Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - 2012 Minor League Players

2012 Minor League Players - Relief Pitchers

Relief pitchers in most cases are the left-overs. In general, teams put their priority players in the starting pitcher spots and if you are not a priority player you are usually a reliever. This often changes in AA or AAA where players need to change roles in order to succeed. Some players have bullpen roles due to an unusual delivery, Danny Farquhar, or due to being injury prone, Alan Farina. As the Jays accumulate pitching prospects, some good pitchers will be forced into relief roles. They can try to pitch their way out of the pen, or show their worth as a future major league reliever, or make themselves attractive to another team. There is always an opportunity on a baseball team.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas will have a surplus of players looking for playing time in the bullpen. There are six spots in AAA, plus an injury or two, plus a phantom injury spot, so most players can be accomodated.

In the mix for the six plus spots are:

Chad Beck
Danny Farquhar
Andrew Carpenter
Jesse Chavez
Trystan Magnuson
Jerry Gil
Evan Crawford
Robert Coello
Jim Hoey
Stephen Marek

Plus the losers of the starters competition, let's assume they are:

Garrett Mock, Scott Richmond and Nelson Figueroa.

That's thirteen players for 7-9 spots. One or two might have to pitch in AA and one or two might get released.

New Hampshire

The AA list is long also:

Bobby Korecky
Matthew Daly
Ronald Uviedo
Yohan Pino
Boomer Potts
Aaron Loup
Alan Farina
Wes Etheridge
Miguel Castro
Matthew Wright
Graylor Conde
Clint Everts
Willie Collazo

That's another thirteen guys for 7-9 spots.

Dunedin

Dunedin's list is smaller, just ten guys for 8-10 spots. The roster in A ball is bigger than in AA and AAA leaving room for an extra reliever.

Marcus Walden
Scott Gracey
Vince Bongiovanni
Sean Shoffit
Casey Beck
Dustin Antolin
Steven Turnbull
Daniel Barnes
Javier Avenado

Lansing

Lansing's list of potential bullpen arms could be the longest if players from extended were added. I have only shown the more likely pitchers. Remember, if the Jays use the tandem starting option in Lansing there may only be four pure reliever jobs on the Luggies.

Misual Diaz
Brandon Berl
David Rollins
Dayton Marze
Sam Strickland
Tyler Powell
Shawn Griffith
Brian Slover
John Anderson
Mitchell Taylor
Carlos Pina
Alex Pepe
Griffin Murphy

Spring training will be an anxious time for these players. Many will get released at the end of March. It is survival of the fittest and one of the least fun parts of being a professional ballplayer.

This is the end of our spring training preview. The next two months will be interesting.

Posted by Gerry on Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 07:35 AM EST.

2012 Minor League Players - Relief Pitchers | 15 comments | Create New Account

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

Kelekin - Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 01:55 PM EST (#251501) #

Great stuff Gerry.

AAA of interest: Beck, Farquhar, Magnuson, Crawford, Carpenter

I prefer Crawford over Perez, and Farquhar would just be interesting to watch.
Carpenter only switched to a reliever last year and put up fantastic results in his first go-around as such.

AA of interest: Uviedo, Farina, Wright

Uviedo is still pushing away. He is so streaky though.
Farina I am a huge fan of, he just needs to actually be healthy. If he was healthy, he'd be in the Jays bullpen by now.
Wright continues to slowly move up the ladder. I still think he has a chance as a LOOGY, I'm a fan.

A+ of interest: Shoffit, Antolin, Barnes, Avendano

Shoffit is obviously pretty old now, but he missed all of last year, so I'd like to see how he does in what is likely his last chance to show he can make the switch to pitcher.
Antolin improved as the season went on his return from surgery, and I think he'll make the switch to Dunedin just fine.
Barnes is my favourite reliever prospect right now. When Barnes blasted rookie ball in 2010, I said that even though it was rookie ball he had a pedigree to have been drafted 25+ rounds higher than where he went, but he was considered unsignable due to his education. I think he'll destroy in A+ and won't face his first real test until AA.
Avendano is the Rule 5 pick, it'll be interesting to see what he does. He has potential.

Gerry - Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 02:52 PM EST (#251503) #

Antolin is my guy to watch this year. He had been throwing mid nineties before he had his TJ surgery and although he came back last year it was still part of his post-surgery recovery. I heard he looked good in the instructional league.

Kelekin - Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 06:34 PM EST (#251523) #

Yeah - I would argue Barnes, Antolin, and Farina are the three to watch.

vonwafer234 - Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 10:53 PM EST (#251529) #

Anyone have a scouting report on Javier Avendano or any insight about him? What kind of potential does he have? I thought that by taking him in the Rule 5 Draft in the Triple A Portion, you wouldn't be able to send him to any league lower then Triple A.

