Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine
The Jays were oh-so-close to an organizational sweep Tuesday, winning four of five, including three shutout victories. #LetsGoBlueJays


Buffalo 5 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 4

The Bisons put all their eggs in the third inning basket to hold off the Yankees affiliate. Billy McKinney belted a grand slam and Patrick Kivlehan capped the scoring with an RBI double. McKinney had two hits and a walk. Teoscar Hernandez, Socrates Brito, Reese McGuire and Jordan Patterson all contributed base hits. Andy Burns had a walk but Anthony Aflord was hitless in four at-bats and Richard Urena was hitless in three.

Ryan Feierabend was roughed up for four runs on 11 hits but lasted five innings to get the win. He struck out three and walked nobody. Buddy Boshers walked one but struck out five over three shutout frames for the hold. Jordan Romano collected the save with two punchouts in the ninth.


New Hampshire 3 Bowie 0

Santiago Espinal singled home a run in the first two innings and Chad Spanberger doubled home another in the second to provide the scoring for the Fisher Cats. The other base knocks came from Forrest Wall, Alberto Mineo, Kevin Smith and Vinny Capra. Mineo and Christian Williams drew free passes. Riley Adams took one for the team but Josh Palacios was 0-for-4.
 
Nate Pearson whiffed three of the six men he faced to start the game. Willy Ortiz got the win by working around two hits and three walks by striking out four over five scoreless frames. Jake Fishman and Ty Tice worked one-hit frames. Fishman got one punchout for the hold while Tice collected the save.


Dunedin 1 Charlotte 0

Dunedin scored in its last at-bat when Kevin Vicuna singled, moved to second on a Cal Stevenson bunt and scored when Logan Warmoth lined a single to right. Warmoth is hitting .325 with five multi-hit games in his past 10. Alejandro Kirk was 3-for-3 with a walk. Kacy Clemens singled and walked. Ryan Noda had a free pass. Cullen Large was 0-for-4, Demi Orimoloye and Chavez Young were 0-for-3.

Justin Dillon chilled the Rays affiliate to two hits over six innings, retiring the first 10 men he faced. He struck out six, walked nobody and induced 11 groundball outs. Dany Jimenez struck out three over two perfect frames for the win.


Lansing 8 Great Lakes 0

The Lugnuts opened a can of whoop-ass on the Dodgers affiliate. Hagen Danner homered twice, Griffin Conine homered and tripled and Jake Brodt also went deep. D.J. Neal had an RBI single and drew a pair of walks. Gabriel Moreno had a two-hit night. Reggie Pruitt had a base hit and a base on balls. Nick Podkul worked a walk but Rafael Lantigua and Luis De Los Santos were a combined 0-for-8.

Josh Winckowski limited the Loons to two hits and three walks over six shutout frames, compiling seven strikeouts and five groundouts for the win. Marcus Reyes worked two innings of one-hit ball and rung up three. Jackson Rees struck out two to finish up in the ninth.


DSL Padres 9 DSL Blue Jays 5

All but runs of the runs were scored in the eighth inning as the Jays were only able to make up just over half of the nine-run deficit. Adrian Montero, Javier D'Orazio, Leonel Callez and Daniel Oliva all had two-hit games. Callez had a triple and a run batted in, Oliva doubled and brought home two and D'Orazio drew a walk. Francisco Fajardo, Emmanuel Sanchez and Amell Brazoban also had base knocks with Sanchez hearing ball four once and Fajardo stealing a base. Wilfrann Astudillo got a free pass.

Yaifer Perdomo started this one with three shutout innings with two hits allowed, striking out three and walking nobody. Fernando Chacon suffered the loss by giving up a run over two frames but whiffed four. Marc Civit struck out three over two scoreless frames of two-hit ball. Juan Martinez and Andres Garcia were charged with four runs each with Garcia getting two of the three outs in the eighth. Gerardo Santana walked two but put up a goose egg in the ninth.




*** 3 Stars!!! ***

3. Griffin Conine, Lansing

2. Justin Dillon, Dunedin

1. Billy McKinney, Buffalo
McKinney Makes His Mark Among Kids In The Hall | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 10:18 AM EDT (#375052) #
Alejandro Kirk didn't get a star, but when you go 3-3 for a walk and catch a 1-0 shutout, you've had a pretty good day.  Can we recap where he is?  He is 20.6 years old in the FSL, with a career mark of .344/.440/..543 in 400 PAs and a 60/38 walk-strikeout rate.  He has been improving at each level, net of league effects and has been (by far) the best hitter in the Florida State League in his time there. 

