Posts tagged JaysProspects.com

Cashman Field is home of the Las Vegas 51s

Las Vegas – A city that is built upon the foundation of hope and big dreams. A city where people – young and old – come in the hope of realizing ultimate success, and sometimes as a final cling to fading glory.

While this description matches the scene inside the hundreds of casinos in Sin City, this same imagery can applied to the clubhouse in many AAA ballparks – including that of Cashman Field– where the Blue Jays AAA affiliate the Las Vegas 51s plays host to a roster filled with future and former major leaguers.

In a league where a blossoming major league ready pitching prospect can be neighbours in the locker room with a thirty-something utility player who has only spent stints in the show long enough to grab a cup of coffee, the uniqueness and mystique that surrounds the bridge between AAA and the MLB is more interesting than ever – and no other city can offer better parallels than the city of Las Vegas.

As the trend of young, dynamic prospects sailing through the minors in a year and a half and making an impact at the big league level before they’re 25 continues to become more and more common place in baseball, the concept of AAA has become more and more like a waiting room instead of a place to develop.

On any given night at Cashman Field, we can see 23 year-old phenom Adeiny Hechavarria mixing it up with 35 (soon to be 36) year-old utility player Chris Woodward – Both of whom are part of the starting infield in Vegas. Depending on the night and situation, this infield could be backing up 25 year-old reliever Evan Crawford -who recently made his impressive major league debut – or starter Tim Redding – a 35 year-old journeyman whose best success came with the Nationals in 2008. This gives a sense of both the differences in age, but also the difference in direction that can cause for an interesting ride.

Breaking down the roster and statistics, we see a much deeper situation.

Let’s take for instance, Travis Snider.

Starting in 2006, Snider was able to blaze his trail through the farm in a way that few players are able to do before him. Putting forth solid seasons in his first two years in the system enabled him to make his MLB debut in just his third year of professional ball in 2008. Snider, while showing growing pains that are to be expected with a 20 year-old, impressed during his time with Jays in the ’08 season and showed the ability/potential to become an everyday contributor in the outfield.

Outfielder, Travis Snider, presently has a 370 BA with 4 HR and 24 RBI. When will he make it back to the Majors?

We all know how the story goes from here – Some tough seasons are met with some injuries, and four years later Travis Snider is still plagued by the hardest thing he’s had to do in his career – bridge the gap between AAA and the MLB. In a unique transition that has caused many ball players trouble, bridging that gap between AAA performance and MLB performance is something that can cause a player with major league talent to spend a career in the minors. It’s a situation that Travis Snider constantly works at ensuring never becomes a reality.

Before injuring his wrist in late April, Snider showed what he can do at the dish. Through the first three weeks of the 2012 season, Snider posted a .370 BA with 4 HR and 24 RBI. He also became much more disciplined at the plate, striking out only 13 times over the course of 81 at-bats (16%) a total that has plummeted compared to his performance with the Blue Jays in 2011 (187 AB, 56 SO, 30%).

So what is it that can make a guy like Travis Snider put up the numbers like he has in the early part of 2012? And how can he carry these kinds of stats over to the Majors? While the answers to these questions will remain to be seen until Snider regains his health and continues where he left off, there are different things that can factor into Snider being equally as effective in T-dot as he is in Vegas.

The first being plate discipline.

As mentioned before, Snider has vastly improved his ability to lay off bad pitches and run up the count. In addition to his diminished strike out totals, his walks have sky rocketed – earning 12 free passes this season over the course of his 81 AB’s (15%) – in comparison to the 11 he tallied over his 187 AB’s with the Blue Jays in 2011 (6%). Snider has learned to take outside pitches on those 2-1, 2-2 counts rather than chasing – something that hindered him throughout his early stints in the show. Laying off bad pitches and make pitcher’s accomodate him is an incredibly valuable asset to add to Snider’s game, and may be the key factor in transitioning.

The second factor to consider is the mental toughness.

I’m not a psychiatrist, and I’m not going to try to be one with this post, but as sports fans we have the ability to feel, recognize and identify pressure situations (and clutch players that thrive off of them). While nobody expected Travis Snider to emerge in 2008 and hit .400 with 65 round-trippers, there is a sense of “first impression” that comes with a rookie making his debut. That sense of impression is both with the fans (what can the rookie do) and with the player (I’m gonna show them what I’m capable of). This sense of added pressure to a young ballplayer can be enough to break focus and confidence, amounting to lackluster performances. Like I said, I cannot vouch for Travis Snider and say this is what he went through over the past three years, but I can say, as a fan, I have seen countless situations where a player continues to dig themselves into a deeper hole by thinking they need to make up for their last at-bat with the next one, and so forth and so forth. The ability to treat every at-bat as a separate event and to have a short-memory on the diamond Is another crucial element that can help Snider bridge the gap.

