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The final day of the minor league regular season saw the affiliates come away with a 2-2 record. Buffalo and Vancouver put one in the win column. New Hampshire played for far too long and Lansing not enough.


Buffalo 8 Syracuse 2

Syracuse, NY - The Bisons took out their frustrations on just missing out on the playoffs by unleashing a 20-hit attack on the Nationals affiliate. Matt Hague started the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning. Darin Mastroianni singled home a run and Brett Wallace doubled home two more in the second. Wallace singled home another run in the fourth to go along with a Cole Gillespie sacrifice fly. A Jonathan Diaz double and another Mastroianni single in the fifth gave the Herd their final two runs of the season. Wallace, Mastroianni and Dalton Pompey shared the hitting lead with four hits apiece and Mastroianni was also hit by a pitch. Hague had three hits while Diaz and Gillespie had two each. Mike Nickeas had the other hit.

Scott Copeland (3-1) surrendered just one run on three hits and a walk while striking out five and getting 10 groundball outs. Brandon Morrow allowed a run on a hit and struck out one in 1.1 innings. Steve Delabar allowed Morrow's run to come home and gave up two hits but he got the final two outs with two K's.


New Britain 4 New Hampshire 3 (13 Innings)


New Britain, CT - So much for getting away quickly on getaway day! The Fisher Cats had a 3-2 lead in the eighth but Richard Bleier could not hold the lead by giving up the tying run in the bottom of the eighth. Bleier gave up the run in two-thirds of an inning on two singles. The run was unearned because of a passed ball by Jack Murphy. Randy Boone stranded a runner for Bleier and pitched 1.1 perfect innings with one strikeout. Blake McFarland worked three shutout frames of two-hit ball and struck out three. Justin Jackson (0-1) got just one out and was walked off by the Twins affiliate for the winning run on two hits. That spoiled seven strong innings from Casey Lawrence, who coughed up just two runs on two five hits. He only struck out a pair but he got 14 ground ball outs.

The Fisher Cats clawed their way back from a two-run deficit thanks to a Sean Ochinko two-run home run in the fourth inning. They took a 3-2 lead in the eighth on a Kevin Nolan RBI single. Ochinko, Nolan, K.C. Hobson and Matt Newman put two dents apiece in the hit column with Hobson getting a double and Nolan stealing a base. Andy Burns had a hit and a walk. Jon Berti and Brad Glenn were both 1-for-6.


South Bend 5 Lansing 4


Lansing, MI - Mother Nature decided not to allow nine innings on the final day, cutting this one short after 5-1/2. Starlyn Suriel (2-4) was stung by the Diamondbacks farm club for three runs over 4.1 innings. He surrendered nine hits and a walk and struck out four. Jimmy Cordero allowed a Suriel runner to score and gave up two more runs on a hit and two walks in 1.1 innings. He did strike out a batter.

Jason Leblebijian
singled home the first run of the game in the first and knocked home another run with a base hit in the fifth. Rowdy Tellez capped off the three-run rally with a two-run homer to score Leblebijian. Tellez was 3-for-3 while Leblebijian and Dawel Lugo finished up with two-hit efforts. Dickie Joe Thon had a double while Chaz Frank and David Harris had base hits. Daniel Klein was plunked by a pitch.


Vancouver 4 Spokane 1


Vancouver, BC - The C's went with their B-team and still pulled off the sweep of Spokane to end the regular season with a franchise-tying 46th win of the season, matching their 2012 mark. Jonathan Davis helped bring in three runs without a hit. Davis delivered the first run of the game with a groundout in the second inning and got his second RBI with a sac fly in the fourth. On that fly ball, another run scored on an error. Davis also had a stolen base. Ryan Metzler singled home the final run of the frame as part of a two-hit afternoon. Michael De La Cruz was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored. Seth Conner had a hit and a walk while Trent Miller and Christian Vazquez had base hits. Brenden Kalfus walked, was hit by a pitch and scored a run. Of the regulars, Ryan McBroom was 0-for-1 as the designated hitter before giving way to Boomer Collins. Among those getting the day off were Franklin Barreto, Roemon Fields, Tim Locastro and Chris Carlson.


