Our boy Jay has been very busy over the last couple of weeks pounding out exclusive content that hopefully made the sun shine just a little brighter for you, wherever you may be. Having seen merely 3 Fisher Cats games over a span of 4 days, he was able to get 7 solid interviews with various team personnel. The final installment of this series is with catcher Travis d'Arnaud. At the time of the interview, Travis was still on the DL with concussion like symptoms.
Since his return he has posted 2 multi hit games, one of which came against his former organization.
We here at 1BJW are following this young man's progress very closely this year and envision him taking a huge leap forward under the watchful eye of his manager in New Hampshire, the one and only Mr. Sal Fasano. It's very hard to predict when a player of this caliber will get his shot in The Show but if everything goes his way, we can see a possible scenario where he enters Spring Training next season with a legit shot at heading north with the team to Toronto.
I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all totally look forward to the next time the Fisher Cats travel to Trenton to play the Thunder - which is June 3, 4 and 5 - and all the interviews, photos, videos and insight that follows in the weeks after.
Make sure to show Jay some love by following him on Twitter HERE
Blue Jays infield prospect Adeiny Hechavarria is off to somewhat of a slow start offensively, but that shouldn't stop scouts, media types and fan alike from getting excited about the slick fielding 22-year-old.
Signed as a free agent out of Cuba last year, Hechavarria made his affiliated professional debut with the Class A Dunedin Blue Jays before being promoted to the Double A New Hampshire FisherCats. Combined in 102 games at 2 levels last year, Hechavarria posted a .242 batting average with 18 doubles, 4 triples, 4 HR, 41 RBI and 13 steals.
In 24 games this season, still with the FisherCats, Hechavarria is batting .216 with 5 doubles, 2 triples and 1 HR. He has been successful in 3 of his 4 stolen base attempts as well.
Currently on the Blue Jays' 40-man roster, Hechavarria had a hit against Yankees hurler Andy Pettitte last September, when the lefty great was rehabbing with the Trenton Thunder during the Eastern League playoffs.
Highly regarded for his defense, Hechavarria was formerly the starting shortstop for the Cuban National Team.
During New Hampshire's visit to Trenton last weekend, I had the opportunity to speak with Adeiny, with the help of New Hampshire coach Danny Solano, about his defense, his language barrier, the process of signing with Toronto and plenty more. Check out the media player below to listen to the full interview.
And as a bonus...here's some footage of pregame fielding warm-ups featuring the talented shortstop.
With a packed house on fireworks night at Trenton's Waterfront Park, the Double A New Hampshire Fisher Cats dropped their third straight game, as the division rival Thunder (Yankees affiliate) took down the club from New Hampshire by a score of 4-1.
Right-handed Fisher Cats starter Joel Carreno, a 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic, surrendered 4 earned runs over 6 2/3 innings and took the loss.
The Thunder got the scoring started in the 2nd inning, when Bradley Suttle led off with a single, advanced to second base on a wild pitch then came around to score on a Corban Joseph single.
New Hampshire tied things up in the 4th inning when Thunder starter Manny Banuelos uncorked a wild pitch that allowed center fielder Anthony Gose to score.
Suttle, Trenton's third baseman, grabbed the lead back quickly in the bottom of the frame when he drove a ball to deep right field, out of the park and into the Delaware River to put the Thunder up by a score of 2-1.
Trenton wrapped up the scoring in the 5th inning when 9 hole hitter Addison Maruszak mashed a two-run homerun to deep left field.
Lefty Kei Igawa, who came on in relief of Thunder starter Manny Banuelos earned the win. The Fisher Cats now have a record of 11-9, while the Thunder improves to 10-12. The two teams go back at it on Sunday in the series finale when Cats right-hander Zach Stewart takes on Thunder lefty Shaeffer Hall.
Gose, the New Hampshire center fielder, had 3 of the team's 5 hits in the loss. He also stole 2 bases for the losing squad. Listen to exclusive postgame audio from Gose in the media player below.
Our boy Jesse is back at it with another interview from chilly Lansing. This time around it's with SS Gustavo Pierre. For some more detailed info on Gustavo head over to the team at Jays Journal. They got you covered.
What we can add is that this player works his tail off. He is the quintessential definition of a raw player, both with the stick and the glove. His error total in a full season of Minor League ball might reach eye popping totals but we are completely confident if he keeps working hard the skills are there to one day play in the Big Leagues.
Jesse offers some additional insight and an encouraging comp:
He’s tall, but an Edgar Renteria type with great range. The stick is like his glove – it shows great potential but has a ways to go. Looks like he could be good for 15-20 homers in the Majors.
In the interview Gustavo talks about being signed as a 16 year old out of the Dominican and mentions that the Rangers and Phillies were in on him prior to deciding to sign with the Blue Jays. He also mentions that playing baseball in the cold sucks.
Our boy Jesse caught up with the all world catching prospect Carlos Perez this weekend and was kind enough to let us drop it here first, for you all to enjoy.
But before you do, check out his stats courtesy of First Inning. Feel free to get excited. I did.
