Jays Journal » Dustin Antolin

Lugnuts bit by late rally, fall to Quad Cities 4-2

Jared Macdonald — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:31:52 +0000

Despite a strong showing from starter Sean Nolin, the Lugnuts were crippled by a three-run Quad Cities eighth inning and eventually went on to drop the first game of the Midwest League Championship Series to the Bandits 4-2 last night. The Lugnuts got on the board early in the second inning. Marcus Knecht slapped to [...]

Lugnuts bit by late rally, fall to Quad Cities 4-2 - Jays Journal - Jays Journal - A Toronto Blue Jays Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Man Ram Hints and the Jays RP Prospect Situation

Mat Germain — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 13:54:57 +0000

Every single time Alex Anthopolous does not come straight out and say “no, we’re not interested in Manny Ramirez because of X, Y and Z”, he increases the likeliness that the Jays are in fact interested and looking into his bat as a possible addition to the lineup. A recent quote from a Ken Fidlin article had Alex stating:

“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…)

Minors Transactions

Mat Germain — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:24:12 +0000

Here are some minor league transactions that have taken place over the last couple of weeks for the Jays:

2B/3B Brad Emaus was promoted to AAA and hit a HR in his first game there;
RP Ronald Uviedo was added to the AA New Hampshire roster;
OF Dan Perales was promoted from HiA Dunedin to AA New Hampshire;
RHP Randy Boone was place on the 7-day DL in AA New Hampshire;
RP Dustin Antolin was placed on the 7-day DL in LoA Lansing;
RP/SP Aaron Loup has been converted to a starter;
LHP Egan Smith was added to the LoA Lansing roster from Extended Spring Training;
LHP Evan Crawford was placed on the 7-day DL for LoA Lansing;
OF Brad McElroy was promoted from LoA Lansing to HiA Dunedin;
UT Kevin Nolan was activated from the 7-day DL in LoA Lansing;
OF Adam Calderone and IF Jonathan Diaz were promoted from AA to AAA Las Vegas;
IF Luis Sanchez was activated from the 7-day DL for AA New Hampshire; and
LHP Boomer Potts was promoted from HiA Dunedin to AA New Hampshire.

We’re headed towards the draft and there are sure to be a ton of transaction in the works thereafter, so I wanted to get “who’s where” sorted out before the rush. See my “affiliates” page to know who’s where in updated depth charts.

Jays Prospects Review

Mat Germain — Sun, 30 May 2010 12:13:10 +0000

Before we head into the draft, I thought it was important to take a gander at what we currently have on board and how well players are doing in the Jays minors. Here is the first of many instalments of the Jays Prospects Review, where I’ll list the Hot, Cold, Trailing off the map, and Skyrocketing prospects in the Jays system.

Hot Jays Prospects:

2B Jarrett Hoffpauir AAA - Hit for the cycle for the second time this season in AAA and is hitting .353 with 5 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 HRs over his last 10 games. He’s doing everything in his power to get the call to the bigs and could actually become some pretty decent trade bait. (more…)

Jays Minors Review: 20-Apr-10

Mat Germain — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:04:36 +0000

Here is a review of the major events in the minors for the Jays on Tuesday, 20th of April:

AAA Las Vegas –Lost 8-5 vs Salt Lake (LAA)

Rei Gonzalez (6.06)was not at his best Tuesday as he allowed 9 hits over 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 3 walks, and got 4 Ks. Luckily for the Jays, there is no rush for him to perform after his promotion to AAA since others are definitely proving to be up to the task of providing depth for the big club.
Another pitching note is that Jesse Carlson gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in his 1 inning of work in relief.
OF Chris Aguila (.375) led off and went 2 for 5 with a double (his 5th of the season), while JP Arencibia (.273), Jeremy Reed (.238), and Jorge Padilla (.262) all went 2 for 4.

(more…)

Jays Minors Review: 16 Apr 10

Mat Germain — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 14:12:36 +0000

Here is a review of the major events in the minors for the Jays on Friday, 16th of April:

AAA Las Vegas – Won 6-2 vs Colorado

Brett Cecil‘s line: 6 IP, 7 hits, 2 walks, 1 ER, 3 strike outs, and he now has a 2,45 ERA on the season. It seems Brett is still the most likely call up candidate if changes are to be made in Toronto.
Sean Henn and Rommie Lewis threw 3 shut out innings afterwards. Henn still has a 0 ERA over his 5 innings of work in 2010, while Lewis has also been great thus far, only giving up 1 run in 5 IP.
1B Brett Wallace (.303) hit his 4th HR the year, while 1B Brian Dopirak (.286) also went deep for his 2nd of the year.
C JP Arencibia went 2 for 4 to bring his average up to .273 on the year.

