Archive for June, 2011
Blue Jays Minor League Transactions: June 20 – June 26
110 months ago
by April Whitzman
in Transactions
This is the third article on the transactions within the Blue Jays Minor League system, looking at who has made the next step in development and who has slid back. Iain Sutherland (@IainSut on Twitter) will be covering the week starting June 20th to the 26th. During which, the GCL Blue Jays and the Bluefield Blue Jays have loaded up their rosters. In all, there were 70 transactions for the week. Thankfully that will slow down soon and we can take a closer look at who’s on the move.
June 20th
Wow, what a busy day that was. Some notables include Adonys Cardona, the RHP international free agent signed last July from Venezuela, 17 years old getting his first taste of life in the minors. Griffin Murphy, LHP second round pick from 2010, Dickie Thon, 5th rounder from last year and son of former major leaguer Dickie Thon. At the time of his draft it was a big question mark whether the Jays would get him signed as his father was playing hardball on the negotiations. In the end Thon was paid like a late first rounder, so the hope is that he actually develops like one too Further up the organizational ladder Kevin Nolan jumped back to Dunedin after a week’s vacation in Lansing. Nolan like I mentioned last week appears to be caught in a roster shuffle numbers game, but hopefully will be settled after this. Danny Pereles moved up from New Hampshire to Las Vegas after a week’s vacation in New Hampshire.
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Adaric Kelly | Adaric Kelly assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Adonys Cardona | Adonys Cardona assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Blue Jays Extended Spring Training. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Alex Ramirez | Alex Ramirez assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Bluefield Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Alex Ramirez | Alex Ramirez assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Bluefield Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Alexys Rodriguez | Alexys Rodriguez assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Blue Jays Extended Spring Training. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Brian Slover | RHP Brian Slover assigned to GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Chris Peters | SS Chris Peters assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Chris Roman | Chris Roman assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Christian Frias | Christian Frias assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Bluefield Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Colby Broussard | Colby Broussard assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Las Vegas 51s | Danny Perales | OF Danny Perales assigned to Las Vegas 51s from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Deivy Estrada | Deivy Estrada assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Bluefield Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Dickie Thon | Dickie Thon assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Blue Jays Extended Spring Training. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Eric Arce | Eric Arce assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | George Carroll | George Carroll assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Griffin Murphy | Griffin Murphy assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Bluefield Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Jorge Navarette | Jorge Navarette assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Jorge Vega-Rosado | Jorge Vega-Rosado assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Julio Carmona | Julio Carmona assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Blue Jays Extended Spring Training. |
| Assigned | Dunedin Blue Jays | Kevin Nolan | Kevin Nolan assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from Lansing Lugnuts. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Kevin Patterson | Kevin Patterson assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Leandro Mella | Leandro Mella assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Bluefield Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Luis Mendez | Luis Mendez assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Blue Jays Extended Spring Training. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Nico Taylor | Nico Taylor assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Randal Thompson | Randal Thompson assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Ronald Melendez | Ronald Melendez assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Bluefield Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Santiago Nessy | Santiago Nessy assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Blue Jays Extended Spring Training. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Seth Conner | Seth Conner assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Sony Javier | OF Sony Javier assigned to GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Tim Mahler | Tim Mahler assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Bluefield Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Tucker Jensen | Tucker Jensen assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Zak Adams | Zak Adams assigned to GCL Blue Jays from Blue Jays Extended Spring Training. |
June 21
Another busy day, this one mostly stocking up the Bluefield Blue Jays. Notables include Aaron Sanchez, 34th overall and Noah Syndergaard, 38th overall picks from 2010 starting their first full year in the system after getting a taste last year. Kellen Sweeney, second rounder from 2010 and brother of Ryan Sweeney outfielder for the Oakland A’s. Oh, and some guy named Litsch hanging out in New Hampshire with his rented Mustang. See you soon Jesse!