Basic Statistics
Year
Age
Team
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
HBP
BB
SO
SB
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
2008
Rookie
DSL Blue Jays1
239
180
25
56
10
2
0
29
6
50
27
5
.311
.469
.389
858
2009
18
Rookie
GCL Blue Jays
161
140
17
40
11
3
1
20
2
15
24
2
.286
.354
.429
783
2010
19
A-
Auburn
278
235
44
70
11
8
2
41
6
34
41
7
.298
.396
.438
834
2011
20
A
Lansing
25
22
4
9
1
1
0
4
0
3
3
0
.409
.480
.545
1025
Extended Statistics
Year
Age
Team
PA
AB
ISOP
BB%
K%
BABIP
GB%
LD%
RC
RC/27
wOBA
wOBA+
OPS+
2008
Rookie
DSL Blue Jays1
239
180
.078
20.9%
11.3%
.366
47%
8%
32
6.55
.400
132
160
2009
18
Rookie
GCL Blue Jays
161
140
.143
9.3%
14.9%
.339
48%
11%
19
4.62
.342
117
140
2010
19
A-
Auburn
278
235
.140
12.2%
14.7%
.354
52%
15%
40
6.28
.371
121
140
2011
20
A
Lansing
25
22
.136
12.0%
12.0%
.474
42%
37%
5
9.00
.450
Here's what Jesse had to say about Carlos after watching him for just 25 at bats:
Excellent line
drive stroke, solid plate discipline, and a quick release to second
base. Easily recognizable as a terrific prospect.
In the interview itself you will gain some valuable insight on how people born in the Caribbean deal with "spring" in the Northern USA. Also, the MVP for his team the last three years reveals he grew up playing as an outfielder. He talks a little bit about being signed by the Blue Jays and how no other team was in on him as an 18 year old.
Now
my math skills are not what I would consider strong but if he was
drafted as an 18 year old and has managed to play full seasons in 2008,
2009 and 2010 then he can not be 20 years old right now. It`s just not
possible, is it? His age is conveniently left blank in the stat table
above and the always trustworthy Baseball Reference has him playing 2008 as a 17 year old. Which makes sense to me. But I'll admit I`m probably looking way a little too much into it.
If you are not following Jesse on Twitter for whatever reason, well, you should be. And while you're at it give Paul a follow.
Two rock solid guys traveling around with the Lugnuts all season.
Just in case you missed it, the team over at Jays Journal put together the list of all lists when it comes to your Toronto Blue Jays prospects. There is no other list in existence of the internet that is as detailed and complete. Whether or not you agree with every ranking is completely irrelevant. The amount of time and effort that must have gone into compiling a masterpiece of that magnitude is what you should be focusing on.
In hono(u)r of St. Patty's and all it's glory, I thought what a great opportunity to point out the fact that a whole bunch of players in our Minor League system are fairly young. Like needing fake ID to get into the bar young.
Check out all the players from the Jays Journal Top 50 list - including the near misses - that will begin the 2011 season at the age of 20 or younger.
Henderson Alvarez 04/18/1990 A.J. Jimenez 05/01/1990 Marcus Knecht 06/21/1990
K.C. Hobson 08/02/1990 Anthony Gose 08/10/1990 Drew Hutchison 08/22/1990 Carlos Perez 10/27/1990 Michael Crouse 11/22/1990 Griffin Murphy 01/16/1991 Jake Marisnick 03/30/1991
Christopher Hawkins 08/17/1991 Kellen Sweeney 09/14/1991 Dickie Thon 11/16/1991 Justin Nicolino 11/22/1991 Gustavo Pierre12/28/1991 Shane Optiz 01/10/1992 Mitchell Taylor 05/11/1992
The newly
affiliated Vancouver Canadians play every home game in British Columbia
where the drinking age is a much more civilized 19. When their season starts at home on
June 17th, every name from this point on would not be
able to legally have a drink in Canada.
Brandon Mims 06/18/1992 Aaron Sanchez 07/01/1992
Deivy Estrada 08/22/1992 Noah Syndergaard 08/29/1992
Adaric Kelly 12/01/1992
Santiago Nessy 12/08/1992
Unless of course they decide visit Alberta, Manitoba or Quebec where the age of majority is only 18. These guys wouldn't even be able to get served there.
Gabriel Cenas 10/16/1993 Adonis Cardona01/16/1994
I remember the time I got busted using fake ID at a bar. That was pretty embarrassing. Thanks very much for your time.
Two years ago in spring training young outfielder Moises Sierra, coming off a good year at Class A Lansing, impressed a lot of people not only with his bat but with his strong outfield arm.
That arm has led the club to experiment with Sierra at third base.
“It’s exploratory,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
Alright enough already. He`s on the 40 man roster and he`s never played above AA ball. Forget 3rd base. Forget hitting. Let`s see if he can pitch.
4. Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto got good in a hurry. There isn't a can't-miss prospect in the bunch, but it's a strong top 10, with the top five likely to appear in my top 100 prospects, and there is plenty of talent throughout the system that is waiting for recognition.
1. Brett Lawrie / 3B/2B/OF
2. Kyle Drabek / SP
3. Deck McGuire / SP
4. J.P. Arencibia / C
5. Chad Jenkins / SP
6. Travis D'Arnaud / C
7. Carlos Perez / C
8. Adieny Hechavarria / SS
9. Zach Stewart / RP/SP
10. David Cooper / 1B
Yet another top 10 list for ya. I`m waiting not so patiently for this one.
I have already placed so many of my hopes for the Blue Jays future on your youthful shoulders. Your left-handed-right-handed swing gives me chills. Your youthful athleticism gives me comfort that you can adjust to an infield home, and offer significantly more value to the team going forward.
That said, I've just returned from your likely future home (Las Vegas, Nevada)
I've also realized that while you are in the aforementioned Vegas, you will turn the delicate age of 21.
