2019 Minor Leagues/Prospect Discussion Thread

Natural11 · Post #4961 » by **Natural11** » Sun May 5, 2019 4:47 pm

They really need to play Biggio full time OF for a while to get him used to it. Here we are wasting games on Brito when we have a AAA kid pretty much ready to call up but no position to put him at.

Vladdy will be at 3rd most of the time, Galvis will get a lot of PT at SS despite the anomalous hot start, we have to play MVP Sogard and management still seem interested in figuring out if Drury is a MLB player or not. Seems like we're a bit log jammed even before talking about Biggio and Bichette.

Post #4962 » by **Schad** » Sun May 5, 2019 7:26 pm

While being capable of handling multiple positions will benefit Biggio, ideally you want him to be a 2B first and foremost. If we want to keep Sogard's bat in the lineup (and that's likely going to come to a natural end in the not-too-distant future), you play him at SS against righties and move Galvis to the bench more frequently. Neither Galvis nor Sogard are going to be here for any substantial period of time; they don't get priority over actual prospects.

I_Like_Dirt · Post #4963 » by **I_Like_Dirt** » Mon May 6, 2019 2:17 pm

Schad wrote:While being capable of handling multiple positions will benefit Biggio, ideally you want him to be a 2B first and foremost. If we want to keep Sogard's bat in the lineup (and that's likely going to come to a natural end in the not-too-distant future), you play him at SS against righties and move Galvis to the bench more frequently. Neither Galvis nor Sogard are going to be here for any substantial period of time; they don't get priority over actual prospects.

No way, man! Sogard isn't Galvis. His flash of superstardom will never end!

Really, though, I doubt these guys are actually blocking Biggio and Bichette. I'm not in a rush to see either of those guys brought up. I'm sure it will happen either this season or next and the timing isn't really crucial to me. The bigger issue here isn't guys being blocked in the infield because they simply aren't being blocked; it's that the while the focus has been on a lack of pitching prospects, there really aren't a lot of outfield prospects that are actually good in the system, either. The infield is stacked. Even with Vlad called up, Biggio, Bichette, Gurriel, Urena, Smith, Groshans, etc. in the infield. There are some interesting catcher prospects like Kirk and Danner hanging around. The outfield is a bit of a wasteland. Heck, everyone is down on Logan Warmoth, and rightfully so, but if he were an OF prospect, he'd probably be one of the best in the system. There are a few guys floating around who might surprise because it's baseball and surprises happen but the team is lacking in the OF pretty badly.

dagger · Post #4964 » by **dagger** » Mon May 6, 2019 2:34 pm

I_Like_Dirt wrote:
Schad wrote:While being capable of handling multiple positions will benefit Biggio, ideally you want him to be a 2B first and foremost. If we want to keep Sogard's bat in the lineup (and that's likely going to come to a natural end in the not-too-distant future), you play him at SS against righties and move Galvis to the bench more frequently. Neither Galvis nor Sogard are going to be here for any substantial period of time; they don't get priority over actual prospects.

No way, man! Sogard isn't Galvis. His flash of superstardom will never end!

Really, though, I doubt these guys are actually blocking Biggio and Bichette. I'm not in a rush to see either of those guys brought up. I'm sure it will happen either this season or next and the timing isn't really crucial to me. The bigger issue here isn't guys being blocked in the infield because they simply aren't being blocked; it's that the while the focus has been on a lack of pitching prospects, there really aren't a lot of outfield prospects that are actually good in the system, either. The infield is stacked. Even with Vlad called up, Biggio, Bichette, Gurriel, Urena, Smith, Groshans, etc. in the infield. There are some interesting catcher prospects like Kirk and Danner hanging around. The outfield is a bit of a wasteland. Heck, everyone is down on Logan Warmoth, and rightfully so, but if he were an OF prospect, he'd probably be one of the best in the system. There are a few guys floating around who might surprise because it's baseball and surprises happen but the team is lacking in the OF pretty badly.

The outfield prospect list is short to be sure, although injuries have been a factor. That said, the situation at the major league level is worse - with Teoscar Hernandez, Billy McKinney and Brandon Drury when he plays out there failing miserably at the plate. Our outfield production is just about the worst in baseball - a statistical pit. There is really no reason to stick with them beyond May. Gurriel played LF for Buffalo yesterday, and if he can play it reasonably well, I see no reason not to bring him back as a utility player who can handle LF until there is a better option.