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Aaron Munoz | Luis Munoz assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Aaron Sanchez | Aaron Sanchez assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Vancouver Canadians. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Ajay Meyer | Ajay Meyer assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Andrew Sikula | Andrew Sikula assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Andy Fermin | Andy Fermin assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Vancouver Canadians. |
| Status Change | GCL Blue Jays | Brandon Mims | GCL Blue Jays placed 2B Brandon Mims on the temporarily inactive list. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Carlos Pina | Carlos Pina assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Chris Schaeffer | Chris Schaeffer assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Cody Bartlett | Cody Bartlett assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | David Rollins | David Rollins assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Ian Kadish | Ian Kadish assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Javan Williams | Javan Williams assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | New Hampshire Fisher Cats | Jesse Litsch | RHP Jesse Litsch assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Lansing Lugnuts. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Jonathan Lucas | Jonathan Lucas assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Kellen Sweeney | Kellen Sweeney assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Kevin Pillar | Kevin Pillar assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Leo Hernandez | Leo Hernandez assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Blue Jays Extended Spring Training. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Matt Abraham | Matt Abraham assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Matt Fields | RHP Matt Fields assigned to GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Melvin Garcia | Melvin Garcia assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Mitchell Taylor | Mitchell Taylor assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Myles Duvall | Myles Duvall assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Toronto Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Noah Syndergaard | Noah Syndergaard assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Tyler Ybarra | Tyler Ybarra assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | Bluefield Blue Jays | Yudelmis Hernandez | Yudelmis Hernandez assigned to Bluefield Blue Jays from Vancouver Canadians. |
June 23rd
The big news on this day applied to the big club with Eric Thames making the jump back to Toronto and Mike McCoy racking up yet more air miles heading back to Vegas. Other notables, eager young Joe Musgrove (last heard from in an airport heading to Florida) having passed his physical was assigned to the GCL. Andrew Liebel is attempting to recover from a disastrous 2010 when he dealt with injury and now has taken a big step backwards ending up in Rookie ball.
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Andrew Liebel | RHP Andrew Liebel assigned to GCL Blue Jays. |
| Recalled | Toronto Blue Jays | Eric Thames | Toronto Blue Jays recalled LF Eric Thames from Las Vegas 51s. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Joseph Musgrove | RHP Joseph Musgrove assigned to GCL Blue Jays. |
| Assigned | GCL Blue Jays | Matt Newman | OF Matt Newman assigned to GCL Blue Jays. |
| Optioned | Las Vegas 51s | Mike McCoy | Toronto Blue Jays optioned 2B Mike McCoy to Las Vegas 51s. |
| Assigned | Dunedin Blue Jays | Steve Turnbull | RHP Steve Turnbull assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from Lansing Lugnuts. |
June 24th
Dustin Antolin finally cashing in on a fine 2010 performance in Lansing, just coming off the disabled list, with a move up to Dunedin.
| Assigned | Lansing Lugnuts | Dustin Antolin | Dustin Antolin assigned to Lansing Lugnuts from Dunedin Blue Jays. |
| Status Change | Lansing Lugnuts | Matt Fields | Lansing Lugnuts activated RHP Matt Fields from the 7-Day disabled list. |
| Status Change | Las Vegas 51s | Willie Collazo | Las Vegas 51s placed LHP Willie Collazo on the 7-Day disabled list retroactive to June 22, 2011. |
June 25th
30 year old B.J. LaMura keeping the dream alive moving back up from New Hampshire to Las Vegas taking the place of Willie Collazo. Neither player is of any significance long term, merely organizational soldiers
| Assigned | Las Vegas 51s | B.J. LaMura | RHP B.J. LaMura assigned to Las Vegas 51s from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. |
June 26th
Drew Hutchison moving up to Dunedin on a well deserved promotion, having gone 6-2 2.62 ERA and 4.42 SO/BB
| Assigned | Dunedin Blue Jays | Drew Hutchison | Drew Hutchison assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from Lansing Lugnuts. |
And that’s all for this week. Next week, this article gets a lot smaller now that all the short season clubs are filled.
