Batter's Box Interactive Magazine

Five wins in nine tries for the affiliates were highlighted by two dominant (and encouraging) starts.

Tucson 1    Las Vegas 7

If Shawn Hill wasn't on the short list of emergency starters before last night's game, he most certainly is now. Hill stymied the Tucson Padres to the tune of a run on three hits and walk over eight innings. He struck out nine.

The 51s offense was doubles happy on Saturday picking up five two-baggers, led by David Cooper's pair. Adeiny Hechavarria went 3-for-5 while Travis Snider was 1-for-2 with three walks.

New Britain 6    New Hampshire 5 (10 innings)

The Deck McGuire who the Jays drafted 11th overall in 2010 showed up last night. McGuire dominated the Rock Cats over his six innings allowing two runs on six hits with a walk against 10 strikeouts. Things unraveled in the 'pen, however as Ronald Uviedo couldn't hold a 5-2 9th inning lead.

Mark Sobolewski connected on his 17th homer for the Fisher Cats while Jake Marisnick was 1-for-3 with a double.

Tampa 9    Dunedin 2

The less time spent on this one, the better. The offense was highlighted, I guess, by Kevin Ahrens who went 1-for-3 with a double. Marcus Knecht was 0-for-4 with 4 strikeouts.

As for the pitching, well, that wasn't any better. Egan Smith started and went five allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits. He walked and struck out three. Moving on.

Lansing 4    West Michigan 0

Andy Fermin picked up three hits including a double while Kevin Pillar was 2-for-4 with a double and his 34th stolen base.

The Lansing Trio had the night off but David Rollins did his best impression by going five shutout frames allowing just one hit and a walk against five strikeouts.

Everett 3    Vancouver 4

Ian Parmley was a prototypical leadoff hitter on Saturday going 1-for-1 with three walks, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Nicholas Baligod was 1-for-4 with a double, the lone extra base hit for the Canadians.

Bobby Brosnahan went five innings for the victory allowing three runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout.

Bluefield 2    Burlington 3

Santiago Nessy continued his (SSS) domination of the Appy League hitting his 2nd homer in six games. Christian Lopes added a couple of hits, including a double, to get his OPS over .800 while Matthew Dean reached the Mendoza Line with a 1-for-4 night.

Roberto Osuna started for Bluefield and showed why the Jays invested so much in his signing by going three shutout frames allowing just two hits while striking out three. Jeremy Gabryszwski followed with four strong innings allowing a run on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

GCL Braves 2    GCL Blue Jays 3 (Game One)

GCL Braves 4    GCL Blue Jays 9 (Game Two)

DSL Blue Jays 2    DSL Angels 8

Bonus Boxscore highlight of the night:

The AZL Brewers led the AZL Royals 17-6...........after the first. They held on for a 23-8 victory.

Three Stars:

3rd Star: Adeiny Hechavarria- 3-for-5, R
2nd Star: Deck McGuire- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10 K
1st Star: Shawn Hill- 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K

Posted by braden on Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 10:01 AM EDT.

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Doom Service - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 10:54 AM EDT (#259960) #

Forgive me if I'm duplicating another post from somewhere, but my TV listings suggest that Sportsnet One is broadcasting the Futures Game today at 5 pm. It's a rare chance to watch many/most of the top prospects from your living room.

Original Ryan - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 11:50 AM EDT (#259962) #

I was at the Canadians game last night. Brosnahan also hit two batters in a rather ugly first inning. Fortunately he doesn't throw hard enough for it to hurt very much.

I had hoped to see Stroman make his pro debut last night, but he didn't make it into the game. Sadly I probably won't be able to catch one of the other two games in this homestand.

Krylian19 - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 04:39 PM EDT (#259973) #

Syndergaard goes 6 this afternoon. 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and 4 strikouts. GO:FO ratio of 10:3.

Lookin' real good.

sam - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 06:33 PM EDT (#259979) #

Billy Hamilton is an ass.

Richard S.S. - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 07:14 PM EDT (#259982) #

Who?

