Pillar & Kawasaki called up, Rasmus to DL

[MGD24]

Looks as though Pillar has been called up and will make his MLB debut with the Jays tonight.

https://twitter.com/qualityatbats/status/367666389534146560

[JoeyBats]

Should have happened when Melky was placed on the DL.

[Lateral Quicks]

It will be fun to see if his great track record will translate to the bigs. I am very confident in saying he will be a significant improvement on Boni, but hopefully he's an improvement on this year's version of Melky, as well.

[MGD24]

Officially announced that they called up Kawasaki and Pillar and placed Rasmus on the DL.
Oh ya and Boneface is gone!

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/367698448528592897

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/367698553776271361

[tanuki1031]

so glad kawasaki is back. time to go undefeated the rest of the season.

[dagger]

It will be fun to see if his great track record will translate to the bigs. I am very confident in saying he will be a significant improvement on Boni, but hopefully he's an improvement on this year's version of Melky, as well.

Defensively, almost anything is an improvement on Melky, and offensively, I'm confident he can hit at least 20-40 points higher than Boni from the get-go, with good defence. What will be interesting if he can bring a little of that competitive nature he's been known for to the bigs, so perhaps guys like Lawrie and him will set the future mental tone, even if it's off the bench in Pillar's case. The thing with Pillar, with the exception of his baserunning which is a little over-exuberant (though nothing tops the downright recklessness of Moises Sierra who believes signs are optional), he brings a lot of grit and some smarts to how he plays. And since he has played all three outfield positions, if his bat is decent, we can use him next season as a cheap fourth outfielder.

Everyone who has played with him calls him a model teammate, lots of tweets this AM wishing him luck.

And heck, we haven't had a good Jewish ballplayer on the Jays since Shawn Green. Granted, Green was a first round pick and Pillar was a 32nd round pick, but everyone is a brother.

[dagger]

Bluefield Blue Jays ‏@BluefieldJays 13m
Congratulations to Kevin Pillar (2011) on becoming the first former @BluefieldJays player to get called up to the Major Leagues! @KPILLAR4

Hopefully, the first of many, a few of whom will be legit all-stars.

[Raps_Swingman]

It will be fun to see if his great track record will translate to the bigs. I am very confident in saying he will be a significant improvement on Boni, but hopefully he's an improvement on this year's version of Melky, as well.

Defensively, almost anything is an improvement on Melky, and offensively, I'm confident he can hit at least 20-40 points higher than Boni from the get-go, with good defence. What will be interesting if he can bring a little of that competitive nature he's been known for to the bigs, so perhaps guys like Lawrie and him will set the future mental tone, even if it's off the bench in Pillar's case. The thing with Pillar, with the exception of his baserunning which is a little over-exuberant (though nothing tops the downright recklessness of Moises Sierra who believes signs are optional), he brings a lot of grit and some smarts to how he plays. And since he has played all three outfield positions, if his bat is decent, we can use him next season as a cheap fourth outfielder.

Everyone who has played with him calls him a model teammate, lots of tweets this AM wishing him luck.

And heck, we haven't had a good Jewish ballplayer on the Jays since Shawn Green. Granted, Green was a first round pick and Pillar was a 32nd round pick, but everyone is a brother.

Generally, when that many teammates express their support for a player getting promoted you'd think he's a guy that people like to play with and respect. Be nice to have someone that plays with that type of grit/persona (similar to Colby).

It would be great to hit on a later round pick that turned into something at the MLB level. All I really care about at this point is our prospects anyways so this should be a good story to follow. Deal Rajai and bring up Gose as well. Let the kids play.

[flatjacket1]

Deal Rajai and bring up Gose as well. Let the kids play.

Rajai was brought on as a placeholder for another year, a stopgap for Gose. I believe the general consensus is we will not resign him following this year.

I'm really happy for Pillar, I'm sure he'll do well. I think his ceiling is like a .270/.330/.435 type guy. At worst I think he's a solid 4th OF.

[Michael Bradley]

Pillar is killing lefties (at least in AAA) so as a 4th OF and platoon option against LHP he will have value. A Reed Johnson type is always good to have on the bench. Hopefully he replaces Davis on next season's roster.

[DonYon]

This is actually getting me excited for tonight's game

[dagger]

It would be great to hit on a later round pick that turned into something at the MLB level. All I really care about at this point is our prospects anyways so this should be a good story to follow. Deal Rajai and bring up Gose as well. Let the kids play.

The thing I like about Pillar is that he's kind of an underdog story... No one seriously believes he's going to be an all-star, fourth OF is his likely ceiling, but he has consistently pushed back against the odds. first, he couldn't get a major college scholarship despite leading his HS in just about everything. Then he tears up D-2, goes undrafted in his junior year, goes back for his senior year, almost goes undrafted again to his great disappointment, and only gets drafted in the 32nd round. That gets him a $1000 signing bonus.

