Darin Mastroianni Speaks on His Double A Return

With a heavy collection of big league quality outfield talent at Triple A Las Vegas, after Toronto did some roster shuffling recently, swift footed Darin Mastroianni found himself as the odd man out. The 25-year-old New York native was sent back to Double A New Hampshire, where he helped the Fisher Cats lock down a postseason berth last season, batting .301 and stealing 46 bases.

In 22 games with Las Vegas this season, Mastroianni, a 16th round draft pick in 2007, was batting .264 with a .642 OPS. The right-handed hitting Mastroianni stands 5-feet-11-inches tall and weighs about 190 pounds.

I had the opportunity to speak with Darin today about his movement back to the Double A level. Check out the media player below to listen to the full interview.



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1BlueJaysWay.com Talks with Darin Mastroianni

Darin Mastroianni is close to becoming a household name among Toronto baseball fans. This season, in 132 regular season games with the Double A level New Hampshire Fishercats, Mastroianni has proven himself to be a solid prospect by posting full season career highs in batting average (.301), homeruns (7), runs (101) and OPS (.788).

A leader on defense and on offense, Mastroianni has helped New Hampshire reach the Eastern League playoffs. New Hampshire began their first round series on the road in Trenton, NJ on Wednesday, and came out on the wrong side of a pitchers duel, losing 2-0. In game 2 on Thursday, Mastroianni stroked a grounder that should have given the Fishercats the lead in the 12th inning of a scoreless contest, but he was mistakenly called out on the close play. Instead, the game went to the bottom of the frame, still tied, and Trenton walked off when Thunder designated hitter Rene Rivera slugged a homer.

The Fishercats won 16 of 23 regular season meetings with the Thunder, but now trail their arch rival 2 games to none in the best of 5 series that continues in New Hampshire on Friday night.

I had the opportunity to speak with Darin, prior to game 1 of the Eastern League Division Series, about his improvements this season, his teammates, the rivalry with Trenton and more. Check out the media player below to listen to the full interview.



To check out our previous Q&A with Darin Mastroianni, click here.

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Drabek Outdueled in Eastern League Playoff Opener

TRENTON, NJ- The expected pitchers duel proved to be just as advertised. Thunder prospect Dellin Betances and Fishercats ace Kyle Drabek went to battle on the Waterfront Park mound on Wednesday night in the opening game of the Eastern League Division Series.

Drabek, the prized pitcher who came to the Toronto organization last off-season in the trade that sent Roy Halladay to Philadelphia, retired the first 9 batters he faced. Betances, a New York native, kept pace, with a huge cheering section behind him.

Betances, making his fourth start above Class A, hurled 95 mph gas at New Hampshire and mixed speeds well enough to keep the Fishercats guessing. Betances stepped his game up, as he was facing the Eastern League's anointed pitcher of the year. In 5 1/3 innings, the 22-year-old righty struck out 8 while walking just 1 and allowing 2 hits.

New Hampshire pitching coach Tom Signore talked about the outstanding efforts from the pitchers. "It was a well pitched game by both teams. Betances is a strong prospect and did great. If you look at (Kyle's) velocity, it was the best he's been all season...his high was 97. Stuff wise, he was better tonight than the night he threw the no-hitter (against New Britain on July 4th)," Signore said.

"Sometimes you don't win these games. That's what makes baseball so interesting," Signore added.

The second time through the lineup, Drabek was not as lucky. Trenton lead-off man Austin Krum worked a 4-pitch walk that changed the pace of the game. A fielders choice moved Krum to 2nd base, where he quickly stole 3rd. Daniel Brewer then plated Krum with a single that gave the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

Drabek's breaking pitches were working, but the command just wasn't there to maximize their effectiveness. The 22-year-old right-hander threw first pitch strike to only 8 of 22 batters and took the loss, going 6 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run, while striking out 5 batters. "I had trouble throwing strikes, and a lead-off walk is never good," Drabek stated. "They were just able to put some things together and get (the run) in."

