Las Vegas 51s (more…)

July 18, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Brandon Lyon (37) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the sixth inning at PETCO Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

On first glance, I have to admit that the Jays are sending a whole lot of talent over to the Astros in return for a pitching upgrade. It’s far more prudent, however, to look through the entire package before jumping to conclusions. For this year, I absolutely love this deal. It gives the Jays a #4 caliber pitcher who can chew up a lot of innings and support the current staff. The Jays also improve the pen a great deal by simply dealing Francisco Cordero, but get even better since they can replace him with Brandon Lyon. Finally, the Jays improve a great deal on the bench and in the OF with the replacement of Ben Francisco with Travis Snider. As I proposed yesterday, all of this makes the Jays younger, and much better for the remainder of 2012.

For this season, it’s no contest, the Jays flat out win this deal. But what about the ever after?

Before we touch on anything else, we need to know the age, cost, and controllability of each player.

To the Toronto Blue Jays: (more…)

1. RHP Asher Wojciechowski (DUN): 1-0, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Asher Wojciechowski won his 5th straight decision on Wednesday night in Jupiter (Jim Goins, via MiLB.com)

I called out Wojcechowski on the hot sheet over a month ago, going as far as to suggest he needs to be converted to relief sooner rather than later. While I obviously had no impact, he’s coincidentally responded with the best stretch of his young career. Over his last six starts he’s allowed 1, 2, 0, 0, 2, and 0 earned runs respectively, good for a 1.23 ERA. The current period of success has been accentuated by the gem he pitched on July 11th, as 16 of his 21 outs came by way of strikeout or groundout. There’s been a lot of talk around the Blue Jays fan base that some of the Lansing pitchers, namely Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard, need to be challenged at the next level. If the team determines that to be true, Wojciechowski could be one of the guys moving up to make room in the rotation. As a 23 year old former college arm, the team needs to see what he’s capable of.

2. CF Anthony Gose (LAS): 14 AB, .357/.500/.714 (1.214 OPS), 0 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 4/4 BB/K

After wowing the world with his a jawdropping catch in the Futures Game over All-Star weekend, Gose picked up where he left off with the 51s. The break limited him to only four games, so while the 1.214 OPS is mighty impressive, the counting stats were simply too lacking to take the crown as this week’s hottest player. The home run numbers have surprisingly dropped off, but with 10 triples on the season, he’s already surpassed his 2011 total. The doubles aren’t far behind, as he’s two back of his 2011 number with nearly two months left to play. The most surprising decline in performance has been on the base paths, as after stealing 70 bases last year (reaching the 70+ plateau for the second time in three years), Gose has stolen just 29 this year, only on pace for a total in the low 40’s. Not listed above are his three caught stealing this week – again, in only four games – which makes five consecutive caught stealing since he last found success on June 25th. Opportunity hasn’t been the issue, as his on base percentage is 27 points higher than last season. Very puzzling.

3. CF Dwight Smith Jr. (BLU): 17 AB, .353/.389/.647 (1.036 OPS), 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 1/1 BB/K

Making his first appearance on a hot sheet this season is Dwight Smith Jr., a supplemental first round pick from the 2011 draft. He was literally my final cut when I wrote my top 30 prospects last winter, and it was really no fault of his. Smith’s professional contract wasn’t finalized until August 15th, too late for him to play in any affiliated games last season. When I’m trying to squeeze two or three players into the back end of the rankings, I tend to favor prospects with some professional experience, so in this case, Moises Sierra got the nod. Smith missed the first few games of Bluefield’s season with an injury, but has played really well since getting on the field. His hot streak goes beyond the four games within this timeframe, as over his past 10 he’s hitting .293/.383/.463, which is exceptional for short season ball.

