Travis d’Arnaud Hits HR in 1st Game

The Dunedin Jays had a night to forget, as they lost 10 – 2 to Clearwater, but there were some things to cheer about in this game. First and foremost, newly acquired catcher Travis d’Arnaud had an immediate impact on the club, crushing his first HR of the season in the 7th inning. Michael McDade and Justin Jackson were the only other Jays to manage hits off the Clearwater pitching, which was led by 6 strong innings by Austin Hyatt.

It’s great to see that Travis started the year off on the right foot. If he stays hot until mid-season, he should easily be able to get a promotion to AA.

POSITION CHANGES ALERT

As we all know, the Jays will soon have Adeiny Hechevarria in the minors and this has altered their long term plans for some minors players. They also had Justin Jackson and Tyler Pastornicky playing at the same level, meaning that something had to give. Well, here’s what that squad has done to deal with these issues:

• John Tolisano has been moved from 2B to 3B;
• Tyler Pastornicky remained at SS; and
• Justin Jackson moved from SS to 2B.

Now, that was just 1 game, so it doesn’t mean that it will remain this way as the season goes on, but it does make some sense that both Pastornicky and Jackson get accustomed to moving around the infield so that they fit as utility players down the road. Also, Tolisano’s power fits better at 3B and he has the arm to play the position, so that also deepens the Jays depth at a very weak internal position.

I’ll update this situation as the season wears on and will update my top prospects rankings when this setup has been used consistently.