Just two victories in seven games for the affiliates on Tuesday. Three Vancouver Canadians represented the Northwest League as they took on the best of the Pioneer League in Hillsboro. Riley Adams had a base hit, William Ouellette struck out the only man he faced and Orlando Pascual overcame a walk and a double thanks to two strikeouts in a scoreless frame.

The affiliates were undefeated Monday night by winning all five of their games. Buffalo, New Hampshire and Vancouver had the night off.

The Blue Jays take on the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

2:30 pm: The Blue Jays have traded Francisco Liriano to Houston for outfielder Nori Aoki and prospect Teoscar Hernandez. It’s a better return for Liriano than I expected; probably because the Jays are also taking on Aoki’s remaining salary in 2017.

On Sunday Dunedin hitters were on fire, racking up 21 hits. Bo Bichette was 0-6. A weird exception to a great season. Anthony Alford hit a game tying home run in the ninth and scored the winning run in the eleventh. Sunday saw lots of competition for the three stars. Josh De Graaf pitched well again. Several hitters pitched in, Jake Elmore, Raffy Lopez, Conor Panas, Christian Lopes, Cavan Biggio, Juan Kelly, Edward Olivares and Yorman Rodriguez all had multi-hit games. A lot of those hitters are regulars on the good hitting lists.

Late series thread.

Logan Warmoth hit his first home run in Vancouver, while Bo Bichette is back up to .400 in Dunedin.

There were lots of runs in the affiliates games on Wednesday. Many hot hitters stayed hot but some of the pitching is still inconsistent. Edward Olivares and Bo Bichette keep on hitting, both of them had three hits. Lourdes Gurriel and Cavan Biggio had two hits, and each homered. Dwight Smith is heating up. Read below for more hitters.

Sean Reid-Foley had a down and up start. Conor Fisk and Zach Jackson did not pitch well. Yennsy Diaz, Elio Silva and Joel Espinal were good.

I also added some commentary about the latest top prospect lists.

The affiliates sawed off eight games right down the middle Tuesday. Lansing had the night off.

The affiliates posted a 5-4 record Monday night.

The second worst teams in the American League play four games at the RC. The A's and Jays are tied with 44-54 records, with only the White Sox behind them. Toronto are ten games out of first place, the A's are 21 as Houston are pulling away.

It is one week to the trade deadline so expect lots of trade chatter this week. The Jays tradeable options are not the most in demand players so expect the Jays to be quiet until the weekend.

Vancouver clinched the first half championship on Saturday and will be in the playoffs come September. The lower level teams seem to be the best bets for the playoffs this season. Buffalo, New Hampshire, Dunedin and Lansing haven't shown playoff form although Dunedin have a chance for the second half title if they can finish strong. Bluefield and the GCL Jays, along with Vancouver, could be playoff bound. For Vancouver this is the first time they have made the playoffs from the first half of the season, they have previously qualified from the second half. Vancouver in the playoffs could impact the Jays promotion plans, they could prefer that players stay in Vancouver to experience the playoffs rather than go to Lansing and get their heads beaten in most nights. Lansing are desperate for Justin Maese and Patrick Murphy to return and both are pitching in the GCL and getting close.

Elsewhere, Ryan Borucki had a great start to his AA career. Michael Saunders had a good weekend in AAA, as did Dwight Smith. Nate Pearson made his first start for Vancouver and pitched well. The Bats are hot for several of the affiliates.

The Jays visit the Edwing.

Not too much excitement on the farm last night.

Lordes Gurriel did not play well in Dunedin but was promoted to New Hampshire anyway. In a small sample he has hit well there and looks like he is getting back in the groove after time off for his defection from Cuba and his early season injuries. Joining him in New Hampshire is Ryan Borucki who has been promoted according to John Lott. This might precipitate another move as New Hampshire already had five starters. The Jays have had to shuffle a lot of pitchers recently and it it hasn't always worked out well. New Hampshire, Dunedin, Bluefield and the GCL Jays won on Wednesday while things are ugly in Buffalo, Lansing and Vancouver. Buffalo have been in very bad form for over a month now. Lansing have lost the glow of Bo and Vladdy and have also lost pitchers to the DL. Their pitching is a definite weak link. And Vancouver are in first place but hanging on through a rough patch.