May 5th, May 4th, May 3rd, May 2nd, May 1st, April 30th,
May 5th, 2012
In Vegas, the 51s met an old friend, Brad Mills, in a meeting with Salt Lake. Everyone's favourite soft-tossing AAAA lefty actually pitched a decent game save for the 2 HRs he yielded but it wasn't enough to hold off the 51s for a win.Adeiny Hechavarria had another fine outing at the plate going 2 for 4 with a double and home run. Anthony Goseshowed off his speed taking second base twice after reaching on a single and a walk. David Cooper did his best impression of a power-hitting first basemen by hitting his 2nd homer of the year, a two run shot off Mills in the 4th inning.
Adeiny Hechavarria - 2-4 - 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI - (.297/.350/.445) .795 OPS
Anthony Gose - 1-3 - 1 BB, 2 SB (11) - (.225/.324/.283) .607 OPS
Travis d'Arnaud - 0-3 - 1 BB, 1R - (.271/.342/.402) .744 OPS
David Cooper - 2-4 - 1 HR, 2 RBI - (.321/.395/.500) .895 OPS
Yan Gomes - 0-3 - 2 K (.374/.410/.566) .975 OPS
New Hampshire, Dunedin, and Lansing after the jump.
Mark Sobolewski hit a grand slam in the 7th inning - his 5th HR of the year. Mike McDade added a solo jack in the 1st and the Fisher Cats won in the 10th inning on a bunt by Kevin Mahoney. Justin Jackson didn't get a hit but flashed his speed swiping two bags after drawing two walks.
AJ Jimenez - 1-4 - 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS (.273/.312/.398) .710 OPS
Mike McDade - 1-3 - 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB (.330/.409/.460) .869 OPS
Mark Sobolewski - 2-4 -1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1K (.267/.284/.500) .784 OPS
John Tolisano - 2-5 - 1 2B, 1 RBI (.282/.420/.380) .801 OPS
Justin Jackson - 0-1 - 2 BB, 2 SB (.263/.366/.363) .728 OPS
Jake Marisnick - 1-4 - 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1K (.257/.346/.460).806 OPS
Kevin Nolan - 0-2 - 2 BB, 1K, 1 SB (.330/.388/.468) .856 OPS
Sean Ochinko - 2-2 - 2 BB (.257/.325/.371) .696 OPS
Michael Crouse - 0-3 - 1 BB, 2 K (.175/.264/.275) .539 OPS
Well, they've done it again. Future Blue Jays perennial All-Stars Aaron Sanchez and Justin Nicolino were stretched out to 4 innings yesterday for the first time in the season and it did not hinder either of their performances. They combined to give up just 2 hits to go with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. Both continue to average more than a strikeout per inning. While Sanchez has had troubles with his control at times, he is still yet to give up a run and much of that can be credited to his sparkling .103 BAA. Can't wait til the leashes are removed and they are allowed to start they're starting their own games.
Aaron Sanchez - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 4:1 GO:AO
Season Line: 3-0 (W-L), 0.00 ERA, 19.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 10 BB, 24 SO, 2.11 GO/AO, .103 BAA
Justin Nicolino - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 7:1 GO:AO
Season Line: 1-0 (W-L), 0.00 ERA, 19 IP, 13 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 20 K, 2.00 GO/AO, .188 BAA
The hitters also played the game in Lansing but I tend to completely forget about them when I stare at the donuts being posted above. Kevin Pillar was 1 for 3 with a walk. Marcus Brisker had an RBI double in the bottom half of the 7th but it ended up being overkill after Kevin Patterson cashed a run with an RBI groundout.
Carlos Perez - 1-4 (.247/.323/.376) .699 OPS
Jonathan Berti - 0-3 - 1 BB (.277/.395/.351) .746 OPS
Kevin Pillar - 1-3 - 1 2B (.262/.319/.364) .683 OPS
Andrew Burns - 1-3 - 1 K (.277/.337/.542) .879 OPS
May 4th, 2012
Just the numbers today. Too nice out not to be on the patio with a beer.
