Jays Minor League Affiliate/Prospect Discussion Thread

[aligator]

Jonathan Diaz:

BA- .254 OBP- .354 SLG - .313 OPS- .668 BB-12 SO-10 HR-0 RBI-6 SB-3 E-6

[aligator]

By far the highlite of the night was Kurt Isenberg's complete game, 7 hitter(9K's) for NH. An outstanding start in his 1st try this season at AA has eyes focused again on Kurt's development. Perhaps the proverbial light bulb has finally come on here or maybe he's just acquired a new pitch to his repertoire or added confidence. His next few starts will bear watching. There are a few other positive surprises in the farm system this year. I will mention them later. Ryan Patterson also had a big night in his 2nd game with NH, with 3 hits including a grand slam. John Schneider stroked 2 homers and Davis Smith had 2 hits. Wayne Lydon had 3 hits for Syracuse. Aaron Tressler posted a quality start for Dunedin -6innings, 2 hits, 7 K's. Reliever Sean Stidfoile kept up the zeros for 2 more innings before Conor Falkenbach blew the game in the 9th. Sound familiar? Relief pitching was also the story in the Lansing loss as Julio Pinto and Edward Rodriguez each continued to post good numbers with 2 SO innings apiece. Starter Zach Dials was roughed up. Brian Pettway, quickly becoming too old without positive adjustment, had 2 hits.

Now, on to those positive surprises:

- catcher Eric Kratz, a sound defensive C, so far hitting .273 at AAA(.333 at NH). Hope he gets some more time there to see if he can keep it up.

-slick fielding Ray Olmedo hitting .287 at AAA and earning raves as he did in ST. Our future SS?

-Syracuse reliever Brian Wolfe with an ERA of 0.69 with 13 K's in 13 IP.

-Aaron Mathews holding on to a steady .323 BA at NH

-Sergio Santos hitting .280 with 9 HR, 22 RBI and an OPS of 1.000

- Robinson Diaz hitting .307 in 1st season at this level

-Juan Peralta hitting .346 after his call-up to NH. Always considered a good talent, Peralta has been in the Jays system for 6+ seasons and until now was always considered young for his class. Just as that excuse was wearing thin, this slick fielder seems to have discovered how to consistently hit the ball. His future progress, too, bears watching

-Jesse Litsch we knew was good but not this good - ERA of 1.17, Whip of .91 Only his SO total could be better as he is essentially a ground ball pitcher.

-Cory Patton with a .343 BA in Dunedin

_Catcher Brian Jerolman at .254 in Dunedin. On the surface this might not seem like much, but it is his 1st full season of pro ball after being drafted as a defensive backstop with a questiomark surrounding his
offence.

-Russ Savickas, another highschooler who has taken it a long time to get it together, with an ERA of 2.70 and a Whip of 1.06

-Sean Stidfoile, ERA of 1.08, Whip of 1.02

-Travis Snider hitting .367 at Lansing, OPS of .964

-Jonathan Diaz, hitting .243 with OBP of .349. These are good numbers as it is his 1st full seaon in pro ball . Regarded as a slick fielder.

-Chase Lirette with an ERA of 2.27 with whip of 1.03. He is another in his 1st full season - a CC draftee.

- Seth Overbey(ERA 0.000), Edward Rodriguez(great stuff and an ERA of 1.02) and Chris Reddout (ERA 1.08) round out the list of positive surprises so far in 07.

[aligator]

Graham Godfrey has been promoted from extended ST to Lansing, likely signifying that he was turning heads in Florida. Godfrey was signed last summer, too late to begin play, as he was a draft eligible sophomore who dropped to the 34th round on signability issues. Jays had the foresight to draft him and when they came up with the $200,000 bonus, he was signed. This highly touted young arm will bear watching as he begins his pro career.

[-MetA4-]

Jesse Litsch pitched 7 innings tonight of no-hit ball with 9 strikeouts and only 1 walk. New Hampshire held a no-hitter into the 9th inning until Tracy Thorpe gave up a double with 2 outs. Litsch now has a sub 1.00 ERA.