Zak Wasilewski - pitching against Everett earlier this season - got the victory with three shutout innings against Spokane Monday afternoon.

Daniel Lietz had trouble finding the plate after issuing six walks and yielding three hits over four innings but limited the Rangers affiliate to one run. Lietz struck out three and was bailed out by two double plays, one of them an unassisted liner to third base to double off a runner. He did touch 93 MPH on the radar gun. Zak Wasilewski (2-4) gave up a hit and hit two Spokane batters over three scoreless frames but needed a spectacular Ryan Metzler over the shoulder catch at third base to help get out of the seventh inning. Adaric Kelly pitched two innings of one-hit ball and struck out two to get the save. One of the strikeouts was too good as the batter reached on a wild pitch. He threw pitches in the 77-91 MPH range.


Monday's Linescores


*** 3 Stars!!! ***


3. Rowdy Tellez, Lansing - Finished up his 12-game stint in Michigan with a .949 OPS.


2. Dalton Pompey, Buffalo - An .846 OPS and 6-for-6 in stolen bases with the Bisons.


1. Darin Mastroianni, Buffalo - Compiled a .349 OBP and 20 stolen bases with the Herd.

3 Stars images from MiLB.com.


Tuesday's Schedule & Probable Starters


Dunedin @ Daytona (Game 1), 7:05 pm ET - Matt Boyd (5-3, 1.39) vs. Edmonton, Alberta native Rob Zastryzny (4-6, 4.66).
Spokane @ Vancouver (Game 1), 10:05 pm ET - Ryan Borucki (1-1, 1.90).


Extra Innings


The National Post catches up with some players who have ridden the Buffalo to Toronto shuttle.
The Lansing State Journal has a feature on pitcher Brad Allen.
The Vancouver Province has a video interview with Canadians manager John Schneider as well as a feature on lefthander Matthew Smoral.
Mastro Fresh Wes Drops The Needle On Syracuse | 7 comments | Create New Account
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uglyone - Tuesday, September 02 2014 @ 11:58 AM EDT (#292879) #
So in a year of great milb performances, Dalton Pompey gets my vote for jays' milb player of the year. Just a sensational season for a 21yr old, without even one worry spot in the numbers.

CF D.Pompey 2014, Age 21

AAA: 56pa, 6sb (100%), 5.4bb%, 17.9k%, .442babip, .094iso, .358/.393/.453/.846, .383woba, 137wrc+
AA: 127pa, 8sb (62%), 11.0bb%, 14.2k%, .330babip, .179iso, .295/.378/.473/.851, .383woba, 138wrc+
A+: 317pa, 29sb (94%), 11.0bb%, 17.7k%, .380babip, .152iso, .319/.397/.471/.868, .399woba, 150wrc+

TOT: 500pa, 43sb (96%), 10.4bb%, 16.8k%, .374babip, .152iso, .317/.392/.469/.861, .393woba, 146wrc+

The biggest question mark on his skillset coming into the year was his hit tool. His first four milb years he posted:

Rk-Rk: 51pa, .191avg
Rk-Rk+: 270pa, .239avg
Rk+-A: 82pa, .286avg
A - A: 511pa, .261avg

Which wasn't very good, and limited his prospect status significantly.

But this year he posted a .317avg across the three highest milb levels, with the lowest being .295, and with a babip that is right in line with what you'd expect from a top hitting prospect in milb (.374). That is a massive step forward for him as a prospect, with his biggest hole suddenly becoming a plus asset for him this year. Even better, he did this without losing any of his other assets. Not only did he maintain his strong bb/k numbers, but he also showed the most power of his career so far (.152iso).

Without a word of exaggeration, you'd be hard pressed to find many (any?) prospects with as impressive a performance this year in milb, relative to age, level, speed, and defensive profile.