Thomas - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 07:26 PM EDT (#259983) #

I've not been able to watch the Futures Game, but I'm failing to see a crime other than blazing speed that probably played a significant role in a three-base error.

sam - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 07:40 PM EDT (#259984) #

Hamilton swung at the first pitch of a first and third situation with Anthony Gose on first. It was a situation where Gose was clearly going to try to steal second and thus give me the joy of watching him run. Hamilton had other fascinations and swung at something soft out of the zone on the first pitch weakly grounding to the second basemen who promptly tagged Gose and throwing to first to complete the double play.

I say Hamilton is an ass jokingly as I was robbed of the opportunity to see Gose try to steal second on arguably the best catch and throw catcher in the minors.

uglyone - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 07:55 PM EDT (#259985) #

19 year old syndergaard has a 11.0k/9 and 2.5bb/9 in A-Ball....and I'm not sure I've ever seen a Jays prospect do that....ever.

sam - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 08:05 PM EDT (#259986) #

For Bauxites who missed the game, Gose singled on a chopped ball to second that I would think a ML second basemen would have made a play on. He also walked. The at-bats weren't that impressive as he neither drove the ball or laid off any impressive/tough pitches, but he got on base twice so who cares. I would say he saw the ball well, much better than in Spring Training as he was tracking the ball well and didn't swing at anything out of the zone on two pretty good lefties. Some baseball fans might be a bit frustrated with his gestures and body language at the plate. He slumps his shoulders and drops the bat (to the ground still holding it) in a "I don't care type way" after each pitch and doesn't strike you as someone who really wants to hit. He seems to have dropped some of his in-between swing routine, where he would rest the bat between his legs and stretch his two arms out equally to the side. He has also dropped the big leg kick he's had in the past and is much more quieter in his overall pre-swing mechanics. Small sample size indeed.

In the field, Gose demonstrated both his impressive range and his penchant for the spectacular. He made a nice diving play tracking a ball deep to his left, then threw to first on a hop in an attempt to double off the runner at first. Replays perhaps showed he took a somewhat circular route to the ball, but that does not take away too much from the niceness of the play. Gose has a real good feel for the outfield, he plays shallow and seems to really kick into gear/eyes light up when there's a potential spectacular play to be had. He knows his tools and wants to show them off. He is a fun player to watch for that reason in the field.

My honest opinion of the Gose v. Rasmus debate, if there is one. It would be splitting hairs to assume that Gose is an improvement on Rasmus.

sam - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 08:21 PM EDT (#259987) #

Josh Towers A+ (20 years old)
10.7 K/9 3.0 BB/9

Tim Collins (19) A+
13.8 K/9 3.9 BB/9

So not exact numbers, but there have been pitching prospects aplenty with similar numbers.

China fan - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 08:31 PM EDT (#259988) #

"....Replays perhaps showed he took a somewhat circular route to the ball...."

I've looked at the replay a few times. I wouldn't call it a circular route, but it was perhaps a little flawed. First he went about 3 steps to the right; then he switched slightly and went straight back about 4 steps; then he continued back-and-right for the final 5 steps before making the successful dive. He didn't seem to have a perfect read on the ball, but he was generally heading in the right direction.

Given the strong resurgence by Rasmus, and the likelihood that Snider will come up soon, I don't see Gose as a major-league option until the second half of 2013 or even later. Perhaps if the Jays give up on Snider next year, Gose could be an option in LF, but LF would be a waste of his defensive talents. And I wouldn't switch Bautista to 1B to make room for Gose -- he's not the kind of uber-prospect that forces you to move your best hitter. Gose might have more value as trade bait. His greatest value is to a team that badly needs a strong defensive CF and a speedy base-stealer. The Jays have both already, in Rasmus and Davis (even if Davis becomes a pinch-runner and 4th OF). The Jays should consider packaging Gose in a deal for a good starting pitcher.

PeteMoss - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 09:27 PM EDT (#259989) #

Is there any indication that Snider is actually coming up soon?

Thomas - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 10:15 PM EDT (#259991) #

I say Hamilton is an ass jokingly as I was robbed of the opportunity to see Gose try to steal second on arguably the best catch and throw catcher in the minors.

Ah. I didn't see the game, so I had no idea what you were referencing.

Thanks for the scouting report.

uglyone - Sunday, July 08 2012 @ 11:47 PM EDT (#259993) #

No, sam, not only are those numbers not as good as Syndergaard straight up, but moreover Collins and Towers put up those numbers as RP, not SP, which is a world of difference, and comparing apples and oranges.

