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Three wins in four tries for the affiliates as Travis Snider continued to mash and Noah Syndergaard struggled.


Colorado Springs 8    Las Vegas 9

When the Blue Jays opted to start the year with Eric Thames in left, they asked Travis Snider to go to the minors and hit the ball with authority. And oh my, is he. Snider went 3-for-5 including a double and his fourth homer while driving in three. He is now hitting an absurd .450/.522/.800. PCL inflation or not, those are loud numbers.

Anthony Gose crept a bit closer to the Mendoza Line with two hits including a double. He also walked and is now hitting .194. Travis D'Arnaud and Adeiny Hechavarria each had one hit in five trips.

A bunch of journeymen took to the mound. Aaron Laffey started and was quite good in going five and allowing two runs- one earned- on six hits and a walk while striking out five.



New Hampshire 1    New Britain 4

A quiet night at the plate for the Fisher Cats who managed just six hits, though three of them were doubles off the bats of John Tolisano, Ryan Goins, and Mark Sobolewski. A.J. Jimenez had a single in four trips.

Ryan Tepera started and was hit around a fair bit allowing three runs on nine hits and two walks in just four and a third. He struck out five. Danny Farquhar allowed a run on two hits in an inning and two thirds.



Brevard County 2    Dunedin 3

Randy Boone made his first start in a year since TJ surgery and acquitted himself quite nicely allowing just two hits in four innings against two strikeouts.

Only three hits on the night for the D-Jays but they made the most of them. Ryan Schimpf knocked in two with a triple while Kevin Nolan doubled and Sean Ochinko singled, walked, and scored twice.



Lansing 9    Burlington 6

The Noah Syndergaard express derailed for the first time last night as the previously unscathed righty allowed three runs on three hits and four walks in two and two thirds. He did strike out three, however, though he also allowed three stolen bases. Anthony DeSclafani didn't fare much better allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks in his three innings. He walked two and struck out one.

The offense wasn't concerned by their hurlers' performances as they knocked home eight runs in the latter half of the game, highlighted by Pierce Rankin's first homer of the year. Chris Hawkins had three hits while Kellen Sweeney was 2-for-3 with two walks.



Three Stars:

3rd Star: Chris Hawkins-
3-for-5
2nd Star: Randy Boone- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
1st Star: Travis Snider- 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI





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The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
BlueJayWay - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 10:49 AM EDT (#254909) #
I'm getting so sick of "Free Travis Snider."  Free him, or trade him, or whatever.  I'm sick of the yo-yo-ing up and down, mashing at Vegas, coming up to Toronto, starting only occasionally, struggling, back to down to Vegas, mashing.  It's like some kind of irritating recurring dream.
greenfrog - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 11:12 AM EDT (#254912) #
The stats are nice, but how does Snider's approach look? Last year Cooper mashed all year long but scouts seem to view him as a AAAA guy. I like Snider, but will his approach play in the majors, week in, week out? Even his manager recently said that his offensive game needs more consistency.
bpoz - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 11:14 AM EDT (#254913) #
I think you are right BlueJayWay and the team should trade Travis Snider. I do not have the guts to do it & probably will complain about the trade. I was hoping that Mosbey would not be traded for Ricky Henderson & A Rios would not be traded for T Lincecum. There were rumors.
BlueJayWay - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 11:24 AM EDT (#254914) #
I'm not saying the Jays should trade Snider.  In fact I think they shouldn't.  But I want them to do SOMETHING.  Put him in the big league lineup and let him alone.  They said they were FINALLY going to do that last year, and then he ended going down to Vegas again.  Do something with him.  If you're not giving him the everyday LF job then might as well trade him.  I'm just sick of Snider looking awesome in Vegas and but then constantly ending up back there.
See-Hech-In-July - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 11:36 AM EDT (#254915) #
Snider is exactly where he should be and that's in AAA.

When he comes up to toronto he loses his mechanics and swing, or that's what they keep telling us.

Snider couldn't beat out Thames when it counted in ST so let him ride the bus for a couple of months and see how Thames works out.

Worst case scenario is to bring up Snider and watch him struggle, while Thames is sent to AAA and he starts to crush like Snider. Then you have messed up 2 players.

BlueJayWay - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 11:50 AM EDT (#254917) #
That doesn't make any sense to me.  If his swing mechanics keep getting messed up in the bigs, and you think you can't fix him, then you trade him before anyone else catches on.  If you think he can hit major league pitching, then he should be here so he can do it.  It seems Snider has nothing else to learn in the minors.  I don't know what is gained by having him mash minor league pitchers.  He's done it before, done that, bought the T-shirt.  Becoming a consistent regular here is the final step.

