Archive for Toronto Blue Jays

Casey Janssen doesn’t have a problem with the save rule, nor does he have much trouble earning saves. The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander racked up 22 of them after being the handed the closer’s role in May. The 31-year-old former set-up man appeared in 62 games overall, logging a 2.54 ERA and 0.864 WHIP while walking just 1.6 batters per nine innings. He talked about his successful transition, including reliever usage and the myth of closer mentality, during a mid-summer visit to Fenway Park.

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David Laurila: You were recently charged with an earned run that wouldn’t have scored had the runner not taken an extra base on defensive indifference. Is that fair?

Casey Janssen: I don’t know if there is anything productive I could say about that other than it stinks and it’s part of the game. It’s been a rule for so long that I don’t see them changing it anytime soon. It’s not an error, so I have to imagine it has to be an earned run. As a pitcher, you just accept it.

DL: Is it fair to have a reliever come in, blow a multi-run lead, and ultimately get credited with the win? Should the official scorer have the discretion to give it to someone else?

CJ: I don’t like that idea. I’m kind of a traditionalist, I guess. Unfortunately — or fortunately — if you do have that happen to you, you’re the pitcher of record. It’s your win, just as much as if you throw one pitch and get hit with the loss.

DL: What do you think of the save rule as currently structured?

CJ: I’ve got no problem with it. I think it’s pretty fair and makes the most sense. I’m fine with most rules, but if there was one I’d like to see changed, it would be the wild-pitch third strike. Read the rest of this entry »

The Toronto Blue Jays got a good defensive shortstop when they acquired Mike Aviles from the Red Sox as compensation for John Farrell. The 31-year-old came into the 2012 season with a utility-man reputation, having played nearly as many games at second base and more than a handful at the hot corner. Thanks to regular playing time at his best position, that has changed. To the surprise of many, hr was one of the best defensive shortstops in the American League this season.

Aviles talked about his defensive game in the final week of the Red Sox season.

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Aviles on playing shortstop: “Starting from high school on, I’ve played short. It’s been a position that’s come rather naturally for me, compared to the other positions I’ve played.

“Everybody has their own opinions, but I feel that I’m a pretty solid shortstop. I may not win any Gold Gloves, and you may not hear about me on ESPN, or see me do all kinds of crazy plays, but I can do the job. My main focus is to just get the out. I want to make the plays and have the respect of my teammates and coaches. That’s all I’m really concerned about. I don’t need a lot of attention.”

On metrics showing that he‘s a good defensive shortstops: “I do like hearing that. It makes me feel proud of all the work I’ve done, because I know I’ve had a rep of not being the best defensively. Read the rest of this entry »

Anthony Gose has seen his big-league career get off to a slow start. The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder has hit just .183/.256/.244 in 92 plate appearances since debuting in mid-July. He promises to get much better as he matures, though. As one of the top prospects in Toronto’s organization, the 22-year-old (as of Aug. 10) left-handed hitter has both a sprinter’s speed and emerging power (70 stolen bases and 16 home runs last year in Double-A). He also has excellent defensive chops, including good instincts and a well-above-average arm. What he lacks is experience, which he should gain a lot more of this coming month.

Gose came to Toronto in 2010 from the Phillies, via the Astros, in a three-team deal. He talked about his development path — as well as his first week as a big- leaguer — when the Blue Jays visited Fenway Park last month.

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Gose on developing as a hitter: “A tremendous amount has changed since I was in the Florida State League [in 2010]. There’s been the whole transformation of my swing — my mechanics. That’s been a gradual thing ever since I was traded over here, and even throughout this season. There have also been, at times, more drastic changes. Now it’s more just fine-tuning things; it’s more on the smaller end of changes.

“When I got traded over, it became more of being able to swing the bat for a little bit more power — trying to drive the ball. I’ve been focusing on making two-strike adjustments and barreling the ball more consistently, as well as just getting on base.

“I went through a number of different stances when I first got over. Read the rest of this entry »

The Chicago White Sox organization has done an outstanding job of squeezing every ounce of value out of its prospects this season.

Back in March, four prospect analysts/publications (FanGraphs, Baseball America, Keith Law, Kevin Goldstein) all agreed – in separate rankings of the 30 organizations in baseball – that the White Sox club was indeed the weakest in all of Major League Baseball in terms of prospects.