For comparison, Jonathan India was a highly regarded hitter drafted in the first round last year.  He was the Reds 4th best prospect coming into the year behind Senzel, Taylor Trammell and Hunter Greene entering this year.  India is 22.4 years old and plays third base and is hitting .254/.321/.455 in the FSL, with 24 walks and 56 strikeouts in 220 PAs. 
uglyone - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 10:26 AM EDT (#375053) #
its a pretty crazy performance so far, for sure.

legit super elite numbers across the board, topline and underlying.....and he's young for his current level.
Nigel - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 10:45 AM EDT (#375054) #
Kirk might be the most unique prospect in baseball. If he can’t catch then he’s a DH.

All of the major prospect publications are basically just ignoring him. I’m not sure how long that they will be able to do that.
Mike Green - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 11:02 AM EDT (#375057) #
There have been guys like this forever in baseball- Cliff Johnson, Jim Leyritz and Mike Napoli are three from the last 40 years.   To give you a sense of where they were at age 20:

Johnson was in the FSL at age 20.9 and hit .289/.385/.439 with a 45/55 W/K.
Leyritz was way behind Kirk, making his pro debut at 22, and spent some time in the FSL and did not hit there.
Napoli was in the Midwest League at age 20.6, and hit .251/.362/.392 with a 62/104 W/K

If Kirk is only a so-so catcher, he'll may hit enough to make him viable there. 
hypobole - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 11:11 AM EDT (#375058) #
Heard varying reports on Kirk's catching skills, but did the same with Danny Jansen. Player Development spent a lot of time with Danny and he's been one of the best defensive catchers in the majors this year.
uglyone - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 11:33 AM EDT (#375060) #
i've started to trust even the milb defensive numbers at least a little bit, and they show that Kirk was legit good to very good last year behind the plate, not even just ok.
Mike Green - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 11:38 AM EDT (#375061) #
FWIW, a close relatively recent (batting and position) comp to Kirk is Joe Mauer.  Obviously, you can't expect Mauer's career from Kirk. 
bpoz - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 11:43 AM EDT (#375062) #
There is a lot of wrong information about players in the minors.

I remember RHP Zack Stewart. 6' 2" 205 lb with a fb that was about 95 mph. When he got promoted according to Alan Ashby he looked smaller and lighter with an 89-91 mph FB.
I don't know who had the correct info but Z Stewart was not successful.
Nigel - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 11:47 AM EDT (#375063) #
All of the guys you mentioned Mike actually had a "Plan B" and that was 1B and all of the comps ended up playing a reasonable amount of 1B when they couldn't be a C. With Kirk's height that isn't an option. I do actually think that he's quite unique in that sense. FWIW I think that that also limits his prospect value. For example, he's probably close to untradeable to an NL team (not suggesting that they want to trade him).
#2JBrumfield - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 11:51 AM EDT (#375064) #
Alejandro Kirk didn't get a star, but when you go 3-3 for a walk and catch a 1-0 shutout, you've had a pretty good day.

Most times I find it's pretty clear cut and dry for the 3 Stars but not yesterday. Hagen Danner belts two homers and Josh Winckowski delivers a shutout effort and they get bupkus.

In other news, the Buffalo Bisons become the Buffalo Wings today.
eldarion - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 12:03 PM EDT (#375065) #
Kirk won't turn 21 until November this year. At this rate, he'll be in AA by mid-July. A 20 year old catcher in AA (his third level of the season) is an exceptional prospect. At present, he has walked 27 times this season and only struck out 17 times. The kid can rake.
hypobole - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 12:09 PM EDT (#375066) #
There is a lot of wrong information about players in the minors.

Yup. As famous as BA is, they aren't scouts, they talk to scouts, who may or may not know what they're talking about. Especially if the player in question wasn't the player they were actually keeping an eye on when watching games. Posted a Longenhagen report on Merryweather yesterday where he basically called the second hand reports he'd heard bs, because what he saw was much better than what he'd heard.

IIRC, BA was the one publication very down on Kirk. He was fat last year and I'm sure scouts who were keeping an other, more well known players could well have been immediately dismissive.

Here's a report I've posted a couple of times from last year. This guy (who used to work for BP) actually watched Kirk

"I saw Kirk play five games in July and August for Bluefield."

And his report sounds nothing like the second hand info I've heard.

"He moves well behind the plate ...a surprising athlete for a hefty body type. Kirk is an above-average receiver with quiet actions, soft hands, and advanced blocking ability. He throws well, recording numerous sub-1.90 pop times with a quick release. At the plate, his swing is aggressive but controlled and Kirk showed the best eye I saw this summer in the Appy League. As the power numbers would indicate, Kirk can really turn on a fastball with above-average raw power to the pull side. He has average hit/power upside."