This was his college resume

2010: Set an NCAA D-II record by hitting in 54 straight games on May 1, breaking the previous record of 49 games … The streak ran from Feb. 8 to May 8, spanning 89 days ... Named a Rawlings/ABCA National Gold Glove Award winner ... Selected as an ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic 1st-team All-District honoree ... Named an Honorable Mention All-American by NCBWA ... Named to the 1st-team Daktronics/NCAA, NCBWA and Rawlings/ABCA All-West Region ... Named a 1st-team All-CCAA selection, giving him three All-CCAA honors in three years … Claimed one CCAA Player of the Week nod (March 15- 21) ... Started all 61 games, leading the team in hits (91), at-bats (240) and doubles (22) ... Ranked second on the team in average (.379), total bases (128) and tied for second in RBIs (50) ... Had a 4-RBI game against CSUEB on March 14 ... Made 130 putouts in the outfield without a single error.

Then there is his girl-next-door fiance, whom he has pledged to marry when he gets to the majors. In another time, like the Bill Veeck era, a team would turn that wedding into a promotion and marry them at home plate.

He's got a lot to work on just to stick next season, he's got a bit of the JPA disease of not working the pitch count for walks often enough. But it will be nice to see someone struggle to grow, as opposed to just struggle. And pushing hard is something he's known for around the minors. Don't expect home runs, but he has nice gap power and usually is among the league leaders in doubles wherever he plays.

[Schad]

Yeah, the walk rate is the one element that provides a real impediment to everyday status for Pillar; unless he's able to carry an average in the .300 range in the bigs (not terribly likely) he won't produce a high enough OBP to merit a place at the top of the lineup, and if your left fielder in hitting 9th, you're generally looking for a new left fielder.

At the very least, everything plays as a fourth outfielder, and he could well surprise and become a starting option.

[Lateral Quicks]

Yeah, the walk rate is the one element that provides a real impediment to everyday status for Pillar; unless he's able to carry an average in the .300 range in the bigs (not terribly likely) he won't produce a high enough OBP to merit a place at the top of the lineup, and if your left fielder in hitting 9th, you're generally looking for a new left fielder.

At the very least, everything plays as a fourth outfielder, and he could well surprise and become a starting option.

I don't disagree, but his lack of walks is mitigated somewhat by his lack of strikeouts. His K:BB ratio is 2:1, which is just fine if he's making good contact on a regular basis. The K:BB was a bit disturbing in AAA, but came with increased power, all in a relatively small sample size.

[Schad]

I don't disagree, but his lack of walks is mitigated somewhat by his lack of strikeouts. His K:BB ratio is 2:1, which is just fine if he's making good contact on a regular basis. The K:BB was a bit disturbing in AAA, but came with increased power, all in a relatively small sample size.

Yeah, it should allow him to carry a pretty decent average...it's merely a question of how decent. If he hits .280, he'll probably carry an OBP in the .320-.330 range; good enough for a fourth outfielder, not really ideal for a starter at a position where good offense is mandatory.

But even if that's all he brings, there are a hell of a lot of worse things in the world than a decent-hitting fourth outfielder with speed who can play all three OF positions comfortably, and perhaps platoon with any lefties we might have with massive splits (ahem, Colby).

[Tyrone Slothrop]

I don't disagree, but his lack of walks is mitigated somewhat by his lack of strikeouts. His K:BB ratio is 2:1, which is just fine if he's making good contact on a regular basis. The K:BB was a bit disturbing in AAA, but came with increased power, all in a relatively small sample size.

Yeah, it should allow him to carry a pretty decent average...it's merely a question of how decent. If he hits .280, he'll probably carry an OBP in the .320-.330 range; good enough for a fourth outfielder, not really ideal for a starter at a position where good offense is mandatory.

Not ideal, but not detrimental if you have above average offensive production from your centre fielder and shortstop

[Schad]

Yeah, but if you have above-average offensive production from CF/SS, and well below-average production at 1B/LF, you're kinda back where you started. The upshot is that it's easier to fill those holes, though.

[RyderMike]

32nd round pick. Shows that anyone who is drafted has a chance

[dagger]

32nd round pick. Shows that anyone who is drafted has a chance

Rajai Davis was drafted in the 38th round (though not by Toronto)

However, as AA said, if a player draft that late makes it to the majors, the scouting community has made a mistake. Anyone with a chance to get to the majors should have been drafted earlier.

[Schad]

32nd round pick. Shows that anyone who is drafted has a chance

Rajai Davis was drafted in the 38th round (though not by Toronto)

However, as AA said, if a player draft that late makes it to the majors, the scouting community has made a mistake. Anyone with a chance to get to the majors should have been drafted earlier.

And I'd hazard a guess that the majority who weren't signability drops owe to one of two things: injured in school before a lot of people got a look, or played for a small school or out-of-the-way locale...ie., places where there was little chance of getting noticed while a scout was watching someone else.

Pillar really doesn't fit any category, especially when you're talking about his junior year (we got him as a senior). Toolsy or no, the fact that he posted a D-II record-breaking hit streak and played in California should have gotten him attention. And as a senior, even if he'd lost all four limbs, his total lack of leverage and said college numbers should have gotten him taken as a much earlier senior sign.