Prospect Profile: Garrett Maines On That First Big Hit and His Journey to Vancouver
110 months ago
Garrett Maines- C
NDFA 2010
Previous Club: GCL Blue Jays
There is something remarkable about seeing that first home run of your team’s still young season leave the ballpark. Apparently it feels even better when you have just watched it sail from the barrel of your own bat, over the brightly lit Scotiabank Field wall and into the Vancouver night.
At least that is how Canadians’ catcher Garrett Maines felt when he belted his first professional home run and fist pumped his way over home plate on Sunday at The Nat. “It felt very good” Maines said, beaming at the recollection. “I didn’t even really realize it went out until I was rounding second and I saw the crowd on its feet cheering. It just really felt good to be able to contribute to my team in a positive way like that.”
Maines, a native of Brandon, Florida and former University of Tampa Spartan, had a few twists in his road to becoming a Jays prospect. Declining a draft offering by Pittsburgh in his first year of junior eligibility, Maines elected to finish school and left college to play 2009 with the Midwest Sliders of the Frontier League. After his 22 game stint in Independent ball, he signed with the Chicago Cubs early in 2010 but was sent to the Blue Jays GCL instructional team as a NDFA following spring training.
Asked about his experience in the Gulf league he chuckled “Well it’s hot, long and there are no fans so it’s hard to get energy out of a game. More than anything it’s a real test, more mental than physical.” Responding on how he liked the Vancouver scene so far Maines lauded the great atmosphere. “I love the fans. It’s everything it was built up to be down in Florida.”
The fans certainly love the C’s second catcher for his offensive contribution on Sunday and his willingness to spend time post-game with the younger fans. His goal for his time in Vancouver: In a word “Consistency. It’s funny, I’m actually really good friends with Pierce Rankin (Vancouver’s everyday backstopper). He knows I’m after his job and I know that he’s out to keep his job now. I just want to contribute any way I can and hopefully move up one step every year.” He also said that he had been taking advantage of Manager John Schneider’s wealth of baseball knowledge. “He’s a former catcher and I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can from him.” Though Sunday was his first start, C’s fans have gotten a glance at all three of the team’s catchers so far this week and will be sure to see more of Maines as the Northwest season rolls on.
For updates on Garrett Maines and other Jays prospects in Vancouver stay tuned to jaysprospects.com and be sure to check out canadiansbaseball.com for live gameday audio, news releases and more.
UPDATE: Maines tore through Everett’s Memorial Stadium in two starts during the Canadians’ first road trip of the season. Thursday night saw him go 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs in the DH slot in a 9-3 win over the Aquasox. Backstopping for Justin Nicolino on Friday night, Maines followed up with a 2 for 4 effort notching his first triple and second round-tripper of the season providing all of the runs the Canadians would need in a 2-0 win while bringing his average to a fear-inducing .417 over 3 starts. The C’s are 2 for 2 in series wins and move on to Salem-Keizer to face the 1-7 Volcanoes .
In other news, Justin Nicolino put in another solid 5 innings of work to pick up his first win of the season. He has held opponents off the scoreboard in his first two starts of the campaign.
Blue Jays Minor League Transactions: June 6, 2011 – June 12, 2011
211 months ago
by April Whitzman
in Transactions
This is the start of a weekly item on the transactions within the Blue Jays Minor League system, looking at who has made the next step in development and who has slid back. This week, Iain Sutherland, (@IainSut on Twitter) will be looking at the transactions between June 6 to June 12.
Las Vegas 51s (AAA)
On June 9th, Dewayne Wise was released at his own request. Since Wise was fairly down the depth chart for the outfield and putting up good numbers, it was considered good policy for dealing with future veteran players to allow him to find a better opportunity.