Marcus Walden - 2.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R (4 ER), 0 BB, 2 K
Chris Hawkins - 0-5 - 2K
Jonathan Berti - 2-4 - 1 3B, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 RBI, 1 SB
Kevin Pillar - 2-4 - 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Andrew Burns - 2-4 - 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Mike McDade - 4-4 - 1 2B, 1 BB - NICE day at the plate. Now hitting (.330/.400/.433). His .833 OPS is good for 17th in the Eastern League. Not too late to be our 1B of the future. Maybe he's what we've all been looking for...
AJ Jimenez - 1-5
Mark Sobolewski - 2-5 - 1 K
John Tolisano - 2-5 - 1 RBI, 1 K
Justin Jackson - 1-4 - 1 BB, 1 K
Adeiny Hechavarria - 2-4 - 1 RBI
Anthony Gose - 1-5 -1 K
Travis d'Arnaud - 1-5 - 1 K
Moises Sierra - 3-5 - 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1K - Big night for the man with the cannon in RF. He's 6 for 13 in his last 3 games. His line for the year now reads: .305/.387/.505. His OPS of .891 is good for 29th in the PCL.
Danny Perales - 2-3 - 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Yan Gomes - 3-5 - 1 HR, 3 RBI - Say what you will about his viability in the majors being a position-less multi-position dynamo but at some point we can't just ignore his results in the PCL. I heard a lot of people harping on his SO:BB numbers (and with good reason; he had 9 Ks to just 1 BB through 14 games), but almost as if he surfed the BBB comments he has collected 4 BB and 5 Ks in his last 10 games to go along with a .436/.500/.795 line and a 1.295 OPS. If one of our bench bats goes down with an injury, I'd hope we'd get a chance to see this write-off get his shot to prove Spring Training was no fluke. I promised I wouldn't write about the games, but hard not to cheer for this guy.
May 3rd, 2012
Although I'm not sure how many of you appreciate these or believe in the value of the data. Another half-baked scouting report for your viewing pleasure. I will try to beef up the stats.
Adeiny Hechavarria - 0-5 - 0 K (Started two DPs)
Anthony Gose - 1-5 - 3 K
Travis d'Arnaud - 2-4 - 1 K
David Cooper - 1-4 - 1 K, 1 RBI
Yan Gomes - 1-3 - 1 RBI, 1 BB
Moises Sierra - 0-3 - 1 BB, 1 K
Mike McDade - 2-5 - 1 HR (2nd of the year), 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 R, 1 SB, 1 E
Brian Van Kirk - 3-4 - 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K
Justin Jackson - 0-3 - 1 BB, 2 K, 1 CS
Ryan Goins - 1-4 - 1 RBI, 1 K
John Tolisano - 0-4 - 3 K
Sean Nolin - 5.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 4 SO, 5:4 GO:AO, 3 2B
Had a rough outing by his standards but managed to scatter 9 hits over his 5 innings in giving up 3 runs (only 2 of which were earned). He outperformed Tigers' top prospect Jacob Turner who got touched for 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. He gave up a HR but the damage was mostly due to the 3 doubles he allowed.
Jake Marisnick - 0-5 - 3 K
Kevin Nolan - 1-3 - 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
Sean Ochinko - 1-2 - 1 BB, 1 K
Marcus Knecht - 2-4 - 1 2B, 1 Assist
Michael Crouse - 1-4 - 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K
Jack Murphy - 2-4 - 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K
David Rollins got the start and had his shortest outing of the year giving up 3 runs (2 ER) on 3 H and 2 BB over 3 2/3 innings. He got 3 outs on the ground and in the air. Chris Hawkins moved up to 2nd in the Lugnuts lineup, a move spurred on by his hot start in full season ball. He remains perfect on the basepaths after swiping his 4th bag of the year last night.
David Rollins - 3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, 3:3 GO:AO
Chris Hawkins - 3-5 - 1 2B, 1 RBI, 0 K, 1 SB - Broke out of a mini-slump last night after going 2 for 15 in his previous 4 games. Hopefully he keeps up his production from his new spot near the top of the Lugnuts' order. His line on the season reads: (.326/.354/.435) .789 OPS
Kevin Pillar - 1-4 - 1 BB, 1 SB
Carlos Perez - 0-4 - 1 RBI, 1 IBB - He's now hitless in three games but continues to collect walks. His line for the year reads: (.247/.333/.377) - .706 OPS
May 2nd, 2012
Well, they're human after all. One half of the Lansing 4 appeared in the Lugnuts' game against the Loons and neither were as dominant as we're used to reading about as the Lugnuts lost 7-1. Ryan Schimpf and the Dunedin Blue Jayswalked off after the 2nd basemen hit his second HR of the game in the bottom of the 9th. New Hampshire dropped a decision to the Reading Phillies 4-2 as the offence stranded 8 baserunners.
