General Blue Jays Thread

vaff87 · Post #101 » by **vaff87** » Tue Sep 8, 2020 8:52 pm

A lot of players on the team have really cut down their strike out rates this year. That can’t be a coincidence. It’s pretty impressive.

Post #102 » by **Schad** » Tue Sep 8, 2020 11:37 pm

And speaks to the difficulty in figuring out cause-and-effect. People were calling for the hitting coach to be fired as recently as mid-August, but now under his watch we have what looks to be a significant improvement in approach (and results). Is that his doing, or a bunch of young hitters figuring things out? Who knows!

Lateral Quicks · Post #103 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Wed Sep 9, 2020 1:26 am

Schad wrote:And speaks to the difficulty in figuring out cause-and-effect. People were calling for the hitting coach to be fired as recently as mid-August, but now under his watch we have what looks to be a significant improvement in approach (and results). Is that his doing, or a bunch of young hitters figuring things out? Who knows!

Dan and Buck are talking up Dante Bichette quite a bit, so there could be something to that as well...

SharoneWright · Post #104 » by **SharoneWright** » Wed Sep 9, 2020 2:41 am

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carnage24 · Post #105 » by **carnage24** » Wed Sep 9, 2020 4:14 am

oh great... pls dont be out for long

polo007 · Post #106 » by **polo007** » Wed Sep 9, 2020 7:56 am

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polo007 · Post #107 » by **polo007** » Wed Sep 9, 2020 8:23 pm

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polo007 · Post #108 » by **polo007** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:39 pm

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Post #109 » by **Schad** » Fri Sep 11, 2020 12:13 am

Former unsigned Jays draftee Brady Singer is two innings away from a no-hitter in his sixth career start. He has also already topped 100 pitches. Will the Royals let him throw his arm off to chase a no-no in an otherwise pointless game?

polo007 · Post #110 » by **polo007** » Fri Sep 11, 2020 3:59 am

Mark Shapiro excited about young Toronto Blue Jays finding real success | Tim and Sid

16:17 | September 10, 2020

Toronto Blue Jays President and CEO Mark Shapiro joined Tim and Sid to talk about the team’s success in the shortened season as they are currently in a playoff position, and the steps the young players have taken to improve.

SharoneWright · Post #111 » by **SharoneWright** » Sat Sep 12, 2020 2:51 pm

Do 18 games start Kirk's service clock?

Post #112 » by **Schad** » Sat Sep 12, 2020 3:20 pm

Kirk will have at least six years of service time after this, and potentially more depending on how much time he spends in the minors in following years.

Bigger issue is that he's now a permanent fixture on the 40-man, and will start burning options. So this is a bet that he'll be major league ready on a permanent basis within a couple years.

SharoneWright · Post #113 » by **SharoneWright** » Sat Sep 12, 2020 3:43 pm

Schad wrote:Kirk will have at least six years of service time after this, and potentially more depending on how much time he spends in the minors in following years.

Bigger issue is that he's now a permanent fixture on the 40-man, and will start burning options. So this is a bet that he'll be major league ready on a permanent basis within a couple years.

Several roster spots (too many?) on next year's 40 man reserved for catchers as well, if I'm not mistaken.

polo007 · Post #114 » by **polo007** » Sat Sep 12, 2020 4:01 pm

Blue Jays look to Alejandro Kirk to provide offensive boost for injury depleted roster - Sportsnet.ca

More immediate is the intriguing addition of Alejandro Kirk, an offensive force who finished last season at single-A Dunedin. Putting him on the roster makes sense because of his high-contact profile, but designating Joseph, an integral part of the clubhouse leadership group on a young team with few grownups carries some risk.

“We think offence,” manager Charlie Montoyo replied when asked what they’re hoping Kirk adds that Joseph didn’t. “With so many guys hurt from our team, we felt like we need some kind of offence, and we think Kirk can give us that. That’s the main reason he got activated. We think that’s one thing he can do.”

Kirk has been building toward this.

Back at the original spring training, Atkins praised the 21-year-old for taking major-league quality at-bats while he’s focused on shoring up his defensive work at the club’s alternate training site in Rochester.

The Blue Jays added him to their taxi squad after the trade deadline – the Pittsburgh Pirates wanted him as the centrepiece of a trade built around Joe Musgrove – setting him up for the promotion.

“One of my goals since spring training was to improve my catching,” Kirk said in comments interpreted by Hector Lebron. “I want to be more focused on catching, how to call games, have great communications with pitchers and I think I did a lot better at that. That was the part I was missing and why I believe I’m here now.”

The Blue Jays have plenty riding on how it all comes together.

Atkins said any additions the club makes now “will only be from within,” and that’s the talented group of players working back from injury. The Blue Jays need to successfully reintegrate them, tidy up their sloppy play and secure a post-season berth over the remaining 16 games.

Post #115 » by **Schad** » Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:22 pm

That the Jays wouldn't trade Kirk for Musgrove tells you two things: they value Kirk highly, but also that we aren't going to be pushing our chips in for a short run. Musgrove has two more seasons, and had a good 2019. It would have been a perfectly defensible trade.

polo007 · Post #116 » by **polo007** » Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:54 pm

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Lateral Quicks · Post #117 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Sun Sep 13, 2020 12:25 am

I really don't like skipping a guy past AA and AAA ball, with just half a season at A+ ball to boot. Especially a catcher.

I understand being high on this guy - I am too - and being desperate for production at catcher, but was this really the best move either short term or long term? What are the odds he can contribute with the stick this year? What are the odds he can handle a major league staff?

vaff87 · Post #118 » by **vaff87** » Sun Sep 13, 2020 12:33 am

Lateral Quicks wrote:I really don't like skipping a guy past AA and AAA ball, with just half a season at A+ ball to boot. Especially a catcher.

I understand being high on this guy - I am too - and being desperate for production at catcher, but was this really the best move either short term or long term? What are the odds he can contribute with the stick this year? What are the odds he can handle a major league staff?

Who knows. I remember when the Nats turbo promoted Soto in 2018, I was like, “WTF? What are they thinking?” And that worked out okay...

I’m not saying Kirk is Soto, obviously, but he was very impressive in Spring Training, and I’m guessing he impressed at the alternate training site. So hopefully they have a good idea what they’re doing.

Post #119 » by **Schad** » Sun Sep 13, 2020 12:55 am

Lateral Quicks wrote:I really don't like skipping a guy past AA and AAA ball, with just half a season at A+ ball to boot. Especially a catcher.

I understand being high on this guy - I am too - and being desperate for production at catcher, but was this really the best move either short term or long term? What are the odds he can contribute with the stick this year? What are the odds he can handle a major league staff?

Those are all perfectly good questions, and in a normal year I'd very much be against it, too. But in a year where there aren't real minor league games, and where the bar to contribute at catcher is quite low (Jansen has been replacement-level, McGuire was atrocious) it isn't a crazy roll of the dice if they believe that he'll reach the majors for good before he exhausts his options.

polo007 · Post #120 » by **polo007** » Sun Sep 13, 2020 2:04 pm

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