"It was a little hard to find the strike zone tonight. I don't know why. I was pretty much battling the whole game."

When Betances' pitch count exceeded 90 in the 6th inning, manager Tony Franklin pulled his 6-feet-8-inches tall starter in favor of the bullpen. The Fishercats hoped to have an easier time against the Thunder relief corp.

Trenton surely had a bit more success once Drabek was pulled in favor of Trystan Magnuson. With 1 out in the 7th inning, Trenton designated hitter Rene Rivera launched a deep drive to left field for a solo homerun that padded the Thunder lead to 2 runs.

The Fishercats threatened late. In the 8th inning, short stop Adeiny Hechavarria reached with a lead-off single off of Thunder righty JB Cox. After Eric Thames struck out and Shawn Bowman popped to short, David Cooper walked. But Cox was pulled from the game and ambidextrous hurler Pat Venditte made his way to the mound and downed Adam Calderone on strikes.

In the 9th, with Trenton closer Justin Pope on the mound, Adam Loewen started things off with a single. Following a strike out by catcher Matt Liuzza, pinch hitter Ricardo Nanita stroked another single that moved Loewen to third base. Center fielder Darin Mastroianni stepped to the plate ready to inflict some damage. Already 1-for-2 on the night with 2 sacrifice bunts, Mastroianni drilled a liner right at Thunder third baseman Justin Snyder, who snagged the ball and stepped on the bag ahead of a retreating Loewen to end the game on a stunning double play, giving Trenton a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, with a 2-0 victory.

After the game Drabek asserted his belief in the Fishercats' chances to recover and win the series. "Our team's still confident. We feel like we're the best team in this league. And I think we'll be alright." 

Notes:

New Hampshire had lead-off runners on base in 6 of 9 innings, but failed to score a single run. Trenton's attendance for game 1 of the Eastern League Division Series, 2,806, was their lowest attendance figure of the season. Betances earned the win in his 4th Double A start...he has now struck out 28 opponents in 19 2/3 innings with Trenton.

1BJW Interviews Fishercats Manager Luis Rivera

During his playing days, Luis Rivera was an infielder in the Major Leagues for the Expos, Mets, Red Sox, Astros and Royals. These days, the Puerto Rico native is the managers of the Blue Jays Double A affiliate, the New Hampshire Fishercats.

As New Hamsphire prepared to begin the Eastern League playoffs against their division rival, Yankees affiliate Trenton Thunder, tonight in New Jersey, 1BlueJaysWay.com had the opportunity to speak exclusively with Luis Rivera about the team's confidence level, their rivalry with Trenton, Adeiny Hechavarria's progress and plenty more.

Check out the media player below to listen to the full interview.




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1BlueJaysWay Interviews Eric Thames

Eric Thames was a 7th round draft choice of the Blue Jays, out of Pepperdine University, in 2008. A lefty hitting slugger, Thames has developed into a prized prospect in the Toronto system.

Through 112 games this season, Thames has posted a .290 batting average, smashed 21 homeruns and driven in 87 runs. In 59 games at 2 levels last season, Thames posted a .310 average with 3 homeruns and 39 RBI.

We recently spoke with the California native about his progress, his team, his coaches and more. Check out the media player below to listen to the full interview.



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Checking In On The Farm

Triple-A Las Vegas (12-12) accomplished the difficult feat yesterday of compiling 17 hits and three walks... but scoring only five runs (four in the ninth) in an 11-5 loss. The 51s now have a .294 batting average as a team, paced by 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir (.345). Meanwhile, 1B Brett Wallace continues to lead the Pacific Coast League with nine home runs.

Good news from Double-A where the first place New Hampshire Fisher Cats (16-7) are on fire, winners of six in a row. C Brian Jeroloman's batting .350 with a league-leading .458 on-base percentage; OF Eric Thames has 20 RBIs, second in the league; and speedy OF Darin Mastroianni leads the league with 12 stolen bases. I should mention, too, the terrific performance by 2B/3B Brad Emaus (.326, 2 HR, 16 RBIs, 15 walks and just two strikeouts in 14 games).

