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Wednesday Bantering: Prospects, pitching

And a new manager at Buffalo

By Tom Dakers
Arizona Fall League All Star Game Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Blue Jays media got people talking with reports that the were willing to listen to offers for Lourdes Gurriel and, to a lesser extent to listen on either Danny Jansen or Reese McGuire.

Building a pitching staff is tough. Playing OOTP Baseball, I am in the 2022 season and I’ve finally build a decent starting rotation, but I still don’t have that one starting pitcher who is the guy I’d want in that one game. I’m seriously considering trading Vlad for that guy.

Anyway, if I was running things, I’d listen to any trade offer that might get me a top of the rotation starter. They are hard to come by.

I’d also talk to Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, should he be willing to leave the Nationals.

But, I’d be more interested in looking for the next top starter, not the last top starter. To get Cole to come to Toronto, I would think you would need to offer more years than anyone else, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.

But I would be willing to listen to trades for Gurriel to find a top of the rotation starter. I don’t know that he is enough to get the type of pitcher I’d want.

Baseball Prospectus has released it’s top 20 Blue Jays prospect list.

  1. Nate Pearson
  2. Jordan Groshans
  3. Alek Manoah
  4. Eric Pardinho
  5. Simeon Woods Richardson
  6. Anthony Kay
  7. Gabriel Moreno
  8. Orelvis Martinez
  9. Josh Winckowski
  10. Griffin Conine

On Pearson:

There hasn’t been a pitching prospect since Noah Syndergaard that features this combination of overpowering stuff and physical imposition on the mound.

On Groshans:

He looked more like a polished, college bat. And he’s already showing the kind of hit/power combo you’d look for in a middle-of-the-order hitter.

Manoah:

You might be able to drop Manoah in a big league pen right now on the strength of his fastball/slider combo.

The second half of the top 20:

11. Adam Kloffenstein

12. Alejandro Kirk

13, T.J. Zeuch

14. Kendall Williams

15. Dasan Brown

16. Miguel Hiraldo

17. Otto Lopez

18. Riley Adams

19 Patrick Murphy

20. Kevin Smith

They list Jordan Romano as a sleeper.

Former Jays catcher Ken Huckaby has been named manager of the Buffalo Bisons. From the press release:

Huckaby, 48, has twice served as manager in his seven-year coaching career in the Blue Jays organization, amassing a 149-125 record and making the playoffs in each season. In 2015, he led the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts to a 73-66 record that included a first-half Eastern Division championship (42-28) and a berth in Midwest League Playoffs. The following season, Huckaby posted another winning record with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays (76-59) as well as a second-half North Division championship and a spot in the Florida State League playoffs.

Huckaby has spent the last three seasons as Toronto’s minor league catching coordinator. He first joined the Blue Jays in 2013 as the hitting coach with the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays and served in the same role the following season with Lansing.

MLB Trade Rumors has their Blue Jays Offseason Outlook up. It is a nice quick look at the at where the Jays are at the moment.

As always, they say the search for pitching is the big thing for the winter.

Speaking of the search for pitching:

The Jays are apparently looking into Japanese free agents Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Shogo Akiyama and Ryosuke Kikuchi.

Tsutsugo is a power hitting corner outfielder, though I’d be ok with looking at him to help out at first base.

Akiyama is a center fielder, who can get on base. I’d like us to find center fielder who can make the plays. Of the three I think I want him the most.

Kikuchi is a glove first second baseman. He’d be a good utility middle infielder. He hasn’t hit great, but he could fill the Eric Sogard role.

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