So I just don't see how Snider belongs in AAA.  A player is there when 1) injury rehab (clearly not the case), 2) learning to hit/developing/gaining experience before coming to the majors (Snider's done everything he can in the minors, what else is he learning there at this point?, 3) just major league depth/filler a la Chris Woodward and Mike McCoy (not the case, you would think). 



92-93 - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 11:54 AM EDT (#254918) #
"A player is there when 2) learning to hit/developing/gaining experience before coming to the majors."

Unless you're Drew Hutchison, in which case it makes sense to learn/develop/gain experience at the MLB level.
DiscoDave - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 12:15 PM EDT (#254919) #
Travis is there to develop something, consistency.

Travis is gifted, no doubt, he needs to learn how to adjust to what the league does to him.

He's on a hot streak right now. Let's see what he does when he cools down. If he can adjust in AAA and break through a slump, then we think about moving him up.

If he spends all or the majority of the year in AAA, so be it.
uglyone - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 12:50 PM EDT (#254921) #
What Snider is doing is legitimately amazing, even considering small sample size. He's hitting for average, power, drawing walks, and not King - all at an excellent level.

He clearly deserves a callup, and soon.

But Thames' job shouldn't be in jeopardy. Lind's and Francisco's jobs should be the ones on the chopping block.
ayjackson - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 12:53 PM EDT (#254922) #
I think Thames' upside is Adam Lind.  Always has been.
uglyone - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 01:14 PM EDT (#254925) #
IMO that's not a bad comparison at all..... though Thames' rookie year was better than any of Lind's season aside from his outlier 2009.


Age 24

Thames (MLB): 394pa, 5.8bb%, 22.3k%, .313babip, .262/.313/.456/.769, .333woba, 108wRC+
Lind (MLB): 349pa, 4.6bb%, 16.9k%, .317babip, .282/.316/.439/.755, .325woba, 95wRC+

Thames (AAA): 241pa, 9.5bb%, 17.0k%, .406babip, .352/.423/.610/1.033, .435woba, 150wRC+
Lind (AAA): 213pa, 8.9bb%, 16.9k%, .376babip, .328/.394/.534/.928, .402woba, 150wRC+


Age 23

Lind (MLB): 311pa, 5.1bb%, 20.9k%, .269babip, .238/.278/.400/.678, .291woba, 72wRC+
Lind (AAA): 190pa, 7.4bb%, 22.1k%, .362babip, .299/.353/.471/.824, .362babip, 122wRC+

Thames (AA): 573pa, 8.9bb%, 21.1k%, .327babip, .288/.370/.526/.896, .393woba, 142wRC+


Age 22

Lind (MLB): 65pa, 7.7bb%, 18.5k%, .435babip, .367/.415/.600/1.015, .432woba, 162wRC+
Lind (AAA): 137pa, 16.8bb%, 13.1k%, .427babip, .394/.496/.596/1.092, .472woba, 204wRC+
Lind (AA): 378pa, 6.6bb%, 23.0k%, .363babip, .310/.357/.543/.900, .397woba, 152wRC+

Thames (A+): 220pa, 9.5bb%, 18.2k%, .379babip, .313/.386/.487/.873, .396woba, 151wRC+
robertdudek - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 06:03 PM EDT (#254939) #
Hasn't this issue been thrashed out enough?

Just link to all our past discussions.

Mike Green - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 06:19 PM EDT (#254940) #
The bats of Gose and d'Arnaud have started to come to life in the last week or so. Their development (and Hechevarria's) as possible call-ups in the event of injury is an important part of this year. 
robertdudek - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 06:46 PM EDT (#254942) #
Here is a player who struggled in his first full season for a bad but improving team, and was allowed to play through it. HE WAS NOT SENT DOWN TO THE MINORS EVER AGAIN:

first full year: 18 homers, 136 strikeouts, 62 walks,  367 at-bats - as you can see, this player was prone to strikeout - avg.196. oba.324, slg .373
second full year: 36 homers, 138 strikeouts, 106 walks, 568 at-bats - as you can see,improvement across the board - avg .282, oba .395, slg .546

In his first year, this player was just about in the same place in his development as Snider was in 2010/2011; his team was about in the same place as the Jays were in 2010 in terms of contending. This player went on to be a star.