Anthony DeSclafani got the start and from what I remember is the first of the Lansing 4 to get to 4.0 IP. He got touched up for 4 runs (3 earned) though raising his season ERA to 3.32. His piggybacking partner, Texan flamethrower Noah Syndergaard actually lowered his ERA but gave up a two run HR after a Kevin Pillar error on a foul pop with 2 outs was followed by an eventual walk by Devin Shines. Nineteen-year old power pitchers will have troubles as they rise through the ranks but I'm not too concerned considering that young Noah gave up just one walk to go along with his 5 Ks. Typically, control will be the main issue. It's encouraging to see that was not the case tonight.
Anthony DeSclafani - 4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 1 K
Noah Syndergaard - 3.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
Kenny Wilson - 1-4 - 1 HR, 1 RBI
Kevin Pillar 1-4 - 1 2B
Chris Hawkins - 1-4 - 3 K
Andrew Burns - 1-3 - 1 2B
One of the many potential steals of the 2011 draft, 3rd-rounder John Stilson, had another good outing giving up just a solo HR, 2 singles and a walk over his 3 innings of work. His ERA for the year remains at a rather sparkling 2.18 in his first year of pro baseball. It will be interesting to see if the Jays will push Stilson through the minor league ranks quickly because of his college experience and the sentiment that there may be a limited number of bullets left in his arm considering his previous shoulder troubles. Ryan Schimpf played the hero as he had a huge night at the plate with two 2-run HRs (the first in the 7th to tie the game and the second in the 9th for the walkoff win).
John Stilson - 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Trystan Magnuson (demoted earlier in the day) - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 SO, 0 BB
Ryan Schimpf - 3-4 - 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 0 K
Jake Marisnick - 1-3 - 1 BB, 1 SO
Kevin Nolan - 2-3 - 1 RBI, 1 BB
Marcus Knecht - 1-3 - 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K
The Fisher Cats dropped a decision to the Reading Phillies as the offence only managed to score two runs on 6 hits and 3 walks.
AJ Jimenez - 1-4 - 1 2B
Mike McDade - 1-4 - 2 K
John Tolisano - 1-3 - 1 BB
Justin Jackson - 1-4 - 1 3B, 2 RBI
Las Vegas 4 - Reno 0 (in the bottom of the 6th)
Jesse Chavez continues his bid to be the greatest AAAA pitcher in the Blue Jays system with a 3 hitter in 5.1 innings. With #TeamSnider still on hold, the offence is being picked up by a couple of blue-chip(ish) prospects in Hech, Gose and Travis d'Arnaud. Yan Gomes also continues to be the greatest minor league backup catcher the world has ever known getting on base twice in three appearances via the single and the plunking (in what can only be perceived as an attempt to derail his magical fairy tale run by unrepentant haters).
Jesse Chavez - 5.1 IP, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 6 K (You're not supposed to have a 2.38 ERA in the PCL. We can only assume he's acquired superpowers a la Bautista relatively late in his career.)
Adeiny Hechavarria - 1-4 - 1 2B, 1 K
Anthony Gose - 1-2 - 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
Yan Gomes - 1-2 - 1 HBP
Danny Perales - 1-3 - 1 HR, 2 RBI
Kevin Howard - 1-2 - 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
May 1st, 2012
Quick one today because it was not terribly exciting on the farm.
Jake Marisnick - 0-4 - 2 K
Kevin Nolan - 2-4
Sean Ochinko - 2-4 - 1 2B, 1 RBI
Marcus Knecht - 0-3 - 1 BB, 2 K
Michael Crouse - 0-4 - 3 K
Yohan Pino got the start and went 8 innings, giving up 4 runs (1 ER) on 5 hits with one walk, 5 strikeouts and a home run.