Dewayne Wise hit .338 with 10 doubles, 3 triples and 4 homeruns but was still let go by the Blue Jays' organization.
Taking Wise’s position on the roster is Reidier Gonzalez. After dominating the Eastern League to the tune of a 6-1 record and a 2.56 ERA, many are anxious to see how he fares against the offensive Pacific Coast League.
On June 11th, Robert Ray was demoted to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats after coming off the disabled list in Las Vegas. So far this season Ray has struggled with a 6-6 record, 5.51 ERA and a high 1.692 WHIP.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA)
This turned out to be a very busy week for the Fisher Cats roster.
As mentioned above, Reidier Gonzalez made the jump on June 9th to the bright lights of Las Vegas and in turn was replaced by former first round pick Chad Jenkins after showing good progress in the Florida State League with Dunedin. Jenkins showed quite good control of the strike zone keeping walks down to a neat 1.9 BB/9 and 9.45 H/9. This is Jenkins’ first go at AA ball, so it should be interesting to see how he takes to the challenge.
Chad Jenkins pitched 7 complete innings, allowing only two earned runs on seven hits, three walks and six strikeouts.
Relief pitcher, Frank Gailey, was sent back down to Dunedin on June 11th. I suspect this may have been more of a case of needing the roster spot than anything to do with Gailey’s performance to date. On the same day, Oliver Dominguez was called up from the Lansing Lugnuts so there appears to have been a quick need for a second sacker for the short term.
Rounding out the week, one that led to a bit of scrambling to find out what happened, June 12, showed the suspension of Anthony Gose. At this time it appears to be related to an ejection from earlier in the week during a game against the Bowie Baysox.
Dunedin Blue Jays (High-A)
June 9th, Dunedin activated 2B Ryan Schimpf from the 7-day disabled list to make his first appearance of the year. At the same time, Kenny Wilson went on the disabled list and appears to be done for the year. He confirmed on Twitter that he will be undergoing surgery on his left shoulder to repair a labrum tear likely on June 16th. Rehab is anticipated to take 3 months.
As mentioned above, Chad Jenkins made the move to New Hampshire and Frank Gailey came back to Dunedin from the Fisher Cats.
Ryan Schimpf has recently come off the disabled list and will soon make his first start with Dunedin.
June 12th brought two more roster moves with a swap of RHP Casey Lawrence moving up from the Lansing Lugnuts to Dunedin and seldom-used Shawn Griffith moving down to Lansing.
Lansing Lugnuts (A)
June 9th RHP Misaul Diaz placed on the 7-Day DL.
June 11th 2B Oliver Dominguez called up to New Hampshire
June 11th OF Jonathan Jones activated from the 7-Day DL
Both Jonathan Jones and LHP Egan Smith have been activated from the disabled list.
June 12th RHP Shawn Griffith moved down from Dunedin taking the place of RHP Casey Lawrence who went the other direction.
LHP Egan Smith was also activated from the 7-Day DL.
Vancouver Canadians (Low A)
On June 10th, Yeico Aponte was assigned to the Canadians from the Bluefield Blue Jays. At this point this is mere shuffling as neither Vancouver nor Bluefield have begun playing games yet. Expect their rosters to be released later this week.
Overall
So this it for this week. The lower minors should be interesting in the coming weeks as new draftees are assigned and of course the existing draftees from 2010 making their debut at the low minors level as well. Best of luck to all in the coming months.
Risky Biz: Toronto Blue Jays 2011 Post Draft Review
411 months ago
by Ryan Kinsey
in Draft News
The MLB 2011 Amateur draft has come and gone, and for the Toronto Blue Jays it was a successful one but didn’t come without many risks. The Blue Jays went assertively after high-school players with high-ceiling talent and didn’t shy away from those “hard to sign” type of players as well. In our Draft Preview I stated that for the longest time the Blue Jays draft strategy was known as “the safe picks” meaning they didn’t take any players that were hard to sign or committed to a school. This draft the Blue Jays did the total opposite and was the most exciting draft because of it, for me anyways.