Now you may say there are differences between this player and Snider and there are, but you would have been hard pressed in looking at the hitting abilities of this player and Snider during their first full year and not noticing a lot of similarities.

Most players don't become stars, but here is the crucial point: if a player is not destined to be a star there is pretty much nothing you can do about it as an organisation - that player will not be a star. But I believe there are some cases where an ideal handling of a young player does lead to stardom, whereas poor handling of the same player will not.




Mike Green - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 06:56 PM EDT (#254943) #
Mike Schmidt, I think.  It's funny because Snider reminds me more of Luzinski, but either way the point is valid.
AWeb - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 07:03 PM EDT (#254944) #
Well, since someone brought up Lind...
If Thames upside is Lind, then get rid of him now. 2010 to present - .243/.292/.430 in 1200 PAs. It's also the same thing he did in 2007-2008 (.271/.309/.436 in 725 PAs). At some point, don't you have just cut bait on this guy if the manager won't stop playing him? .608 OPS in 725 PAs against lefties. Platoon or cut. Put him in Francisco's role (last guy on the bench who doesn't play important defense). 2009 continues to recede into the past. The coaches must see something that convinces them he's able to turn it around, but it's been 3 years now...any Aaron Hill/Kelly Johnson change of scenery trades to be made?

Glad to see Bautista accept the walks today after a couple of days looking very frustrated.  If teams are going to pitch him on the outside corner all the time, he has to be willing to hit .250 with a .450 OBP. Also glad to see the Jays put a small winning streak together - these are important wins right now.
Cal Jays - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 07:39 PM EDT (#254946) #
I was at the game in Las Vegas today. A few observations:
-Chavez looked great. FB 92-95 with great location. The last pitch he threw in the 6th was 95. Good CB (which he of course used to K Brandon Wood) and a good change. He's a serious candidate to be in Toronto at some point either starting or in the pen.

-Gose's 2B was a routine single just past 2nd that he simple turned inton double with speed. It was a play you rarely see. He then stole third and scored on a sac fly. He fell behind every AB but stayed with it and battled back into some good ABs. In CF he glided around magestically, almost toying with his chances. He plays very shallow and is a real difference maker defensively.

- Snider didn't look good. Missed some very hittable fastballs in hitters counts. His double was actually a pop up to CF that fell in bc of sun/miss-communication

- D'Arnaud smacked a double opposite field off the wall, and squared up a nice deep sac fly. Also patient at the plate.

- Sierra made a spectacular diving catch in RF and looked solid overall

- Not much to Hech's day. Made his routine plays but tried to pull the ball too much when his strength is going the other way and hittinf line drives.
Gerry - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 07:56 PM EDT (#254947) #
Thanks Cal Jays for the first hand report.
Mike Green - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 09:19 PM EDT (#254949) #
Thames' upside has got to be higher than Lind's.  He has essentially the same career wRC+ (1 point lower), he is more than three years younger and he doesn't have Lind's record of poor performance in the last two years.  Thames is basically where LInd was in 2008.  He is more likely to have a season or three like Lind's 2009 than Lind is, at this point.
sam - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 09:36 PM EDT (#254950) #
After a year in which it seemed like every minor league prospect improved and the system defied the old "one third" rule, it seems like a lot of prospects are coming back down to earth. The Lansing trio from last year is off to a slow start at Dunedin. The New Hampshire rotation hasn't been anything to talk about and the majority of the hitting prospects promoted to Las Vegas are turning in less than stellar play. Sanchez, Syndergaard, and Nicolino have turned in solid outings so far, and Hech's improvements are well noted, but outside of these guys, most prospects have slumped in the early going.
cybercavalier - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 10:30 PM EDT (#254951) #
On the same topic as Sam on progress of former, previous, current minor league prospect, Brad Emaus has signed to play baseball outside of affiliated baseball: American Association.
. Would Emaus be appealing to 51s baseball ? Maybe Woodward could act as a player coach.
ayjackson - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 11:15 PM EDT (#254952) #

Thames' upside has got to be higher than Lind's.

Well it is now.  But Thames has struck me as the same (or similar) hitter and fielder as Lind at each stage of his development.  So I don't expect him to turn out any better than Lind. Maybe I should have said Lind is Thames' probable outcome.

See-Hech-In-July - Sunday, April 22 2012 @ 11:28 PM EDT (#254953) #

Would AA package Lind with Snider / Thames  just to unload a 12 Million contract?