Yesterday the Cats were tied 5-5 with Reading in the fifth inning -- and then received a grand slam from Callix Crabbe amidst a seven-run explosion. New Hampshire cruised to the 16-5 rout.

In Dunedin (14-9), immensely talented 20-year-old Henderson Alvarez has only allowed one earned run in four starts (24 1/3 innings). He's 3-0 with a 0.37 ERA. Joel Carreno leads the team with 34 strikeouts, including 10 in six innings in a win at Tampa on April 27.

At Single-A, the Lansing Lugnuts' (14-10) six-game winning streak (including the first victory for 2009 1st round pick Chad Jenkins) came to an end on Thursday night. Two nights later, some history in Lansing: the 1,000th win in the franchise's history, thanks to a walk-off blow from sparkplug outfielder Chris Hopkins.

Unfortunately, perhaps the main early headline has been injuries to some promising players. Kenny Rodriguez is DL'd in New Hampshire, Travis D'Arnaud is on the shelf in Dunedin, and Matt Fields, Dave Sever, and Mark Sobolewski have all been sidelined in Lansing. Nothing looks serious as of yet, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

Darin Mastroianni Interview:

Another exclusive!

Our comrade Jay Ballz over @ PhoulBallz requested a couple of players we would like to hear from in AA.  We thought long and hard about it and although Tim Collins and Danny Farquhar were on the list, we couldn't pass up the chance to hear from a guy that doesn't receive the type of press that we think he should.

Darin Mastroianni is one of the reasons why we let Joey Gathright walk in Spring Training.  His speed is off the charts and we here at 1bluejaysway love that part of the game.  It has been 10 years since we had a true threat on the basepaths and we miss seeing the pressure that players like Darin put on the defense.  Now that the big club acquired / stole Fred Lewis from the Giants, Darin's path to the bigs may be slowed down a little.  No matter, we still have a lot of love for the man who we feel will eventually replace Vernon in centrefield.....

Once again, thanks to Jay for his efforts on this one.  Truly an insightful interview.

Darin, you had a big year with steals last season.  Please talk a bit about your success with the speed...

I feel very blessed and fortunate to be able to run like this.  I'm fortunate, I was given that tool and that ability.  Obviously, I love stealing bases.  It's an asset that I enjoy having and I just keep trying to make it work, not only for me, but to help the team.  It can get the guys behind me more fastballs, and maybe make the pitcher slide step more and be more erratic to the plate.

Is there any part of your stealing approach that is less speed related and more cerebral?  Is there anything you look for when picking your spots?

You just kind of watch the pitcher and see what they're doing with guys on base.  You just kind of get the times on them, remember what kind of (pick off) move they have, how many looks they give you...

You know, it's just a reaction thing, pretty much.  As soon as that leg goes, you're off and you let everything else fall into place.

What aspects of your game are you working on improving?

Yeah, this hitting isn't going well right now.  Obviously, I didn't get off to the start that I would have liked.  Leading off, striking out, just really not hitting the ball the way I'd have liked to start the season.  But it's a long season and I feel good at the plate.  I'll keep grinding away with this swing and you always gotta make adjustments throughout the year.  You get 500-600 at bats and you're gonna hit the ups and downs and you just try to minimize those downs the best you can.

What has your experience with New Hampshire been like so far?

I've been fortunate.  I was here for half the year last year and I'm fortunate to come back this year.  It's just a great place to play.  We have a great stadium, a great fan base.  They make it really easy to play.  You come to the field, you know you'll have a lot of fans there to support you.  They care about you.  It's a fun place to play.  It's always nice and you really look forward to being home at the park.

There's a lot of BLOG LOVE surrounding you right now.  How would you react to that sort of positive feedback that you get from great sites like 1 Blue Jays Way?

You know, it's nice.  It's encouraging when people are saying nice things about you.  It helps, you feel good.  Ultimately, they're not the ones who make the decisions and they're not the ones that have to go out there and do it.  Obviously, it's better to have them say nice things than to be ripping me than to tell me I suck and I shouldn't be here and all this stuff.  Last year's in the past and this year's what it is, ya know, and you have to keep playing and try to help the team win.  And I feel like if you're really trying to help the team win, everything's going to fall into place.