You're right though that you will find many prospects who can put up those kinds of numbers as RP......but you will find very, very, very few who can do it as SP.

I think Pedro Martinez managed to put up similar numbers at the same age as an SP, though.

Those kinds of numbers put Syndergaard in some pretty select company.

hypobole - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 12:29 AM EDT (#259994) #

uglyone, you're correct on SP's vs RP's, but don't forget Syndergaard was only going 3 innings for quite some time which is basically once through the order - not much different than relieving.

sam - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 02:12 AM EDT (#259996) #

uglyone, the point is you referenced two particular stats. I came back at you with players with similar stats as you mentioned. Syndergaard may have those stats, but see now you've gone and basically said he's on par with Pedro Martinez. Heck, he's not even a consensus top 50 prospect in baseball.

rtcaino - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 03:04 AM EDT (#259997) #

'but see now you've gone and basically said he's on par with Pedro Martinez.'

I didn't read that conclusion into his statement; he was simply stating that those are impressive numbers and that he likely has impressive company.

SP's and RP's are two different kettle of fish. The point Hypobole raised was a good one - that NS has not been subject to the classic starters workload thus far.

All that said, Noah's start was pretty darn freakin awesome no matter how you slice it!

MatO - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 09:38 AM EDT (#260003) #

What Syndergaard has done is nice but Hutchison, at the same age and location, didn't give up a run for a month and was promoted to Dunedin where he continued to do the practically the same thing and then was promoted to AA by the end of the season. Syndergaard hasn't gotten out of low A yet. Actually, Sanchez's H/IP is really impressive but control remains an issue for him.

Mike Green - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 10:04 AM EDT (#260004) #

TINSTAAP overstates the case, but there is an important grain of truth there. How about EPPCWABQM- Every Pitching Prospect Comes With A Big Question Mark?

Chuck - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 10:08 AM EDT (#260005) #

Sanchez's H/IP is really impressive

His impressive K rate certainly suppresses his H/9, but the unsustainable BABIP (.222) helps even more.

MatO - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 10:28 AM EDT (#260007) #

Sanchez has done it for 3 months so I think it's sustainable at low A where hitters are probably not getting good swings and his wildness is an advantage. I don't think it's sustainable at a higher level where hitters will be more patient and have better pitch recognition.

Mike Green - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 10:32 AM EDT (#260008) #

...which is why I don't think that Sanchez should be in Low A now. He's 20 years old and dominating a level (while not learning something important).

hypobole - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 10:33 AM EDT (#260009) #

Agree with MatO. The combination of Sanchez stuff, command issues and inexperienced hitters should translate to few balls being squared up.

China fan - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 11:31 AM EDT (#260011) #

".....Hutchison, at the same age and location, didn't give up a run for a month...."

Hutchison was actually a year older than Syndergaard is now.

MatO - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 11:46 AM EDT (#260012) #

OK. They were both drafted out of HS. Hutchison in 2009 and Syndergaard in 2010 so I should have said they have similar experience. I don't know why there's such an age discrepancy for 2 guys coming out of HS. I see that Sanchez is also close to Syndergaard's age but Nicolino (drafted in the same year as the other 2) is closer to Hutchison's age at the same stage. Maybe it's something to do with school ages and certain states. Hutchson and Nicolino are from Florida I believe while Syndergaard is from Texas and Sanchez from California.

Chuck - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 11:51 AM EDT (#260013) #

The combination of Sanchez stuff, command issues and inexperienced hitters should translate to few balls being squared up.

While it may certainly be true that BABIP generalities may not apply as well to minor leaguers, Sanchez's BABIP history, brief as it is, is fairly "normal" looking prior to this year.

uglyone - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 11:53 AM EDT (#260014) #

Hypobole - you're absolutely right that he hasn't had a full starter's load so far, but he's around 4ip per appearance now, which is still significantly more than a reliever's workload, and considering how minor league arms at that age are conserved in general, it's starting to approach a level that's likely consistent with most young minor league SP's workloads.

Sam - the comparison with pedro was meant to be jarring, because you were dismissing the rarity of Syndergaard's numbers and I wanted to reinforce how impressive his limited sample this year is so far - if he continues to put up these kinds of numbers as the season progresses and his workload increases, then he's going to start putting himself into some rare company.....one which I can't remember seeing from any Jays' SP prospect at that stage.

