The 2007 draft class was on display last night - some good, some bad, and some ugly.

The first lefty had a great time, the second one had a blast, the third one fell in love and now he hopes it lasts.  The fourth lefty? Well anyway, it was a 2-for-4 night for the affiliates with three of the games decided in extra innings.  

David Eckstein makes a rehab start in Dunedin and the D-Jays go crazy with the bats.

Rain wreaked havoc on the minor leagues on Sunday suspending games for the Chiefs and Fisher Cats.  The other two affiliates combined to split a pair.

Jesus Gonzalez had a big day as Dunedin won.  Syracuse and Lansing had come from behind wins and in the process took advantage of errors by their opponents.  New Hampshire took the lone loss.

Syracuse had a come-from-behind win as Bill Murphy pitched well.  AJ Wideman looked good through six innings but picked up the loss in the seventh.  Travis Snider had two more hits as he gets back on track.  Dunedin lost when the bullpen couldn't hold back the Tigers.  Lansing split a double-header.  Randy Boone and Eric Eiland stayed hot.

Lansing was the only club that could pull out a win on Thursday. The day was also marked by a number of promotions.

Syracuse won in a game with 31 hits between both teams, New Hampshire won a game that had 28 hits.  Dunedin won a game in which starting pitcher Kenny Rodriguez faced one hitter over the minimum in seven innings.  Lansing won a game in which Dayton didn't have a hit after the third inning.  Curtis Thigpen, Russ Adams and Adam Lind each homered in the Chiefs win.

Brad Mills is a rarity among professional baseball players, he has a degree in civil engineering.  Many pro baseball players are drafted from high school or after their junior year of college and most don't have a degree.  As Mills notes below many of those players who stay in school to complete their fourth year take a less challenging degree to compensate for the demands and the travel required for playing in a top flight baseball program.  Mills has made a very good start to his pro career and is among the Blue Jays top 30 prospects.  Mills has a 3.79 ERA in seven starts for Lansing, he has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched and has more strikeouts than innings pitched, both positive signs. 

The road was a kind place to the parent club and its top affiliate last night.  However, the home cooking didn't help the other affiliates as they looked lost.

Another strong start from Kyle Ginley following his promotion to Dunedin.

Justin Jackson was a supplemental first round selection of the Blue Jays in the 2007 draft.  Jackson played in the Gulf Coast League in 2007 and is now a member of the Lansing Lugnuts.  Jackson has made a good start to the 2008 season and is playing well for a 19 year old.  Recently Batters Box talked with Jackson in Lansing.

Clayton McCullough is the manager of the Lansing Lugnuts, a move up from managing the GCL Jays last season.  Tom Signore is the pitching coach in Lansing.  I spoke with both of them last week in Lansing.

Quiet day on the farm as affiliates split a pair.

One night after a sweep New Hampshire were the only team with a win.  Brett Cecil pitched well and Travis Snider hit a three run home run.  David Purcey and Randy Boone pitched OK but both lost.  Dunedin Jays took the example of the big club and were blown out.