- 3-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI
2nd Star: Nestor Molina- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
1st Star: Brett Lawrie- 3-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI

Posted by braden on Thursday, April 21 2011 @ 11:14 PM EDT.

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The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

mamboon - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 10:36 AM EDT (#233328) #

Lawrie's really an exciting and productive hitter. Clearly the best of the youngster rakers in the Jay's organization. He's raking so hard, even my front yard here in Florida is void of leaves. Too bad he's so ham-handed in the field (6 errors in 14 games). I really hope someone is working with him on his fielding and throwing. Or maybe he should move to the outfield.

But maybe there's just bad chi at third base at Cashman Field. Emaus had 20 errors there last year in 87 games. I say pop open a Labatt's 50 and pour it in the dirt around third base. That should help.

sam - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 11:18 AM EDT (#233329) #

The more I think about it, the more it seems like the Jays will be in a good position to take a run at Prince Fielder this offseason.

Many in the industry feel that with the Braun signing, the Brewers will likely not make an attempt to re-sign Fielder. Many of the traditional big spenders have significant financial commitments to their 1B as well.

Off hand I can think of only a couple teams that could consider Fielder.
Orioles
Angels
Nationals
Rangers
Cubs

I think you can exclude the Rangers. I don't see them making the commitment necessary.

For me Fielder and his agent are probably looking at the Cubs and Angels. I can see either paying him, but I don't see why it would be unreasonable for the Jays to pursue Fielder until maybe the years and dollar values get to high. I gather Fielder might wait till Pujols signs and then price himself between that contract and the one Adrian Gonzalez just got. That is a significant commitment, but I don't see why the Jays bras shouldn't seriously kick the tires on Fielder.

bpoz - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 12:33 PM EDT (#233331) #

Concerning Lawrie... we all know that he has an um...intense, brash, confident personality, which I like and don't see as a problem.
The Jays know that they have a potential great player and are giving him lots of one on one defense instruction. IMO they are just sorting out which position to keep him in. MY guess is at some point the 3rd base experiment will be considered a failure and ended and a new position tried OR deemed improving enough to continue. They must have some time table to bring him up as a strong defender at some position with powerful offensive capabilities, hopefully by 2012 at least. As a good 3rd baseman must be very tempting.

Forkball - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 02:23 PM EDT (#233336) #

I don't see why the Jays bras shouldn't seriously kick the tires on Fielder.

Awesome Freudian slip?

I've been surprised before, but I think teams aren't going to be as aggressive with Fielder, in terms of years, as Howard, Pujols and Gonzalez. If it was 5 I could see the Jays possibly being involved, but I wouldn't expect it. I'm not sure you want to get tied down at 1B for that long on Fielder.

I'll be interested to see if Lawrie ends up sticking at 3B. I think he might end up going the Ryan Braun route to LF. If that happens the issue is what you do with Snider.

hypobole - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 02:43 PM EDT (#233338) #

I think the Jays would settle for mediocre defence, a la Casey McGehee, as long as Lawrie continues to hit. Lawrie having to move to a corner outfield position, with Snider and Bautista hopefully entrenched the next few years would have to be considered something of a failure, especially with a hitting prospect almost as good in Thames already blocked there.

timpinder - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 04:16 PM EDT (#233342) #

In addition to improving his defense, Lawrie needs to improve his plate discipline. 4.9% BB rate versus 25% K rate right now. Small sample size though, I know, but I think Las Vegas can be a detriment to hitters sometimes. The ball flies out there and sometimes I wonder if young hitters start swinging for the fences as a result.

cybercavalier - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 04:39 PM EDT (#233344) #

I agree with tim. Lawrie is one the Jays' jewel prospect. I wonder rather having him in AA could be better for his development, if the similar treatment on Zach Stewart is based on the same reasoning. Chris Woodward could just fill in at 3B, and AAA veterans Craig Stansberry and Callix Crabbe are playing in AA and could be recalled to AAA. At any rate, I agree with Gerry's comment on evaluating the minor leagues in June or July. The ballpark in Vegas is a factor of many that affect performance.

Move the Jays AAA team to Vancouver ! The Padres move its AAA to California, I wish Vancouver could get one as well for basball in Western Canada, also to satisfy Jays' fans in the West Coast.

hypobole - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 05:08 PM EDT (#233346) #

Mastro has similar splits to Lawrie in LV and I seriously doubt he's swinging for the fences. Thames who IS a HR hitter has improved K&BB numbers. Cooper has better K#'s, slightly worse BB #'s. First Lawrie is the 2nd youngest player in the league. But I also think pitchers are going after Lawrie with strikes, because of the hitters behind him. Thames seems to getting a lot of respect with half his walks intentional. Cooper again is being thrown strikes, but making lots of contact. Or it's just SSS.

Gerry - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 05:54 PM EDT (#233349) #

Marcus Knecht came out of yesterdays game with an injury and today he has been placed on the 7 day DL.

Gerry - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 05:57 PM EDT (#233350) #

Per Twitter, the Jays have traded Brad Emaus to the Rockies for a 27 year old AA closer, Chris Malone.

Mike Green - Friday, April 22 2011 @ 09:54 PM EDT (#233362) #

Three wins already for the young men on the farm, with 4 more hits for Jimenez. In the nightcap in West Michigan, the Luggies are facing Kevin Eichhorn. I hadn't heard that Mark had a son in baseball, but there can't be too many with that name.

sam - Saturday, April 23 2011 @ 07:10 AM EDT (#233384) #

Lawrie made a highlight reel type play during the Thursday night game. He ranged to his right, backhanded the ball and jump-threw to first to get the runner in time. He made the throw from foul territory. It was similar to plays Jeter made in his prime. He ranged quite far to get the ball. Impressive.

He also made a nice routine play on a sharply hit ball, dropping his left foot so that his right shoulder was facing the plate to catch the grounder at his belt. It was the sort of grounder that some infielders get mixed up and get handcuffed. Made a strong, accurate throw to first.

sam - Saturday, April 23 2011 @ 07:24 AM EDT (#233385) #

David Cooper deserves some praise as well. His at-bat in the ninth was a battle. He must have fouled off almost a dozen pitches until he doubled off the wall in right-center.

Marc Hulet - Saturday, April 23 2011 @ 08:39 AM EDT (#233389) #

Mike, he is in fact Mark's son... From BA's 2008 draft reports (And if you're interested in the upcoming draft, I highly recommend the website membership to Baseball America):

3	104	Kevin Eichhorn	RHP	Aptos (Calif.) HS	Calif.	$500,000
Eichhorn's father Mark spent parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues as a reliever, using a submarine delivery to pitch nearly 300 innings in 1986-87 for the Blue Jays. His son probably won't be a second-round pick, as Mark was back in 1979, but it might take second-round money to keep Kevin from his Santa Clara commitment. Mark helped coach Kevin's team to the 2002 Little League World Series. While the elder Eichhorn was 6-foot-3, 210 pounds during his playing days, the son now checks in at 6-feet, 170 pounds and would benefit from a late growth spurt, which some scouts expect. However, he's athletic and switch-hits, and would probably play shortstop and pitch at Santa Clara. If he's drafted high, it's expected to be for his work on the mound, as he has touched 94 mph with his fastball and shows excellent fastball command. Eichhorn spins a breaking ball as well, a curveball that lacks the power to be a true plus pitch now. His body has some scouts doubting he's ready for pro ball, with a fastball that sits 88-90 mph more often than it touches 94. But his arm works well, and with his athleticism and bloodlines, he's the best prep prospect in Northern California.

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