Which pitcher would you most like to face some day?

I would say AJ Burnett, because if you get on base, he's pretty slow to the plate.

Who was your favorite player growing up?

I was a New York boy, so Derek Jeter.  How do you not like Jeter growing up in New York?  But, as I got older, I really liked watching Jose Reyes play.  Just anyone with speed, I'd just watch these guys and be like, "Wow, look how they can effect the game."  I enjoyed watching how they could make an impact on the game so quickly.

What was your favorite baseball movie?

I'd have to go with "The Sandlot".  It is just classic.  I feel like that's kinda the way I started playing when I was a kid.  Just playing that backyard baseball.  Being able to run, I was always a big fan of Benny the Jet.  It's just a classic.

 















To see our latest interview with Darin click here!

News from New Hampshire

The FisherCats.

I will refrain from poking fun at the name or logo because I work for a team named the Lugnuts.

Let's move on.

New Hampshire's 8-5, and I have no idea how.

Outfielder Darin Mastroianni had a breakthrough year in 2009, but he's batting only .219 this year. On the bright side, he's drawn 10 walks in 12 games and is 6-for-6 in stolen bases.

Callix Crabbe's batting .159 (7-for-44). Adam Loewen's batting .222 (8-for-36). David Cooper's at .250 with only three extra-base hits, all doubles. Figured he'd be better by now, didn't you?

The starting pitchers include Bobby Bell (9.90 ERA), Zach Stewart (7.71), Marty McLeary (6.75), and Kyle Drabek (5.17). Fine on paper, should be better as the season goes on... but how in the world is this team 8-5?

Luis Perez (2-0, 0.53) is doing his part, allowing only two hits and one run (on a homer) in 17 sterling innings.

In the bullpen, Tim Collins (10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 scoreless innings) and Danny Farquhar (4-for-4 converting saves, 5.0 scoreless innings) are doing their part, too. Both men have been consistently brilliant throughout their careers.

We'll keep our eye on the big prospects -- Stewart and Drabek foremost among them -- as the year goes on. If they crank it into gear, the FisherCats become a powerhouse.

Fisher Cats Announce Their Projected Opening Day Roster

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are proud to announce the projected 25-man Opening Day roster.  This lineup features both familiar and new faces and fields a wealth of talent.  After competing all spring for slots on the team, the 2010 Fisher Cats are sure to be a hit!

Pitchers

R   Bell, Robert 
R   Drabek, Kyle
R   McLeary, Marty
L   Perez, Luis
R   Stewart, Zach

R   Boone, Randy
R   Buzachero, Bubbie  
L   Collins, Tim
R   Dials, Zach 
R   Farquhar, Daniel   
R   Magnuson, Trystan 
R   Martin, Adrian

Catchers

Jeroloman, Brian
Jaspe, Jon

Infielders

Cooper, David 
Crabbe, Callix  
Diaz, Jon
Emaus, Brad   
Mayorson, Manuel
Sanchez, Luis 
Quintana, Al

Outfielders

Calderone, Adam
Loewen, Adam  
Mastroianni, Darin
Thames, Eric   
             
Disabled List
R   Bongiovanni, Vince 
Shoffit, Sean
R   Rodriguez, Kenny

Question:

Is our AA 1, 2 of Drabek and Stewart better than the big club's 1, 2 of Marcum and Tallet?

And Then There Were 44.....

1B/DH Brian Dopirak, INF Jarrett Hoffpauir and RHP Ray Gonzalez have been optioned to AAA Las Vegas.
RHP Lance Broadway AKA Team Enforcer and LHP Zach Jackson, along with catcher Kyle Phillips, were sent back to Minor League camp.
LHP Sean Henn was outrighted to AAA after passing through waivers unclaimed.
RHP Casey Fien was released.  He had a shorter tenure with your Toronto Blue Jays than Brian Bocock.  I think there may be a bit more to this story than advertised because he had an option year left.
We also returned Rule 5 pick RHP Zech Zinicola to the Washington Nationals which officially fucks me on the 25 Man Roster Challenge.  I can still win it but I am the first contestant to lose a player off their list.  Not good.

