Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - 2012 Minor League Players

2012 Minor League Players - Starting Pitchers

Starting pitchers are the biggest group in our review and the most subject to change. Invariably by the start of the season there will be a half dozen pitchers on the disabled list including several starters. We will forecast an excess of starters and hope that within that mix we will find five to stick.

Las Vegas

There should be two "priority" starters in AAA. They would be Kyle Drabek and Joel Carreno. Luis Perez is another option but his future role in the majors appear to be that of a lefty reliever so the Jays might take this opportunity to work him out of the bullpen as a reliever. I will assume he slots into the pen for now. Behind those two there are a list of "experienced" pitchers who could start. That list includes Garrett Mock, Aaron Laffey, Scott Richmond, Nelson Figueroa, Bill Murphy and Tim Redding. The starting jobs might come down to who was promised what in return for signing with the Jays. I would guess that Aaron Laffey would be number three on the starting pitcher list based on comments that he is competing for major league starters job in the spring.

Joel Carreno

New Hampshire

Many of the Fisher cat starters are returnees from 2011. Deck McGuire, Chad Jenkins and Drew Hutchison were all promoted to AA in the middle of 2011. All should return to start 2012. Ryan Tepera and Asher Wojciechowski look to be at the front of the line to take the other two positions. Wojo spent all of 2011 in Dunedin and while he didn't earn a promotion it was his first year as a pro. I assume the Jays will bump him up to challenge him to get better. The Jays gave Ryan Tepera an invitation to major league spring training. They hope he will use that to show them he is ready for AA. His promotion is not guaranteed but I hear that the Jays want him to grab it.

Chad Jenkins getting in some work

Dunedin

Six pitchers made double digit starts for Dunedin last season. Five of them should be in the AA lineup and Nestor Molina is a White Sock. Therefore the Dunedin starting rotation in 2012 will be similar to the Lansing rotation in 2011. Sean Nolin, Casey Lawrence and Egan Smith should anchor the rotation. A couple of often injured guys, Andrew Liebel and Matt Fields could grab the other two spots.

Lansing

The Lansing rotation will be very interesting in 2012. There will be a combination of young guys with inning limits, pitchers recovering from injury and 2011 draftees without many innings. The guys in each category are:

Young guns, the A team: Justin Nicolino, Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard. These guys are top of the list and will be on the roster subject to spring problems.

The injured guys: John Stilson and Sam Dyson. I hear Stilson is recovering well but Dyson is still an unknown. Dyson had some setbacks from TJ last fall and the Jays backed off on his work. Whether he starts and how much he can throw will be determined in the spring based on discussions with trainers and an evaluation of where he is at in his recovery. Stilson will start as long as he can and as a priority guy although he too could be on a pitch limitation due to his injury history.

The conversion project: Anthony DeSclafani is a college reliever who the Jays will try to remake as a starter in the Marcum, Cecil mold.

The more experienced guys: Tyler Ybarra, David Rollins, John Anderson, Misual Diaz , Zack Breault, Taylor Cole and Jesse Hernandez will be looking for a fifth starter spot or a relief job. Ybarra made it to Lansing to end last season but he could lose out to the guys in the previous lists.

The young guns, the B team: Kevin Comer, Daniel Norris, Jeremy Gabryszwski, Tom Robson, Zak Adams, Griffin Murphy, Deivy Estrada, Adonys Cardona, Joe Musgrove, Mark Biggs, Robertoo Osuna and Jairo Labourt. Those twelve guys could fill two rotations in extended. The battle for Vancouver and Bluefield spots in June will be intense.

Justin Nicolino last spring

Because of the innings limitations for several of the expected Lansing starters the Lugnuts are likely to use a bit of a tandem starter rotation. If three sports were tandem and two were full starters the Lugnuts would have to carry eight starters leaving them with four relievers. However the relievers would not have to work much on the tandem starter nights.

The Lansing starting pitcher job will be one of the most contested this spring. The Jays are deep in pitching and that makes it tough for marginal guys to find a starting pitcher job.