The perceived lack of quality hasn’t stopped the club from trotting out 12 rookies this season – for a combined value of 3.1 WAR. The majority of the contributions have come from the pitching side. Only outfielder Jordan Danks and infielder Eduardo Escobar – since traded to the Minnesota Twins for Francisco Liriano – have played the field for the White Sox. Danks has managed to provide 0.2 WAR, while Escobar was in the negative prior to his departure.

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It’s no secret that I’ve been a big fan of the moves that Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has been making. He’s done an outstanding job of turning the organization around despite having almost nothing to work with. Astros fans will not see immediate results at the big league level but the organization – including the front office, scouts, and minor league development staff – have done an amazing job of infusing talent into the system.

Today’s trade with the Toronto Blue Jays will add even more talent to the organization and the 10-player deal (called the most boring 10-player deal ever) is being highly underrated from Houston’s perspective and will no doubt positively impact the club for a long time. Although Luhnow did not acquire an A-level prospect in the deal, he acquired three B-level prospects and a sleeper.

My first impression of this trade is that Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos – referred to as a ninja by many Toronto fans as well as the media for his stealth-like moves – may have made a panic trade and served up too much talent for three so-so pitchers with big league experience.

Let’s breakdown the minor league players involved:

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Major League Baseball’s 2012 amateur draft is less than a week away. The first round is scheduled for June 4, beginning at 7 p.m. EST, and the next 39 rounds will be on June 5 (rounds two through 15) and June 6 (rounds 16 through 40), beginning at noon EST on both days.

The draft will be interesting for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the overall talent is considered one of the weakest in recent memory; second, new rules have been implemented by MLB in an effort to control draft spending. Among many other changes, each team will be given a pool of money to spend (based on the number and position of their picks) and penalties can be assessed for exceeding the “recommended” funds.

Because teams are limited by the amount of money they can spend, you’re likely to see a lot of good prep players, who are not consensus first-round talents, head to college because they won’t be able to sign above-slot deals after being selected later in the draft, like in the past. As well, junior college enrollement could skyrocket because that route allows players to re-enter the draft after just one year, rather than wait three seasons with the four-year college route.

Below is my take on the first round selections. It is not a guess of what teams will do; it’s a ranking of what I would do if I were running the draft war room for each team. I drafted without considering each club’s willingness to spend money on the draft, and I looked to take who I considered the best player available — based on scouting reports, word of mouth and first-hand observation.

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The Toronto Blue Jays made the shocking decision today to demote veteran first baseman Adam Lind to triple-A. In his place the organization added catcher/infielder Yan Gomes to the 40-man roster and promoted him from Las Vegas.

Make no mistake about it, the rookie will not replace Lind in the lineup. Despite outstanding surface numbers at triple-A, the Brazil native has the ceiling of a platoon/part-time player. However, I’ve softened my stance on him since the spring when I wrote about not reading too much into his small-sample numbers. After posting decent numbers at the double-A level in 2011, Gomes followed that up with solid results in the Arizona Fall League in late 2011 and then even better numbers at triple-A this year. Defensively in the minors he’s played 149 games at catcher, 29 at first base and 10 at the hot corner – grading as average-at-best at each.

His numbers at triple-A are definitely aided by the potent hitter’s environment in Las Vegas and the rest of the Pacific Coast League. He was hitting .359 with 17 extra base hits, including five homers, at the time of his promotion. His continued aggressive approach led to just six walks in 131 at-bats, good for a walk rate of 4.3% (He posted walk rates of 3.6% in high-A in ’10 but was up to 8.1% in ’11). Gomes, 24, will also need to adjust his two-strike approach at the big league level; he was hitting .595 while a head in the count at triple-A but that number plummeted to .186 while behind in the count.

A teammate of J.P. Arencibia’s at the University of Tennessee, Gomes and Toronto’s incumbent starting catcher are friendly so that will help him fit into the clubhouse – which some observers have likened to a frat house. Gomes fits a number of club needs. He’ll serve as the third string catcher behind Arencibia and Jeff Mathis. He’ll be a better backup to third baseman Brett Lawrie than the light-hitting Omar Vizquel was and he could occasionally fill in for the equally versatile Edwin Encarnacion, who appears to be the new everyday first baseman.