Now, like a good Canadian boy, I'm quite sure that you are already drinking regularly (For those of you who are unaware, the drinking age in most Canadian Provinces is 19) and I'm sure you've developed an excellent tolerance. Your tolerance will count for nothing in the dry, desert heat. Your willpower will be tested (repeatedly) and you may even end up with more Eminem lyrics tattooed upon your juvenile limbs.
The 5th Starter sends an open letter to Brett. Fantastic stuff.
Another pitiful season of Toronto Blue Jays giveaways and promotions. Outside of opening day, the Jays are giving away only 50,000 promo units ALL season!
The boys over at Mop Up Duty call out the cheap bastards @ Rogers for their weak giveaways and promo schedule for this year coming.
Speaking of those B-Games, the Blue Jays released their schedule of extra contests. The club will play all three of their B games against Philadelphia, which makes sense since the Phillies play in neighboring Clearwater, Fla. The two clubs will take the field on Feb. 26, March 2 and March 17. The first regular game of Spring Training is Feb. 26 at the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium against the Detroit Tigers.
B-Games are the shit! (That means they are good) Normally they take place at remote high school like ballparks and they can't sell tickets for them. If anyone is lucky enough to be going down for Spring Training keep these dates in mind.
Around the OOTP offices, we're looking forward to two events in April: Opening Day and the expected shipping of Apple's second-generation iPad. It may not have been announced yet, but we all know the next iPad is coming, and one lucky fan who pre-orders Out of the Park Baseball 12 by February 28, 2011 will receive one.*
Our lucky winner will also take home a copy of iOOTP, which will bring the excitement and realism of OOTP to iPad, iPhone®, and iPod touch® when it steps up to the plate at the iOS App Store this spring.
Last year I got my hands on a copy and did a sim for the 2010 season. Click here to see the results. *Spoiler alert* it predicted the Giants win of the World Series. Hopefully again this year I`ll get the opportunity to do another sim and report the results prior to the game going on the market. Stay tuned for that.
My name is Ryan Shopshire and I will begin writing my blog exclusively at Through The Fence Baseball. This is my first time writing a blog so the more input that you readers give me the better. First I want to tell everybody a little about my baseball background. I am a so-cal boy born and raised in the most beautiful place in the states, Orange County California. I played my high school years at Orange Lutheran High School, a premier power house. After high school I accepted a scholarship at Long Beach State to play for the Dirtbags. My freshmen year there I experienced my first injury playing baseball (a stress fracture in my throwing elbow) and made me miss my entire season. At the end of the season exit meetings the coaches decided that Long Beach would not be my home the following season. This was a big blow to me because this was my first choice school out of high school.
Rock solid blog. One of our prospects is doing an exclusive with them. You should probably be following along.
An idea shamelessly stolen researched from James Kannengieser at Amazing Avenue. Baseball-Reference counts page views player and team pages and they list the top 200 pages here. Here are the Jays and former Jays that are in the top 200:
1. Joe Carter, 1997 Blue Jays: .234/.284/.399 (-25 rbat), 102 RBI
For Carter, 1997 was his last full season and his worst, but in addition to No. 1, he also occupies spots 11, 15, 47, 105, 129 and 139 on the list. Carter was a more athletic and longer-lasting version of Armas. The Jays plugged Carter into either the number three or four spot in 157 of their 162 games in ‘97, where he cost them significantly in runs and wins on both sides of the ball despite the RBI.
Shame on you stats dorks for hating on Joe. Why don`t you take this and shove it up your ass.
"What AstroTurf's press release didn't tell you is the real reason why Tampa Bay is installing their product — they are getting a free field."
FieldTurf says AstroTurf's three-year licensing deal with MLB Properties includes a provision that gives a free AstroTurf carpet to the Rogers Centre, the Toronto Blue Jays stadium in Toronto, plus a new field for the Rays at the Trop.
The Rays agree they're getting a freebie.
If I were the cost-conscious Rays, I'd grab that deal, too.
FieldTurf president Eric Daliere says his company was approached by Major League Baseball with a like licensing offer, but declined it.
"We were not willing to have them subsidize free fields or large royalty fees. When Tampa Bay and Toronto paid for turf, they chose FieldTurf," Daliere said. "We would encourage any clients looking to obtain a baseball field from AstroTurf to ask for the same deal that Toronto and Tampa Bay got."
So the turf was free after all eh? No shit. Check out the bullshit the cheap bastards @ Rogers were saying back then as to why they made the switch.
After his manager denied he was hurt, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider revealed Sunday that he has been held out of workouts for the past week because of a rib-cage injury suffered while playing golf.
In a media scrum a few minutes earlier, manager John Farrell alluded vaguely to Snider missing drills because of “a little bit of tightness in his overall core.” Asked if the tightness was the result of an injury, Farrell replied: “No, no, no. Just bringing him along a little slower.”
But after undergoing treatment in the trainer’s room, Snider told reporters he “tweaked something” in his left upper rib cage while playing golf about a week ago. It did not bother him immediately, he said, but tightened up the next day.
Both Snider, the Jays’ starting left-fielder, and Farrell suggested the injury was relatively minor. The 23-year-old left-fielder said his condition has improved, but “not significantly,” and he can neither swing nor throw at the moment.
“We don’t expect him to be way behind or certainly not delayed,” Farrell said.
Manager John Farrell watched over the bullpen sessions of his pitchers Sunday and two of them caught his eye.
Left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes, a candidate for both the starting rotation and bullpen, and right-hander Jesse Litsch, a leading contender for one of the two spots in the back of the rotation.
