Raffy Lopez is hitting decently. Is his defense good enough that he might be added to the strong list of possible major league catchers that the Jays have in the minors ?

Jays have acquired catcher Pat Cantwell from the Rangers in a minor league transaction. This makes me wonder if the Reese McGuire injury may be longer term. Pitcher Josh DeGraaf has been promoted to NH.

Jason Leblejijian (with a double and HR) has 5 rbi so far in first game of DH at Buffalo. Bisons lead 7-0 in 3rd. House pitching,

I don't know about Lopez' defense but you have to think its not that good because his hitting line for a C in most years seems definitely good enough for some mlb opportunity otherwise.

And yeah, I remember leblijian's first year out of the draft and thought he was one to follow....then gave up on him when he was stuck in A ball at age 23 and not doing anything....but he's starting to get interesting now. His line is no joke, and he's played all over the field.

I think Leblijian's been interesting for at least a year, but his offense this season is a genuine surprise.  Leblijian's profile last year was quality utility player given his versatility and defensive reputation - although Bauxite Nigel has seen him play and thinks he's too big for SS. 

Leb was also frequently lauded as a team leader / character guy.  I think we should all call him Leb, since that name is darn hard to spell.   

Lopez is your classic AAA org catcher.  He just happens to be in AA, but that really means nothing.  To me, he's the same caliber of player as Graterol and Ohlman

Too big isn't the problem in and of itself, just limited range. I suspect he can play reasonable defence at all of the corners and play SS at a pinch. I think 3rd/LF would be his best positions.

Welp good news possibly really bad news after watching the Cats game today. Conner Greene almost had a complete game (7IP) shutout until Alford slipped on the wet grass fielding a ball and was helped off the field with the trainer.

Good news, Greene had 15 ground ball outs, only 2K's but his fastball was heavy, only two fly ball outs.

No idea how bad Alford is, he was definitely in some pain and limping, he did make it off the field on his own mind you.

Something has seemed to click for Leblebijian the last 2 years. After spending at least part of 4 consecutive seasons at Lansing, he put up some very respectable numbers in Dunedin and New Hampshire last year, and has upped the ante this year. His range factor at SS is actually very good, at 4.23 for his minor league career. Ryan Goins, by way of comparison, as a SS, is 4.30 for the minors and 3.61 in the majors. If he keeps this up for another month or so, you guys are going to have to learn how to spell Leblebijian, because he may be able to help the Jays, and might get a call up. Just remember the first 3 letters are the same as the next 3 letters. LEB, LEB.

Yep.

LEB LEB I JIAN

Very good pitching by House, AAA. Greene and C Rowley, AA. I don't know much about Rowley, he started and relieved last year in Dunedin. I wonder if the org may decide to stretch him out.

Also TJ Zeuch and P Murphy.

Thanks for the update on Greene Ramone ... that certainly sounds like the kind of outing he needs if he is going to hit his upside of mid-rotation workhorse.  Did you get a sense of his velocity?  Hope it is a minor injury.

The Cantwell addition might indeed be a bad sign for McGuire's injury - anyone know his status?  we have real catching depth in the org right now, so I assume the plan is to keep Jansen in Dunedin a while longer.  Personally, I think some of the guys Bpoz was talking about who will be rule v eligible should be getting promoted aggressively.  Jonathan Davis and Dwight Smith come to mind.  And heck, if Mike Ohlman keeps hitting, he might be worth looking at as a backup catcher, unless the org really doesn't see him as a catcher.

Any news on Chris Smith's injury?  Another minor leaguer I'd like to see getting a taste in the bigs.

jerjapan, I think that I panicked when I saw that maybe 8 of our good prospects that are higher developed already at AA and higher. Others doing very well in Dunedin. Like pitchers Perdomo and Romano. Catchers Jansen and Pentecost.

Last years additions were Borucki from Lansing. Alford and Urena were mainly in Dunedin. They were protected for a reason. IMO for rule 5 protection.

The 40 man roster will be crowded. I feel that many will be exposed.

Alford tweaked his groin last night, not serious, day to day per Gil Kim,via John Lott.

good news on Alford.  I still have visions of him playing meaningful ball in the Dome by the end of this season.

Bpoz, do you have a list of the guys who will be rule v eligible this coming offseason? 

http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/pages/rule-5-eligible-players-2

Congrats to former Jays minor leaguer pitcher Austin Bibens-Dirkx. He's been called up to the bigs. Unfortunately it's with Texas. Fun fact - he pitched for the Victoria Seals in the Golden League in 2009. He was in the Jays system from 2013-2015.

Good day all around. A late inning victory by the big club and plenty of good news in the minors- Alford's injury being minor and big days from Jansen and Pentecost. With his two homers and four hits, Jansen has a nice .393/.434/.577 slash line. That is awfully good in the FSL.

Thanks for the link PeterG.   To my eye, there are up to 8 guys they may want to add to the 40 man eligible for the first time - for sure Tellez, Greene, Jansen, McGuire and Pentacost with Patrick Murphy, Yeltson Gudino and Jordan Romano on the bubble.  Throw in a bunch of previously eligible players who might warrant protection if they continue their strong / healthy seasons - Smith Jr, Sitlson, Leblebijian, Emelio Guerrero, Casey Lawrence, Blake McFarland and others, it could be a season where we lose a guy or two.  Good problem to have though!

anyone know what's up with Jon Berti?

Many of those players mentioned would not be selected in Rule 5 so I don't think it is a major problem. If it does appear to be a problem by the end of the season, Jays could engineer a 3 for 1 trade or something of that sort

Also remember that there are usually only 14-18 players chosen in rule 5 and around half of them are returned. There will be better players available than most of the Jays border line guys.

I also expect Jays to have more open spots than normal as there will likely be a youth movement in 2018

I agree PeterG - there aren't many picks made each year and most of them don't stick - not sure if any of last years rule v picks have a chance of panning out?  I don't think it's a major issue for us.  I worried this offseason when we exposed Perdomo and Rios and those guys were fine .... we definitely have room for the five key prospects and could probably add a Leblejian and a Smith or someone without any real worries.

We have a lot of quality AAAA bullpen arms, and could lose, say Stilson without much of an issue.  A guy like Chris Smith might lose his spot on the 40 man, but many of these guys are largely fungible. 

Was Brad Emaus the last Jay taken in the rule 5?

Brad Emaus. I wonder if the quality of the farm had anything to do with this lucky streak of ours.

So I was not the only one fooled by all those overage players.