Blue Jays' top prospects stay hot in Vegas

polo007 · Post #1 » by **polo007** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:57 am

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd ... b&c_id=mlb

Lind isn't the only 51s player that has caught the attention of Mottola. Two of Toronto's Top 20 prospects -- Travis d'Arnaud and Anthony Gose -- have made tremendous strides and are enjoying strong 2012 campaigns.

d'Arnaud

d'Arnaud got off to a slow start at Vegas, but Mottola was never overly concerned about it.

Mottola said the 51s were experimenting with d'Arnaud at the plate earlier in the year and were letting him test different batting stances. They felt d'Arnaud was so advanced as a hitter that it wouldn't hinder his development.

"He's a freak, he could stand one way and a completely other way the next time up," Mottola said. "There's nothing that holds him back. It comes so easy for him."

d'Arnaud has put that slow start behind him and is enjoying an exceptional year at Vegas. Through 57 games, the backstop is batting at a .346 clip to accompany 15 home runs, 46 RBIs and a 1.014 OPS.

Mottola doesn't believe those numbers are simply a product of the PCL.

"These days, it's rare to see anyone hit .300 with power," Mottola said. "The fact that he can do it as a catcher is the icing on the cake."

As far as the defensive side of the game, d'Arnaud's throws from home to second base have been clocked as low as 1.84 seconds, and he has recently started taking grounders at first. d'Arnaud is not changing positions, but he's athletic enough and would be ready to do so if an opening was created at the Major League level, according to Mottola.

Gose

The speedster, who led the Eastern League with 70 stolen bases in 2011 and is the league leader in the PCL this year with 24 thus far, got off to a slow start that prompted a change in his batting stance. Mottola got him to spread out more at the plate, and says he has seen a major difference since.

Gose was hitting .216 after the first month but has raised his average to .295. What impresses Mottola the most, though, is Gose's defense.

"As a center fielder, he has thrown a couple guys out at home that I want to tell him to not even make the throw," Mottola said. "It's definitely a plus-plus arm. The thing that makes it good is that he gets rid of it so fast and he's so accurate."

Mottola said Gose has the ability to take over a series with his skill set.

"He disrupts the whole game," Mottola said. "He creates errors. There should be a stat called errors created, because he does that with his game-changing speed."

Hechavarria

The 51s team is stellar up the middle of the diamond, and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria is no exception to that.

"It's kind of crazy to sit back and watch those guys defensively," Mottola said. "The Blue Jays got something special coming up."

The biggest question surrounding Hechavarria's ability has been his bat, but Mottola said he's silencing a lot of the skeptics.

Hechavarria has been going up the middle and pulling the ball with more power and consistency. The biggest thing he still needs to work on, according to Mottola, is his ability to recognize and hit breaking balls. Mottola has seen improvements in those areas, however, and believes Hechavarria's bat -- which has driven in 42 runs -- is almost Major League ready.

hyper316 · Post #2 » by **hyper316** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:03 am

oh i'm excited for next year, if we can't re-sign KJ, then I'll be looking forward to this lineup

CF Gose
LF Rasmus
RF Bautista
DH Encarnacion
3B Lawrie
1B (insert lefty FA here)
2B Escobar
C d'Arnaud
SS Hechavarria

torontoaces04 · Post #3 » by **torontoaces04** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:55 am

hyper316 wrote:CF Gose

I don't think Gose will be our CF next season, at least to start. He'll likely begin the season in AAA, as his swings still has a lot of holes.

Colby will still be playing CF, with our major holes being at LF, and 1B (same as they are now). One of those holes (theoretically) can be filled when we trade Arencibia.

dballislife · Post #4 » by **dballislife** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:13 am

look at our LF production right now, how can gose be much worse, plus he has plus plus speed, plus defense and plus arm...lets be realistic we aren't winning titles anytime soon, if we continue to struggle i cant wait to see gose LF, hech at 2nd (KJ likely traded), and d'arn spitting C and DH with jpa...so we can really see how good our prospects are

Holmes · Post #5 » by **Holmes** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:52 pm

Can't wait to see Gose and Hech hit .230 in the majors.