Draft Overview
The Blue Jays held 7 of the top 78 picks in this year’s draft and went with 7 high-schoolers and of those all but 2 were position players. The Blue Jays picked 55 players in 50 rounds for the entire draft, the breakdown of players goes like this: 27 high-schoolers, 27 collegians and 1 from Independent leagues, 31 pitchers and 24 position players. Official position breakdown goes like this 23 right-handed pitchers, 8 left-handed pitchers, 15 infielders(including 8 SS) and 8 outfielders.
First Round Pick
The Blue Jays were rumoured to be going after a college arm to start off their draft but shocked many, including myself in selecting Tyler Beede, 21st overall. Tyler Beede is a tall lanky high-school right-handed pitcher from Lawrence Academy. He stands 6’4 200lbs and is born on 05/23/1993. The Blue Jays drafted him because of his polished delivery and intimidating mound presence for a high-school pitcher. He has a 3 pitch mix a fastball that sits around 89-93MPH, nasty breaking ball which is a mix between curve and slider and a good feel for a changeup. He is committed to Vanderbilt University program and put out a letter to all MLB teams saying he is going to fulfill that commitment. Post draft, Beede stated the same thing but shed some light to Blue Jays fans stated “it’s all about the money” on his decision to sign or fulfill that commitment to Vanderbilt.
Supplementary Picks
The Blue Jays held 4 supplementary picks and an extra 2nd round pick in this year’s draft do to the departure of Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, John Buck and Miguel Olivo. The Blue Jays used those picks to draft Jake Anderson(35th overall), Joe Musgrove(46th overall), Dwight Smith(53rd overall), Kevin Comer(57th overall) and Daniel Norris(74th overall).
Best pick outside first round
For me the best pick outside the first round for the Blue Jays was Daniel Norris in the second round, 74th overall. He is a high-school left-handed pitcher out of Science Hill HS. The 6’2 Norris was ranked 15th based on pure talent by MLB.com’s Jonathon Mayo before the draft. His fastball is a plus pitch sitting around 92MPH, with an inconsistent curveball which has the chance to be a plus pitch down the line and an average changeup, though he doesn’t need it much at the high-school level. His calling card talent wise is his mound presence and makeup. He is committed to going to college and said to be looking for a bonus of $3.9 million.
Canadians Picked
The Blue Jays took 7 Canadian players in the 2011 draft, one of which was top ranked Canadian Tom Robson(139th overall) of Langley, B.C. Other picks include Justin Atkinson(799th overall), Leslie Williams(1129th overall), Chris Cox(1189th overall), Shane Davis(1279th overall), Jake Eliopoulos(1309th overall) and Eric Brown(1519th overall). I guess the Blue Jays draft strategy for Canadians was only to pick them with their pick ending with a 9.
Success of draft
The 2011 draft for the Blue Jays was a successful draft to me and many other including MLB scouts who ranked the Blue Jays having the second best draft of all 30 MLB teams.
With all the high-schooler’s picked and their commitments to schools the only way to tell the success of the draft is how many players they are able to sign.
Dear Brett Lawrie, I’m Sorry.
111 months ago
In my last blog post, entitled Blue Jays Prospects of the Week (May 23-29) I ended off Brett Lawrie’s blurb by saying “There’s no stopping Brett, and there’s no doubt he will be called up very soon.”
There’s no stopping Brett… How could I? As I am a little superstitious, I apologize for this epic jinx.
As most have heard by now, Brett Lawrie was hit by a pitch on the left hand while playing for Las Vegas on May 31st. A CT-scan revealed today that he has a non-displaced fracture on a bone on the back of his hand. He will be out roughly 2-4 weeks.
Lawrie was just days away from being promoted to the Blue Jays.