If I had to make a call today I would say that the six tandem starters are Nicolno, Syndergaard, Sanchez, Dyson, Stlson and DeSclafani. Tyler Ybarra and the best of the spring get the final spot.

Posted by Gerry on Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 05:33 AM EST.

2012 Minor League Players - Starting Pitchers | 52 comments | Create New Account

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

Anders - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 09:37 AM EST (#251431) #

Do you think Carreno will start? I still kind of want to see what he can do, but the Jays may be sold on him as a reliever at this point, although he seems unlikely to break camp with the team.

Maldoff - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 09:38 AM EST (#251432) #

Gerry, did you consider guys such as Griffin Murphy and Mitchell Taylor for those slots in Lansing? Also, where do you see Adonis Cardona starting? Bluefield? Vancouver?

Gerry - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 09:58 AM EST (#251435) #

I do think Carreno will start. He was a starter until he was called up to the majors last season. Also, starters in the minors get regular work, whereas relievers throw less innings. Carreno would be a priority guy and therefore should start. I seem to remember John Farrell saying that Carreno could be a major league starter sometime last season.

Griffin Murphy struggled more than his peers last season. As a result he stayed in the GCL and didn't get to experience Vancouver or Bluefield. I don't see the Jays jumping him to Lansing unless he shows up this season with much better command.

Mitchell Taylor pitched well last season but he was sent home early from Bluefield due to some undisclosed discipline issues. I also think the Jays see him as a reliever long term. In previous years a guy like Taylor might have had a starting job to get innings, even if he could end up a reliever. With all the talent in the Jays system, and with the discipline issues, I don't see Taylor getting a Lansing starting job.

A Blue Jay official told me that the three criteria for opening day assignments are:

1. Past performance

2. Spring performance, and

3. Skill level (I interpret this to also mean draft position, or long term potential)

Murphy and Taylor don't score well on #1. They do score well on #3. They need a big spring performance to change their expected destination from extended spring.

Matthew E - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 10:12 AM EST (#251437) #

Who was that guy Anthopoulos was talking up recently? Crawford, or something? What about him?

Gerry - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 10:30 AM EST (#251440) #

Evan Crawford is a lefty reliever. He started in 2010 but was a reliever in 2011 in AA. Some of you might remember Crawford from the Jays last spring training game of 2011. The game was played in Tropicana Field and was televised. In that game Crawford came out of the bullpen and pitched a few very effective innings. Crawford has the big sweeping breaking ball that makes lefties successful in the major leagues.

85bluejay - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 10:38 AM EST (#251441) #

The Dunedin rotation looks weak in terms of potential, so I hope older guys like Tyler Ybarra,David Rollins and John Anderson make a strong bid for that rotation - really hope that Stilson & Dyson are healthy, Dyson was a pick I really liked and would love to see what he can do with a healthy year.

China fan - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 12:04 PM EST (#251447) #

The Jays clearly think highly of Evan Crawford, despite his lack of name recognition. He was added to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, and he was one of the small handful of Jays prospects who were chosen for the Arizona Fall League last fall. At the AFL, he allowed only 13 hits and 3 walks in 17 innings, while racking up 16 strikeouts and holding the opposition to a .210 batting average.

For those who like a bigger sample size, he posted a 10.9 SO/9 and a 3.7 BB/9 in 51 innings at New Hampshire last year. His SO/BB has improved at every level since Lansing in 2010.

Mike Green - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 12:12 PM EST (#251449) #

Almost all major league relievers were starters or high leverage relievers (aka closers) in the minors. The odds are against Crawford, and that walk rate in double A (presumably facing mostly lefties) will have to come down if he is to have a chance.

China fan - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 12:15 PM EST (#251450) #

Interestingly, Crawford's BB rate did go down when he moved from AA to the AFL last fall. (The sample size is one-third of his AA innings.) I'd trust Anthopoulos and his scouts on this one. There's not many minor-league relievers who get added to the 40-man roster, and that's a good indication of what the Jays scouts think of him.

bpoz - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 02:09 PM EST (#251457) #

What about Marcus Walden?