Fairview4Life · Post #6 » by **Fairview4Life** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:33 pm

Holmes wrote:Can't wait to see Gose and Hech hit .230 in the majors.

torontoaces04 · Post #7 » by **torontoaces04** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:41 pm

Holmes wrote:Can't wait to see Gose and Hech hit .230 in the majors.

Why hasn't this troll been banned from the board yet? Has he ever made a post that has contributed positively?

This troll isn't even a fan of the Jays...Can we please get rid of him once and for all!

RapsFanInVA · Post #8 » by **RapsFanInVA** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:01 pm

He has survived since 2003, he's sneaky good at trolling.

Mattd97 · Post #9 » by **Mattd97** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:32 pm

to be fair, hitting 230 puts you right around the middle of this roster

Avenger · Post #10 » by **Avenger** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:36 pm

He may be a troll but he's right, Gose and Hech are gonna have a hard time cracking .210 with a .280 OBP, Jays fans have something else coming to them next year or whenever those two come up.

The only guy we should be excited about is d'Arnaud and that's because of his high floor, its easy to see him becoming a Kurt Suzuki type player without even reachign his potential but people who are expecting him to put up MVP numbers in his rookie year like Buster Posey are also setting themselves up for severe dissapointment

torontoaces04 · Post #11 » by **torontoaces04** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:54 pm

Avenger wrote:The only guy we should be excited about is d'Arnaud and that's because of his high floor, its easy to see him becoming a Kurt Suzuki type player without even reachign his potential but people who are expecting him to put up MVP numbers in his rookie year like Buster Posey are also setting themselves up for severe dissapointment

If you think D'Arnaud is going to put up 7 and 42 as our starting C, you're going to be VERY pleasantly surprised. TDA could put those numbers up batting left-handed.

As for assuming Gose and Hech are going to come up and hit .210...it's one thing to temper excitement, it's another to just assume they're going to fail. Gose could likely hit .210 based on infield and bloop singles alone.

Hech is also far more advanced with the bat than those of you who haven't watched the 51's would like to give him credit for. I understand a lot of you are going off scouting reports for previous seasons, but that's the great thing about prospects...some of them actually improve! :wink:

JoeyBats · Post #12 » by **JoeyBats** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:23 pm

I just have a small question. Some people are worried about TDA catching on the major league level right ? But didn't he catch Drabek, Alvarez and Hutch in AA last year ? He can also split the job with Mathis for the first couple weeks aswell !

torontoaces04 · Post #13 » by **torontoaces04** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:25 pm

JoeyBats wrote:I just have a small question. Some people are worried about TDA catching on the major league level right ? But didn't he catch Drabek, Alvarez and Hutch in AA last year ? He can also split the job with Mathis for the first couple weeks aswell !

TDA's catching skills >>> JPA. I don't think anyone has any concerns about him catching at the major league level.

JPA has a good rapport with the pitching staff, but TDA could build that also given the time. TDA has a better arm, better catching skills, will hit for a much higher average, and has similar power to JPA.

He's our catcher of the future.

JoeyBats · Post #14 » by **JoeyBats** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:08 pm

Oh, i thought people were hesitate to trade JPA this season because TDA wouldn't have been familiar with the starting rotation.

torontoaces04 · Post #15 » by **torontoaces04** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:21 pm

JoeyBats wrote:Oh, i thought people were hesitate to trade JPA this season because TDA wouldn't have been familiar with the starting rotation.

While that very well might be the cause with most of the pitchers, I'd say that it has more to do with where JPA's value is at right now. His stock is quite low, compared to where it has been at it's highest. I believe that AA is simply waiting for the right time, and the right buyer.

AA, more than anyone else, knows that the plan is/was never to be a playoff team this season. If somehow all the stars aligned, and we did end up in the playoffs, great! AA knows that his plan, as currently constructed, calls for 2015 to be the first year where the playoffs ARE to be expected. He doesn't care how much (we) the fans piss and moan about Yu, and Fielder, AA isn't changing his course.

