Sep 26, 2010; Toronto, ON, Canada; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher

In a depth move Wednesday morning, the Blue Jays signed right-handed pitcher Rick VandenHurk, according to the club’s official website.

If VandenHurk, a native of Eindhoven, Netherlands, is able to crack the Major League roster at some point this season, he would be the first Dutch-born player ever to play for the Blue Jays. The 26-year-old appeared in four games for the Orioles this past season, giving up eight earned runs on 12 hits with eight walks and four home runs.

He has spent most of the last three seasons at the Triple-A level, where he went 9-13 with a 4.43 ERA in 154 innings for the Norfolk Tides in 2011 and will likely slot into the Las Vegas 51s’ rotation in 2012.

To make room for VandenHurk on the 40-man roster, the Blue Jays placed right-handed reliever Alan Farina on the 60-day disabled list. Farina, who underwent Tommy John surgery last June, is set to begin throwing bullpens in less than two weeks, according to MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm via Twitter.

-JM

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AAA Las Vegas

Assignments: (more…)

Image courtesy of waatp.com

After #38 Mitchell Taylor, a promising young lefty to definitely watch closely next season, comes the highest ranked relief pitcher on our list at #37…

#37: Alan Robert Farina

Pitcher / 24 years old / 5′11″ 195 lbs

Born: August 9th, 1986 in Chuluota, Florida

Bats: Right    Throws: Right

High School Team: Oviedo Lions

College: Clemson University

Drafted by: The Toronto Blue Jays in the 3rd round (115th overall) of the 2007 First-Year-Player Draft for $254,250

Jersey Number: #10 for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats

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To San Diego – SS Tony Fernandez and 1B Fred McGriff

To Toronto – 2B Roberto Alomar and OF Joe Carter

Who can think of the Jays winning the World Series without either of these 2 players? As I sit here and ponder that and read about the Adrian Gonzalez deal falling through, I can’t help but ponder whether or not it could happen a second time. This time, the deal could look as follows: (more…)

I will start by saying that this year, more than ever, my list is close to being in line with BA’s list, which was compiled by Nathan Rode this year.

My current Top 10 followed by Nathan’s ranks in brackets next to the player’s name.

1. Kyle Drabek, SP (1)
2. J.P. Arencibia, C (7)
3. Anthony Gose, CF (3)
4. Adeiny Hechavarria, SS (not in Nathan’s top 10)
5. Jacob Marisnick, OF (10)
6. Travis D’Arnaud, C (4)
7. Asher Wojciechowski, SP (6)
8. Zach Stewart, SP (5)
9. Carlos Perez, C (8)
10. William “Deck” McGuire, SP (2)

I’ll address the big one first since there’s an elephant in the room named Adeiny Hechavarria. Nathan’s not the only one who doubts Adeiny Hechavarria‘s skills, and it wouldn’t be the first time that a Cuban prospect didn’t pan out as expected. However, I do believe that many people overlook the impact that culture shock can have and that in Adeiny’s case, they also overlook the vast improvements he made as the season went along despite moving up to a higher level during a prolonged slump. After all, the Jays didn’t hand Adeiny a 4 year $10 million contract just to see him play in HiA Dunedin.

I won’t lie, Adeiny’s stats – on the surface – look a little uninspiring. A .273 average in AA with a meager .305 OBP and only 3 HRs. However, when we compare this to the .193 average and .217 OBP he had in HiA before making the jump, we can see the vast improvements Adeiny made. What’s more, if we double his AA stats to see an approximate number based on 500 or so ABs, with Adeiny hitting the same marks in terms of average/OPB/SLG, he would have hit 20 doubles, 5 HRs, and stolen about 10 bases. That, at 21 years old playing in AA, is nothing to sneeze at. Add in the .963 fielding percentage and the aforementioned culture shock he faced all season long, and you’ve got real potential to see a breakthrough for Adeiny in 2011.

All I’m saying here is that I believe many, if not most, have given up too quickly on Adeiny’s skills to make an impact as a high-end MLB player. I think they wanted to see massive production and massive numbers right off-the-bat due to the hype and the contract he signed, and that the criticism was more severe as a result. He remains the highest ceiling middle infielder in the minors for the Jays although he could quickly be joined by Shane Opitz and Richard Thon – two players I’ll be covering in a near-future post.

Should Adeiny be judged lightly due to his personal circumstances? In my opinion, yes. Therefore, he definitely belongs on the top 10 list because if he can do what he did in AA at 21 in the midst of a culture shock, I can’t wait to see what he does in 2011 now that he’s more comfortable an adjusted to North American life. If not rated as highly as 4th on the top 10 as I have him listed, he still belongs well above the top 9-10 mark. (more…)

“You have to weigh each case by itself. If it’s the right player, the right fit, the right talent at the right price, you’ve got to be open to it.”

I’m sorry, but that has Manny Ramirez written all over it and a message to him and his agent. It may very well be the biggest hint we get on the Jays position towards Manny yet. Instead of saying no, as they just did in Justin Upton‘s case, the Jays said….mmmm, maybe. They told Manny “make yourself affordable, and the Jays will give you the shot you said you wanted to play for John Farrell”. The more interesting fact is that this quote was made after 2 player misses. First, the Jays lost out to the Braves on the Dan Uggla sweepstakes – which I, for one, can’t imagine why they did since the Braves offer was horrible to say the least and ended up putting him in the same division – and have just recently bowed out of the Justin Upton sweepstakes due to the price tag attached.

Ahh, the Justin Upton Sweepstakes. Why in the world are the Jays looking for yet another outfielder anyhow? You have to believe that Rajai Davis was going to be part of a deal. If my thinking on this is correct, the reason the Jays want another OF is because they want Bautista at 3B and see Davis as a platoon candidate. I’d look for the Jays to keep ruffling the bushes to see what they can add in the outfield. I’m not so sure who it will be, but with the talent level Alex Anthopolous has been looking at to add at each position, you know it’s not going to be a Pat Burrell type of player. He want a young and mobile OF. (more…)

There were a total of 4 Jays prospects on the Peoria Javelinas who played against the Scottsdale Scorpions, who were managed by former Blue Jay Randy Knorr. Here’s a look at what they did:

RHP Alan Farina: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Farina pitched a scoreless 6th inning for the Javelinas and, on paper, it looked like he cruised through the inning, where highly touted Washington Nationals prospect Bryce Harper led off. Farina threw all 5 of his pitches in the at bat for strikes, because Harper swung at every one of them. Harper only managed to foul off 2 pitches though, which allowed Farina to notch his first strikeout of the inning. (more…)

For anyone that is unsure about the details of the Rule 5 Draft, it is a draft of players who have been left off of their club’s 40-man roster, and the team with the worst regular season record picks first, concluding with the team that had the best regular season record. Each player is only eligible once a certain exemption period has elapsed. Only teams who have available spots on their 40-man roster can take part in the Rule 5 Draft, because any player selected is moved to that team’s 40-man roster immediately. Each player costs $50,000 and must remain on their new club’s Major League roster for the entire season, otherwise they will be sent back to their original club at half price. For a full in depth explanation on the Rule 5 Draft, you can always head here.

There have been notable players taken in the Rule 5 Draft that have had success at the Major League level including Joakim Soria, Dan Uggla, Johan Santana, Josh Hamilton, and Jose Bautista. The Toronto Blue Jays have a rich history with the Rule 5 Draft as well. Notable players that have been claimed by the Jays in the Rule 5 Draft include Willie Upshaw (1977), 1987 AL MVP George Bell (1980), World Series Champions Kelly Gruber (1983) and Manny Lee (1984), and Dewayne Wise (1999). (more…)