Jacob Butler Profile(JoPotD from Tuesday):
Jacob Butler was an 8th round pick out of the 2005 draft. He attended Nevada University for 4 years.
His debut with Pulaski went pretty good though he was old for his league with a .290 average and a .974 OPS in 2005. He would have to prove himself at higher levels.
In 2006, Butler struggled against Lansing pitching hitting just .251 while displaying some power. I think it was clear at this point that his power was his asset with some weaknesses such as plate discipline. Despite his troubles in Low-A ball the Jays moved forward and promoted him to Dunedin. This year has been proved successful as he has hit 21 home runs with a .868 OPS. He has improved his K/BB rate as well as adding more power. Hitting .275 as a power hitter is pretty good.
Butler's problem is that he is old for High-A and being 24 years old he will need to both beat out the other Blue Jay outfielders and try to get past the AA wall. He has a long way to go but can be very close if he proves successful next year.
Jays Organization Player of the Day:
Yusaka Iriki
Iriki you may not have heard of as he is a soon to be 35-year old minor leaguer. If you have it's because he was caught under the MLB drug policy and was suspended. He has basically been a gap filler at all 3 levels of the minor leagues. He played in Japan from 1997-2005 and it wouldn't surprise me to see him return.
New Hampshire 6, Harrisburg 2
Yusaku Iriki had a great night from the mound pitching 7 innings with 5 Ks and no runs crossed the plate. He gets the JotG. Majewski added 3 hits.
Dunedin 5, Jupiter 3 (10 innings)
Russ Savickas pitched 6 innings with 2 ER though for the lack of a better candidate I'll give him the JotG.
Kane County 3, Lansing 2
Birthday boy Graham Godfrey had his second straight excellent start with 7IP 5 Ks and 2ER. Snider and Jaspe had two hits.
Auburn 8, Oneonta 3
JP Arencibia was 2 for 4 at the plate with a home run and 4 RBI to get the JotG.
GCL Phillies 3, GCL Jays 2
18-year old Marcus Walden made a 4 IP "relief" appearance after Chi-Hung Cheng made another short start. He pitched 4 shutout innings with 5Ks worthy of the JotG.