Gerry - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 02:19 PM EST (#251459) #

Marcus Walden seemed to pitch better out of the bullpen. Walden is a ground ball pitcher and by putting him in the pen he can add a few MPH to his fastball making him more effective.

I see him as a reliever in Dunedin in 2012.

bpoz - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 02:22 PM EST (#251460) #

The June draft signing deadline has been moved up, so pitchers can come from there, for the lowest levels.

The FSL & MWL have that 2 half playoff qualifying system. That should help Dunedin & Lansing make the playoffs.

We should have some very young farm teams.

Thank you for providing this great round up of our farm system Gerry.

bpoz - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 03:05 PM EST (#251466) #

Thanks Gerry. I was afraid that M Walden had left the organization.
R Osuna & J Labourt in extended would be great. Labourt really dominated the DSL so the GCL is a good level to challenge him to start IMO. But Osuna is so young, but also very big, N America will be a good challenge. He could handle it since he pitched against much older players in Mexico.

Kelekin - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 03:15 PM EST (#251468) #

I honestly think Lansing will be tons of fun to watch. Lugnut Fan is going to have a blast this year!

I'm so thankful for the one-month signing deadline. I hate not getting to watch prospects after they're signed and having to wait an entire year.

Lugnut Fan - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 03:57 PM EST (#251473) #

I had a blast last season. I'm really looking forward to seeing Nicholino and Syndergaard throw more this year. I only got to see each of them throw once last year, but was very impressed.

MatO - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 04:29 PM EST (#251476) #

I think we came to the conclusion that Luis Perez was out of options. If that's the case then I don't see any way he pitches in Las Vegas if he's healthy. He either pitches for the Blue Jays or someone else because I don't see a hard throwing lefty making it though waivers.

TamRa - Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 10:08 PM EST (#251482) #

Perez can't be in Vegas unless he clears waivers, but Listch can (and likely will be if he's not traded)

Here was my guess (not having actually talked to the team as Gerry does so often)

AAA: Litsch/Drabek/Carreno/Laffey/Beck or Richmond

AA: Hutchison/McGuire/Jenkins/Tepera/Pino (Boone as a fallback if they don't cut him)

A+: Wojo/Lawrence/Liebel/Aredando (Rule 5)/Smith/Anderson?

A-: Nicolino/Syndergaard/Nolin/Sanchez/Ybarra

R: Taylor/Rollins/Musgrove/Champlin/Cole
R: Cardona/Murphy/Gasbryzski/Estrada/Dragmire
R: Osuna/Labourt/Del Rosario/ Draftees

I think Wojo will end up in AA but I'd be pretty surprised if he starts out there. I think it will be more like Jenkins last year.

Kelekin - Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 01:46 PM EST (#251500) #

I fail to see Nolin ending up in Lansing.

Gerry - Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 02:58 PM EST (#251505) #

TamRa:

Randy Boone had TJ surgery in May last season. He won't be back until mid-year and there is no way the Jays would cut him. He was pitching in AAA having put up a 3.98 ERA as a starter in AA the year before. I am not saying he is a great prospect but he could have some value.

Sean Nolin was one of the best pitchers on Lansing last season and has made some prospect lists. He will be in Dunedin.

You didn't account for Stilson, Dyson or DeSclafani. As I mentioned in my story I was told by a Blue Jay front office person that the Jays intend to see if DeSclafani can become a starter as the Jays did with Marcum and Cecil.

jgadfly - Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 03:19 PM EST (#251511) #

Tamra ... Any guesses on Norris, Comer, Biggs, Robson, Stilson and DeSclafani ?

I could also see Taylor, Rollins, Musgrove and Murphy as part of a mega staff of tandem starters at Lansing.

As well, the Jays might be more aggressive with Norris and Osuna . There may also be a shuttle of twosomes between extended spring, Dunedin and Lansing with 7 day DL/recalls being used to bring the younger Lansing guys into the minorleague complex for review/finetuning .

Get the chairs out and start the music ...