It seems to me that every Jays' prospect has always come with an asterisk on his minor league record...we've had a number of guys with legit MLB arsenals and MLB stud SP type bodies, but who either lacked elite K numbers (Halladay, Alvarez), or lacked control (Carpenter, Escobar, McGowan, Drabek)....or we had a bunch of guys with great peripherals but who lacked MPH (Marcum, Litsch, Hutchison)...it's rare that we've seen one of our kids with the full package - stud pitching frame, big-league heat, big-league breaking balls, and both elite K numbers and elite control numbers in the minors.

He might not keep it up but if he does these numbers (i.e. 11+k/9, 4+k/bb) are putting him in rare company for sure.

uglyone - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 12:03 PM EDT (#260015) #

MatO - Hutchison had a great performance as well, but Syndergaard is a full year ahead of him in development, and already has better peripherals than Hutchison ever did.

(both are august babies so the it's a legit full year ahead in development here):

A-

Syndergaard (18): 4gms, 18.0ip, 11.0k/9, 2.5bb/9, 4.4k/bb
Hutchison (19): 10gms, 45.0ip, 8.8k/9, 2.4bb/9, 3.7k/bb

A (first time)

Syndergaard (18): 2gms, 9.0ip, 9.0k/9, 2.0bb/9, 4.5k/bb
Hutchison (19): 5gms, 23.2ip, 7.2k/9, 2.7bb/9, 2.7k/bb

A (second time)

Syndergaard (19): 18gms, 64.2ip, 11.1k/9, 2.5bb/9, 4.5k/bb
Hutchison (20): 14gms, 72.0ip, 10.5k/9, 2.4bb/9, 4.4k/bb

Syndergaard's not only putting up more impressive numbers, but he's doing it while being a full year younger.

Mike Green - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 12:06 PM EDT (#260016) #

True. Syndergaard's line as a starter is awfully impressive for a 19 year old. The questions about him are the routine subjective ones- how is the slider coming? has he learned to create a little more deception with the change? how is his fastball command? The thing about Syndergaard is that the numbers don't tell the whole story- he's 6'5' with a classic build and does throw the fastball in the high 90s.

It is nice that Syndergaard went 6 innings last night. In Sanchez' first attempt, he was great through 5 innings and lost control in the 6th.

Ryan Day - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 12:29 PM EDT (#260017) #

Syndergaard is a full year ahead of [Hutchison] in development

Depends on how you define "development." Hutchison was regarded as quite a polished pitcher with a solid arsenal. Syndergaard, on the other hand, has a great fastball and very good control, but not much in the way of offspeed stuff. Syndergaard's development - at least as a starter - is going to hinge on getting the knack of a solid curve or change. Which could happen quickly, or slowly, or never.

He's young and has plenty of time, so it's not like it's a problem right now. Being able to consistently throw strikes with a 95+ fastball is a hell of a good building block.

MatO - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 12:54 PM EDT (#260018) #

Depends on the definition of development. They both started pitching for real at virtually the same time (short season 2010) since Hutchison singed late in 2009 and Syndergaard signed early in 2010. Anyways, I just wanted to point out that there was a guy just a year earlier who had flown through the system and not to knock Syndergaard.

TamRa - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 02:07 PM EDT (#260023) #

"TINSTAAP overstates the case, but there is an important grain of truth there. How about EPPCWABQM- Every Pitching Prospect Comes With A Big Question Mark?"

too long

PPOBYH
(Pitching Prospects often break your heart)

or even...

PPUF
(pitching prospects usually fail)

or

NTAPP
(Never trust a pitching prospect)

:)

China fan - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 02:20 PM EDT (#260026) #

The comparison between Hutchison and Syndergaard is very interesting. If Syndergaard can duplicate Hutch's trajectory at a similar age, that would be an extremely positive scenario. Just a couple of my own observations:

1) there's been some talk that Syndergaard could be promoted to Dunedin later this season. If so, or even if he reaches Dunedin early next season, he has a chance to reach New Hampshire by the end of next season -- which would duplicate Hutch's arrival at NH at the same age.

