Jul 13, 2012; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop

It’s a little ironic that Yunel Escobar was acquired, along with Jo-Jo Reyes, in return for SS Alex Gonzalez, RP Tim Collins (now with KC) and Tyler Pastornicky, a fellow SS who is beloved in the locker room and is noted for having players pull for him to do well. It’s ironic because the exact same thing that drove the Atlanta Braves to deal Escobar to Toronto at the time, is reportedly the same reason the Jays have made him available in trade. Well, that and the fact that Adeiny Hechavarria seems ready to assume the SS position in Toronto.

Until Pastornicky proves that he is able to become an everyday SS in the majors, it’s easy to call this trade a win for the Jays, particularly when you know the past struggles the Jays have had in filling the SS position. Escobar’s .276/.341/.378 over his 3 years in Toronto is much better than anything the Jays had prior to Escobar’s arrival. The problem is that the production doesn’t really match his talent, and that he has reportedly worn out his welcome in Toronto as well through a lack of focus.

You do have to question why the Jays ever signed Escobar to an extension if he really was a clubhouse issue. The Jays, or an acquiring team, still owe Escobar $5 million in 2013, and still have 2 team option years for 2014-2015 at $5 million a piece as well. What that contract tells me is that the Jays were more than happy with his clubhouse presence at the time of the signing. He signed that contract in mid-June 2011, so if the reports are true, he has worn out his welcome in Toronto over the last full year, and immediately after signing that contract. (more…)

In order to get a better grip on the deal altogether, I’ll separate it into 2 portions: the SS portion and the pitching portion.

Part 1: Yunel Escobar for Alex Gonzalez Tyler Pastornicky (more…)

Alex Gonzalez is joined by SS Tyler Pastornicky who will take his place in the Braves system. Pastornicky will provide the Braves with another option at SS once Alex Gonzalez‘s salary expires after 2011, assuming the Braves pick up his option for that season at a cost of $2.5 million. The Braves get one of the best defensive SS in MLB in Gonzalez and more pop, something they are dearly lacking. This should help both their pitchers and their runs driven in numbers, and makes them better contenders in the NL East as a result. A solid deal for them that looks after both the present and the future at the SS position. (more…)

4 IP/ 3 HA/ 2 BB/ 2 SO/ 0 ER

5 IP/ 1 HA/ 1 BB/ 8 SO / 1 ER

3 IP/ 2 HA/ 1 BB/ 1 SO/ 0 ER

For a total of: 12 IP/ 6 HA/ 4 BB/ 11 SO/ 0.75 ERA, and hitters hitting .146 against him.

That has early promotion written all over it as he is definitely capable of pitching effectively at a higher level. There is no doubt that Asher could do well in Dunedin at this point and I fully expect he may reach that level this season, even if it is for a short run. Such are the advantages of signing early after the draft! (more…)

Here is a review of the major events in the minors for the Jays on Saturday, 17th of April:

AAA Las Vegas – Postponed

AA New Hampshire – Won 13-8  vs Binghamton

• Bobby Bell had an outing to forget, lasting only 5 innings and giving up 7 ER through 8 hits and 2 walks, but he was picked up by a potent offensive display by the Fishercats hitters, as well as from 4 strong innings by Adrian Martin (1 ER over 2 IP) and Tim Collins (2 IP, no hits or walks, 4 Ks).
• Doubles and walks were the key to this game for New Hampshire, as they managed 11 walks and 6 doubles in the game. Eric Thames (.306)led the way with a 3 for 5 day including a double, while David Cooper (.270) went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 walks.
• C Brian Jeroloman (.308) also had a good day at the plate with a 2 for 3 day and a walk. Both of his hits were doubles.

HiA Dunedin – Won 10-1 vs Brevard County

• SP Henderson Alvarez impressed once again by going 7 strong innings on Saturday, allowing 5 hits, no walks, 1 ER, and striking out 3. He has definitely made the most of his promotion to HiA and may very well get another promotion before the season is through if he keeps pitching like this. Hie ERa is now a meager 0.64 through 2 starts.
• Tyler Pastronicky must be feeling the heat from the Adeiny Hechevarria signing and his pending arrival in HiA because he turned it on big time Saturday. He went 4 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, and 4 runs scored. That bodes well for his chances of getting a look in AA.
• OF Dan Perales was the other offensive star for Dunedin as he went 4 for 5 with a triple and a HR.
• Meanwhile, Travis d’Arnaud continued to hit, going 2 for 5 with a double and now holds a .425 average.