TheBunk - Tuesday, February 07 2012 @ 05:38 AM EST (#251629) #

I'm a bit confused by the assertion that Mitchell Taylor didn't fit the first criteria listed in the previous starting pitchers thread. Unless performance is meant as all encompassing to include his problems with the staff, I don't see it. His stats in Bluefield were very good. He seemed to pitch much better than Griffin Murphy(who he's being lumped in with) and at a higher level.

TheBunk - Tuesday, February 07 2012 @ 05:47 AM EST (#251630) #

And before it's pointed out i'll give the requisite understanding that stats don't mean everything for a prospect but it does show that he performed well where Griffin Murphy didn't.

Gerry - Tuesday, February 07 2012 @ 09:00 AM EST (#251632) #

Mitchell Taylor may start in Bluefield or Vancouver this year but if he makes the Lansing squad I think it will be as a reliever. I don't think he ranks ahead of Sanchez, Syndergaard, Nicolino, etc. and I do think the Jays see him as a reliever in the long term.

TamRa - Tuesday, February 07 2012 @ 02:10 PM EST (#251641) #

I know one of yall has the BA book and can spill on who makes up the rest of the top 30. I dunno if it's appropriate to start a thread with that info (seems like it would spark considerable conversation) but I gotta know!

TheBunk - Tuesday, February 07 2012 @ 07:01 PM EST (#251643) #

I'm in agreement that he isn't on the level of those other pitching prospects, I was just contesting the idea that he didn't perform well last year.

Sending him back to Bluefield would be a bizarre move.

TheBunk - Tuesday, February 07 2012 @ 07:07 PM EST (#251644) #

Nice tidbit on Mitchell Taylor: Top 3 in strikeouts in the Appy league in 2011, also had the best k rate amongst eligible pitchers.

Gerry - Wednesday, February 08 2012 @ 11:28 AM EST (#251645) #

Keith Law ranks the top 30 minor league systems for ESPN today. The Blue Jays are at number 3. Law's comment:

One of the many reasons criticism of Rogers Communications, the owner of the Blue Jays, for being stingy with free agents is so ignorant is that the club has spent aggressively in the amateur markets during the past three years, grabbing high-ceiling high school players and Latin American prospects by stockpiling picks and paying whatever it took to sign those players. They are the organization most likely to be No. 1 on this list next winter.

John Northey - Wednesday, February 08 2012 @ 11:39 AM EST (#251646) #

One does wonder where the cash will go this year (outside of Rogers pockets of course). You can't go nuts on the international market, you can't go nuts on the draft, you won't get picks via relief pitchers/backup players going elsewhere anymore. Many areas AA was taking advantage of to build the farm are gone now and so too is the ability to overspend there.

I suspect the Jays will expand scouting even further in an effort to get the best 'bang for the buck' given the limited dolars. Do you blow your whole international limit on one guy or on a series of guys? I suspect AA will try to find the hidden gems even more now rather than spend it all on the biggest name each winter (10 lottery tickets at 1-50 odds rather than 1 at 1-10 odds = better chance at winning overall). Challenge will be finding playing time for all of them as we are probably going to see at the lower levels this year (crowded starting rotations even before the 2012 draft class is here).

greenfrog - Wednesday, February 08 2012 @ 12:06 PM EST (#251647) #

The 2012 draft will probably cost the Jays a bit more than it will the average MLB team, thanks to the extra 1st and supp round picks. The team could also spend some money to facilitate the right deadline deal (the way they took on Teahen's remaining contract last summer as part of the Rasmus trade).

bpoz - Thursday, February 09 2012 @ 10:43 AM EST (#251669) #

Where to spend cash?

1) It would help if we knew the Intl FA spending budget. What are the penalties for over spending.
2) I agree Teahen type deals.
3) A team that is not rich like Cleveland may want an expensive piece at the deadline, if in contention. A 3 way deal, Cleveland gives up a good prospect for $ and a good player that will become a FA. The FA comes from someone that is out of contention.

AA will stretch the rules, IMO.

John Northey - Thursday, February 09 2012 @ 12:20 PM EST (#251685) #

No question AA will stretch the rules as far as humanly possible. I'd hope he'd push them so far that he forces changes to the rules before someone else does it first.

His trading for a free agent last winter just to get a draft pick was probably the final straw for the old compensation method. Gillick was known for exploiting the Dominican market and the rule 5 draft leading to more focus by other teams on both. That is how you win - find what others have not found and take full advantage as long as possible. I suspect AA would've traded for more free agents this year if he didn't fear the rule change.

2012 Minor League Players - Relief Pitchers | 15 comments | Create New Account

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