2025 Minor League/Prospects Discussion Thread

Fairview4Life · Post #441 » by **Fairview4Life** » Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:08 am

vaff87 wrote:
polo007 wrote:
vaff87 wrote:Anyone know why Moreno was pulled for a pinch hitter when he was the DH?

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“Just looking to make a change”, sounds like complete crap.

"I manage a AAA team and was extremely bored."

dagger · Post #442 » by **dagger** » Wed Apr 27, 2022 1:08 pm

Fairview4Life wrote:
vaff87 wrote:
polo007 wrote:

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“Just looking to make a change”, sounds like complete crap.

"I manage a AAA team and was extremely bored."

Moreno is, by all accounts, ready, and yanking him like this makes no difference to any aspect of his development. Buffalo has a lot of guys to get into games, and it doesn't help that somehow the northeast has been the pathway for most rain events on the continent this early spring. So many rainouts already. The bigger issues with Moreno are his service time and how to fit him into the major league roster so he plays enough. There is a log-jam at catcher once Jansen returns (looks about two weeks away). You don't promote Moreno to be third string catcher, you don't promote him to make Kirk permanent DH and drop the latter's trade value. Collins, at least, is a left handed bat. So management has some work to do in the next 4-6 weeks. The Jays, in my opinion, don't have big needs. They could use another high leverage reliever, a better backup outfielder than Bradley Zimmer (or a starter and then move Tapia into the backup role). Let's see what develops.

polo007 · Post #443 » by **polo007** » Wed Apr 27, 2022 8:24 pm

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StringerBell · Post #444 » by **StringerBell** » Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:09 pm

Samad Taylor looks like he's making a push for a call up sometime this year. 20 games in and he's cut back on strikeouts while still maintaining a slg close to .500

dagger · Post #445 » by **dagger** » Fri Apr 29, 2022 10:36 pm

Jordan Groshans in the Buffalo lineup today, playing SS

Went 2-4.

dagger · Post #446 » by **dagger** » Sat Apr 30, 2022 2:24 am

Ricky Tiedemann was scorching at Dunedin: five perfect innings with nine K. Might be our highest ceiling prospect of all. Seems to be totally outclassing the FSL. Needs a bigger challenge.

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Post #447 » by **Schad** » Sat Apr 30, 2022 11:47 am

Tiedemann's still finding his command a bit, but he's putting up utterly ridiculous numbers otherwise. Batters are hitting .081/.208/.113 against him through 20 IP; he's sitting 96-97 from the left side, with a slider good enough that he struck a guy out last night on a hit batsman:

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In addition to the velo, his fastball sometimes has two feet of horizontal break, and his changeup has more run than any major leaguer:

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He has ++ stuff, and if he can consistently get it in the vicinity of the strike zone and his arm doesn't fall off, he's going to be a nightmare.

s e n s i · Post #448 » by **s e n s i** » Sat Apr 30, 2022 2:22 pm

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dagger · Post #449 » by **dagger** » Sat Apr 30, 2022 3:20 pm

Schad wrote:He has ++ stuff, and if he can consistently get it in the vicinity of the strike zone and his arm doesn't fall off, he's going to be a nightmare.

If you look at what Robbie Ray and Kevin Gausman can do with two pitches, then think of what Tiedemann might eventually do with three from the left side, it's easy to get excited. There is some interesting pitching in Dunedin, and I'm expecting a promotion or two shortly. Similarly, might see another promotion from Vancouver to NH, where the starting talent is thinner.

dagger · Post #450 » by **dagger** » Sun May 1, 2022 10:00 pm

dagger wrote:
Schad wrote:He has ++ stuff, and if he can consistently get it in the vicinity of the strike zone and his arm doesn't fall off, he's going to be a nightmare.

If you look at what Robbie Ray and Kevin Gausman can do with two pitches, then think of what Tiedemann might eventually do with three from the left side, it's easy to get excited. There is some interesting pitching in Dunedin, and I'm expecting a promotion or two shortly. Similarly, might see another promotion from Vancouver to NH, where the starting talent is thinner.

This is a step towards a promotion to AA.

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Ado05 · Post #451 » by **Ado05** » Tue May 3, 2022 6:31 pm

Maybe they were too aggressive with Martinez.

vaff87 · Post #452 » by **vaff87** » Sat May 7, 2022 12:14 am

Schad wrote:.

One thing I worried about after Moreno injured his thumb last year, was that it would hurt his power. So far this season, he’s had non existent power. Should we be concerned?

dagger · Post #453 » by **dagger** » Sat May 7, 2022 12:28 pm

He had no spring because of his visa issue. He’s catching up. Yesterday he was 4-5. Relax, he’ll be fine.

bluerap23 · Post #454 » by **bluerap23** » Sun May 8, 2022 1:46 pm

Adrian_05 wrote:Maybe they were too aggressive with Martinez.

Up to 8 hr in 20 games. Probably changed his approach to mash. Not a bad thing to develop that part of his game.

