Jays Journal » Lance Durham

Out of the Top 50 Jays Prospects (for now): K.C. Hobson and Lance Durham

Jared Macdonald — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 03:13:10 +0000

Up next in this mini series of prospects that just missed out on our top 50 list are two first basemen who are both sons of former Major Leaguers…

Out of the Top 50 Jays Prospects: K.C. Hobson

First Baseman / 20 years old / 6’2″ 205 lbs

Image courtesy of The Californian

Born: August 22, 1990 in Bakersfield, California

Bats: Left Throws: Left

High School: Stockdale H.S. (Bakersfield, CA)

College: Signed a letter of intent with Texas A&M

Drafted By: The Jays in the 6^th round (190th overall) of the 2009 draft

Quick Facts:

Son of Butch Hobson, who had an 8-year Major League career, and has coached 18 seasons in minor-league baseball
Named The Californian’s Baseball Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009

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Jays Continue to Dominate O’s

Mat Germain — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:15:43 +0000

At least the Jays are beating the teams that they’re supposed to beat. They trumped the O’s for the 7th time this season in 7 games, with lots of help from their new addition – Yunel Escobar. Yunel made 2 very nice defensive plays – showing the cannon of an arm he possesses on one play when he threw off his back foot while crossing behind 2nd base – and also contributed offensively with a perfect bunt single (bringing some much needed small ball to the Jays) and a walk in 5 ABs. The win brings the Jays to a 500 record once again and gives them something to build on as the 2nd half continues. (more…)

Asher Wojciechowski Works, Deck McGuire….Doesn’t!

Mat Germain — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:59:37 +0000

This is one of my biggest pet peeves about the draft process and the fact that the signing deadline is so far away. Three weeks should be plenty to know whether or not a team will sign a player. After that, the player and the team are just wasting their time and delaying the progress that could be made by that player. Regardless of whether it’s the player or his agent’s call in terms of signing, the kid is never going to get that time back. He’ll sit, watch others gain experience that puts them ahead of the curve, and diminishes the chances that he’ll be successful. End of story.

All of that for a couple of bucks? Come on now. For someone like Deck McGuire, the signing should be immediate because he needs to learn and needs to pitch in order to learn. If not, guys like the 3 sandwich picks the Jays got behind him will leap over him in the Jays prospect ranks and could get to MLB more quickly as a result. What then? Let’s say that Aaron, Asher, and Noah do beat Deck to the bigs and he winds up sitting in AAA for a season or two longer as a result, how much money does that cost him? I guarantee you it’ll cost Deck AND his agent a ton of cash. So, go ahead Deck, waste your time sitting at home filling your iPod and playing video games waiting for that 100 or 200 K to be added to your bonus. Meanwhile, those “behind” you in the draft are getting the experience they need to get ahead of you. (more…)

Auburn Doubledays Kick Off ’10 Season

Mat Germain — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:01:04 +0000

If you’re looking for interesting box scores that feature a ton of interesting Jays prospects, the Doubledays are the team for you to follow! From Carlos Perez to Gustavo Pierre, from Egan Smith to Daniel Webb, there are a ton of guys to keep tabs on in this squad. Case and point is the opening game that saw the entire staff shutout Batavia. The staff was led by Egan Smith who threw 5 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits and 2 BB, and striking out 7 for the 12-0 blowout win!!

Gustavo Pierre went 2 for 5 while still playing SS for the DD, and he hit his 1st HR of the season. Not to be outdone, Carlos Perez went 3 for 5 with a triple. John Roberts (23) went 2 for 4 with a double and a triple, and the newly signed draft pick Marcus Knecht got his 1st hit and scored 2 runs to kick off his minor league career.

For those who want to know what the lineup looked like for the 1st game, here is your Auburn Lineup: (more…)