Jays Minors Updates

After a little vacation, here are updates on worthy notes throughout the Jays Minors system:

• Art Charles, who was drafted in the 20th rd by the Jays as a LHP and signed July 6th, has been converted into a 1B for the GCL Blue Jays;
• Noah Syndergaard made his debut for the Jays in the GCL, throwing 2 shutout innings where he did not allow a walk or a hit. So far so good! If looking for more information about Noah, look up the interview I conducted with him after he signed with the Jays.
• J.P. Arencibia is a man on fire in AAA and may be spelling the end of John Buck in Toronto with his performance. Not only is John’s value about as high as it can be in trades right now, but JP is tearing up the ball in AAA at a pace that can’t be ignored much longer. He’s hitting .390 with 7 HRs over his last 10 games, with a .444 OPB and ridiculous 1.396 OPS. He should be in Toronto by the end of July, once Alex starts dealing.
• Zach Stewart is beginning to heat up in AA, holding a 5-1 record and 3.19 ERA over his last 10 games. He still doesn’t have stellar numbers, 59 hits and 26 walks to 49 Ks in those 62 IP, but he is learning to come through when needed and get the job done with guys on base. A promotion to AAA may be in order by August.
• Adeiny Hechavarria is beginning to warm up in AA, but is still showing cracks to his offensive skills. While his average is much better at .279 over his last 10 games (43 ABs), he still only had 4 extra base hits in that span and was caught stealing twice (no stolen bases). That amounts to few big knocks and no speed….not exactly stellar for a SS. He can still break out soon, but hasn’t wowed anyone yet.
• Chad Jenkins is struggling a bit to adjust to HiA, holding a 6.04 ERA over his first 4 starts there. He has had 1 excellent start of those 4, so there is proof he’ll turn things around.
• Remember this name: Nicholas Purdy. He’s a 6’5″ 205 lbs 20 year old in the GCL that has thus far been the 2nd best pitcher there. Although his ERA isn’t stellar at 4.34, he has 2 walks to his 19 Ks over 18.2 IP and has only allowed 15 hits. It seems that this tall righty has the stuff to get Ks and is aggressive enough to not allow many walks, two traits you have to love is a young pitcher.
• The best pitcher for the Jays in the GCL thus far has been Daniel Barnes, a20 year old 6’1″ 195 lbs RHP. Working in relief, Daniel has achieved the incredible, getting 20 Ks in only 11.1 IP while only allowing 6 hits and 4 walks. Hitters are only hitting .150 against him, as he may find himself in Lansing in no time.
• Jacob Marisnick has slowed slightly after a torrid start to his season, but did manage to hit his 2nd HR of the year yesterday.
• 2B Andy Fermin, the 32nd rd pick for the Jays in 2010, was promoted from the GCL to Auburn after beginning his pro career with a .462 average in 26 GCL ABs. He had only struck out twice while walking 4 times at that point and held a ridiculous .548 OBP. He has slowed since his promotion but is still doing well, holding a .297 average, .381 OBP, and 6 SO to his 5 walks.  Andy is 6’0″ 180 lbs and is one infielder to keep an eye on.
• John Delgado, a 19 year old 6’4″ 255 lbs first baseman (hmm, another big 1B named Delgado eh…) is heating up in the DSL. He is currently hitting .324 with 3 doubles and 1 HR over his last 34 ABs, while only striking out 3 times.
• RHP Ryan Shopshire had his best start of the year for Lansing yesterday, allowing only 1 hit over 5 innings while striking out 7 and walking 3.
• RHP Ryan Tepera, meanwhile, has been the most consistent pitcher for Lansing, holding a 3.07 ERA, 14 BB/40 K, and 52 hits in 58 IP over his last 10 outings.
• 3B Sean Ochinko has a .425 average and .452 OBP over his last 10 games in Lansing.
• Michae McDade has 16 HRs on the year for Dunedin, which is 10 more than the next highest total from Travis d’Arnaud on the club who has 6.
• Joel Carreno has an impressive 73 Ks in only 54.1 IP in his last 10 games for Dunedin, but his ERA is mediocre at 3.98 over that span.
• Shawn Bowman, the Canadian 3B acquired from the Mets waivers by AA, has hit 5 HRs over his last 10 games in AA and now has 17 HRs this year. The power is there, no doubt about it. We’ll see if that’s enough to earn a promotion as soon as Edwin Encarnacion gets dealt or released.
• Eric Thames (16), David Cooper (14) and Adam Loewen (10) join Bowman (17) in AA to make quite a bunch of power hitters on one team. More than I can ever remember seeing on one squad in the Jays minors at one time.
• Darin Mastroianni also deserves notice with a .366 avg and .480 OBP over his last 10 games. The speedster now has 33 stolen bases on the year, a .311 average, and .408 OBP. That has me leading to the question of whether the Jays will keep Fred Lewis around as a lead off hitter, or simply promote Mastroianni who clearly deserves a shot at the role?
• Asher Wojciechowski has had a close to perfect start to his career. 12 IP/ 6 hits/ 1 ER/ 4 BB/ 11 Ks for a 0.75 ERA. He should be promoted to Dunedin before the end of the year, forget about Lansing.
• Kyle Drabek has thrown 15 shutout innings over his last 2 games and only allowed 5 hits and 3 walks over that span while striking out 8. This kid does seem to be putting everything together and is inching ever closer to a promotion of some sort.
• Finally, Brett Wallace has seen his power slow a little of late, but is still staying hot with a .324 average over his last 10 games. The worrisome part of Brett’s performance this year is the fact that he’s only hitting .258 against RHP – something he definitely needs to correct if he wants to be successful in the majors. He does, however, hit LHP extremely well with a .389 average over this season. The average versus RHP has to be one of the major factors keeping Wallace in AAA, that and the presence of Lyle Overbay.

The Jays still need to sign a ton of draft picks, including top pick Deck McGuire, which will lead to many promotions and demotions. With trade talks heating up and Alex Anthopolous’s ear turning red from holding the phone to it, the Jays are entering a busy time of change that should go a long ways to reshaping this team into a major contender. The international signings of RHP Adonis Cardova (supposed $2.8 million deal, the 2nd biggest in Jays history after Adeiny Hechavarria and his $10 million deal, both are proof that AA is committed to being a major player on the International market) and 3B Gabriel Cenas (both will play for the DSL Jays) only bolster the depth of the Jays. The Jays are looking at every avenue possible to add talent at all levels and it’s beginning to look like they’re putting their money where their mouths are – scouting, drafting, signings, and development.