[dennistokyo]

This is a great thread. Well done, guys.

[Andrea>Dirk]

Thanks for the updates!

[asif9t9]

So, who's the next guy in line after Litsch? We need someone with more promise at the catcher position.

[SmallTownJournalist303]

We have Thigpen, who should turn out to be a very good major league. Not a star, mind you, but a productive catcher.

[asif9t9]

I've always felt like catcher is a position where our backup should be a young kid with a future. Let him learn the daily routines of dealing with pitchers, etc.

[SmallTownJournalist303]

...or you could let him play and develop in the minors? If you like than theory, than just have a veteran catcher as his back-up in AAA to "show him the ropes" rather than have him ride the pine for a year.

[asif9t9]

Well, I think catchers are different. Probably more than any other position, catchers need days off. So, let's say Zaun was in, instead of Phillips taking 40+ starts, we could give that to a kid. And I don't just want the kid to learn from a vet catcher. I want the kid to learn how to deal with big league pitchers.

For all other positions, I think maximum playing time is the way to go.

[Holmes]

Well, I think catchers are different. Probably more than any other position, catchers need days off. So, let's say Zaun was in, instead of Phillips taking 40+ starts, we could give that to a kid. And I don't just want the kid to learn from a vet catcher. I want the kid to learn how to deal with big league pitchers.

For all other positions, I think maximum playing time is the way to go.

Well, 30 other major league managers thinks this is a terrible idea.

[asif9t9]

-= original quote snipped =-



Well, 30 other major league managers thinks this is a terrible idea.

Well considering my experience is following the Jays....I don't remember the last good catching prospect we had. Wasn't Delgado a catcher...

[jalenrose#5]

Thigpen....as of May 30th.....batting .314 with 3 HR's and a K/BB ratio of 17/14....very very good eye.

Bring this kid up JP.....let him learn the game as a backup.

[OldNo7]

I miss aligator

[jalenrose#5]

-Jays Option Litsch to AA New Hampshire

-Syracuse beat the Norfolk Tide 7-6. Homers from Russ Adams(3 run), John Hattig(solo) and Chad Mottola (2 run) supplied most of the runs for the chiefs. John Thomson pitched 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER (3 unearned), 2 K's O BB. He's starting to heat up a little. The veteran right-hander, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore pitching shoulder on March 31, has gone at least five innings in each of his four starts with the Chiefs.

-New Hampshire beat Division leading Trenton 4-3 in 10 innings. Dustin Majewski came up with a homer. Multi hit games go to Ryan Klosterman and Juan Peralta. Closer Lee Grontkiwicz went two innings of no hit ball striking out 4 in the process.

-Dunedin lost 7-4 to Clearwater. Multi hit games go to Jacob Butler and John Kreuzer. Butler added a two run homer. Orlando Trias had a decent outing going 6 IP, allowing 8 H, 4 R (2 ER) 0 BB, 4 k's...but allowing 2 HR's.

-The Lansing Lugnuts lost 3-2. Multi hit games go to 3B Matt Lane and SS Jon Diaz. Travis Snider went 1-4 and his BA sits at .344. He's the only player on the team with an average over .275. Kyle Ginley went 6 strong Innings allowing 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's and 0 HR's allowed.

-Brandon League recently had a relief outing in Dunedin. He pitched 2 IP allowed 1 H and struck out three, No runs allowed.

Hopefully that helped

[OldNo7]

Thanks JR

[kelso]

If League keeps it up he's obviously with the big club soon which means its end of the line for one of Towers/Ohka IMO. You can't move any of the others in the pen as they've been lights out lately. I think Towers or Ohka would garner interest, but I'm not sure for what.

[jalenrose#5]

The Chiefs went for the sweep in a double header against the Columbus Clippers last night and they succeeded.

They won both games by a score of 4-0 and 8-1.

Hitting Star.....

Russ Adams totaled 4-7 with 4 RBI's......now averaging .260

[whiterasta80]

Anyone have an update on the status of our signing our picks?