In addition to Snider’s production, the 51’s have experienced a successful season at the plate, with a team BA of .306 (1st in PCL), 202 Runs (5th in PCL) and 193 RBI (Tied for 1st in PCL). This can be attributed to the stockpile of big hitters that Vegas has at their disposal. Some of the big performers so far this season include 24 year-old catcher Yan Gomes (.371 BA, 3 HR, 20 RBI), 25 year-old first baseman David Cooper (.325 BA, 4 HR, 28 RBI) and 23 year-old centerfielder Moises Sierra (.297 BA, 6 HR, 18 RBI). Save for Sierra, these are the names of guys who essentially have their role established – a player who is a strong contributor and will post impressive numbers at the AAA level, but will never be more than roster-fill in the bigs.

For guys like Adeiny Hechavarria, Travis d’Arnaud and Anthony Gose, the situation is a little different (and a little more optimistic).

At 23, the shortstop Hechavarria has been heralded as the next best Blue Jays middle infielder and seemingly has nothing but a bright future ahead of him. After getting an invite to pro camp this spring, Hechavarria had two weeks of less-than-stellar plate appearances before he was cut. However, the Cuban prospect has shown early in the season that he can get it done at the dish, in addition to impeccable defense. After being promoted to Vegas towards the end of the 2011 season, Hech posted very solid numbers which include a .389 BA, 2 HR and 11 RBI over 25 games. In 2012, he has continued to produce, currently batting .307 with 2 HR and 23 RBI. As he continues to refine his hitting skills, Hechavarria is in position to make a run at the big league club, and with his reputation of being the best defensive prospect in the system, he could possibly inherit the short stop position from Yunel Escobar as early as 2014 (Escobar is signed through 2013 with club options for 2014 and 2015).

Travis d'Arnaud is mainting a .277 BA, and 754 OPS with two homeruns and 12 RBI, when will this strong make his MLB debut?

The phrase “get in line” is earning more and more truth with regards to Blue Jays catching prospects as the talent begind the plate continues to pile up in the farm. While Travis d’Arnaud can definitely hold his own behind the dish, being ranked the #1 prospect in the Jays system (according to Baseball America), looking up and seeing the 26 year-old J.P. Arencibia can be somewhat of a demoralizer with regards to the amount of playing time a 23 year-old up-and-comer would like to have. d’Arnaud’s ability to get on base and move runners in AAA this season have been impressive (.277 BA, .754 OPS) but his power numbers haven’t been strong (2 HR, 12 RBI). This is unfortunate for d’Arnaud, because if he were to edge out the defensively-sound Arencibia for any playing time in the future, it would be via strong power production – something that Arencibia also lacks. Nevertheless, d’Arnaud’s reputation of being a cat behind the plate will continue to attract attention from the major league level, whether it’s the Blue Jays concerned with the promotion or other club’s interested in a trade.

Being a 21 year-old in Vegas poses its very own, completely different set of challenges and temptations, but for a guy like Anthony Gose it’s just a stop on the way to a greater destination – which is an everyday role in the Major Leagues. As Gose has progressed through the minors, he has typically combined solid power numbers, good run production and a low batting average with stellar defense – and this year is no exception. In 2012, Gose is hitting .232 with 2 HR and 19 RBI with the 51’s. While his strongest season at the dish came in 2011 with New Hampshire, (.253 BA, 16 HR 59 RBI) Gose has maintained a strong sense of awareness and natural ability while providing top caliber defense play. While still very young and requiring work on his swing, Gose is the kind of versatile athlete who can contribute in nearly any setting. Look for this to be a factor with regards to his future assignments.

The Las Vegas 51’s are a team compiled of players who share one thing in common – they are all on the brink of cracking a major league lineup. Whether their assets lie in previous experience or potential for greatness, each member of the 51’s has something valuable to provide to the Blue Jays. The question is, whether or not they will get a chance to provide what they have to offer. This element of the development process is especially interesting when looking at pitching talent in Vegas. It is well known that pitchers do not develop in AAA. For the most part, AAA pitchers are either making a temporary stop on the road to the bigs, or are continuing with an aging career in hopes of being called up for another chance at glory. This sentiment holds true with the 51’s, as we see pitchers like Evan Crawford (who made his debut last month) waiting for another call from Toronto, sitting in the same bullpen as Jim Hoey, a middle reliever who’s career ERA in the majors exceeds seven. While much of the exciting pitching talent rests in AA, High A and A with names like Wojciechowski, Nicolino, Sanchez, Syndergaard and Nolin, the 51’s pitching staff is highlighted by Crawford and 26 year-old closer Chad Beck – who’s 1.23 ERA is the lowest on the staff.

There is an atmosphere around a AAA ballclub – much like an atmosphere around a casino – of hope and aspirations, some fading while some very much alive. While the irony lies in the fact that this ball club calls Vegas home, there is a sense of grittiness and determination that can be found in the core of the Las Vegas 51’s. While player development takes precedent over a win-loss record for minor league clubs, I can imagine that the final few chances to taste victory on the baseball field must be valuable to aging veterans on the Vegas roster. This competition is something to admire and may spell the end of acareer for some, the competitive atmosphere can be just the thing to prepare those who are going “all in”, and on their way to a career in the majors.