I_Like_Dirt · Post #4965 » by **I_Like_Dirt** » Mon May 6, 2019 3:01 pm

Oh, I agree. There isn't really a reason to stick with any of the current outfielders the Jays have other than Grichuck, who is really a placeholder at this point. The only real reason to stick with guys like Hernandez and McKinney is a lack of other options. I definiteliy don't mind the concept of converting some of the infield prospects to corner outfielders. Gurriel and Biggio seem like the most logical starting points but I'm not in a rush to see that sort of experiment played out on the Jays. I'm okay with it if it happens but I won't be broken-hearted if it doesn't. Heck, I'm also curious if Vlad could ever transition to the outfield. He hasn't looked horrible at 3B so far this season and I'd rather keep him there as long as possible but he might be a possibility there, too.

Black Watch · Post #4966 » by **Black Watch** » Tue May 7, 2019 10:35 am

Sad to see both Chavez Young (75 WRC+) and Kevin Smith (47 WRC+) struggling to start the season

dagger · Post #4967 » by **dagger** » Tue May 7, 2019 1:44 pm

Black Watch wrote:Sad to see both Chavez Young (75 WRC+) and Kevin Smith (47 WRC+) struggling to start the season

Young came out of spring training with some sort of injury, tried to play through it, and has been on the IL for weeks now. Josh Palacios at New Hampshire is on the IL. So our outfield sitn looks a little bleaker.

Post #4968 » by **Schad** » Wed May 8, 2019 12:08 am

Joey Murray, our 8th rounder in 2018, is making his first start in Dunedin after striking out 11.7 batters/9 in his five starts in Lansing. Struck out 6 in 5 IP, walked one, gave up a couple hits and no runs.

Book on him is that he doesn't throw very hard, but dominated in college thanks to a delivery that makes his pitches very difficult to pick up. Not a well-touted prospect at all; those guys tend to fall by the wayside as they climb the ranks, but perhaps someone to keep an eye on.

vaff87 · Post #4969 » by **vaff87** » Wed May 8, 2019 3:55 am

Schad wrote:Joey Murray, our 8th rounder in 2018, is making his first start in Dunedin after striking out 11.7 batters/9 in his five starts in Lansing. Struck out 6 in 5 IP, walked one, gave up a couple hits and no runs.

Book on him is that he doesn't throw very hard, but dominated in college thanks to a delivery that makes his pitches very difficult to pick up. Not a well-touted prospect at all; those guys tend to fall by the wayside as they climb the ranks, but perhaps someone to keep an eye on.

Also, Pearson picked up where he left off in Dunedin in his AA debut: 5 innings 2 hits 0 runs 0 walks 8 strike outs

dagger · Post #4970 » by **dagger** » Wed May 8, 2019 12:51 pm

vaff87 wrote:
Schad wrote:Joey Murray, our 8th rounder in 2018, is making his first start in Dunedin after striking out 11.7 batters/9 in his five starts in Lansing. Struck out 6 in 5 IP, walked one, gave up a couple hits and no runs.

Book on him is that he doesn't throw very hard, but dominated in college thanks to a delivery that makes his pitches very difficult to pick up. Not a well-touted prospect at all; those guys tend to fall by the wayside as they climb the ranks, but perhaps someone to keep an eye on.

Also, Pearson picked up where he left off in Dunedin in his AA debut: 5 innings 2 hits 0 runs 0 walks 8 strike outs

Next step for Pearson will be to push him a little further than five innings and/or 75 pitches. He actually needs to find a bit of adversity, like a bit of sixth or seventh inning drop in FB velocity, getting in and out of jams, having to rely on a secondary pitch, etc. Velocity and location of his FB don't appear to be big issues for him through the first 3-4 innings. He was throwing 99 with ease last night but was more effective locating at 97, according to one blogger who watched the game.

Here are his 8 K's from last night

Read on Twitter

dagger · Post #4971 » by **dagger** » Thu May 9, 2019 5:22 pm

A really nice start for Patrick Murphy at New Hampshire - seven innings of one-hit shutout ball, 7K, the only hit a single off the first baseman's glove in the seventh inning. He had one walk, and one baserunner reached on an error. That was it. 92 pitches, 66 strikes. His fast ball says in the mid 90s and tops around 97-98. For those who haven't followed his case, he's still a legit prospect after being derailed by injuries. He has a tendency to follow a great start like this with a so-so one, so if he starts stringing the good ones together, he might get to Buffalo soon, and frankly, could be the prospect starter who gets to the big team next (since he's older than Pearson and stretched out).