Kelekin - Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 06:47 PM EST (#251524) #

I would love to see the tandem starter setup. When you have a lot of promising arms, it gives them all a lot more work. Then by the time they hit Dunedin where they are up to 6-7 innings each time out, you know who can handle the 'late' game. But it would give all your potential pitchers a lot more work and still keep their innings lower.

vonwafer234 - Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 10:42 PM EST (#251528) #

Does anyone happen to have a scouting report on Anthony DeSclafani or any insight on him? What prompted that Jays to take him as high as he went in the draft and what did they see in him that wanted them to convert him into a starting pitcher?

TamRa - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 12:44 AM EST (#251533) #

"Tamra ... Any guesses on Norris, Comer, Biggs, Robson, Stilson and DeSclafani ?"

Crap, forgot all about them (was looking at the wrong sheet actually but i should have caught that)

Let me try again:
(with a couple of Gerry's points noted)

AAA: Litsch/Drabek/Carreno/Laffey/Beck or Richmond

AA: Hutchison/McGuire/Jenkins/Tepera/Pino (Boone as a mid-season option if he recovers well)

A+: Wojo/Lawrence/Liebel/Nolin/Aredando (Rule 5)/Smith

A-: Nicolino/Syndergaard/Sanchez/Ybarra/Stetson if healthy

R: Taylor/Rollins/Musgrove/Champlin/Cole/Dyson if healthy
R: Cardona/Norris/Murphy/Gasbryzski/Comer/Estrada?
R: Osuna/Biggs/Robson/Labourt/Del Rosario/ Draftees

I put Dyson on the short-season squad because Gerry reports he had a setback, Stetson in Lansing because he's said to be polished, Nolin I had meant to have in Dunedin anyway, but was part of my "looking at the wrong sheet" problem.

I had originally figured Boone would be back early in the season, but defer to Gerry on that. it might be fortuitous timing if he was ready for AA along about the same time either Hutch or McGuire were promoted. I also see them possibly timing a Wojo promotion with a McGuire promotion if both merit it in equal measure.

Further unwarrented speculation...

If Listch or Drabek are promoted, Jenkins or Pino would be most likely to pitch in Vegas which would create a AA opening; if Hutch or McGuire are skipped up to the majors that would create a AA opening. In either case, Wojo would seem to be the first guy out of Dunedin, Liebel could serve as filler if needed (he's too old to be anything else) and Boone's return might be well timed to fil an opening.

If Wojo is promoted, or Liebel, then they probably wouldn't hesitate to move one of the young guns if he seemed to be dominating, but if they think the kids have ought to learn, Stetson might move first just by virtue of being a polished college guy.

Musgrove would be a candidate for promotion to Lansing, Norris would be a candidate to move to Vancouver or even Lansing if he dominates (note that they were a lot slower on Nicolino last year than his stats should have demanded)

Biggs and Robson might well bump up to Bluefield when any of the 2012 draftees sign and need a spot in the GCL.

All this is, it should be obvious, RANK speculation. Gerry is telling you what he hears from actual sources, i'm just spouting off.

TamRa - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 12:46 AM EST (#251534) #

"As well, the Jays might be more aggressive with Norris and Osuna ."

the GCL WOULD be aggressive with Osuna - international free agents typically start in the DSL

vonwafer234 - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 01:30 AM EST (#251535) #

We've really got to a get Triple A Team in the International League. Because our pitchers pitching in Triple A is really taking a toll on their development, Who knows if maybe Kyle Drabek and ex Jay Zach Stewart had gotten a taste of action in Triple A, it really could've helped their development instead of getting promoted straight to the majors.

sam - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 11:50 AM EST (#251545) #

Vonwafer is right. With all the restrictions now on amateur spending and whatnot, developing players will become even more important. Las Vegas does nobody any good regardless of how you spin it. The Jays have got to get out there

ayjackson - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 01:06 PM EST (#251551) #

the GCL WOULD be aggressive with Osuna - international free agents typically start in the DSL

Osuna has come from professional ball in Mexico though.