Mike McDade - 2-4 - 1 BB, 1 K, 2 R, 1 RBI
AJ Jimenez - 2-4 - 2 RBI, 1 R
Ryan Goins - 2-5 - 2 K, 1 R
John Tolisano - 0-4 - 1 BB, 1 R
Reno 3 - Las Vegas 2 (in progress - 8th)
While this game is yet to finish, it was not a terribly exciting one from a prospect perspective. Aaron Laffey got the start and lowered his ERA by going 5.2 innings and giving up 3 R (3 ER) on 8 hits. Even after adjusting for the PCL effect, I'm so glad we do not have to watch this man throw every 5th day for the big league team. Despite being touched up for 6 runs today, I think Hutchison would have still fared much better than Laffey against the game's best offensive club.
Adeiny Hechavarria - 0-3 - 1 BB
Anthony Gose - 1-3 - 1 BB, 0 SB, 1 R
David Cooper - 0-3 - 1 BB
Travis d'Arnaud - 1-4 - 1 2B
Yan "The Man" Gomes - 2-3 - 1 BB
The superman of utility Yan Gomes continues his early bid for PCL MVP with another good night at the plate. In the last 10 games, he's hitting a David Cooper-esque .390 with 6 doubles, 2 home runs and a 4/5 BB:SO. If he could learn to play in the outfield, he could have a future as the heir to Ben Francisco's butt groove in the dugout.
April 30th, 2012
On the night when all eyes were on Yu Darvish's first 'awkward' visit to Canada after the Summer of Broken Dreams for Blue Jays fans, there were several performances on the farm to take solace in after failing to reach the Japanese-Iranian Superstar-to-be. Although the Lansing Lugnuts' game was cancelled and will not be made up because of inclement weather, there were games in Dunedin, New Hampshire and Las Vegas to recap.
Jake Marisnick went 1 for 5 with a triple and 1 RBI and according to Mjww was robbed of a HR by a strong wind that knocked a ball down allowing it to be caught on the warning track. C Sean Ochinko went 1 for 5 with a double and 2 RBI and SS Kevin Nolan went 1 for 5 with an RBI. The starter Sam Dyson was touched up for 3 runs (3 ER) on 7 hits, 2 BB and 1 SO. Shawn Griffifth yielded 2 runs in the 10th and the offence could not come back against Yankees' reliever Mark Montgomery.
Other prospect performances:
Marcus Knecht - 0-4 - 2 SO
Michael Crouse - 1-4 - 1 SO
Deck McGuire had a decent outing to bounce back from what has been a disappointing season thus far for the product of Georgia Tech. After today's performance in which he relinquished 3 R (3 ER) over 6 2/3 IP on 8 H with 2 Ks and 0 BB. Thus far in 2012, he has given up 22 R (21 ER) in 26.1 IP while allowing opponents to hit .330 against him. He has been hurt by the long ball (6 HR in 5 starts) though 5 of them came against him in his season debut. The offence did not manage a single extra base hit but did manage to hit 9 singles off Phillies' starter Trevor May in his 7 IP.
Other Prospect Performances:
Jonathan Diaz - 2-5 - 1 RBI, 1 K
Mike McDade - 1-4 - 2 K
John Tolisano - 2-3 - 1 BB
AJ Jimenez - 1-4 - 1 R
In Reno, the Snider-less Las Vegas 51s found themselves in a traditional PCL affair, one of the slugfest variety. Sidenote: I think the Jays' need to get out of the PCL is going to become increasingly apparent as the premiere pitching prospects make their way up the ranks and the Jays do not have enough space for all of them in a league where their not set up for failure while at the same time facing quality competition that will actually prepare them for life in the bigs. Although Kyle Drabek emerged from his nightmarish 2011 in the PCL seemingly 'fixed', I don't think letting our top prospects or even our fringe prospects get shelled night in and night out is actually good for their psyche, winning attitude and/or killer instinct.
Cuban SS Adeiny Hechavarria continued his strong start to the 2012 campaign going 2 for 4 with a grand slam HR and a BB. Anthony Gose bounced back from an 0-fer the night before by going 2 for 5 with a SB (his 8th of the young season). Travis d'Arnaud went 3 for 5 raising his season average to .282. It appears he's getting locked in a the plate and considering JPA's early struggles with the big club in a SSS, it's reassuring to think that there's a potential upgrade on his way. Spring training All-Star and the greatest Superstar casual fans have ever witnessed, Yan Gomes, continues to shine in the early going of 2012 in the PCL. He went 3 for 5 with a double and a HR while manning 1B. While his SO numbers don't inspire confidence, I wouldn't mind having a super utility backup C/1B/3B/PH with decent pop on the bench in the coming years. If he could learn to pitch from Mike McCoy, I'd even give him a shot at the 9th inning role while Santos is down.