One of the few i can think of would be 21yr old mookie betts, who this year has posted a 177wrc+ in AA, 158wrc+ in AAA, and 119wrc+ in MLB, which is definitely better than pompey, though i don't think he projects as well in terms of speed and defense, and being 5'9" limits his upside projection. And of course given that he's already had 100+pa in mlb this year with a month left to play, he likely won't be consjdered a prospect by the end of the year. Other than mookie, not sure if there's any other guys who have had better years.

And now pompey's been called up, so we get to see if he can continue his great year in the bigs.
John Northey - Tuesday, September 02 2014 @ 12:12 PM EDT (#292881) #
With the regular season over what do we see on leaderboards for the Jays?
First the hitters...
Hits: Jon Berti leads with 146 (AA), with Mitch Nay and Dalton Pompey also reaching 140.
HR: just one over 20, Ryan Schimpf with 24 (AA/AAA)
RBI: K.C. Hobson by a landslide with 78 between A+/AA, next is L.B. Dantzler with 64.
R: Dalton Pompey by a hair with 84 vs Dwight Smith's 83 - no one else over 71.
SB: Roemon Fields with 48 in Vancouver, with Dalton Pompey and Jon Berti also cracking 40.  Only Timothy Locastro (32) reached 30 as well.
BB: Dan Johnson by a mile (20 up on the field), with 86
SO: D.J. Davis provided air conditioning this summer with 167. 120 was next highest.
BA: over 100 PA Max Pentecost (324 in A-/Rk), over 250+ Kevin Pillar 323
OBP: Edward Olivares 436 (in Dominican) leads 100+ PA, for 250+ you get Chris Carlson (Vancouver), and Timothy Locastro (V) over 400 as well (409/407)
Slg: Brett Wallace had a 519 (151 PA), Kevin Pillar's 509 over 434 PA is tops for 250+
OPS: Brett Wallace 923, Kevin Pillar 868 are the top for the 2 groups.
GIDP: Nick Baligod had 16 to 'lead'
HBP: Timothy Locastro had 32, or more than the next 3 guys combined.
SH: Jonathan Diaz had 15, same as the next 2 combined
SF: Andy Burns with 8 kept the ball in the air and in the park mostly (15 HR to go with those).
IBB: Dan Johnson and Ryan Schimpf get the 'Barry Bonds' award with 4 each.
2B: Kevin Pillar with 39
3B: Dalton Pompey and Derrick Loveless with 9 each kept the fans entertained (I love triples).
The Cal Ripken award goes to Jon Berti who lead in Games (136) and PA (594) and AB (541) while playing at 2B/LF/3B/SS/CF/DH

Pitchers?
Wins: Kendall Graveman 14 then Daniel Norris with 12 (vs 2 losses)
Losses: Taylor Cole and Jesse Hernandez both lost 11
Most Perfect: Yonardo Herdenez with a 4-0 record (most wins without a loss)
ERA: 10+ IP Michael Kraft 0.59 in 30 2/3 IP. Kendall Graveman led for 50+ IP (and 162+) with a 1.83 ERA.  Grayson Huffman with a 0.95 in 38 IP was the only other sub 1 ERA over 10+ IP.
G: Arik Sikula with 56 (2.01 ERA, 12.3 K/9 1.9 BB/9 in 58 1/3 IP in A+/AA but at 25 will he get any further) also led in games finished with 44 and saves with 31
GS: Jeremy Gabryszwski with 28
CG: 9 had one, with Casey Lawrence and Radhames Liz having shutouts.
IP: Graveman with 167 1/3
H: Jeremy Gabryszwski 189 in 151 1/3 IP
HR: Jesse Hernandez with 20
BB: Alberto Tirado with 67 (Sanchez next at 57)
SO: Taylor Cole with 181, then Norris (163) and Graveman (147) and no one else over 120
HBP: Jairo Rosario gets the Dave Stieb award with 13 in just 34 1/3 IP (ouch) closely followed by Frank Viola Jr with 12 in 39 IP.
WP: Manuel Cordova with 21 in just 16 IP (wow), then Taylor Cole with 18 in 144 1/3 IP
BF: Scott Copeland saw the most hitters at 702, with 658 being next (Graveman)
WHIP: 10+ IP: Chase Wellbrock (0.702 in 31 1/3 IP), 50+ IP is Ryan Borucki (842), 100+ is Liam Hendriks 914
H/9: Michael Kraft had just 3.2 (11 in 30 2/3 IP) to lead all pitchers (even the 1 inning guys).  Miguel Castro led for 50+ IP (5.6 in 80 IP).
HR/9: Luis Sanchez with 0 in 56 IP is the best, for 100+ IP it is good ol' Kendall Graveman (2 HR in 167 1/3 IP)
BB/9: Chase Wellbrock for 10+ IP (0.6), Liam Hendriks for 50+ IP (0.6 in 108 1/3 IP)
SO/9: Sergio Santos for 10+ IP (13.5), for prospects 10+ IP was Roberto Osuna (12.5 in 23 IP).  Arik Sikula for 50+ IP (12.3), Daniel Norris for 100+ IP (11.8)