Kasi - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 01:06 PM EST (#251552) #

I think in general a lot of teams have their best players at AA. It is not just the Jays who leave their best guys in AA. Of course that might be caused by the PCL as a whole, since Vegas isn't even the most offense orientated ballpark there.

John Northey - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 01:34 PM EST (#251553) #

Actually, Vegas could be a help if used properly. Work with them to get the infield set up as good as possible thus making it a big incentive to get ground balls at that level. Give up fly balls, give up a homer. Give up a ground ball and get an out. Try to get strong defensive players for the infield (as they should do anyways at all levels) and you have created a recipe to expose flaws for each pitcher but rewards as well if they do their job. The Dodgers had a farm team in a launching pad for years (not just Vegas but other places in the PCL that were horrid for pitchers) and developed multiple HOF caliber pitchers.

Trial by fire can be useful - just be sure it is set up so they can win the game if they do the right things (ground balls & strikeouts) and get seriously hurt if they do the wrong things (fly balls and walks).

Now, for hitters it probably is no good beyond building confidence but it also could train them that infield ground balls = bad if set up right.

The key thing is to get that infield as good as possible. Otherwise everything is bad there outside of strikeouts (for pitchers).

hypobole - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 01:44 PM EST (#251554) #

Isn't the sun baked infield the problem in Vegas? Ground ball pitchers see ball after ball shoot through. Vegas actually suppresses home runs, but yields a lot of doubles.

Teams with International League affiliates should be bending over backward to maintain their relationships (and probably are).

greenfrog - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 01:54 PM EST (#251555) #

Aren't the Jays supposedly looking for a new affiliate? When does the current arrangement expire? Vegas seems to be less than ideal, especially with the depth of pitching advancing through the system.

Original Ryan - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 02:14 PM EST (#251556) #

I've often thought that the PCL issue is overblown by Blue Jays fans. Other teams with PCL affiliates have managed to develop pitchers just fine over the years. I don't see why Las Vegas should be considered a significant impediment to player development.

Aren't the Jays supposedly looking for a new affiliate? When does the current arrangement expire? Vegas seems to be less than ideal, especially with the depth of pitching advancing through the system.

The current PDC with Las Vegas runs through 2012. The most likely options for the Blue Jays are Buffalo and Rochester, but an opening is by no means assured. During the last round of AAA shuffling, only two teams changed affiliations (both in the PCL). It's entirely possible that the Blue Jays could be in Las Vegas for a while yet.

dalimon5 - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 02:47 PM EST (#251559) #

Hey Bauxites, (I also posted this in the state of the franchise thread)

Long time lurker, minimal poster. This year I'm looking to buy season tickets for the Jays. I really believe they're close. I'm looking for anyone who's interested in sharing season tickets. Ideally, I'm looking for seats behind home plate with a 50/50 split. That's roughly 40 games a year. Can I get an idea of anyone who may be interested? I'm also open to further splits. say 3 or 4 ways. Let me know if anyone is interested. If not, no problems. Thanks again!

Mike Green - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 02:57 PM EST (#251560) #

Las Vegas' infield is apparently very hard, so you get ground ball issues combined with fly ball issues. It is probably worse for pitchers than almost all other PCL parks, at least in terms of developing a sense of when to pitch to contact and the effects of this learning process on pitcher confidence. Drew Hutchison will be fine there, I think, but it is probably not the best place for Kyle Drabek.

If you have a great prospect like Pedro Martinez, he'll go through the PCL with an ERA of 3.5 or something and be fine. If you have a very good prospect like Michael Pineda, he'll go through the PCL with an ERA of 4 or 4.5. Clubs often might essentially skip the triple A level of development as the Angels did with Ervin Santana.

Glevin - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 03:19 PM EST (#251562) #

"Las Vegas' infield is apparently very hard, so you get ground ball issues combined with fly ball issues. It is probably worse for pitchers than almost all other PCL parks, at least in terms of developing a sense of when to pitch to contact and the effects of this learning process on pitcher confidence. Drew Hutchison will be fine there, I think, but it is probably not the best place for Kyle Drabek."