"Jo-Jo Reyes continues to throw the ball very well," said Farrell. "A guy who was a highly touted prospect with Atlanta before being sidetracked with a knee injury, in the early sessions he's thrown the ball very well. ...
"I thought Jesse Litsch threw the ball well today. It's become more evident, just the repair of the hip and the surgery on the elbow a couple of years ago, he's been free and easy and is throwing the ball good."
I just wanted to point out that I picked these two guys to fill out the 4 and 5 spots in the rotation for the 25 Man Roster Challenge. I`m the only person to do so.
Nebraska baseball coach Mike Anderson said Tuesday that freshmanpitcher Logan Ehlers, still waiting for the NCAA to make a decisionon his eligibility status, will not travel with the Huskers to thisweekend's season-opening round-robin tournament at Texas State inSan Marcos, Texas.
At question is whether the left-hander from Nebraska City -- whoin August turned down $800,000 to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays'organization two months after he was drafted in the eighth round --violated an NCAA bylaw that pertains to the use of advisersthroughout the bargaining process. The NCAA allows such arelationship, but prohibits advisers from having contact withmajor-league organizations during contract negotiations.
Anderson said the school and sanctioning body have hadback-and-forth communication, but the NCAA has yet to provide itsruling in writing.
The Paxton Affair - which is still going on - now has some company. WTF is going on with kids that don't sign with us? Two different players in back to back years? Can't be a coincidence.
Cosentino began working with the Blue Jays as a bat boy in 1987 and has been involved with the team in some capacity for most of the time since then. He will continue to work for Rogers on the network’s junior hockey broadcasts.
“I’m extremely disappointed that Rogers Sportsnet has decided to remove me from broadcasts,” Cosentino said during a phone interview Wednesday. “But in our most recent discussions, we’ve been talked about increasing my role and my exposure in hockey and I’m excited about that opportunity.”
The departures leave play-by-play man Buck Martinez and analyst Pat Tabler to handle the Blue Jays games.
I can deal without Rance always harping on our hitters to "be aggressive early in the count" but I think I'm gonna miss Sudden Sam. He brought some energy to the broadcasts.
“I won’t be open to it after the hearing,” said Bautista following a workout at the Jays spring training facility.
“After the hearing, I believe we will notify the team that (a
long-term deal) is not going to be a possibility, unless it’s in that
window they have from the end of the season until the free agency period
begins.”
It’s a crapshoot for both sides. By season’s end, Bautista’s value
could be through the roof or plummet back into the real world.
Bautista contends the reason he will close off negotiations is that
he doesn’t want any distractions for himself or for the team. Nobody
should read into this decision that Bautista wants to play anywhere else
but Toronto. He made that clear.
“My desire is to play in Toronto long term but, after the hearing, or
during the season, I have come to the conclusion that it’s probably not
the best thing for me to be negotiating any type of deal,” he said. “I
want to focus on the game and trying to win ballgames.
“If I’m in that type of negotiation, it’s going to shift my focus
from what I need to worry about and that’s baseball. I don’t want my
mind to be elsewhere when I come to the ballpark to help my team win.”
I'll start off with the elephant in the room. I have said it before and I'll say it again, there is no way - if I'm Jose Bautista - that I sign any contract extension of any length for any amount. As an athlete all you can ask for is an opportunity to show how good you can be. J-Bau was given that last season for the first time in his career. And he will be given that again in 2011. I think he easily wins the arb case tomorrow and doesn't talk extension until that small five day window after the World Series ends.
I’ve updated the 2011 CAIRO projections to version 0.6 and have
uploaded them to the site. They can be downloaded at the link below: Cairo_2011_v0.6.zip
I’ve basically just updated rosters again and fixed a few issues. I’ve also added a projected standings page.
TM
W
L
RS
RA
Div
WC
PL
W+/-
RS+/-
RA+/-
Red Sox
96.2
65.8
831
687
45.6%
17.6%
63.2%
7.2
13
-57
Yankees
92.1
69.9
821
726
28.8%
19.4%
48.2%
-2.9
-38
33
Rays
87.9
74.1
737
663
17.3%
14.6%
31.9%
-8.1
-65
14
Blue Jays
77.2
84.8
709
738
4.2%
5.0%
9.2%
-7.8
-46
10
Orioles
76.9
85.1
739
788
4.2%
4.8%
9.0%
10.9
126
3
Here is the first of many predictions with respect to standings. 77 wins sounds about right to me.
Four games will be nationally televised on Rogers Sportsnet, four
games on bluejays.com while eight games can be heard on Sportsnet Radio
Fan 590, with an additional two games being available on the Blue Jays
network of stations. Specific details are below:
Feb. 26 -- vs. Detroit Tigers -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
Feb. 27 -- at Detroit Tigers --- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 2 -- vs. Tampa Bay Rays -- 1:05 (Bluejays.com)
March 5 -- vs. Detroit Tigers -- 1:05 (Jays Radio Network)
March 6 -- at Pittsburgh Pirates -- 1:05 (SNET/FAN 590)
March 11 -- vs. NY Yankees -- 1:05 (Bluejays.com)
March 12 -- vs. Pittsburgh Pirates -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 13 -- vs. Tampa Bay Rays -- 1:05 (SNET-1/Jays Radio Network)
March 15 -- vs. Philadelphia Phillies -- 1:05 (Bluejays.com)
March 19 -- at NY Yankees -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 20 -- vs. Minnesota Twins -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 23 -- at NY Yankees -- 7:05 (SNET)
March 24 -- vs. Atlanta Braves -- 1:05 (Bluejays.com)
March 26 -- at Philadelphia Phillies -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 27 -- vs. Baltimore Orioles -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 30 -- vs. Tampa Bay Rays -- 4:10 (SNET)
Anybody know WTF the Jays Radio Network is and whether or not I have to pay the cheap bastards @ Rogers to get it?
