Jays Minors Review: 10-Jun-10

Here is a review of the most recent happenings in the Jays Minors:

Lansing Lugnuts – LoA

• Chad Jenkins brought his record to 5-4 after beating Peroia with a 7 inning, 8 hit, 3 ER, no walks, and 3 SO performance. His ERA now sits at 3.51 on the season and he is proving to be exactly what was advertised when the Jays drafted him – a work horse #3 caliber starter.
• Chad was throwing to the young and impressive AJ Jimenez (20) in this game. AJ hit his 3rd HR of the season and went 2 for 4 on the day, driving in a whopping 6 runs. Over his last 10 games, AJ is hitting .353 with a .421 OBP, 2 doubles, 2 HRs, 12 RBI, 4 walks and only 5 SO over 34 ABs. With Travis d’Arnaud and JP Arencibia ahead of him, the road isn’t easy for AJ, but he is impressing enough to become one big potential trade chip for the Jays.

Dunedin Blue Jays – HiA

• Scott Richmond, yes that’s right – he’s baaccckkk – threw 5.2 innings for the win versus Clearwater and allowed 4 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks, and 2 SO. I don’t figure he’ll stick around in Dunedin too long as he should be able to make a start in AA or AAA within 2-3 starts at the most. It’s good to see the Canadian kid make a comeback after a long layoff.
• Phillipe Aumont pitcher for Clearwater in relief in this one, allowing 5 ER in 0.2 IP. Ouch! I, for one, and much happier with Drabek aboard!
• Michael McDade hit his 12th HR of the season and is maintaining a nice .295 average in doing so. Well done young man, it shouldn’t be long before prospect watchers finally give you the credit you deserve!
• John Tolisano has truly revived my faith in him as a prospect. He hit his 4th HR of the year in this game and now has hit 3 HR in his last 10 games – all of them while playing at 3B. His average over that span is .438 with a .512 OBP, 5 doubles, 6 walks and only 7 SO, and he added 3 stolen bases without being caught once. Welcome back to the fold Johnny!

New Hampshire Fishercats – AA

• The Fishercat hitters could muster very little against Akron pitching as they only managed 3 hits against starter Eric Burger and their pen. This resulted in having Kyle Drabek lose the game despite a decent but unspectacular outing: 5 IP/ 5 hits/ 2 ER/ 4 BB/ 1 SO. Kyle season ERA now sits at 3.24.
• Not much else to talk about in this one, so I’ll add this: how nice is it for NH coaches to know that once Kyle Drabek and Zach Stewart are promoted they can expect to see Henderson Alvarez and Chad Jenkins take over their spots? Must be reassuring, especially when a championship is well within reach for this team.

Las Vegas 51s – AAA

• JP Arencibia has 4 HRs and 8 extra base hits over his last 10. His average over that span is .308 and he’s really turning himself around after what had been a very disappointing stretch of low average and no power. Good for JP, bad for Molina who must be looking over his shoulder now!
• Brett Wallace went 2 for 3 for the second staight game, this time adding 2 walks. This is very encouraging after a long drought for the future Jays 1B. Of note for Brett is the fact that he’s only hitting .250 against RHP and a whopping .358 against LHP. Surprisingly, 8 of his 11 HRs and 13 of his 18 doubles have come against RHP, so while he struggles to make consistent contact against RHP he still carries a lot of power when he does hit.
• Lance Broadway was the winning pitcher in this one, bringing his record to 2-5. He threw 6.2 innings, allowed 9 hits, 4 ER, 1 walk and struck out 7. It was a good start for him as the 51s were facing Colorado Springs, a pretty potent offeinsive bunch with the likes of Dexter Fowler, Kaz Matsui, Brad Eldred, and Matt Miller.

That’s the bulk of the important happenings in the minors for June 10th!