I hate Vegas as an affiliate. Numbers are almost impossible to gauge properly, being shelled can kill a young pitchers' confidence, and it's on the other side of the continent. It just makes absolutely no sense.

Gerry - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 03:22 PM EST (#251563) #

It takes two to tango.

Why should an International League team affiliate with the Blue Jays? Remember the owners of the minor league teams are in it to make money, they care about gate receipts. Some minor league teams try and capitalize on geographical proximity, they partner with a team that already has local supporters. Pawtucket is in RedSox country. Toledo is not far from Detroit. Louisville is not far from Cincinnati. In those cases the AAA team owners know there is a base of support locally. The other way to make money is through a winning team that draws fans into the stadium.

The Blue Jays had been affiliated witht he Syracuse Chiefs for years. While Syracuse is relatvely close to Toronto there are few Toronto fans in Syracuse. Plus the Chiefs were on a run of eight straight losing seasons with their Blue Jay supplied players. From 1990, the Chiefs had only four winning seasons and two of those were 73-71 seasons. There have been suggestions that the Chiefs themselves were not a well run organization but let's leave that aside for now. There was also a political issue when JP Ricciardi attended a New Hampshire Fisher Cat game but never went to a Syracuse game.

So, in 2008 the Chiefs decided they were finished with the Jays and tried to lure the Mets, who have local followers, to Syracuse. But the Mets chose Buffalo and Syracuse had to settle for Washington.

In the last three years the Chiefs have had two winning seasons but attendance has not seen a bump. The last four years attendance, covering the last year of the Jays and three years of the Nationals, was: 392,000; 392,000; 416,000; and 375,000. Syracuse have not fared as well as they hoped when they dumped the Jays.

Las Vegas lost the Dodgers, who would have had a local following, and attendance dropped. It didn't help that the 51's have not had a winning record under the three years of Blue Jay affiliation. The last four years attendance for Las Vegas has been 375,000; 337,000; 336,000; and 314,000.

While Jays fans might be saying get us out of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas ownership might be saying the same about Toronto.

Where could the Jays go? Buffalo is the most obvious answer. Buffalo is close to Toronto and the Bisons should be able to get some Blue Jay fans to cross the border to see some games.

Buffalo switched from an Indians affiliation in 2008 to a Mets affiliation in 2009. The Mets looked like a good partner for Buffalo as New York TV channels and local news cover New York teams like the Mets. The payoff has not been there, attendance has been: 590,000; 530,000; 575,000; and 521,000. The two lower numbers were for very weak teams.

Buffalo could stay with the Mets but a lot might depend on whether they believe that the Mets will deliver some winning teams. The Jays best chance of getting into Buffalo, or any other city, is a promise of winning teams. The Jays will be using their farm system ranking as bait to try and attract a new affiliate.

The other aspect of this is your minor league free agent budget. If the Jays want a new affiliate they may have to promise to spend more dollars on minor league free agents to make the team better. This will soak up more dollars from the total budget.

The choice for Buffalo is as follows: Do we prefer a fellow New York team, even though the AAA team might be weak, to a Canadian team with a stronger on field product? Which will generate more interest and more fans in the seats?

Rochester is affiliated with the Twins so there is no geographic ties there. The Rochester team has been very weak for the last two years and attendance is down a little but not a lot. The Twins do not appear to be a system on the rise. Would they want to switch to the Jays?

The bottom line is that it takes two to tango. And Rochester might have more reasons to switch than does Buffalo.

John Northey - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 03:33 PM EST (#251564) #

The Jays do need to figure out how to make a good long term deal with a AAA team. If they are stuck in Vegas then covering the cost to replace the infield with a turf one (similar to the dome) might help - then the baking might not be as big an issue. If they try to get Buffalo (I don't see it - the Mets are a natural partner for a NY state based team although that teams financial problems could help) or Syracuse or Rochester then they need to agree to do stuff for the team on top of providing good players to get in the door I think.