When talking about the A.L.'s top rookies, don't leave out Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia.
He heads into spring training with a starting job to be won. He's doing what he can to make sure he's ready.
"J.P. has been here since Jan. 3," said Blue Jays TV play-by-play man
Buck Martinez, who resides in Dunedin, Fla., the Jays' spring home.
I'm so happy that we will actually have a Rookie of the Year candidate this season. Go get em J.P.
Toronto also is asking Lind to learn to play first base after
serving primarily as a DH the past two seasons. Regaining your batting
stroke while learning a new position doesn't make for a stress-free
spring.
"Sometimes you can make a drastic change and it can affect your
hitting," Blue Jays hitting coach Dwayne Murphy says. "I hope it
doesn't. I don't think it will."
The 11 games Lind played at first base last season were the only
times he has played anywhere but the outfield or DH in his professional
career, other than one game at first base in the minors. General manager
Alex Anthopoulos prefers to have Lind take over for Lyle Overbay, who
signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a free agent, in the field because
it will give the club needed flexibility at the DH spot.
Murphy doesn't believe Lind, 27, will have much trouble at the plate.
"He didn't have the year he wanted, but look at the numbers he put
up— 23-72. So it wasn't like he had what I would consider a bad year,"
Murphy says.
Drabek has the stuff to be a big league starter. He throws five pitches,
although he didn't use his change-up against right-handed batters in
his three September 2010 starts for the Blue Jays.
With the
exception of the Jays, each AL East team figures to have at least four
left-handed and switch-hitting batters in their lineup most days. Even
with the righty-heavy Jays included, the AL East is tied for the highest
rate of switch- and left-handed hitters with the NL East. On the other
end of the spectrum is the NL Central—coincidentally Dotel’s home for
most of the 2010 season—with more than 70 percent of the expected
starters batting right-handed.
I found this article particularly insightful. Take a second and check it out.
Spring training and the 2011 regular season are just around the corner,
which means it's time to take stock of the top potential future stars in
the minor leagues.
Below are the Top 100 prospects in baseball right now, based upon my
years of experience in the industry as a scout and talent evaluator.
In order to be eligible for the list, the player must be part of a major
league organization and still considered a rookie (fewer than 130
at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues and fewer than 45
days on an active roster, excluding September call-ups).
Your Toronto Blue Jays had 5 of the top 100 on this list.
As spring approaches, baseball fans' minds turn to the possibilities of
the season to come. Which teams will emerge victorious? Which players
will rise above the rest? And which rookies will capture our fancies?
As much as baseball fans appreciate the game's history, they also look forward to the future stars.
My list of baseball's top 50 prospects was compiled based on my
personal scouting of the players along with input from all 30 teams
including GMs, scouting directors and other evaluators in the game.
With that, let's take a look at the top players of the future going into the 2011 season.
And we had 4 of the top 50 on this one. Kyle Drabek at number 5 overall!
Jimenez hit .305/.347/.435 last year in 70 games for Low-A
Lansing, with 17 steals in 21 attempts, 18 walks, and 56 strikeouts.
He's got impatience issues but Midwest League sources seemed to think he
has a good chance to keep hitting at higher levels. His defense is also
intriguing: he caught 51% of runners and didn't give up an excessive
number of passed balls or errors. I gave him a Grade C in the book, but
with the notation that he could take a big step forward in 2011. Looking
at him again right now, you can make a really good case for a Grade C+
and that is how I would rate him today, though of course it is too late
to change the book grade. He was drafted in the ninth round in 2008 from
high school in Puerto Rico.
Don't sleep on A.J. when discussing our depth at the catcher position. Cannon of an arm, great wheels and he can hit.Look for him to start at High A and push d'Arnaud all year.
Lind, Hill and Rivera all performed below their career norms in 2010 —
just as Wells did in 2009. As long as one of them reverts to the mean —
like Wells last year — Bautista should be suitably protected. If that
doesn’t happen, Bautista might lead the majors in walks, not home runs.
Either way, Bautista acknowledges that he won’t see the same (hittable)
pitches that he did in 2010. By now, opposing managers and pitchers are
well aware of the data, at Baseball-Reference.com and elsewhere, that
says 52 of Bautista’s 54 home runs were to left or left-center.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Bautista said. “I don’t expect them to
try to get me out the same way they did last year. I can’t try to hit
home runs to left field if they throw it down-and-away.
“The good thing is that the changes I made (before last year) weren’t
about hitting the ball out to left. I was just trying to get ready
earlier, so my swing was on time. It was all about driving the ball
more. If 85 percent of the pitches I see are outside, hopefully I can
hit a lot of hard balls to right.”
I know what you’re thinking: He’s going to overswing. Actually, I don’t think he will. The guy drew 100 walks last year, second-most in the American League.
“The most impressive thing about Jose’s season was the pitches he didn’t
swing at; he had an unbelievable eye,” Hill said. “I think Jose will
have another big year. He’s obviously going to have big expectations,
but he’s been very good at just focusing on the task at hand.”
Man I can't wait for baseball season! It's going to be a lot of fun watching pitchers not let Bautista beat them this year. Somebody, anybody, needs to get hot early in order to give our opponent something else to think about.