4. RHP Jeremy Gabryszwski (BLU): 0-0, 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

The very talented Bluefield staff is working through some issues right now, as in addition to poor weather reaping havoc on their pitching schedule, they haven’t been nearly as sharp in the early going. Despite being listed as active, neither Joe Musgrove nor Tom Robson have pitched in a couple of weeks. Picking up the slack has been Gabryszwski, as he’s produced three consecutive quality outings for the team. His July 14th start was both his longest and his best, as he went five innings without allowing any runs to score. Gabryszwski is one of the less heralded arms from the bountiful 2011 draft, but has a nice fastball/slider/changeup repertoire. His biggest issues have been inconsistency with his stuff and an elbow problem, but a healthy, productive 2012 season could quell some of those concerns. With a 1.89 ERA through 19 innings, he’s off to a good start.

5. LHP Justin Nicolino (LAN): 1-0, 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

It’s been a while since Nicolino made the hot sheet, as while Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Sanchez have made huge strides since being fully stretched out, he has stalled. As hitters are seeing him for a second and third time, they’re picking up on his stuff, resulting in 26 hits allowed in 20 post-All Star break innings. The stuff has still been there, with 23 strikesouts, as has his exceptional command, with only 3 walks allowed. This may be exactly what Nicolino needed to further his development, as he’s going to need to improve his physicality in order to succeed against more advanced and disciplined hitters in the upper minors. This taste of adversity should serve as a resounding message to Nicolino that he will need to hit the gym hard this offseason and add a solid 10-20 pounds of muscle to frame. There’s no doubting his changeup and the curveball is coming along nicely, but the added strength could boost his fastball up by a grade and better keep hitters honest.

6. RHP Deck McGuire (NH): 0-0, 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

No, you don’t need to check your vision. Deck McGuire has made a hot sheet. In actuality, McGuire hasn’t been that bad as of late, as he hasn’t allowed more than 3 earned runs in a start since June 7th. The problem is, most of those starts have been 5 or 6 innings allowing 2 or 3 earned runs, so the ERA isn’t dropped quite as quickly as I’m sure he’d like. The command has been solid and the strikeout rate has been okay, his biggest issue – like it was last year – has been the home run. With two more given up in this week’s start, he’s up to 16 in just 97.2 innings. That’s tied for the most in the Eastern League. As I mentioned, there have been some positives, as over his past two starts (dating back to last week), he has 17 strikeouts against one walk in just over 12 innings.

1. RF Moises Sierra (LAS): 30 AB, .433/.500/.833 (1.333 OPS), 3 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 0 SB, 4/4 BB/K

Mar 4, 2012; Bradenton, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Moises Sierra (74) catches a fly ball hit by Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Jake Fox (not pictured) during the sixth inning at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

While there have been many eyes on the 51s outfield this year, the focus has been on Anthony Gose, Travis Snider, and Eric Thames. Rightfully so, as Gose is one of the team’s top prospects, while Snider and Thames have been in a year-long battle for Toronto’s left field job that Rajai Davis is suddenly winning. Over in right field, however, Moises Sierra is quietly having a very solid year. His latest outburst this week pushed his season batting average back over .300, and with an ISO nearing 200 and walk rate over 9%, the average is anything but empty. It’s becoming very difficult to see any kind of future for Sierra in this organization, however, as despite a solid .860 OPS and .376 wOBA on the season, Snider has him bested in both categories at .977 and .405 respectively. With the trade deadline looming and the team apparently interested in being buyers, Sierra could be someone the Blue Jays include as an accessory piece in a deal.

2. 1B Art Charles (BLU): 21 AB, .286/.464/.857 (1.321 OPS), 1 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB, 7/6 BB/K

Despite a start studded roster, the Bluefield Blue Jays are off to a very slow start at 6-8. A lot of that blame can be placed at the feet of the offense, as the team is only 6th in runs (in a 10 team league) with a .219/.336/.371 slash line. The lone offensive bright spot is Charles, whose powerful week boosted his season line to .275/.492/.700. Much like the 2011 season, which Charles also spent with Bluefield, power and patience has been his calling card. He has 11 hits on the year, and 8 of them have gone for extra base hits. He’s played in 14 games, and he’s walked 15 times. After producing an .819 OPS in 68 games last year, I didn’t understand why Charles was sent back to the Appalachian League. With his opening month performance, hopefully his stay will be short, and he can head to Lansing to give the team a much needed offensive spark.

