The affiliates went two up and two down Tuesday night, highlighted by a pair of double-digit efforts in the run column.

It is time for a very interesting series in Detroit. The Jays are 34-24, ten games over 500, the Tigers are 31-22, 9 games over. The Blue Jays run differential is +39, the Tigers is +17.

The Jays avoid Scherzer but they face three very good pitchers. The Jays record is slightly better but the Tigers are at home.

The affiliates only got one win out of four Monday night but a local boy continues to shine in 2014. New Hampshire had the day off.

The votes are in for the Batter's Box Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month honours for May. The winners are both from the Dunedin Blue Jays, outfielder Marcus Knecht and lefthander Daniel Norris.



Marcus Knecht used one first-star and three second-star selections to capture Player of the Month honours. Daniel Norris rode three first-star selections by our Minor League crew to win Pitcher of the Month.

Blue Jays affiliates were 2-2 on Sunday, four days before the 2014 draft begins.  Buffalo lost the game, and 3 pitchers to injuries in Ricky Romero, Rob Rasmussen, and Neil Wagner.  New Hampshire won in 12 innings, Dunedin lost in 12 innings. Lansing won 7-4, despite being down 4-0 at one point.

Deck McGuire pitched seven innings of three hit ball as the Bisons won. New Hampshire won behind PJ Walters who only allowed one hit over seven innings. Dunedin's Ben White was knocked out of the game in the fourth inning while Chase De Jong lasted less than two innings. Those two lower teams lost.

New Hampshire and Alttona played scoreless ball until the twelfth. With Andy Burns on second Altoona walked Matt Newman to face little Jorge Flores. Flores used his 5' 5" frame to single in the winning run. Radhames Liz, working his way back from injury, pitched well again. Jeremy Gabryszwski also pitched well to lead Lansing to victory. Buffalo were forced to call on Esmil Rogers to start and he pitched well for a while until he ran out of gas. The Bisons were unable to come back and took the loss. Dunedin were rained out.

Not much going on down on the farm tonight besides a stellar Taylor Cole outing. Buffalo, New Hampshire, and Lansing all struggled with the bat, while Dunedin ran out as the only winner.

Winning is better than losing.

We are approx. one third of the way through the minor league season so it is a good time to quickly review how the prospects are doing. I have split the players into those whose status is "Up", those who are "Down" and the big group in the middle. Remember the baseball axiom, one third of prospects should improve, one third regress and one third stay unchanged.

The affiliates were 3-2 today, with losses coming from Buffalo, and New Hampshire.  New Hampshire split two games with Binghamton.  Dunedin won again, and Lansing scraped by with a 2-1 win.

The NHL should just send their hardware to Dunedin after another great start was turned in by the system's top pitching prospect. That's it for the good news as the other starting performances ranged from putrid to rancid on a 1-3 Tuesday night on the farm.


The Daniel, er, James Norris Trophy is awarded annually to the NHL's top defenceman. The more you know!

There were fireworks aplenty in the Indiana night sky on the Memorial Day Monday. The affiliates came away with a split of their two games in the Hoosier State but lost an afternoon tilt in the Granite State to finish up with a 1-2 record. Dunedin had the day off.

The Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays go at it for the first time since Opening Day in Tampa, when the Jays managed to split the first four games of the season.

Both teams look to keep the good times rolling with the Jays on a six game winning streak and the Rays on a four-gamer.

After spending the past few years pitching in Asia, Radames Liz made his 2014 debut for the Blue Jays and was solid in his debut.  The farm was 1-3 on Sunday, with the only win coming in a 1-0 victory for New Hampshire.