AA New Hampshire – Lost 9-5 to Binghamton

Marty McLeary had a night to forget, lasting only 0.1 innings while allowing 5 ER. His relief, Buzzie Buzachero was a little better, which isn’t saying much. He lasted 2.2 innings and allowed 7 hits and 4 ER. You can’t blame the guy though as he was probably shocked to be in the game that early!
Randy Boone was strong in relief, stemming the tide by going 5 strong after the first 2 and only allowed 1 hit and 2 walks, giving NH a chance to get back in the game.
The offensive side the of the game was alright for NH, as 5 hitters were able to knock out 2 hits in the game – 1B David Cooper, SS Jonathan Diaz, 3B Manuel Mayorson, RF Adam Loewen, and LF Eric Thames. Loewen had the best day of all, however, as his hits were both for extra bases, a double and a HR – his 1st of the season.

HiA Dunedin – Lost 4-1 to Brevard County

Joel Carreno had a decent outing, nothing spectacular, as he went 5 innings while allowing 9 hits and 3 ER.
C Travis d’Arnaud joined fellow Doc trade member Brett Wallace in adding to his power totals by smacking his 3rd HR of the season. He went 3 for 5 in the game, raising his season’s average to .429, impressive to say the least.
SS Tyler Pastornicky (.189) went 3 for 5 in the game and was caught stealing once, while 3B John Tolisano went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .226.
1B Michael McDade is not having a great start to the season, as his average dipped to .176 after going 0 for 4 in the game.

LoA Lansing – Lost 6-3 to Lake County

First rounder Chad Jenkins did enough to earn a win but lacked the support to get there. He threw a mediocre but effective 6 innings, allowing 8 hits, 3 ER, 1 walk, and getting 4 Ks in the start.
Dustin Antolin continued the outstanding performance of the Lansing pen by throwing 2 shut out innings in relief, striking out 3 in the process. He now has 7 shut out innings, allowing only 2 hits, 1 walk, and getting 8 Ks on the season. What a great start for the 20 year old from Hawaii.
C Sean Ochinko finally got going offensively with a 2 for 4 day, including 1 double. 3B Mark Sobolweski was the only other bright spot for Lansing as he went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI.

Dustin Antolin: Jays Prospect to Watch in ‘10 (7 of 10)

Mat Germain — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 14:02:26 +0000

I still don’t understand why relievers don’t get noticed more often as top prospects in the minor leagues. It seems that most fans only pay attention to them once they start getting saves or more than 1 K per inning pitched. Meanwhile, most MLB teams will tell you that having a great pen is crucial to having a great season. With the volatility of starters, teams need to invest in getting better relievers from within, without having to pay ludicrous amounts of money for guys like Kyle Farnsworth and other mediocre relievers.

Well, the Jays certainly fit the bill of a team that has a world of depth in relief pitching and Dustin Antolin is the latest addition to that depth. He was born in Hawaii in August of ’89, stands 6’2″ 195 lbs, and was drafted in the 11th round of the 2008 draft. He and fellow Lansing RP Nestor Molina were the youngest pitchers on Lansing in 2009 by a year or more, and Dustin showed some poise, ending the season with 28 GP and 40 Ks in 48 IP. He had a 4.47 ERA, 1.407 whip, and hitters hit .261 against him, but he showed progress as the year wore on. Dustin started the ’10 season on the right foot with 2 perfect innings, no hits or walks allowed and 3 Ks. Look for more of the same as Dustin gains experience.

The guys at Batter’s Box had this to say about Dustin’s pitching style and form:

Antolin pitches out of the stretch at a 3/4 arm angle with a nice loose delivery. He throws a 91-94 mph fastball with some movement. He also has a change-up but it was inconsistent and lightly used. Antolin threw 90% fastballs in his three inning stint on Friday. Antolin could develop nicely if he can develop that second and third pitch to go with his good fastball.

His size, poise at a young age, and adjustment to life outside of Hawaii make him an outstanding prospect to watch in 2010. He should impress and could be right behind Daniel Farquhar and Tim Collins on the relief prospect depth chart for the Jays before long.

Lugnuts Lose, Schimpf Goes Deep

Mat Germain — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:36:27 +0000

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – the Jays quite possibly have yet another Aaron Hill in the making down in LoA in 2B Ryan Schimpf. The LSU product drove one deep in his first game of the season, going 2 for 5 with 4 RBI in the loss. The other Ryan, SS Ryan Goins, also went deep once and was 1 for 4 on the day. Kenny Wilson did his best to set the table for the Ryans and others as he got on base 3 times (1 double, 2 walks, 1 SB) while Eric Eiland went 3 for 5 at the bottom of the lineup. However, Balbino Fuenmayor and Mark Sobolewski both went 0 for 5, making it hard for the team to drive in any runs.

Ryan Shopshire had some issues in his first start of the season, allowing 4 walks, 7 hits, and 4 ER while striking out 2. However, the relief was great in this game, as both Dustin Antolin and Nestor Molina went through 2 squeaky clean innings a piece striking out 3 each with no hits or walks allowed. Evan Crawford came out after that and the game went to extra innings. He allowed the winning run to score, but not without a fight. The run was scored after he allowed a lead off single, then 2 straight groundouts pushed that runner to 3B. The runner was driven in by Didi Gregorious (what a baseball name) with a single and resulted in Crawford taking the loss for the game.