Is it hyperbole? Probably, but it might be fitting that Scioscia invoked
baseball history, because last year’s Angels outfield was historically
awful. It became a sore subject for fans, pitchers, coaches and,
especially, one keenly interested observer.
“I’m not trying to be disrespectful to any players, but we really
had a lot of problems in right field and left field last year,” Angels
owner Arte Moreno said recently. “There were balls
falling short, over their heads, in the gaps … Torii [Hunter] was
running everywhere and, to be a good hitter, you’ve got to have your
legs.”
The ultimate zone rating data -- which seems to be as good as any defensive measure -- suggest that Juan Rivera (minus 4.9) was well below average as a left fielder, Hunter (minus 3.8) was well below average as a center fielder and Bobby Abreu (minus 6.2) was a borderline disaster in right.
Juan Rivera can't play LF - let alone RF - according to his old teams OWNER. Consider yourself warned.
A pair of Canadians who less than two years ago looked to be on the path to the big leagues will not be among them.
In 2009, the Toronto Blue Jays selected University of Kentucky pitcher
James Paxton of Ladner, B.C., 37th overall in baseball’s June amateur
draft.
It was the highest the Blue Jays had ever taken a homegrown prospect since Canadian players were included in the draft in 1985.
Just 31 picks later, Toronto selected Newmarket high school pitcher Jake Eliopoulos with a second-round choice.
No general manager, scouting director or player would suggest 20
months is any kind of time frame to evaluate a baseball draft pick given
development often takes four to six years.
But nearly two years later, both Paxton and Eliopoulos are unsigned and waiting to take the next step in their baseball careers.
Each pitcher took a different path to their current place in a kind of baseball purgatory.
Yet another update on The Paxton Affair. Shoulda just signed the fucking contract James.
In that 2010 draft last June, the Mariners picked Paxton -- who is
from Ladner, British Columbia -- in the fourth round (132nd overall).
Many scouting analysts felt it was a shrewd sleeper pick by Seattle, and
that the Mariners had stolen a potential first-round talent. Yet here
it is Jan. 31, and Paxton still hasn't signed. Because he is no longer
in college, Paxton was not subject to the Aug. 16 signing deadline. The
Mariners thus own his rights until the week before the 2011 draft in
June -- but Zduriencik is hoping it doesn't get that far.
"There has been a conversation or two over the course of the
winter,'' he said. "It will be an interesting one, because here's a guy
who lives just an hour and a half up the road, and there's a point in
time he needs to get his career moving. You know, he's missed time in
pro ball. I couldn't think of a better scenario for him and his family
(than) to drive right down the road and play for the Seattle Mariners.
"As we move forward and we get closer, we'll see what happens. I
would hope there's a motivating factor on his part to try to get
something moving. Scott (Boras) and I have had a few discussions here
and there over the winter, but we haven't had any lately."
This one is from the Seattle perspective. Total waste of a perfectly good 4th rounder right there guys.
Not every team buys into this type of program. Teams such as the
Nationals, Orioles and Mets have had below average results for the
studied period. (There are no accurate records of injuries before 1997.)
Some teams, like the Blue Jays, show solid results, but have had
difficulty over the past three years keeping pitchers healthy. In 2009,
the Jays were a bit better than average overall, but broken down by
pitchers and position players, there was a huge divide. The team
couldn't seem to keep pitchers healthy at any level. There was no
pattern. The injuries happened to different body parts. They happened at
different levels. They happened to starters and relievers. They
happened to American and Latin players. There was no pattern, just
flukish results. The Jays stabilized to a more normal level with pitcher
injuries in 2010, but while teams like the Mets improved over a
horrendous '09 campaign that reached historic injury levels, they only
made it back to below-average. How bad can it be? The Orioles lost over
$30 million more than average over the last 10 years. The Nationals were
worse, but they had that whole Montreal situation in there that I can't
fairly adjust for.
At the time, manager Cito Gaston was burdened with most of the blame.
The 66-year-old was set to retire at the end of the season, and he was
accused of sacrificing the long-term benefit of the club in order to
finish his career with the best possible team on the field.
Anthopoulos said while he understands the criticism the organization
received, the move was made because of the promise that was given to
Buck.
"When we give our word to someone ... that's part of our brand,"
Anthopoulos said. "When I'm negotiating with an agent or I'm trying to
recruit a player, and we have to tell them something, whether it's good
or bad news, they know that we're going to honour our word and we're
going to be straight shooters.
"People in the game are starting to realize that the way the Toronto
Blue Jays operate, they're men of their word and they keep to their
commitment."
In keeping with the same train of thought, this helps explain why Boy Wonder dealt Napoli away. I'm guessing he promised E5 full time at bats and Napoli had some trade value.
Check out the size of the bat Bryce Harper
is swinging in the first half this video, which was posted to YouTube
this week. It's a 36-inch, 47-ounce Marucci, custom made for the 2010
No. 1 draft pick.
If you're not familiar with bat sizes, that's like swinging a tree trunk. Most major-leaguers use bats
between 32-34 inches and 30-34 ounces. Many years ago, sluggers would
sometimes use heavy bats, notably Babe Ruth, who reportedly started his
career using a 54-ouncer but in his prime was at about 40. I held one on
the 54-ouncers in a Hall of Fame exhibit, and it's tough to imagine
swinging it with any speed.
Heavier bats hit the ball farther (look here
for more than you ever wanted to know on the subject), but it's a
tradeoff for bat speed. Even though players are bigger than ever now,
most sacrifice bat size for the confidence they can catch up to a
100-mph fastball -- and be assured Harper would look a lot different
taking those hacks against Aroldis Chapman
than in a BP setting. I asssume the monster bat is just for show and
the 34-ounce models shown later in the video are his game bats.