3. RHP Aaron Sanchez (LAN): 1-0, 10 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

After spending nearly three months piggybacking with Justin Nicolino, Sanchez finally received his own spot in the rotation, and has not wasted the opportunity. As he’s done all season, Sanchez continued to rack up strikeouts while keeping hits and runs to a minimum. He took it a step further this week, however, as he displayed control that we’d yet to see this season. In each of his two five inning starts, he walked only one batter, which was a drastic improvement upon his 5.36 BB/9 entering games this week. If Sanchez has discovered his command, then my heart goes out to the rest of the Midwest League. He’s already throwing two devastating pitches in his fastball and curveball, and if he could actually start placing them where he wants? Watch out.

4. RHP Asher Wojciechowski (DUN): 1-0, 12 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K

When a player repeats a level in the minor leagues, you expect to see significant improvements upon the previous year. For a while, that wasn’t looking like the case with Wojciechowski. He really turned things on in June however, going 3-1 across five starts with an impressive 2.20 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. The performance was highlighted by his games this week, as Asher pitched back to back six inning shutouts to close out the month. While both his strikeout rate and walk rate have improved, the biggest difference between this year and last is home runs allowed. Wojciechowski allowed 15 in 130.1 innings last season (1.04 HR/9), but has trimmed that number to nearly a third, with just 3 in 75.1 innings (0.36 HR/9) so far.

5. C Yan Gomes (LAS): 26 AB, .385/448/.615 (1.063 OPS), 3 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 3/9 BB/K

Yan Gomes has sort of become this year’s Mike McCoy, as anytime an injury occurs or the team needs an extra bat on the bench, Gomes is the man. Despite the constant shifting of location and role, he continues to find success anytime he’s sent back down to Triple-A. The latest trip has been highlighted by Gomes’ 1.063 OPS across his seven games this week. He is obviously more than capable of handling Triple-A pitching, and much like this week’s number one prospect Moises Sierra, Gomes could be an attractive piece to other teams as the deadline approaches. With the injury to Travis d’Arnaud, Gomes has shifted back to his natural position of catcher, only further enhancing his value.

6. RHP Kevin Comer (BLU): 1-0, 8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

Bluefield has an extremely deep pitching staff, and sitting near the top of the depth chart is Kevin Comer. He has a solid but unspectacular season debut, but has been near unhittable since. Relying primarily on his fastball / curveball combination, Comer has simply overmatched the Appalachian League hitters. Like many pitchers coming out of the northeast (in this case, New Jersey), Comer didn’t have a whole lot of experience under his belt, so the Bluefield assignment was far riskier for him than for Daniel Norris or Joe Musgrove, who both threw a lot of innings for their respective high school teams. The sample size is still extremely small, but the fact Comer is handling himself is a very good sign that he may not take five or six years to develop after all.

1. C Travis d’Arnaud (LAS): 28 AB, .429/.467/.964 (1.431 OPS), 3 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB, 2/7 BB/K

Travis d'Arnaud of the Las Vegas 51s (mylvsports.com)

For the second consecutive week, Toronto’s best prospect is also the hottest prospect. Travis d’Arnaud continued to punish Pacific Coast League pitching, smashing four home runs this week after crushing four last week – bringing his monthly total to an absurd nine. To put a bit of perspective into how well he played, he started the week 2-for-9 with no extra base hits and no walks in the first two games. He went off over the next four, with 10 hits, including the seven that went for extra bases. With his season line now sitting at an awe inspiring .318/.376/.585, it’s fair to say his slow start in April is firmly in the rear view mirror, and to paraphrase the great Dennis Green -– “He is who we thought he is!”

2. CF Anthony Gose (LAS): 29 AB, .517/.600/.621 (1.221 OPS), 3 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 6 SB, 6/3 BB/K

Much like d’Arnaud, Anthony Gose is experiencing a colossal resurgence in May, and is likely devastated by the fact the month has only four days remaining. For the third time in four weeks, Gose has qualified for the prospect hot sheet, due in large part to skills he doesn’t usually flash. With 15 hits and six walks, Gose reached base 21 times in seven games –- precisely what you want to see from a leadoff hitter. While the power was a bit lackluster, he was more than happy to display his wheels, stealing six bases to give him a PCL leading 20 (with an excellent 83% success rate). And no, there are no errors on his MiLB.com player page; Anthony Gose is actually hitting .291 on the year.