LoA Lansing – Won 7-1 vs Bowling Green

• Ryan Tepera has an outstanding outing, as he lasted 7 innings, allowed only 3 hits and 1 walk, and struck out 4 for his first win of the season. His ERA now sits at 2.61 and he is making me look good for pointing him out as a prospect to watch in 2010.
• Youngster Kenny Wilson is starting to come out of his shell, going 2 for 4 with a triple and a SB. He now has a .257 average on the season but has been getting better the more he plays.
• 3B Mark Sobolweski (.303) was great once again, as he finished the day a perfect 3 for 3 with 2 doubles and a SB.
• 23 year old OF Bradley Glenn went 2 for 3 to bring his average up to a very impressive .366.

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.

It’s great to see that Travis started the year off on the right foot. If he stays hot until mid-season, he should easily be able to get a promotion to AA.

POSITION CHANGES ALERT

As we all know, the Jays will soon have Adeiny Hechevarria in the minors and this has altered their long term plans for some minors players. They also had Justin Jackson and Tyler Pastornicky playing at the same level, meaning that something had to give. Well, here’s what that squad has done to deal with these issues:

• John Tolisano has been moved from 2B to 3B;
• Tyler Pastornicky remained at SS; and
• Justin Jackson moved from SS to 2B.

Now, that was just 1 game, so it doesn’t mean that it will remain this way as the season goes on, but it does make some sense that both Pastornicky and Jackson get accustomed to moving around the infield so that they fit as utility players down the road. Also, Tolisano’s power fits better at 3B and he has the arm to play the position, so that also deepens the Jays depth at a very weak internal position.

I’ll update this situation as the season wears on and will update my top prospects rankings when this setup has been used consistently.

1 – Gustavo Pierre, 18 yrs old, 6’2″ 183 lbs, signed as an international FA for $750,000 in July 2008

Almost everyone you will talk to who know Jays prospects very well will tell you that they expect Gustavo to move to 3B before he reaches MLB. Still, since he hasn’t played any other position yet as a pro, I have decided to include him on both my 3B and SS list because the Jays do have the option to use him in either role depending on what they have on the team and in terms of what they have as up-and-coming prospects. Gustavo is still too young to evaluate well, but he has shown some real potential in all areas of his game. He hits the ball with authority, with 18 extra base hits out of his 45 total hits in a short season, and also accumulated a decent .431 SLG. He hits RHP (.278) a lot more consistently than LHP (.195), not unusual for young hitters, so learning to hit lefties is definitely on his list of things to improve on. He also needs to learn how to walk, with only 3 walks and 45 strike outs in 2009. At 17 yrs old in the GCL, Gustavo did better than fellow international signed Balbino Fuenmayor who has progressed immensely since that time. Therefore, I consider Gustavo‘s first season a moderate success that he can build on in 2010. He should be the SS for the Lansing squad in 2010 and if  all things go as planned, he should develop a lot of power and confidence as he grows stronger and more experienced.

2 - Justin Jackson, 21 yrs old, 6’1″ 186 lbs, drafted in 1st rd (45th overall) of the 2007 draft

Justin was part of what became one of the most active drafts in Jays history, when they had 7 picks in the first 2 rounds of the draft and actually signed them all. Most of them (Kevin Ahrens, Trystan Magnuson, Eric Eiland, and John Tolisano) have disappointed in development thus far, with Brett Cecil and J. P. Arencibia being the possible exceptions to those high picks. Justin had some injury woes in 2009, so that season was pretty much lost in terms of development. His stats reflect that with a .200 average versus RHP, .213 average overall, and way too many strike outs with 87 strike outs in 249 AB. More worrisome were his .269 SLG and .321 OBP, which are much lower than his 2008 levels of .368 SLG and .340 OBP. He did manage to steal just as many bases in almost half the ABs, taking 17 and getting caught only 4 times in 2009. Despite mediocre offense and a fair amount of errors each season, Justin has been pushed up to the next level and set up to fail because of it. I really do hope they let him begin the season in HiA Dunedin in 2010 and don’t push him up to AA. If he’s ever going to make it to the show and be an impact player, he needs to learn how to hit consistently and to get on base. I have a feeling Justin‘s injuries hurt his performance, and also believe that he was trying too hard to be a power bat, which hurt his chances to get on base. With his steal potential and overall abilities, Justin should be concentrating on hitting for average and letting the power happen on its own over time as he grows stronger. Hopefully Justin gets a full healthy season under his belt in 2010 and he could make it to AA by year’s end if things go well.