(Also, in case you were curious, the bible verse Harper has engraved on
his bats, Luke 1:37, reads "With God nothing shall be impossible.")
Missed last week's round up due to the 3 day bender I went on after the Vernon trade was officially completed. Much has happened in Blue Jay land. Check it.
Wakamatsu, still considered one of baseball's best young managerial
prospects, said he had coaching opportunities with four teams before
going with the Blue Jays under new manager John Farrell.
"People asked me, 'Why not Baltimore, why not Milwaukee, why not
Oakland?'" he said. "The impression I got from (Blue Jays general
manager) Alex Anthopoulos, (assistant GM) Tony LaCava and everybody in
the front office really blew me away. I felt really good about Johnny
Farrell. It felt like the right fit and I think I needed something like
this to rekindle myself.
Hill, with six seasons under his belt, is now the longest-tenured
Blue Jay while Bautista — who is eligible for free agency after the 2011
season but is believed to be engaged in talks on a long-term deal —
embodies many of the qualities the team would like to have going
forward.
The longest-tenured player on the team is reliever Jason
Frasor, who made his debut in 2004, but the heart and soul of the
pitching staff is now left-hander Ricky Romero.
Those four
players, along with starter Brandon Morrow, first baseman Adam Lind and
outfielder Travis Snider, may all end up shouldering some of the burden
in Wells' absence.
So.....ah.....which one is it then? Hill or Frasor
MiLB.com: You're moving to an organization that has an
established second baseman at the big league level in Aaron Hill. Has
the idea of switching positions been discussed at all? Lawrie: I've been working out at third -- they've wanted me to
play some third. I felt comfortable over there, I think I am going to go
into Spring [Training], where third is where I'm going to be put at.
This interview via an MLB.com reporter was posted on MiLB.com an hour before.....
2. Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays: Toronto got the top Canadian prospect
from the Brewers in the Shaun Marcum deal and he's another one still
learning the position after being drafted No. 16 overall in 2008. Lawrie
can flat-out hit and should have power and speed at the big league
level. He may never win a Gold Glove, but a Jeff Kent-like evolution
isn't out of the question.
This one was posted on MLB.com. Nice to see the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing in other organizations as well isn't it?
3. Kyle Drabek, Blue Jays: Doug's kid had a pretty good first
season in Toronto's organization after coming over from Philadelphia in
the Roy Halladay deal. He was the Eastern League's Pitcher of the Year
and made his big league debut in September. With one of the best
breaking pitches in the Minors, Drabek also throws a lively fastball and
a changeup that's improved considerably. A strong competitor, he's
ready to take on the AL East as part of the Jays rotation.
Mayo also liked two of our catchers, and a shortstop. Throw in a top 60 list and you got yourself a couple of busy weeks.
But the 33-year-old lefthander readily admits he will not miss
facing the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays in a third of his team's games this
season.
"Face it, that had has much to do with it as anything," Tallet said. "Let's be honest. It's a brutal division."
So brutal that it can wear on teams such as Toronto, which enters
every season as a long shot to contend. The Blue Jays have won at least
83 games in four of the past five seasons but have yet to finish closer
than 10 games out. That can put a drag on players.
"You start to accept (you're not going to win)," Tallet says. "And that's the worst thing a player can do."
Tallet isn't the only refugee from the AL East hoping to find
comfort in the NL Central. All six clubs have added at least one player
whose most recent team resides in the AL East:
Reds: Fred Lewis, Blue Jays.
Cardinals: Tallet, Blue Jays; Lance Berkman, Yankees.
Brewers: Shaun Marcum, Blue Jays.
Astros: Bill Hall, Red Sox.
Cubs: Matt Garza and Carlos Pena, Rays; Kerry Wood, Yankees.
Pirates: Lyle Overbay, Blue Jays.
Take note fellow fantasy pool players. These guys are nice candidates to reap the rewards from moving from the AL to the NL.
The Blue Jays have agreed to terms with 16-year-old Dominican lefthander Jairo Labour for $350,000.
Labour, who is 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, became eligible to sign when the
2010 international signing period opened on July 2, but he developed
into a better prospect later and has run his fastball up to 92 mph.
Labour, who is from Azua, is a good athlete with a solid delivery and
feel for spinning a breaking ball.
A little prospect porn sprinkled in for ya. Everybody loves prospect porn.
After two years, he was promoted to assistant scouting director in
2003, but decided to take a step back to become the scouting coordinator
with the Toronto Blue Jays because he worried what would happen if the
Montreal Expos made their rumoured move to the United States.His
ascent through the Blue Jays' ranks was dramatic. He became assistant
general manager in 2005, vice-president of baseball operations in 2006
and, finally, the team's general manager in 2009.
"If there's one
word you leave here with today, it's humility," he said. "There's more
power in humility than you will ever believe."
Because of that humble nature, he drives around Toronto in a Honda CRV.
"I've got a raise, but I'm not changing the way I live.
"I don't need to."
Stay grounded. Stay focused. Do whatever you gotta do man, just win me a World Series before I die.
But money probably means something — especially when the MLBPA pushes
its members to go for the maximum — and a big contract would help
Bautista help a lot of kids.
Taken together, unless the Blue Jays are right now willing to pay him
premium power hitter money for several years to come, Bautista is
likely going to take his chances and see what the market will bear.