Post #455 » by **Schad** » Sun May 8, 2022 2:05 pm

There's no question he can mash, but a 33% K rate and .271 OBP are untenable. Probably best that he plays the whole year in AA, barring a major improvement.

dagger · Post #456 » by **dagger** » Tue May 10, 2022 7:27 pm

We forget how high Jimenez is on our top 30 (he's ranked #5). He's been swinging a really hot bat the past week or so, and has to be attracting the attention of other teams as well as the Jays

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Post #457 » by **Schad** » Tue May 10, 2022 10:35 pm

The lack of XBHs has always been the limiting factor for Jimenez, so if he can demonstrate the ability to hit for even 40-grade power, he has a shot to be a major league regular at SS given his defense, bat control and ability to take walks.

vaff87 · Post #458 » by **vaff87** » Wed May 11, 2022 1:19 am

Dunedin came back from a 10-0 defective to win 12-11.

dagger · Post #459 » by **dagger** » Thu May 12, 2022 3:43 pm

Since it can be discouraging to talk about the Jays when they are in one of those prolonged, collective offensive slumps, let's focus in on a few guys in Buffalo who might either help the parent club on the margins or provide a tempting trade piece. I won't list Gabriel Moreno here. He's doing well after a late start. The Jays have five catchers right now on the 40 man roster and will have to clean that up when Danny Jansen gets back to the 26 man roster from his current rehab. Whether Moreno gets promoted, and the Jays go with Jansen/Kirk/Moreno using Jansen and especially Kirk as a DH, or they leave Moreno at Buffalo and go with Jansen/Kirk or Jansen/Kirk+ either of Collins or Heineman remains to be seen, but something has to give. This is about the other guys we might watch for promotion or trade purposes.

1. Adrian Hernandez, 22, RHP. This guy is coming to the majors before too long. He's a little fellow, a one-inning guy, but if he can throw a clean inning at the major league level, that would be an upgrade for the Jays right now. Since being promoted a month ago from NH, he's not given up a hit in 11 innings, let alone a run. Yesterday, he won his second game with a clean inning (and 2K). The issue with him is whether his great changeup will play at the big league level. His FB is sitting about 92 mph, and he really disguises his changeup with his FB profile. MLB Pipeline noted that he would face batters at the AAA level who have had more exposure to good changeups, so offering a good test for him. So far, he's passing with flying colours. He's on the 40-man roster.

2. Jordan Groshans, Bats R, 22, SS/3B. It's hard to see how the Jays could fit the 2017 first rounder in right now, and it wouldn't make much sense to employ him as a reserve. However, they will have to protect him in the next Rule 5 draft, and the guys in front of him at the MLB level are young and/or under control for a while, and there are others lower down in the system like Orelvis Martinez and Leo Jiminez, not to mention Otto Lopez and Samad Taylor at Buffalo who can play his positions. If the Jays want to make a splashy trade, he'd seem like a nice headliner, and if they paired him with someone like Alejandro Kirk, a really splashy trade. He has the bonus for an acquiring team of not being far from ready, so it could plug him into its MLB roster immediately, not wait 2-3 years, and that would help sell the deal to its fanbase. Right now, his slash is .300/.371/.444/.815. He needs another month to demonstrate his current production at this level is sustainable. Not on the 40-man roster.

3. Otto Lopez, Bats R. 23, 2B/OF. Nothing much has changed to dissuade teams that Lopez is a bona fide second tier prospect who isn't going to mash big time, but profiles offensively a bit like Santiago Espinal. He had a late start to the season, so needs another month to establish that his production is on point for a promotion. Current slash at BUF is .238/.370/.524/.894 based on only 21 ABs. Like Groshans, there is the question of how the Jays fit him in long-term with their current MLB lineup, and also with other infielders in the system soon to press up on the Rule 5 draft. He occupies a spot on the 40 man roster.

4. Samad Taylor, 23, 2B/LF, Bats R. The Jays expected to lose him in the Rule 5 draft this past winter, but of course, there was no draft because of the lockout. He hitting and power are streaky, his versatility and speed undeniable. His current slash is .245/.350/.451/.801 with five homers, 23 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Has yet to commit an error and has cut down on his strikeouts.

Honorable mention to a pair of 26 year olds, reliever Kyle Johnson and outfielder (formerly a first round pick as an infielder) Logan Warmoth. The latter is finally been moved up the batting order to see if his good production can be sustained in higher leverage situations.

vaff87 · Post #460 » by **vaff87** » Sat May 14, 2022 3:19 am

So right now Orelvis is hitting for a ridiculous amount of power, with a .340 iso, but his strikeout rate is way too high, and walk rate is way too low. In his last 9 games, he’s only struck out 7 times tho, so hopefully he’s starting to improve in that area.

While Moreno seems to be doing everything except hit for power. Has an iso of .060. I’m still worried it might be related to his thumb.