2) Hutch's rapid flight through 3 levels last season was certainly unusual, and nobody should expect any other pitcher to do the same. But even at the time, some of us were skeptical, since Hutch lacked the obvious firepower that some pitchers have. Hutch has repeatedly surprised us, including this season when he was handed a starting-rotation job in the majors. It would be extremely unusual if Syndergaard can do the same, so the Hutch example might be unrealistic.

MatO - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 02:27 PM EDT (#260027) #

If they do stay healthy and progress like Roy Halladay, then the pitching draftees of 2010-2012 will be in a position to start making positive contributions to the Jays in the years 2016-2018!

John Northey - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 02:33 PM EDT (#260028) #

PPUF is a good one - as many prospects careers end in a puff of smoke (or misc injuries if you prefer).

greenfrog - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 02:52 PM EDT (#260030) #

"If they do stay healthy and progress like Roy Halladay, then the pitching draftees of 2010-2012 will be in a position to start making positive contributions to the Jays in the years 2016-2018!"

I prefer to see the glass as half full. I recently did a back-of-the-envelope list of Jays prospects and pretty easily came up with about 50, with a really promising top 25 or 30. That's impressive. A lot of them are young, but AA is going to continue to add to the system through trades, drafts, FA signings, etc. There is no quick fix for the rotation, but the system is in great shape.

sam - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 03:11 PM EDT (#260031) #

Uglyone, a lot of people here have seen Syndergaard in person, including myself. I think he is a phenomenal pitching prospect and certainly one worth getting excited about. However, Syndergaard is in his first full season of professional baseball and lacks the complementary pitches at the moment that he'll need to succeed at the upper levels. The big-league breaking ball is not in his arsenal at the moment, and in the performance I saw, he lacked feel for the pitch. Now Lugnut Fan can comment with more authority on the matter and I did see an outing where he came in in relief, so I'm willing to discount a fair amount of my observation. I think you're right to stress the impressiveness of the control and strikeout numbers. Especially given he's done most his damage essentially with one very, very good pitch. Let it be known that his fastball is very impressive, both in terms of velocity and command. He knows how to pitch with the pitch, which is saying a lot for a pitching prospect of his age.

Syndergaard is in Lansing though and of the many "baseball" people that go through Lansing, people are less bullish on his long-term success than a Sanchez, mainly because Sanchez has the full arsenal. I tend to agree with these people and read less into the impressive stats than some. I admit that my attempt at a dose of reality was perhaps misplaced and ill-informed, but I tend to think that there's no point getting excited and grouping A-ball pitching prospects based on stats with potential hall of famers.

I'll be at the Vancouver Canadians game tonight. I believe Marcus Stroman will be pitching. I'll chart his outing and provide an amateur scouting report here.

sam - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 03:13 PM EDT (#260032) #

Nvm. Stroman will be making his debut on the road.

MatO - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 03:27 PM EDT (#260034) #

Sam. Any idea what Pompey's injury is? He had a real nice start to the season and him and Stroman are probably the only two real prospects the Jays have sent there this year.

sam - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 03:39 PM EDT (#260035) #

Unsure, I'm sorry. I was not at the game when he was injured. Gerry or Marc Hulet may have contacts that can answer that question. 2JBrumfield seems to have been at a few games as well.

MatO - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 03:51 PM EDT (#260037) #

Pompey says on Twitter that he was back in Dunedin and had surgery (don't know for what) and hoped to be back before the end of the season.

mendocino - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 04:17 PM EDT (#260040) #

Vancouver will be on Milb TV Wed-Sun vs Boise

http://www.milb.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=t435&m=07&y=2012

uglyone - Monday, July 09 2012 @ 05:20 PM EDT (#260042) #

Sam - that's all fair enough. I'm not even comparing Syndergaard to Sanchez. Both look excellent, and even Sanchez' peripherals are staying in rare air at the moment.

I'm not even arguing 'stuff' - I understand Syndergaard's breaking balls are undeveloped (though from what I hear he's flashed plenty of plus potential with the curve this year).

If I were to compare Syndergaard to Sanchez right now, though, I probably would lean towards Noah. From what I can see right now, Syndergaard simply doesn't have any real holes in his profile. Sanchez' BB rates, on the other hand, seem to me to be a legit concern.

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