Mike Green - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 12:17 PM EDT (#375068) #
I don't know about prospect value,  Nigel.  In the NL, sure, which does reduce his market- he's got to play defence serviceably to help you.  But in the AL? 

I'll bet that Kirk is a better defensive catcher than Cliff Johnson (very low bar) and probably Mike Napoli (somewhat higher bar).  A DH/C or C/DH combination seems to me eminently viable, and in a way, perfect. 
bpoz - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 12:17 PM EDT (#375069) #
Regarding A Kirk, he was signed Sept 24,2016 so his 1st season is 2017. He will need to be protected after 2021 so lots of time for him to trim down and improve everything. Offense and defense.

There could be pro scouts watching him play on the field. They should produce a report on his true size and ability. Old style baseball had a lot of cliches so reports could be misunderstood. This could lead to labeling a player.
I know that politeness and good manners are very important. So spitting on the field is not tolerated anymore. Scouting reports need to tell the harsh truth about a players strengths and weaknesses. For example a bat first catcher means that he can hit, take a walk etc... For me personally I need to be told that his defense is bad or good in very specific areas.

At the ML level the manager and coaches need to know who specifically is pitching against them. The more details the better. Is he a lefty or righty? What are his best pitches and approach. The batters have to be given this info so that they are not surprised when they are in the batters box. Of course the batter may not listen to his manager and coaches. See the ball, hit the ball works for some and not others.


uglyone - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 12:45 PM EDT (#375081) #
"I remember RHP Zack Stewart. 6' 2" 205 lb with a fb that was about 95 mph. When he got promoted according to Alan Ashby he looked smaller and lighter with an 89-91 mph FB."

Zach Stewart was a great lesson to me.

All of his stats screamed non-prospect to me, but the scouting reports wouldn't stop talking about him like a top prospect. But back then I was much less confident in the numbers, and much more inclined to defer to the scouting reports.

I couldn't figure it out. But then I happened to go down to his MLB debut game, and dammit if he didn't just LOOK LIKE A BALLPLAYER out there. He totally did. He just looked strong, poised, confident, and smooth. Everything about him screamed ballplayer. And all the scouting reports finally made sense to me.

but he wasn't a ballplayer. not even close.
budgell - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 12:50 PM EDT (#375084) #
"He moves well behind the plate ...a surprising athlete for a hefty body type. Kirk is an above-average receiver with quiet actions, soft hands, and advanced blocking ability. He throws well, recording numerous sub-1.90 pop times with a quick release..."

That sounds downright Molina-like!!
bpoz - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 12:57 PM EDT (#375085) #
Which Molina. Bengie? How about I Rod? He was short. Not sure about his weight.
hypobole - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 01:11 PM EDT (#375087) #
With pitchers, some days they have it and some days they don't. Elite pitchers can usually work through it even on the few occasions they don't, but even they get rocked once in a while. Conversely, AAAA pitchers have days where everything is working and they look like a stud, but those days are few and far between.

The memory is dim, but I recall Law scouted Stewart (and Drabek) in the EL playoffs back in 2010. Stewart had it that day - every pitch was working. A scout next to Law even said he'd never seen his change (IIRC) that good ever. He looked like a future stud that day. But yeah, looking at his fairly pedestrian stats told a different story altogether.

Kelekin - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 02:04 PM EDT (#375095) #
A big turning point for some was when Jose Altuve was starting his ascent in the minors. I was listening to Kevin Goldstein (at the time of Baseball Prospectus) constantly talk about how good he was. It never mattered that this kid was 5'6". Yet, for some scouts, it would always matter. Baseball is a game that despite being a statistical machine, plays so heavily into 'the old ways' even now.

These are the players I root for the most. Kirk so far has shown he has great plate discipline, a good eye, and great hit tool.
Mike Green - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 04:31 PM EDT (#375112) #
David Laurilia on Jordan Groshans.  He definitely looks like a different hitter than he was when drafted. 
eldarion - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 08:56 PM EDT (#375133) #
Jordan Groshans - "Wherever they put me, my plan is to rake."

Board man gets paid.
Shoeless Joe - Wednesday, June 05 2019 @ 09:19 PM EDT (#375135) #
Griffin Conine with another homer and is showing huge power so far. He needs to go to do to Dunedin, despite some meh strikeout numbers.

Riley Adams strikeouts are out of control despite his strong triple slash numbers.
McKinney Makes His Mark Among Kids In The Hall | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.