3. 1B Mike McDade (NH): 26 AB, .385/.429/.846 (1.275 OPS), 3 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB, 2/4 BB/K

While the fact he’s repeating the level is a legitimate disclaimer, Mike McDade is having himself a year down in Double-A New Hampshire. With three more home runs this week, McDade is up to 9 on the season, and is on pace to exceed his previous career high of 21 back in 2010. Like many Blue Jays fans, you can be sure Big Mac is keeping his eye on the first base situation in both Toronto and Las Vegas, as he appears ready for a promotion to Triple-A, where he’d be playing half of his games in his home town. All he needs now is an opportunity.

4. RHP Asher Wojciechowski (DUN): 1-0, 12 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K

It took seven weeks, but Wojo has finally made his first prospect hot sheet of the season. I had pretty big expectations for him after Toronto made him a supplemental first round pick in 2010, but he’s failed to live up to the billing thus far. Velocity and movement on his fastball have been down, and he has yet to develop a viable third pitch. The bullpen is quickly becoming a very real possibility for Wojciechowski, though he has held the wolves back for at least a little while after his performance this week. He turned in arguably the best start of his career on the 26th, pitching six innings of one run baseball, while striking out eight batters. Wojciechowski’s season numbers are still pretty ugly, especially for a 23 year old in High-A ball, so hopefully this week will turn his year around. Just don’t be shocked if you begin seeing a few relief appearances on his player page in the near future.

5. LF Marcus Knecht (DUN): 25 AB, .360/.407/.760 (1.167 OPS), 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, 2/9 BB/K

Knecht narrowly edged out his Lansing counterpart in left field, Chris Hawkins, for the final spot on the list. While Hawkins had the better slash line (1.241 OPS, powered by an absurd .550 average), he played in only five games, so the counting stats were seriously lacking. The Canadian Knecht didn’t have the same problem, crushing five extra base hits and earning a spot for the second time in three weeks. He had hits in six of seven games this week, including three multi hit efforts. This is yet another case of a Blue Jays prospect having a terrible April followed by a terrific May, as Knecht produced a .563 OPS in April before clubbing his way to a .935 OPS mark this month.

Brett Cecil Update: 2-0, 12.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 12 K

Cecil self destructed towards the end of spring training, falling from the fourth spot in the rotation all the way to Double-A. His minor league season got off to a rough start, as he went 0-2 with a 7.30 ERA in April before leaving his start on April 19th with a groin injury. He returned to action on May 9th and appears to be back on track. On May 21st, Cecil pitched 5.2 hitless innings while striking out eight. His bullpen backed him up, and the group combined for the third no-hitter in Fisher Cats history. Cecil is now 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in the month of May, and with the recent nose dive in performance by the starting staff in Toronto, Brett could find himself back in the majors before too long.

Honorable mention: Chris Hawkins (LAS), Carlos Perez (LAN), Adeiny Hechavarria (LAS)

I’m all for kids starting off their careers at a level low enough for them to succeed, but Justin Nicolino, for one, is proving that he may very well belong at a level of play 2 levels highers than the SS North Western League. He, along with many others, is proving that the Jays landed quite a few gems in the 2010 draft.

Here are the current hottest Jays Prospects:

Justin Nicolino (more…)

Highlights include clutch hitting, great pitching, and back-to-back balks in New Hampshire, Asher Wojciechowski and Deck McGuire continuing to impress in Dunedin, and even more solid pitching from Drew Hutchison and Sean Nolin in Lansing.

(more…)

Highlights include strong showings by Adeiny Hechavarria and Moises Sierra in Double-A, a fantastic team pitching effort in Dunedin, and a great day in Lansing for center fielder Jake Marisnick, who was ranked no. 12 on our pre-2011 top 50 prospects list.

(more…)

Here is the A.L. East Week-in-Review for the week of: March 31st through April 10th:

1st Place: Baltimore Orioles (more…)