The more I think about it, the more I don't see an extension being done with J-Bau at any point this season. And there is really nothing anybody can do about it. Consider that he has been playing/waiting his entire career to become a free agent and his 2010 season slash line of .260/.378/.617 looks a little video gameish. Perhaps his agent is driving the bus on this one or as the article suggests the MLBPA, either way, I say he plays out his final year of arbitration and takes his chances on the open market. Wouldn't you?
Five-Star Prospects 1. Kyle Drabek, RHP
2. J.P. Arencibia, C
Four-Star Prospects 3. Brett Lawrie, 2B Three-Star Prospects 4. Travis d'Arnaud, C 5. Deck McGuire, RHP 6. Carlos Perez, C 7. Adeiny Hechavarria, SS 8. Zach Stewart, RHP 9. Anthony Gose, CF 10. Aaron Sanchez, RHP 11. Asher Wojciechowski, RHP
Nine More:
12. Eric Thames, OF: As of now, this spot might be low, because he could be solid, everyday corner outfielder.
13. Dickie Joe Thon, SS: This $1.5 million fifth-rounder has the tools to rank higher, but he needs more polish. 14. Adonis Cardona, RHP: The Venezuelan teen got a $2.8 million bonus, but he's raw, but he also has an absolutely huge arm. 15. Noah Syndergaard, RHP: A teenage righty with length and projection, Snydergaard needs to tighten up his secondary stuff. 16. Henderson Alvarez, RHP: Scouts love his stuff, yet wonder why the results rarely match. 17. Jake Marisnick, OF: A tremendous athlete, but he's far away from being a tremendous baseball player. 18. Griffin Murphy, LHP: He possesses a good fastball, better curve, and--like many young Jays pitchers--tons of projection. 19. Kellen Sweeney, 3B: The younger brother of Ryan has the same pretty swing from the left side of the plate. 20. Chad Jenkins, RHP: This 2009 first-round pick had a so-so full-season debut, but looks like future innings-eater.
BP weights in on the much improved farm system. I tend to take this list a little more seriously than the one BA puts out. What about y'all?
Need a clue that something with the Jays and Young could be in the
works? Vernon Wells was asked during a Tuesday conference call where
he’d been when Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos called to ask him
to waive his no-trade clause, to consent to go to Anaheim in trade.
“I was at the Mavericks-Lakers game with my wife and, ironically,
with Michael Young and his wife,” Wells said. “I got the call at
halftime and missed most of the rest of the game.” Ironically? Why would Wells use that word for something that was merely coincidental?
Hate to point of the obvious here Dick but Vernon didn't go to college. Just relax. This is not a "clue". This is obviously a writer for a sport in it's offseason trying to make up a story out of absolutely nothing in order to sell some papers. As always, a trip into the comments section provides some interesting reading. My favorite is courtesy of Adhoc:
a teachable moment for Griffin
Hey
Griff - Even if Wells used the term 'ironic' because he knew the Jays
were looking to acquire Young, it would still be a coincidence; there's
nothing ironic about it. Have you been studying at the Alanis
Morissette School of Irony?
But baseball sources confirmed to the National Post that Toronto also included a cash payment to the Angels.
Jon Heyman of SI.com, who broke the news of the money changing hands
and is one of the most reliable insiders in the business, pegged the
amount at US$5-million.
All cash transfers greater than US$1-million must be approved by the commissioner’s office.
When confronted with this information on Wednesday, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos offered only a cryptic reply.
“We agreed for the deal to be that deal, that was the deal that was
announced,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything more to it. I think
people are trying to read way more into this, like way more. There’s
not. There’s no smoking gun. There’s no conspiracy theory.”
In truth, the only conspiracy comes from the two teams involved in their attempts to keep the money quiet.
This is what Anthopoulos said last Friday when directly asked about dollars changing hands in the deal:
“I guess what I would tell you is the deal that was consummated is
the deal that we announced, which is a 2-for-1 deal,” he said. “And
that ultimately was the final transaction of Mike Napoli and Juan
Rivera.”
Why Anthopoulos or his Angels counterpart Tony Reagins would try to
cover up the payment is more of a mystery than anything else.
Alright, seriously now. I was starting to embrace the lack of commenting from the braintrust PRIOR to a transaction taking place.....but are we also suppose to except them not commenting on transactions AFTER they are completed as well? WTF is going on here?
Toronto Blue Jays legendary closer Tom Henke leads the 2011 class of inductees who will be enshrined on Saturday, June 18th
in St. Marys, Ontario. “The Terminator” will be joined by Kelowna,
British Columbia native Allan Simpson, the founder of Baseball America,
the monthly publication commonly referred to as the Bible of the
baseball industry, and posthumous inductee George “Dandy” Wood, born in
Pownal, Prince Edward Island, who played almost 1,300 games in the major
leagues back in the 1800’s, but whose Canadian citizenship was only
uncovered a year ago.
Bob Elliott, an icon in baseball journalism, will be presented with the Jack Graney at the ceremony as well.
God damn this song was fucking awesome. Terminator, Terminator, you can bring him in now but he's even better later. Been singing it for the last hour now.
As they delightedly discussed the deal on Twitter, Jays fans called
their GM the “Silent Assassin” for trading a supposedly untradeable
player without even a whisper of rumour beforehand. Anthopoulos didn’t
comment on the moniker when Canadian Press reporter Shi Davidi informed
him of it during a conference call last Friday night.
Talk? Come on. That’s not how the Silent Assassin rolls.
Actually, in fact, that's how the Blue Jay Hunter rolls dude.