While this is all just coincidence, there is no doubt that Lawrie should have a long, successful baseball career with the Blue Jays, and will no doubt see plenty of playing time at the big league level this year.
Get well quick Brett!
Toronto Blue Jays 2011 Draft Preview
011 months ago
by Ryan Kinsey
in Draft News
The 2011 MLB Amateur Draft is coming up quickly, starting on Monday June 6 and concluding Wednesday June 8. For the Toronto Blue Jays the draft currently is the key to the future of this rebuilding team. Since Alex Anthopolous(AA), General Manager(GM) of the Toronto Blue Jays, took over in October of 2009 the draft has become a key component for the team’s future. His plan is to build a contender for years to come and this all starts from a good rebuilding team drafting well and grooming home-grown talent. AA in his first season as the GM nearly tripled the scouting staff. He increased the number of regional scouts as well as many other departments, in hope of knowing everything about the player before drafting, or signing them. Since AA took over as the GM he sent the Blue Jays farm system soaring up the boards from 28th overall to 4th in less than one year of being on the job.
One way of doing this is creatively signing guys that fall under the Type A or B mould and letting them go after the season. We have seen this in recent years under AA with Kevin Gregg and John Buck. The most interesting pick is the compensation pick for Type B free agent Miguel Olivo. On November 4, 2010 AA acquired catcher Miguel Olivo from the Colorado Rockies for future considerations. Within a day exercised the US$500,000 buyout on the catcher’s option year, making him a free agent. The Jays then offered arbitration to Olivo, setting themselves up to receive a compensatory draft pick in result of him signing with another team. That is exactly what he did on January 3, 2011 with the Seattle Mariners, to a two-year deal worth $7-millionUS.
The Blue Jays currently sit with 7 picks in the top 78 in this year’s draft. With the plethora of picks early look for the Jays draft often and fork out a ton of money to ensure sure they get the players they want. According to Baseball America, the Jays tossed out US$11.6 million in signing bonuses in 2010, the third highest total in draft history. Andrew Tinnish, Scouting Director for the Toronto Blue Jays , is likely to have a similar bankroll to draw upon this summer, allowing him to choose who he feels is the best available player, rather than the best available affordable player. Here are Tinnish’s thoughts on the draft: “The draft is very difficult,” says Blue Jays scouting director Andrew Tinnish. “We’ve done studies where if you get one solid everyday big-leaguer out of a draft and a handful of extra guys, you’ve done a good job. So having extra picks up high is extremely valuable. I know there are teams that aren’t fans of the comp pick, but we certainly are.” Via Roger’s Sportsnet. Signing players in the draft is a tricky process as you have some players that are committed to schools or some multi-sport athletes’ that are usually harder to sign and usually get over-slot bonuses.
Draft Synopsis
This year’s draft has been said to be one of the deepest drafts in recent years. While it may not have that clear cut number 1 overall pick there is a ton of talent up for grabs. There are many people in the draft this year that are committed to schools or that they are multi-sport athlete’s and could get passed on because of sign ability issues. The college pitchers have to be the most intriguing position in the draft not too far behind the many number of polished hitters.
Recent Picks (2006-present)
| Player Name | Year | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Ricky Romero | 2005 | 5th overall |
| Travis Snider | 2006 | 14th overall |
| J.P. Arencibia | 2007 | 21st overall |
| David Cooper | 2008 | 17th overall |
| Chad Jenkins | 2009 | 20th overall |
| Deck McGuire | 2010 | 11th overall |
In the past 6 years of the draft for the Blue Jays have take 3 position players as well as 3 pitchers with their first pick. The key to the picks though is 5 of the past 6 first-round picks are college players. The Blue Jays have had a history of going with college players in the first-round, which is the safer choice over a high-schooler. AA draft philosophy has been drafting the best available as well or high-ceiling players. High-ceiling players are less polished players that are of the high-risk, high-reward mould that usually fall later in the draft.