Other Prospect Performances:
David Cooper - 0-3 - 1 BB
Moises Sierra - 1-4 - 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Danny Perales - 1-4 - 1 RBI, 1 K
April 29th, 2012
While Blue Jays fans rejoiced yesterday with another series win and another Bautista-ian performance from EE, the team's farmhands had a perfect 4-0 record. Coupled with more dominant pitching performances from donut slingers Sanchez and Nicolino, it's hard not to get excited about the wealth of prospects making their way up the ladder in the Jays' organization.
In Lansing, it was Justin Nicolino's turn to start the piggybacking tandem. Not wanting to alter his formula for success, he decided to just not give up any runs again keeping his season ERA at 0 over his 15 IP. His line for the day: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, and 4 SO. MLB Prospect Portal's Video of the Day today is of Nicolino throwing to Carlos Perez in warmup.
Aaron Sanchez came on in the 4th for his usual 3 IP and outshone his partner with an even more impressive line in earning his 3rd W of the season: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, and 3 SO. Like Nicolino, his ERA for the season remains at 0 over the same number of innings. Personally, I can't wait for the Lugnuts to stretch these guys out and see how they do against the order the second time through.
Other prospect performances:
Chris Hawkins: 0-3 (.313/.345/.422)
Kevin Patterson: 2-2 - 1 HR, 2 RBI (.294/.373/.549)
Carlos Perez: 0-3 (.271/.342/.414)
While the true prospects among the position players Hawkins and Perez had an off night, Kevin Patterson picked up the slack offensively going 2 for 2 with a HR and 2 RBI.
Asher Wojciechowski got the start but only went 2 innings after he was struck by a comebacker. He finished the second inning by getting 2 Ks but left the game as a precaution. His line read: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO. The start dropped his ERA on the season to 3.09. He's off to a great start in his second time through the FSL after a bit of an inconsistent 2011 and he could finding himself moving up mid-season if he maintains these numbers.
Egan Smith came on in relief of Wojo and went 5 IP and did not give up a hit. His line was sparkling: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO. He's also had a strong start to 2012 with a 2.45 ERA, a 5 to 1 K:BB, and a .214 BAA in 22 IP.
The top position player prospects also had a slow day in Dunedin as Jake Marisnick (.286/.377/.516) and Marcus Knecht (.167/.255/.333) both went hitless while Michael Crouse got the day off. Kevin Nolan continued his strong start going 2 for 4 with a double but two SOs. Jack Murphy and Ryan Schimpf added solo HRs.
Chad Jenkins got the start but continued his early season struggles: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR. His 5.82 ERA (5.65 FIP) has been hurt by the unsightly 1.66 HR/9 as his .284 BABIP suggests he has not been hurt by bad luck thus far. While he didn't have his most effective start ever, it was good enough to keep the Fisher Cats in the game as Clint Everts pitched the remaining 3 innings picking up the W.
In positive news position prospect news, AJ Jimenez went 2 for 4 with a solo HR and a game tying single in the 9th. After a bit of a slow start, Jimenez has picked it up in the last 5 games going 8 for 20 with 2 HRs and a 2B. His line for the year now reads: .269/.310/.418.
Other Position Prospects:
Mike McDade: 1-3 - 1 BB (.289/.368/.368)
Ryan Goins: 1-3 - 1 HR (.293/.344/.463)
John Tolisano: 1-4 - (.277/.443/.404)
With #TeamSnider on hold for the week, the good news out of Vegas included Scott Richmond having a rare great start, Hechavarria went 1 for 4 with a clutch 2-run RBI and 2 SB, and everyone's favourite backup catcher/1B/3B Yan Gomes went 1 for 3 with a 2B and a BB.
Scott Richmond: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 9 SO, 1 HR
Anthony Gose: 0-4 - 3 SO
David Cooper: 0-3
Travis d'Arnaud: 1-4 - 1 SO
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