Blue Jays MiLB Standouts: Ceciliani and Tellez stay hot

A look around the top performers for the Toronto Blue Jays minor league organization for the week that ended 7/10

Triple A – Buffalo Bisons
Record 52-40 (3rd Place 4.5 GB)

A 4-3 week has the Bisons slowly slipping to 4.5 games back in the standings after facing some stiff competition. Darrell Ceciliani has been on absolute fire over the past week. He continues to be successful over another week and is batting a very respectful .324 over the past 10 games. In those 10 games he has hit four home runs with 10 RBIs and seven runs scored. Matt Dominguez appears to have recaptured his early season form and has turned it on over the past week. Dominguez has gone 10-27 (.370) and collected two multi-hit games. He has also hit a pair of home runs, scored four runs and driven in three.

On the mound the Bisons have lost a few key pieces of late. The depleted Herd rotation is currently looking for someone to step up and fill the void. Casey Lawrence turned in some solid innings over the past week in two starts but no one was untouchable this week. Lawrence allowed four earned runs over 11 innings on 14 hits. He did strike out five batters in each start and allowed just four walks total. Both starts were against contending teams and he pitched well against the Rochester Red Wings and the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

MVB – Darrell Ceciliani

Double A – New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Record 40-49 (4th Place 22.5 GB)

Another 4-3 week for the Fisher Cats allows them to claw their way back in the direction of a .500 record. Jason Leblebijian had a hit in every game this week and drove in three RBIs. His batting average with the Cats is currently at .325 through 33 games. Ryan Lavarnway finished the week strong with a hit in the past four games and scored four runs while driving in four this week.

Derrick Loveless has shown he can hit when he is in the lineup and added two more home runs to his double-A totals this week. He played in five games and went 7-14 (.500) while driving in three and scoring three times. It appears the Cats need to find away for him to see more pitches. Rowdy Tellez continued to mash this week as he went 9-26 (.346) with a homer, four runs scored, and four RBIs.

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Pitching helped led the way this past week. Taylor Cole was thrown into the vacant starting position and thrived in his first showing. He tossed eight impressive innings and allowed just one run on four hits. To impress more he also struck out eight and did not walk a batter on his way to picking up the win. Shane Dawson and Jeremy Gabryszwski held their own also as they each pitch five innings this week. Dawson allowed just one run in his start while sitting down four batters on strikeouts. Gabryszwski allowed a pair but also grabbed four K’s during the performance.

MVFC – Taylor Cole

Single A+ – Dunedin Blue Jays
Record 13-5 (1st Place – 0 GB)

The D-Jays continue to hit on all cylinders as they went 5-2 over the past week. Full team contributions have been the name of the game for the D-Jays since their turn around heading into the second half. Gunnar Heidt has been swinging a hot bat during the past week. He has picked up multi-hit games in three starts this week and went 10-25 (.400). He has also scored four times and driven in six. No one has been hotter than Richard Urena though. Urena is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak. He is hitting currently batting .297 for the season but went 16 for 33 (.485) over his past seven games. This includes a five-hit performance and four other multi-hit games.

The D-Jays starters had an impressive week on the bump. Justin Shafer pitched twice and allowed just one run over 13.1 innings. Shafer has been impressive of late and built on the recent success this past week as he allowed just nine hits through both starts. Francisco Rios pitched five innings of shut out ball in his start. He was able to strike out five while allowing five hits and no walks.

Sean Reid-Foley has been locked in since his promotion. He has been looking like the ace that everyone thinks he will be thus far for the D-Jays. In two starts over the past week he threw 12.1 innings and allowed just five hits. This included a one-hit shut out in his first start of the week. He struck out 15 batters and only issues one free pass through those innings. His ERA for the D-jays in a microscopic 0.86 thus far with a .130 opposing batting average.

MVDJ – Sean Reid-Foley

Single A Full – Lansing Lugnuts
Record 13-5 (Tied 1st Place – 0 GB)

A big week for the Lugnuts has them tied for first place. This past week the Lugnuts were nearly perfect as they went 6-1. Offence was in surplus early in the week and pitching was locked in to end the week. John La Prise had a hit in each of his six starts this week but four of the games were multi-hit performances. La Prise scored an impressive nine runs during those starts and also drove in three. Max Pentecost continues to be hot at the dish as he hit two home runs this week and drove in six while scoring seven times. Pentecost appears to be getting comfortable at the plate.

Jon Harris turned in another quality start for the Lugnuts as he pitched seven innings and allowed just a pair of runs. He would not factor into the decision but struck out eight during the performance. He also did not allow a free pass and gave up six hits during the game. Ryan Borucki had the performance of the week on the mound as he allowed just one run over 7.2 innings of work. He allowed six hits and struck out six

MVL – Max Pentecost

Single A Short – Vancouver Canadians
Record 13-11 (Tied 1st Place – 0 GB)

A mixed week for the Canadians put them into a tie for first after going 4-3 over the week. The Blue Jays decision to invest in the Biggio bloodline appears to be showing fruit already. Cavan Biggio has been crushing the ball since being signed from this year’s amateur draft. He is currently on an eight-game hitting streak and has shown no signs of slowing down. Over the past week he is 9 for 22 (.409) with nine runs scored, four RBIs, and three stolen bases. Dalton Rodriguez turned in a good start and got the win after five innings of three-hit ball. He allowed a run and struck out four during the start.

MVC – Cavan Biggio

Next: Monday Morning Mailbag: Sonny Gray and other banter

Rookie level – Bluefield Blue Jays
Record 10-7 (2nd Place 1.5 GB)

A 4 and 2 week has the Blue Jays just outside of first place. Edward Olivares is currently enjoying an eight-game hitting streak and has scored four runs over the past week going 8-26 (.308) at the plate. On the mound Hansel Rodriguez threw a seven-inning gem. He allowed four hits over those innings and did not allow a run. He also walked only a pair and struck out six during the dominant start.

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