The Jays had winning teams in AA and A ball a few times under JPR but never moved that winning to AAA. A key element will be a stable ML team - if the starting rotation in Toronto is stable then the AAA team will be able to keep quality prospects there longer and not have to toss temporary guys into the rotation. Basically, a smart thing would be to find a way to keep as good a team in Vegas this year as possible - both in order to help the kids develop (better to start every day than be on a ML bench) and to help the Vegas team win.

FYI: Hayhurst had a blog column about how Vegas was actually a plus for kids in one way - it teaches them how to deal with constant temptation and the like by being in 'sin city' where everything is available 24-7. That is something you won't get in Syracuse. Might need to keep a closer eye on the kids, but it would help in the long run to determine who might flop as soon as they get access to everything ML'ers get.

92-93 - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 03:41 PM EST (#251566) #

Rochester isn't much farther from Toronto than Buffalo, and a 3 hour drive is still close enough that any interested fans from Toronto would probably be willing to make the trip. I feel like that extra hour and a half leg to Syracuse makes a big difference.

Gerry, if you mean to say that JP Ricciardi never saw his AAA team play in person...well, that's shocking. Let's leave it at that.

greenfrog - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 04:15 PM EST (#251568) #

This may be a dumb question, but couldn't LV use some basic landscaping techniques to keep the infield in good shape (heck - maybe water it some more)? I know H2O is scarce in Vegas, but is there any need for an MLB team's AAA franchise to let its infield bake to the consistency of a parking lot?

Mini-writeup on old friend Pastornicky from BA. An excerpt:

"Acquired from the Blue Jays midway through the 2010 season along with veteran Alex Gonzalez in exchange for Yunel Escobar, Pastornicky took giant steps in his development last year. He returned to Double-A Mississippi and batted .299/.414/.345 in 90 games prior to hitting .365/.413/.407 in 27 outings at Triple-A Gwinnett. A high ankle sprain in mid-August may have cost him playing time with the big club in September, although he was promoted to Atlanta for the final day of the campaign as insurance."

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/majors/organization-reports/atlanta-braves/2012/2612901.html

John Northey - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 04:59 PM EST (#251569) #

Pastornicky is interesting. Vs 2010 his batting average jumped by 57 points OBP by 16 and Slg% by 41 points. That strongly suggests his jump was purely batting average based while his patience dropped. His isolated Slg dropped by 16, his isolated OBP dropped by 41. Not a good thing.

He is a talented player, but I see his 2011 as a potential illusion unless he can repeat that high babip.

gabrielthursday - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 05:02 PM EST (#251570) #

Rochester looks the most likely to me also, and I think it would be a good fit- while not Buffalo, it's close enough to the border that there will be a few intense fans who make the drive. Any affiliate where the team thinks twice before assigning thereto an otherwise-appropriate prospect is a problem.

I wasn't a huge critic of Ricciardi, but moving from Syracuse to Las Vegas was a pretty significant hit to our minor league system, and one which he appears to bear some responsibility for.

Moe - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 05:16 PM EST (#251571) #

If you think about traveling, LV is actually not that bad because of all the direct flights. Upstate NY would be nice because it's a day-trip by car but some other IL teams are in worse locations than LV. The problem with LV are the facilities and that the whole league distorts stats. However, there is/was some talk about LV getting a new stadium in a few years which would make it a much more appealing affiliation. If the stadium were to come and no good-location IL team wants the Jays after 2012, it could be LV for a long time.

Matthew E - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 10:16 PM EST (#251575) #

I wasn't a huge critic of Ricciardi, but moving from Syracuse to Las Vegas was a pretty significant hit to our minor league system, and one which he appears to bear some responsibility for.

Well, the buck stopped with Ricciardi and it's fair on some level to give him credit or blame for anything that happened on his watch, but my impression was never that he chose Vegas; it was a combination of things. No other AAA city wanted any part of the Blue Jays, and no other major league team wanted any part of Las Vegas, so they were stuck with each other.