Although I suggest tempering enthusiasm for Gomes’ promotion it’s not hard to envision him playing an important role on the Jays’ 25-man roster. This move also suggests that Toronto really is taking the 2012 seriously and taking a legitimate stab at competing for the wild card slots. They realized that Lind was unfortunately costing the club runs – and possibly wins. Gomes, on the other hand, should be given a legitimate shot to contribute to the team’s success going forward – or until the organization can cash in on some of its young arms, such as low-A starter Noah Syndergaard, in an effort to acquire a potent veteran bat for the middle of the lineup. An eventual promotion of Vladimir Guerrero, who’s working out in extended spring training, is another possibility.

Regardless of what happens going forward, Gomes deserves some recogniztion for working hard to develop himself into a legitimate big leaguer after being the 310th player selected (10th round) in the 2009 amateur draft and the first Brazilan born player in the majors.

Drew Hutchison has received the call to The Show.

Taken in the 15th round of the 2009 draft, Hutchison wasn’t even on the radar of a lot of teams prior to the draft. Toronto scouts, though, saw something special and convinced the organization that he was worth a $400,000 gamble. The 2009 draft was a circus for the Blue Jays organization. It signed its first overall pick, college right-hander Chad Jenkins who has been a disappointment, but then failed to sign the next three picks. Those picks included James Paxton – now one of Seattle’s top prospects, Jake Eliopoulos, and Jake Barrett – a potential first round draft pick in 2012. The selection of Hutchison and fellow top rookie Jake Marisnick, an athletic outfielder in high-A ball, could help salvage the otherwise disappointing draft.

In just his third pro season, Hutchison, at the age of 21, is now a big leaguer. He was ranked as the fourth best prospect in the Jays system during the pre-season Top 15 prospect list for the club. He had an excellent 2011 season, which saw him pitch at three different levels: low-A, high-A and double-A. After making just three starts at double-A last year, he returned to the level this season and made another three starts.

The right-hander has above-average control for his age and he mixes his pitches well. Hutchison can reach 93-94 mph with his four-seam fastball but he tends to work with a two-seamer in the 89-91 mph range with good movement. His second best pitch is a changeup and it’s a potential strikeout pitch. The third weapon is a slider, which remains inconsistent.

Hutchison likely needs more minor league seasoning. He’s been good – but not dominant – at double-A this year and has just six starts above A-ball. He’s known for having solid makeup and a tough demeanor so he should be able to handle the stress of the sudden call-up. Hutchison will make his big league debut on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals and may be up for just one start before being sent back to double-A. With Toronto in the midst of a 20-game stretch without a break, though, Hutchison could stick around.

The club also considered Joel Carreno and Jesse Chavez, both pitching at triple-A Las Vegas, for the fifth starter’s role.

Every year it happens in spring training: A previously unknown (by the general fan population and mainstream media) minor league player posts dazzling statistics in spring training and everyone starts singing the praises of said player.

This year it happens to be catcher Yan Gomes, 24, in the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring camp. After Tuesday’s game he was hitting .474 with a slugging percentage of .842 in 19 at-bats. A very impressive performance but this is also a very small-sample size. Check out the Twitter love for Gomes as fans interact with Toronto sports radio personality Mike Wilner.

You’re kidding, right? @CharliePride78: @julianmktr The Jays would be STUPID if they don’t at least put Gomes on roster, as bench plyr!!!

Sample size, please. @CharliePride78: @Wilnerness590 @julianmktr The guy can play 3-4 different positions, he seems 2 be a gr8 hitter!!!

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Yesterday, Eno Sarris covered the potential cost of Yu Darvish by using Major League comps, eventually settling on a Jordan Zimmermann comp to go along with the $100 million price tag. While this is certainly not a financial commitment for the faint of heart, the rumour mill is saying that the Blue Jays have submitted the top bid for the Japanese star. However, Nippon Ham is under no obligation to take the highest bid, and there have been rumors swirling around the Rangers as well. While we will find out who the official winner is by Tuesday, let’s take a preliminary look at how Darvish would fit on these two teams, and which fit is best.

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