I should have never picked a guy who wears pink.

As Opening Day approaches, there is less talk about "taking the best team north" and a lot more talk about options.  If you need a refresher on how it all works, click here.

Merkin Valdez, Shawn Camp and Dana Eveland are out of options.  These players are on the bubble and they have an advantage.

Boy Wonder explains:  

"So part of this is controlling as many players as you can and trying to keep your depth. They understand that guys that don't have options tend to get the benefit of the doubt a little bit more or tend to stick around a little bit longer, because we don't want to take the chance that we might lose some of those players. Sometimes you make the decision that you can't carry him, like a guy like Zinicola, for example. We like the arm, but just with the guys we have, they're just much further along than him right now, so we had to make a decision."

Relievers with player options left are Jeremy Accardo, Josh Roenicke, Casey Janssen, Jesse Carlson and David Purcey.  Look for only one of these guys to get a spot on Opening Day.  My money is on Carlson.  Cito abuses Jesse.  Just the thought of not being able to go to him every second day must be making the managers head spin.  He is battling a knee injury and may not be ready to pitch April 4th.  At least it is not an elbow or shoulder problem.

I am still not convinced that Rzepczynski gets a spot in the rotation.  If he doesn't make the team, than Eveland slides into the rotation and creates another vacancy in the bullpen. 

Lost in all these subtractions is the news that some players are actually being added to the Major League camp.  None of them are probably being seriously considered for jobs at this point but the one name I am uber excited for is: OF Darin Mastroianni.  He is 24 yrs old, 5′11″ 190 lbs and was drafted in the 16th round of the 2007 draft.  A legit defensive centrefielder, he has blinding speed and a knack for getting on base.  All the tools needed to be a lead off hitter right there.

Courtesy of Jays Journal:

I thought that the gesture of bringing Darin Mastroianni in was absolutely great. Here’s a guy who stole 70 bases at 2 levels last year and who could be the perfect 4th outfielder the Jays have been looking for. He had an OBP of .398 last year and has a lot more potential than Joey Gathright. The Jays probably wanted to take a peak at him to realize what they have in the minors. He should be in AAA, in my opinion, and waiting to grab a spot when one becomes available. I really like the fact that they brought him in for a quick look though, great stuff that should motivate him in 2010.

Snow Birds

I was thinking about how your Toronto Blue Jays players are doing in the winter leagues when I came across this link.  Every player we have doing the winter ball thing can be found there.

Some highlights from the guys currently on the 40 man roster:

Jose Bautista played only three games and went 5 for 8 good for a .625 average.  Classic example of a small sample size.  No doubt this will be Cito's justification for hitting him lead off.

Randy Ruiz is killing both righties and lefties to the tune of a .341 batting average with 6 bombs in 88 at bats.  He also has a stolen base.  Must have been the back end of a double steal.....

Mike McCoy has a .413 on base percentage with 26 steals in 227 at bats.     

For all the Lyle haters:  Brian Dopirak has 7 homers and 32 RBI, but his 40 strikeouts in only 137 at bats worries me a little.

Projected back up catcher Raul Chavez is hitting .238 and has grounded into 10 double plays in just 105 at bats.  That's about one twin killing every 2 games.....

Let's not talk about the pitching.  It's just better that way.

The guy I'm most excited for on this list BY FAR is named Darin Mastroianni.  He was selected in the 16th round (505th overall) of the 2007 amateur entry Draft.  Last season he split time between High A and Double A.  Darin managed to swipe 70 bases with a .398 on base percentage.  According to the team over at Jays Journal, he is our second best outfield prospect and is a legit defensive centre fielder.  I doubt he is ready to contribute in 2010 but he should start the year in Double A.  Keep an eye on him.