Mike Green - Friday, February 03 2012 @ 10:31 PM EST (#251576) #

Pastornicky is doing well. He dropped his K rate to the lowest of his minor league career, at under 10%. He's going to hit .280-.300 if he can keep that up. Obviously, his line in Gwinnett- .365/.407/.413 in 104 PAs is a sample size anomaly.

Thomas - Saturday, February 04 2012 @ 01:09 AM EST (#251577) #

Ricciardi may not have chosen Vegas, but his actions or lack thereof likely had a significant impact upon the reason why the musical chairs unfolded the way they did. I think it's very fair to place hold him accountable for this.

#2JBrumfield - Saturday, February 04 2012 @ 10:46 AM EST (#251581) #

I've said it a million times and I'll say it another million. I hope and pray the Jays get Rochester but the Twins are making an effort to keep that affiliation by hiring a new coaching staff (including hitting coach Tom Brunansky). Plus, Pedro Florimon Jr. could be at Frontier Field this season.

The Twins farm system is not that strong right now. Outfielder Joe Benson and pitcher Liam Hendrix may be the only prospects of note from the Top 10 who should be with the Red Wings. Kyle Gibson may not see time until halfway through the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Bottom line, if there was ever a time the Jays needed a winning season at the AAA, this year would be it.

Original Ryan - Saturday, February 04 2012 @ 02:07 PM EST (#251586) #

There was an article a while back that mentioned how the Bisons were turned off, in part, by Ricciardi's refusal to meet with them following the 2008 season to discuss a possible affiliation. Apparently Ricciardi was confident the Blue Jays would be able to sign a PDC with Buffalo and didn't see the need for a face-to-face meeting.

A few articles this past season seemed to indicate that Buffalo is a definite option for the Blue Jays after this season. The Mets haven't provided the Bisons with very good teams, and there have been some other issues that have cropped up during the affiliation. Time will tell.

vonwafer234 - Sunday, February 05 2012 @ 12:34 PM EST (#251598) #

Anyone got a scouting report on Anthony DeSclafani and Javier Avendano? What's your take on these guys?

Gerry - Monday, February 06 2012 @ 08:09 PM EST (#251625) #

We knew the Jays had too many players, particularly pitchers. Today that problem is down a little. From BA here are some releases:

RHP Chris Roman, LHP Drew Elliott, LHP Jorge Navarette, LHP Alex Pepe, LHP Sam Strickland, LHP Jose Vargas, 1B Yudelmis Hernandez, OF Yeico Aponte, OF Chris Hopkins

No big surprises there. Strickland was a good long man for Lansing last season but that was his second season there. And we saw that Lansing has too many pitchers. Chris Hopkins was as high as Dunedin but he was always a fourth guy.

sam - Monday, February 06 2012 @ 09:44 PM EST (#251626) #

I saw both Yudelmis Hernandez and Yeico Aponte two years ago at Auburn. Hernandez looked completely overmatched by rather average pitching. I didn't see any tools, so to speak. Aponte looked like a nice prospect, or one that might at least might make it to High A. His getting cut was likely down to age and the need to get prospects at bats at the lower levels.

Gerry - Monday, February 06 2012 @ 10:49 PM EST (#251627) #

DeSclafani has not pitched professionally. Coming out of college he threw a mid-nineties fastball and a good slider. If the Jays can teach him a change-up he could be a decent starter. The knock on DeSclafani coming out of college was that he was hittable. Maybe a Blue Jay special would help him, a cutter to get movement on his fastball and a change-up to get the hitters off it.

Avendano has only pitched in short season ball, and only pitched 14 innings in 2011. I assume a Jays scout saw his arm and liked it. As you would expect Avendano had a lot of strikeouts and a lot of walks in those 14 innings. The Jays presumably will try and fix his delivery and see if they can turn him into a useful part.

MrPurple - Tuesday, February 07 2012 @ 10:36 AM EST (#251636) #

If I may speak for the Niagara/St Catharines region, there is an awful lot of us who would be making the 1/2 drive to buffalo to see our future stars!

2012 Minor League Players - Starting Pitchers | 52 comments | Create New Account

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