Read on Twitter

BigLeagueChew · Post #4972 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Thu May 9, 2019 10:36 pm

• Meetings with pitching coach Pete Walker, bullpen coach Matt Buschmann, coach John Schneider and the day’s starting pitcher to review scouting reports, plans of attack and download any other information that may come in hand
• A body maintenance and preparation routine of stretching, exercises and various treatments as needed
• Some hitting in the cage and perhaps batting practice on the field
• Fifteen minutes in the weight room an hour or so before first pitch
• Ten minutes with the velo machine immediately afterwards
• On the field about 30 minutes before first pitch for some catch to get the arm loose, followed by a set of pitch-blocking drills and a series of footwork exercises to prepare for throws to second and third base
Catch the starter’s warmup in the bullpen
• Play the game.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/slow-start-blue-jays-jansen-understandable-given-focus-defence/

Not getting much BP.

Trilogy · Post #4973 » by **Trilogy** » Thu May 9, 2019 11:07 pm

Catcher is the one position where there is actual responsibility other than batting/fielding and even fielding as a catcher is far more involved. I'm giving Jansen a lot more rope as a result.

Jonathan Davis is off to a great start following his return from injury in Buffalo and had a HR/3 walks today. He's basically putting up a profile similar to Biggio. There has been a lot of whining about the outfield options but there wasn't much going on in the minors to really justify not giving them some time. Davis is pushing the envelope though and if he keeps doing things like this they really should call him up relatively soon and give him regular AB's.

Hopefully Patrick Murphy can stay healthy. He looks like he could be quite good but his injury history is massive.

Lateral Quicks · Post #4974 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Sun May 12, 2019 12:17 pm

Alford has turned a corner recently.

His May line:
.242/.342/.545/.888 with 2 HR, 4 BB and 10K in just under 40 ABs (so yeah, not a big sample).

I think he's capable of more than that, and it would be a huge boost if he could return to his pre-injury performance and merit a call-up mid-season. Despite all his problems in the minors (mostly injury related, I suspect, though strikeouts have always been on the high side) he still has a career ~.350 OBP in the minors. If the Jays could get a player that could do that in the bigs, they'd give him the key to the city at this point.

dagger · Post #4975 » by **dagger** » Tue May 14, 2019 3:17 pm

If ever there was a guy in the Jays' system to root for, it's this fellow. I mean, if he got to the majors, Buck would trip over his name every time he enters a game

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=656422#/career/R/pitching/2019/ALL

dagger · Post #4976 » by **dagger** » Tue May 14, 2019 11:53 pm

Pearson with another perfect start - two innings, 3K. With the weather cold and damp, that's all he allowed. Touched 101 on his FB. In the first game of the twin, Yennsy Diaz threw a shutout - 2H but 4BB.

polo007 · Post #4977 » by **polo007** » Wed May 15, 2019 12:07 am

dagger wrote:Pearson with another perfect start - two innings, 3K. With the weather cold and damp, that's all he allowed. Touched 101 on his FB.

Read on Twitter

vaff87 · Post #4978 » by **vaff87** » Wed May 15, 2019 12:13 am

dagger wrote:Pearson with another perfect start - two innings, 3K. With the weather cold and damp, that's all he allowed. Touched 101 on his FB. In the first game of the twin, Yennsy Diaz threw a shutout - 2H but 4BB.

They’re probably just continuing with the 5 innings, 2 innings, 5 innings schedule he’s on.

vaff87 · Post #4979 » by **vaff87** » Wed May 15, 2019 12:15 am

Kevin Smith is having such a disastrous season. So disappointing.

dagger · Post #4980 » by **dagger** » Wed May 15, 2019 1:16 pm

vaff87 wrote:
dagger wrote:Pearson with another perfect start - two innings, 3K. With the weather cold and damp, that's all he allowed. Touched 101 on his FB. In the first game of the twin, Yennsy Diaz threw a shutout - 2H but 4BB.

They’re probably just continuing with the 5 innings, 2 innings, 5 innings schedule he’s on.

Possibly, but the weather was a clincher. And he was pushed back a day from a Monday start because of a rainout.

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