Positions of interest
With the Jays drafting the best available player at their pick it’s hard to gauge what positions that they would be looking for. I believe that the Jays should be looking for depth in the infield as well as always pitching depth. In an organization you can NEVER have enough pitching depth and the Jays have TONS of it. With the draft being so deep with pitching, look for the Jays to add to the depth this year.
To sum everything up look for the Jays to be busy on draft day with their plethora of picks early in the draft. They will be spending tons of cash at the draft to make sure that they have their guys locked up. Look for some of those harder to sign players to fall into the Jays hands and don’t be surprised if AA drafts them and gets them signed.
Interview with Zach Outman: Proving He’s the ‘Out Man’
111 months ago
by April Whitzman
in Interviews
In 2009, Zach Outman was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 28th round (850th overall) in the amateur entry draft. Since this time he has been an essential factor of the Toronto Blue Jays organization. In 2009, with the Auburn Doubledays, the young right-handed pitcher recorded a 1-1 record, posting a 5.87 ERA in 17 games, allowing only 15 earned runs and 30 hits in 23 innings pitched.
He had a comparable year in 2010 with the DoubleDays, posting a 0-2 record with a 5.27 ERA In 23 games, allowing 27 hits and 16 earned runs.
What is even more impressive about the reliever? In those two seasons, Outman allowed only two homeruns and had a very comparable walk/strikeout ratio, with 47 walks and 49 strikeouts
To find out more about the player behind the numbers, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to talk with the young prospect.
Being from St. Louis, I had to ask whether Outman was a Cardinals fan. I wasn’t surprised with his answer, as he stated: “I’m always and forever a Cards fan. My hometown teams all have a close place in my heart, but the Cardinals are certainly number 1.” And he further added, laughing, “Please, don’t tell the Blue Jays.”
(Ooops, guess I let the cat out of the bag…)
But before you are quick to judge, let’s give Outman some credit. When asked who he presently admires in the MLB, he not only discussed how proud he is of his older brother, Josh Outman, a LHP for the Oakland Athletics, but also added, “My current favorite pitcher is Brandon Morrow. He’s a power pitcher with a strong mentality, and he’s a rather young, up and coming player.” (There’s no doubt that he just won the hearts of many Blue Jays fans with that comment).
Recognizing his strong stats (as highlighted earlier) we asked Outman if he’d be able to share his favourite moment on the mound. He responded, “I have to say my first professional win stands out from my rookie year in Auburn 2009. Egan Smith, my roommate at the time and another prospect in the organization, went a very strong 4 and 2/3 innings before a back spasm took him out of the game. I happily came in relief and threw 3 innings to pick up the win! We call that a snake win.”
While everyone has recognized his impressive stats in 2009 and 2010, many have wondered why there have been no stats to admire in 2011. Outman unfortunately revealed that he was presently dealing with a pre-existing condition with his lower back in which he deemed, “Spondolythesis” and “Bi-Lateral Pars Defects.” For those of you wondering, while his rehab is ‘slow and steady’ he hopes to be back in the game sometime in July. Expect for him to either join the Vancouver Canadians or the Lansing Lugnuts.
While, Outman admits that his best talent on the field is his ‘Never Give Up’ mentality, he also indicates, that, “off the field my best talent would definitely be my good looks!”(While he states he was joking, I am not sure if anyone can look at some of his photos and not agree!)
Zach Outman with the Auburn Doubledays
He further adds, “In all honesty, I would say that my ability to laugh at myself in all things and my sense of humor overall takes the cake. Makes everything much more enjoyable, and it’s easier to be optimistic.”
In concluding, Outman, discussed his game routines, stating, “Being a reliever, normally I just relax in the clubhouse and listen to music until about 40 minutes before the first pitch. A hot pre-game shower is always relaxing, and always a part of my routine. Nothing too exciting, but it keeps me focused.”
JaysProspects would like to thank Zach Outman for his time and wishes him nothing but success in the future!