Josh Bell and David Smith hit walk-off homers on Saturday as the farm affiliates went 3-2.

The farm affiliates struggled last night, losing all 3 completed games. Syracuse and Indianapolis were tied at 1 before rain forced suspension of the game after 6 innings.

For the first time in 2006 the Blue Jays had an organisational sweep, as the parent club and all four affiliates won yesterday.

The farm affiliates had another difficult day, going 1-3, with only those tough 'Nuts of Lansing coming out on top.

A tough day all around for the Jays organization. The minor league teams went 1-3 on Tuesday.

A three-win night for the Blue Jay farm, featuring homers at all levels. Dig it!

Lansing picked up the only win in the organization Sunday behind Adrian Martin and some early runs.  Ty Taubenheim pitched well in a loss.  Eric Nielsen and Chris Gutierrez each had three hits.

Josh Banks and Jesse Litsch threw pitching gems as the farm affiliates went 2-1 on Saturday.

The minor league teams went 2-1 and David Smith grabs the first star. Chip Cannon, who else, hit the first minor league home run for the Jays this season.

Minor league coverage returns to Batter's Box with our first of many daily updates on the news from the farm. The four full-season affiliates opened their seasons last night, and went 2-2.

Also, we have a very special appearance by Skeeter Barnes.

Today is opening day for four minor league teams.   Casey Janssen gets the start for Syracuse at home.  Ismael Ramirez repeats as opening day starter for New Hampshire in an early start.  A.J. Burnett goes for Dunedin and Chi-Hung Cheng for Lansing.

2005 was going to be a big year for the Syracuse Chiefs. Coming into 2005 the Jays brought in several free-agents who looked like they would help the Chiefs challenge for a division title, Chad Mottola, Bryant Nelson, Jason Alfaro and Matt Whiteside were signed to complement Jays prospects like Aaron Hill, Gabe Gross, John-Ford Griffin, Guillermo Quiroz, John Hattig, Brandon League, and Francisco Rosario. However the best laid plans of mice, men and Dick Scott came to naught as the Chiefs never really got hot in 2005 and finished eleven games back of Buffalo. The Chiefs 2006 lineup will feature many returnees and more prospects, especially pitchers, and once again the Chiefs expect to contend in 2006.

Well, 2005 wasn't as good as 2004 for our friends in Manchester. Despite moving to a new ballpark which I'm sure is much nicer than old Gill Stadium, the team did not make the playoffs as they did in 2003 (going to the finals) and in 2004 (winning the whole thing). A 68-74 finish put an end to the playoff streak.

Let's meet the key players on the 2006 team, with the assistance of Fisher Cats radio broadcaster Mike Murphy:

The Dunedin Blue Jays are Toronto’s affiliate in the High-A Florida State League. They kick off their 2006 season on Thursday the same way they closed out the 2005 regular season; with a game against the Clearwater Threshers.

It's that time of year again. The big-leaguers are ready to play for keeps, and the young prospects are itching to strut their stuff. The Batters Box minor league reporters are ready too. We welcome Pistol and Thomas Ayers to our team. We begin our coverage with previews of the 2006 seasons for each of the full-season affiliates-Lansing, Dunedin, New Hampshire and Syracuse.

This is Lansing's 2nd season as a Jay affiliate in the low A Midwest League. 2005 had its share of highlights for Lugnut fans, with the stellar pitching of Casey Janssen and the hot hitting of Chip Cannon perhaps tops among them. What can we look for in 2006? The official Lansing roster was released yesterday. Let's take a closer look.