Worst SO/9: Jesse Hernandez over 129 IP 4.1 and Frank Viola 3.9 in 39 IP
Worst BB/9: Jonathan Torres 11.2 over 15 1/3 IP, Alberto Tirado 8.0 in 75 2/3 IP, Aaron Sanchez with 5.1 over 100 1/3 IP

Funny how Sanchez was so extremely wild in the minors but in the majors it is 1.2 in 21 2/3 IP so far (just 3 walks).
Mike Green - Tuesday, September 02 2014 @ 12:30 PM EDT (#292883) #
I hadn't paid too much attention to Betts prior to uglyone's comment.  He had a tremendous offensive season with a positive W/K, medium range pop and excellent stolen base efficiency in the high minors at age 21, after doing the same thing in A ball at age 20.  Playing in Fenway, he's going to hit 25-30 homers a year  I think.  Heck, Mel Ott was 5'9" and it didn't stop him. 
uglyone - Tuesday, September 02 2014 @ 02:13 PM EDT (#292888) #
If we had a fully healthy 25 man roster my lineup would be:

(wRC+ vRHP / vLHP)


SS Reyes 108 / 90
LF Cabrera 130 / 121
RF Bautista 142 / 199
1B En'cion 154 / 134
DH Lind 163 / Mayberry 154
3B Francisco 126 / Valencia 147
2B Lawrie 112 / 61
C Navarro 99 / 89
CF Rasmus 105 / Pillar 91


With Thole being the only full time bench player.

Looking forward to next year, slotting gose in for rasmus seems like the efficient move to make.


And then there's the tantalizing but aggressive possibility of letting Melky go and dreaming on pompey filling his slot.

Given their defensive prowess, gose and pompey wouldn't have to match colby and melky's offense to replace their contributions.
uglyone - Tuesday, September 02 2014 @ 02:16 PM EDT (#292889) #
Mike - an obvious comp for mookie would be that pesky midget Dustin Pedroia, the guy who is blocking mookie from playing his natural defensjve position.
Mike Green - Tuesday, September 02 2014 @ 03:04 PM EDT (#292894) #
From what I've seen, Pompey is a better defender than Gose.  Not quite as fast at full gallop, but better instincts and a quicker first step.  Gose goes first to home faster than Pompey, but for all other purposes Pompey has more effective speed.  In particular, Gose isn't great at reading the ball in front of him and getting a good jump.  He plays deep because he also isn't great on the ball straight over his head.  Pompey has that baby covered and plays quite shallow.  If Rasmus is a 0 defender, Gose is a +5-+10/150 and Pompey is a +10-+15/150 (at least). 
#2JBrumfield - Tuesday, September 02 2014 @ 08:23 PM EDT (#292902) #
As mentioned in the C-Cap thread, Game 1 between Vancouver and Spokane has been rained out. It will be played tomorrow night instead - same time, same ballpark.
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