Comments on: Jays Affiliate Assigments Begin

By: Bravo

Bravo — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:45:01 +0000

Everts seemed to be awesome coming out of high school. After the TJ surgery, do you think he still has what it takes to crack the 40-man?

By: Ready

Ready — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:41:07 +0000

I think Thames could be a good 4th OF. He’s not an All-Star type and AA wants an All-Star type at each position. If you look at the good teams, they usually have a decent 4th OF, who can get 300+ AB in a season.

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:08:17 +0000

I really don’t see how Thames will fit into the Blue Jay’s long term term strategy.

After 2011, Rivera’s contract will expire and will leave the Jays organization. Thus in 2012, we have two outfielders ready: Snider (LF), and Davis (CF). Bautista will likely return to RF in 2012, and either Lawrie or a FA will fill in at 3B.

In the unlikely event that Baustista stays at 3B in 2012, then Thames MIGHT have a shot at OF.

Keep in mind that Thames is already 24 yrs old (DOB Nov. 1986). If he doesn’t enter in the majors with us by 2012, then he’ll likely be traded.

One more thing:
Due to the similarities between Davis and Gose (both are ideal leadoff hitters), Gose is likely to replace Davis. We signed Davis to a two-year contract (2011 – 2012) with an additional club option for 2013. This way, Gose will have up to two (or three) more years in the minors.

By: Mat Germain

Mat Germain — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:34:30 +0000

Agreed. Once all assignments are fulfilled, Stewart should be taking his spot. It’s just how it’s slated as per today’s lineup.

By: Kelekin

Kelekin — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:11:07 +0000

I imagine Page won’t start at AAA, unless it’s simply just due to us being short on starters there. Only 2 innings above High-A, and not even good numbers there. Should be converted to a reliever at AA, but really he’s just organizational filler.

I fully anticipate Cooper will be our 1B at AAA, with Shealy as the DH (and vice versa). Diaz should get the starter’s job at SS, and Thames/Loewen/mastro should be our starting OF. I am hoping Scott Campbell comes back strong and can claim the 2B job with Lawrie likely ending up at 3B.

I also imagine Boone and Stewart will be in AAA this year.

By: George

George — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:31:18 +0000

In 92/93, John Olerud hit #6, mainly because there was no room for him at the top of the order. We could possibly see that happen with Lind in a couple of years.

By: George

George — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:09:58 +0000

It’s taken a bit for the AA7 effect to trickle up to the AAA level, but it looks like the Lost Wages fans will be watching some pretty good baseball this year. We are now starting to see the shape of a Blue Jays lineup in a couple of years.
Outfield: Snider, Gose, Thames, Bombista, Marisnick /Mastroianni
Infield: Lawrie, Hech, Escobar, Lind/McDade
Catching: Arencibia, D’Arnaud/Perez
Rotation: Morrow, Romero, Drabek, Cecil, Stewart/Jenkins/McGuire/et. al.
These are just guys that have done well this Spring. Pretty fearsome.

By: George

George — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 05:30:23 +0000

Thanks for the great info, Matt. Given the Jay’s recent philosophy of having a plan for the development of their young talent, I would be very surprised if JP were removed because of poor hitting. Young catchers have so much on their plate that it is only a rare few who hit well right out of the gate. I expect the Jays to be patient with JPA for a year or 2, at least until D’Arnaud or Perez are ready for the majors. Jeroloman would be called up in case of injury, but I believe his path to a steady job with the big club is well and truly blocked by the depth of the Jay’s catching prospects.

By: gabriel

gabriel — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 04:19:07 +0000

Let’s not forget that Loewen also has a rocket for an arm. Both Sierra and Loewen are well-suited to RF.

That being said, if Sierra has the range to handle Centre, we should give him some playing time there, even if Gose or Marisnick are the CFs of the future.

By: Mat Germain

Mat Germain — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 16:35:45 +0000

I think that either way, the catcher will be hitting 9th (except when John McDonald is in the lineup), so the expectations at this point are fairly low. If JP proves his defensive skills are up-to-par and he can add some power to the low end of the lineup, he’ll likely get his fair share of ABs.

However, if he proves truly abysmal at the plate, there’s an outside chance that the Jays swap him for Brian Jeroloman, a catcher who has outstanding defensive skills and can get on base at a very high rate.

Personally, I think he’s 100% focused on being great behind the plate right now and is putting so much energy on that part of the game that his hitting is….well….taking a hit.(pun unintended)I entirely believe that the Jays will begin keeping score, sort of speak, when the season begins. If he has 2-3 hits in all of April, then the Jays may decide a change is needed. But, to me, that’s likely to be the time that he starts being more comfortable behind the plate and when he’ll likely begin to make better contact.

He should be able to stick around all season long. If he does well defensively, there’s no reason for the Jays to send him anywhere.

As for Thames, I thought about it for a while and decided that the closest I could find was Andre Ethier. Both are lefties, both have similar builds, although Thames is 2 inches shorter, and both have lots of power. Thames could reach the majors in 2011, as Ethier had also done at age 24, the age Thames will be this season. At 23, their stats were as follows:

Ethier (AA/AAA): 520 ABs/165 hits/31 db/18 HRs/82 RBI/.317/.384/.492
Thames (AA): 496 ABs/143 hits/25 db/27 HRs/104 RBI/.288/.370/.526

Also, Thames had 58 extra base hits total, while Ethier had 52, this despite Thames having fewer ABs. Thames struck out more often, however, (121 times to Ethier’s 96) but we have to take into consideration that Thames was returning from a serious injury that kept him to only 216 ABs in 2009. Considering that, I think it’s fair to say that he could have hit for better average in 2010 if he had played a full 2009.

The only real difference between the 2 at this point in their progressions and for the future comparison is that Ethier plays RF, while Thames may be relegated to LF. But, offensively speaking, it’s possible that Thames develops into an Ethier type outfielder. That would mean the possibility of developing into a couple of 30 HR / 100 RBI seasons with .270 to .300 averages and middle of the road OBPs, high slugging percentage, coupled with some 20-25 HRs /70-80 RBI seasons.