When the time is right, JPA will be dealt. Whether JPA and TDA will be on the Jays at the same time is yet to be seen. What is known is that TDA is the Blue Jays catcher of the future, and will eventually be given the time to learn the staff. TBH, it wouldn't even surprise me if JPA and TDA were both still in the organization come Spring Training next year. AA isn't going to rush into any decision, lest we forget he is the ultimate value-w****.

Avenger · Post #16 » by **Avenger** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 8:55 pm

torontoaces04 wrote:
Avenger wrote:The only guy we should be excited about is d'Arnaud and that's because of his high floor, its easy to see him becoming a Kurt Suzuki type player without even reachign his potential but people who are expecting him to put up MVP numbers in his rookie year like Buster Posey are also setting themselves up for severe dissapointment

If you think D'Arnaud is going to put up 7 and 42 as our starting C, you're going to be VERY pleasantly surprised. TDA could put those numbers up batting left-handed.

As for assuming Gose and Hech are going to come up and hit .210...it's one thing to temper excitement, it's another to just assume they're going to fail. Gose could likely hit .210 based on infield and bloop singles alone.

Hech is also far more advanced with the bat than those of you who haven't watched the 51's would like to give him credit for. I understand a lot of you are going off scouting reports for previous seasons, but that's the great thing about prospects...some of them actually improve!

by 7 and 42 are you referring to homeruns and RBI's? d'Arnaud will obviously hit for more power but comparing him to Kurt Suzuki isn't an insult. Not many catchers put up a 346 OBP while playing in a 148 games in their first full season. In his first 4 full seasons Suzuki has played an average of 140 games and 2.5-3.0 WAR, that is nothing to sneeze at.

vaff87 · Post #17 » by **vaff87** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 9:09 pm

torontoaces04 wrote:Hech is also far more advanced with the bat than those of you who haven't watched the 51's would like to give him credit for.

I just wanted to quote this. This guy is hitting line drives, walking, and striking out at the same rate as d'Arnaud. People make him out to be the Cuban Mike McCoy with the bat, which is ridiculous.

Edit: Based on my counting, Hech is hitting .337 since last July 27th. Which includes 523 at bats over 4 separate leagues (AA, AAA, AFL, and spring training).

flatjacket1 · Post #18 » by **flatjacket1** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:15 pm

I've watched a lot of AAA games and I must say Gose and d'Arnaud look much more advanced with the bat this year than Hech. Hech has also been struggling defensively recently (more errors than usual on routine plays).

I wouldn't write him off but of the three champs in Vegas I'd rank them d'Arnaud, Gose then Hech. It might be because d'Arnaud and Gose have been on fire as of late. Gose cut down his K% and while his BB% has dropped 1.1%, he still walks much more frequently than most.

I think d'Arnaud is the only one pushing for a call up atm. Gose is young enough to repeat the level if he doesn't do well (which he is right now, but if that changes) and Hech can also repeat the level, which I think is likely unless Escobar is injured.

We have to remember our weakest player in our starting MLB lineup is catcher. Escobar is still providing decent value (17th in the league out of SS in fWAR, puts him in same boat as Jeter [16th]) and is struggling, playing well beneath himself. Also, in a trade we wouldn't get a good deal with him right now as he is under performing. On top of all that he is on a team friendly deal. Gose may be called up sooner rather than later but in LF, not CF.

Lateral Quicks · Post #19 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 2:18 am

Gose and Hech bring so much to the table defensively that they don't need to be otherworldly with the bat to be valuable major league players.

flatjacket1 · Post #20 » by **flatjacket1** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:43 pm

Lateral Quicks wrote:Gose and Hech bring so much to the table defensively that they don't need to be otherworldly with the bat to be valuable major league players.

Hech has had a rough year in Vegas defensively so far, has more errors than last year in many less chances.

He needs a bat too IMO (which so far hes proven to be better than expected)