Dunedin Blue Jays Monthly Report: August 2014

Dunedin Blue Jays: Class A Advanced

The D-Jays went 14-15 in August. As a team they hit .252/.329/.390 with 56 doubles, 8 triples, 21HR, and 107 RBI. At the plate the D-Jays averaged 7.45 strike  outs and 3.45 walks per game. They didn’t steal much in August with just 13 successful steals and 5 caught stealing.

On the mound Dunedin pitched 257 innings, allowed 9.84 H/9, 8.58 K/9, and 2.45 BB/9. As a team they had a WHIP of 1.366 and a team ERA of 4.03. What hurt them the most was the 27 home runs they allowed in August.

The D-Jays also left 481 base runners stranded and committed 33 errors while finishing the month with a 0.97 Fielding percentage.

Longest Win Streak: They had two 3-game win steaks, neither resulted in a sweep.

Longest Losing Streak: They had a 4-game losing streak at the end of the month. They lost the final two games of the series against Daytona and the first two games of the series against Brevard County.

Starting Pitching

RHP Taylor Cole (25)- Cole made 4 starts for Dunedin (1-3)and 2 for the Fisher Cats (0-2). Not a very strong finish for a guy that seemed to be having a good year. August saw an increase in successful steals, base on balls, and home runs.

RHP Jesse Hernandez (26)- Opponents hit .333/.361/.489 with a .333 BABIP. Jesse only had two starts last longer than 6 innings and struck out 7 on the 23rd in a loss to Tampa Yankees.

LHP Matt Boyd (23)- Boyd continued his impressive showing at Advanced A-ball with impressive strike out and walk numbers. A WHIP below 1 is pretty good, but then we consider how poorly he pitched in Double-A and everything looks a little less shiny. Still, Boyd held opponents to a .222/.256/.296 slash. In 22IP he only allowed 4 extra base hits.

RHP Roberto Osuna (19)- This young Mexican  was pitching to guys with an average of 4.2 years older than him and still struck out 12.3 per 9IP. He showed good commend only allowing 3.68 BB/9 despite allowing 11.45 H/9. The is little doubt that next year Osuna will improve upon the .318/.400/.511 slash he allowed in August…..after all he is only 19 and most likely still recovery from TJ.

RHP Miguel Castro (19)- Castro could have be played in the Lugnuts rotation, but I really like the kid and am really excited to see what 2015 brings for him, so I put him in the D-Jays rotation since this is where I hope he starts 2015.

In 8.2IP with Dunedin, Castro allowed 3ER, 3BB, 5K, 11 ground ball outs, and 11 fly ball outs. He also allowed a home run in both D-Jays appearances. For the month, Castro held opponents to a .136/.219/.311 slash and a .135BABIP, despite allowing 4 extra base hits and 4 homeruns….so they hit it hard when they did manage to make contact.

Bullpen

LHP Efrain Nieves (24)- Nieves turned things around in August after struggling in June and July. He held opponents to a .192/.244/.205 slash.

LHP Chad Girodo (23)- Girodo made a his first and only start of the season in August, he was credited with his 3rd save, and served up his only 2 home runs of the season in August.

RHP Arik Sikula (25)- I would really like to get a good scouting report on this dude, because I am baffled as to why he was sent down to Dunedin to finish the season off. He finished with 31 saves despite going 10 appearances without a save while in New Hampshire in June. He held opponents to a .222/.294/.244 slash with only one extra base hit.

RHP Danny Barnes (24)

LHP Griffin Murphy (23)- Murphy was promoted in July and had his best month of 2014, but then laid a giant egg in August…that’s all there is to it. He is better than his August stats suggest.

RHP Hunter Carnevale (26)

Catchers
Jorge Saez (24)- This 32nd rounder (2012) had his best month with Dunedin after struggling mightily in July.

Pierce Rankin (25)- He played a little catcher, a little 1st, a little LF, and a little DH in August.

Infielders
Emilio Guerrero– Just like Rankin, Guerrero played multiple positions in August. He played 8 games in CF, 7 games at short, and 1 game at 3rd. Guerrero must have been very sad to see August end because it was by far his best month, even though he played in the least among of games than any other month.

Peter Mooney (24)

Shane Opitz (22)- I like what Shane brings to the table. Lets hope for good health and many more months like August in 2015.

Mitch Nay (20)-The prized 3rd baseman was promoted and played his first game on the 20th of August. He went hitless in his first 4 games and didn’t drive in a run until the last game. Nay hit .189/.250/.216 with 3BB and 9K in 11 games with the D-Jays.

p.s. Nay did hit a 3 run bomb in the playoffs.

Christian Lopes (21)- With all the hype over Franklin Barreto, Lopes went virtually unnoticed in Dunedin.

Kevin Patterson (25)

L.B. Dantzler (23)- Dantzler had his best month with 3 long balls, which equalled his total for the season. He continued to show good plate discipline and an ability to drive in runs.

Outfielders
Nick Baligod (26)

Marcus Knecht (24)- The Toronto native continues to disappoint.

Dwight Smith (21)- Smith had an insane July followed by a very ordinary August. He did hit more home run in August than any other month. He had 5 multi-hit games, with one being a 3 for 5 day….a triple shy of the cycle.