Mike Green - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 08:55 AM EDT (#254955) #
Sure, ayj.  The thing is that Thames' upside is several years of LInd 2009, and that is worth something significant (which is why the Jays signed Lind to the long-term contract).
ColiverPhD - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 10:19 AM EDT (#254963) #

Keep Thames, call up Snider, get rid of Francisco.

Yeah, I know all the lefty-righty stuff...that can be corrected later.

Give both players a chance to play and to compete.

That's my take.

Richard S.S. - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 11:05 AM EDT (#254969) #
if Travis Snider "mashes" in AAA in April, he must be just as good in May. He must be just as good in June, July and August. Something he has shown he cannot do. He has value if he can hit consistently,.
Dewey - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 11:54 AM EDT (#254972) #
He must be just as good in June, July and August. Something he has shown he cannot do.

Not with an injured wrist anyway.
CeeBee - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 12:03 PM EDT (#254974) #
I would really like for Snider to be healthy for a full year. That and a promotion if he keeps up what he is doing. Bye bye Lind or Fransisco.... don't care which at this point.
ayjackson - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 03:12 PM EDT (#254983) #

The thing is that Thames' upside is several years of LInd 2009

I don't see that.  ANd haven't seen a single talent evaluator say that.  Thames upside is several fluke years?  That's what I'm to believe?

Lylemcr - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 03:34 PM EDT (#254985) #
Trade Snider while his stock is high!
Mike Green - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 04:00 PM EDT (#254987) #
Lind has had one year that was consistent with what one could reasonably project (optimistically) from his minor league path (a slug-heavy wRC+ of 139) .  Thames may never attain that in any one year, or he might do it for several years, but if he does achieve it, it would more likely be a balanced wRC+ consistent with his minor league record.  For what it's worth, the conventional talent evaluators, except for Keith Law, did not think that highly of Lind either. 
See-Hech-In-July - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 04:10 PM EDT (#254988) #
Any time a organization rewards a player with less then 2 solid years of work, they are gambling.

So far Jays are losing on Lind and they have to decide if they can cut their losses.

Good news? Jays tied for 1st place

greenfrog - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 04:11 PM EDT (#254989) #
Incidentally, does anyone get the impression that the media peruses these blogs looking for story or commentary ideas? Every so often we'll have an elaborate discussion about some non-mainstream subject (say, the collective performance of low-A pitchers Sanchez, Nicolino and Syndergaard) and then decidedly mainstream commentators like Jerry Howarth or Buck Martinez and Sportsnet will be all over it. Perhaps it's just a coincidence (and maybe it's just the prospect zeitgeist), but sometimes I wonder...
robertdudek - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 04:36 PM EDT (#254991) #
Incidentally, does anyone get the impression that the media peruses these blogs looking for story or commentary ideas? Every so often we'll have an elaborate discussion about some non-mainstream subject (say, the collective performance of low-A pitchers Sanchez, Nicolino and Syndergaard) and then decidedly mainstream commentators like Jerry Howarth or Buck Martinez and Sportsnet will be all over it. Perhaps it's just a coincidence (and maybe it's just the prospect zeitgeist), but sometimes I wonder...

Years ago, I knew for a fact that members of the media would regularly read this site. I have no reason to believe it is otherwise now, especially since this is by far the most consistent coverage of the farm  teams available anywhere.
Gerry - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 04:50 PM EDT (#254993) #

Back in 2010 Omar Malave was the first base coach for the Blue Jays.  One day during the season Jerry Howarth interviewed him on the radio pre-game show.  I had interviewed Malave in 2008 or 2009 when he was manager of the Dunedin Blue Jays.  In Jerry's interview he read some quotes from my interview with Malave, without attribution, and asked him to comment on them.

That's one person who read Batters Box.

Anders - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 05:41 PM EDT (#254998) #
" In Jerry's interview he read some quotes from my interview with Malave, without attribution, and asked him to comment on them."

Yeah, this kindof sucks but happens far too frequently. Its possible Howarth didn't even know where the quotes came from, this is the type of stuff that is probably put together by a producer.

Mike Forbes - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 05:47 PM EDT (#254999) #
We got enough lawyers on here that we should be able to sue Jerry for Gerry. Split the money between everyone who's been registered since said interview.
greenfrog - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 06:01 PM EDT (#255000) #
And then we can pool the money and use it to help pay for a slugging first baseman or front-end SP. That'll show 'em!
raptorsaddict - Monday, April 23 2012 @ 06:04 PM EDT (#255001) #
Give me a few more examples of  journaplagiarism, and I'll be ready to start the class action!
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