3 - Tyler Pastornicky, 20 yrs old, 5’11″ 170 lbs, drafted in the 5th round of the 2008 draft

If it wasn’t for the injury woes that Justin Jackson endured and Gustavo Pierre‘s intriguing hitting potential, Tyler would have topped this list by far. He’s that pesky type of player that drives opposing teams nuts because he can hurt you in many ways. The biggest way he can hurt you is wit his dazzling speed, which he used to steal 57 bases in 2009. I always like to add those to the doubles total in order to get a taste of what a player’s impact really is, and if you add those 57 steals to his doubles count Tyler had 71 doubles. Now that’s an impact player. He gets on base a lot more than Justin, with a .331 OBP and struck out 57 times to his 42 walks in 2009, which is pretty good for such a young player. His fielding percentage is on par with Justin‘s at .951, but I’ve always believed that faster players have lower percentages simply based on their range and the number of opportunities that it adds to their totals. Tyler ended the year in HiA Dunedin, where Justin Jackson should begin the season, so there lies the dilemma, to send him to AA or send Justin instead. If it were me making the decision, Tyler needs to be pushed a little and go to AA instead of Justin. I’ll update this scenario at the beginning of the season, but if they send Justin to AA it could seriously hurt his chances of ever developing confidence, where as sending Tyler would provide the Jays with a better look at what they have in-house in terms of close-to-immediate help at the position. Tyler‘s definitely my favorite SS in the minors for the Jays, still, I have to respect Justin‘s and Gustavo‘s overall potential.

4 – Mike McCoy, 28 yrs old, 5’9″ 171 lbs, Acquired off waivers Colorado, was originally drafted by STL in the 34th rd of 2002 draft

Although he’s a little old to be considered a prospect, the Jays are lacking so much depth at the SS position that I decided to include him on the list. In this recent post, I looked at the immediate impact Mike McCoy could have for the Jays in 2010 and how he could end up being the bench king for the squad. Not only does he had extensive experience at all positions, but he has varying tools that the Jays desperately need in order to be successful in 2010. He has speed, something the Jays have lacked for a very long time, with 40 SB in 2009 in AAA. He gets on base a ton, proven by his .405 OBP in AAA last season. He fields every single position he plays at above average and can also fill the lead off hole in the lineup the Jays currently have. I’ll even go as far as to say this: if Mike McCoy has a very strong spring and proves he deserves to play every day, the Jays could wind up trading Alex Gonzalez earlier than any of us believe they would in 2010. He has the potential to be the 2010 version of Randy Ruiz and Garrett Jones, a player who just needed a chance to prove he can play in MLB. I certainly hope he gets that chance and does well, as he could set up the table for Aaron Hill and company very well. He should begin the year on the Jays bench if he does well in spring, if not it’ll be a return to AAA.

5 - Ryan Goins, 22 yrs old, 5’10″ 170 lbs, drafted by the Jays in the 4th rd of the 2009 draft

You can catch the 2009 MLB draft video of Ryan here. Goins hit 14 doubles, 10 HRs, had a .357 average, and maintained a .404 OBP in his 2008 college season at Dallas Baptist University. From there, he upped his performance to 22 HRs and a .371 average in 2009 before the draft, when he was listed as a second baseman. The Jays drafted him and have had him play SS ever since in part due to his very strong and accurate arm. He played on 3 teams for the Jays in 2009, but oddly enough did not show any power at all during the season, while holding his own average wise with a .297 average in Auburn in 101 ABs. He seemed to struggle a little more in Lansing, with a .198 average and .258 OBP in 81 ABs, but should improve on that in 2010. There’s no question that Ryan has overall potential to become a good and perhaps slightly above-average SS, but he lacks the overall package to make him a top-rated SS right now. When asked about Goins before the draft, Baseball America’s Jim Callis said the following: “Still don’t think he’s a top-five-rounds guy. He has a plus-plus arm but he’s a below-average runner, so he’s going to have to be an offensive second baseman. He can hit, but the ball flies out at Dallas Baptist. I like him, but he might be only the fourth best college projected second baseman in this draft, behind Shaver Hansen (Baylor), Brodie Greene (Texas A&M) and Brock Holt (Rice).”

The biggest question the Jays have to decide on is who plays where in 2010. If Pastornicky and Jackson are to fill the SS position at HiA and AA, which one of Pierre and Goins gets the call in LoA? It’s either a call of allowing Pierre to spend one more season in the GCL and keeping Goins in LoA, or in moving Pierre to 3B and allowing both to play in LoA as a result. I believe the Jays are ready to move Pierre to 3B, so I vote for the latter option.

Short stops in the system who didn’t make the cut: Manuel Mayorson (AAA), Luis Sanchez (AA), Daniel Arcila (DSL), Alvaro Blanco (DSL).