Marc Rzepczynski and Other Jays Shine in Winter Leagues

Marc Rzepczynski:

Marc Rzepczynski was just getting warmed up when the 2010 season ended because he had some issues which limited his innings pitched in 2010. Now pitching in the AFL, Marc has just been named the AFL pitcher of the week and has the following stats over 3 starts in the AFL thus far:

3GS / 14 IP/ 16 Hits Allowed/ 2 ER/ 7 BB/ 9 SO/ 1.29 ERA/ .291 Average Against

What I like about the line above is that it shows how effective Marc has been with runners on, since they are hitting .291 against him yet have only scored 2 runs overall. The AFL has always been known as a hitter’s league, and so it’s great to see this kind of performance from the probable #5 starter for the Jays in 2011.

CF Darin Mastroianni:

Darin is playing in the Venezuelan league where he sports a .406 average with even better .451 OBP! He also has 3 doubles, 2 triples, 1 HR, and 5 SB. He is dominating that league and is definitely earning a shot at manning an OF or bench position with the Jays in 2011 if he has a really strong spring.

1B Michael McDade:

Michael is playing in the AFL and has made a nice impact for his squad. His numbers are as follows:

.327 avg/ 18 hits/ 6 doubles/ 1 HR/ 9 RBI/ .431 OBP/ .491 SLG

While the AFL is a hitter’s league, Michael is making this kind of impact having only played as high as HiA ball at 21 years old, which heightens the impact of his stats. He’ll get a shot in AA in 2011 and should do very well.

RP Alan Farina:

One of the lesser known RP in the system, Alan is also pitching in the AFL and is making quick work of their hitters.

6.2 IP/ 5 hits allowed/ 1 ER/ no walks/ 5 Ks/ 0.75 whip/ 1.35 ERA

It’s a tiny sample size, but with so much emphasis on hitting in the AFL, it makes Farina look pretty great. The only thing working against Alan is his age, as he is already 24 and so is expected to dominate at this level.

SP Henderson Alvarez:

I’m actually surprised he has pitched as much as he has this winter, but Henderson is continuing to do well – not very well, just well – as he faces hitters in Venezuela.

15.1 IP/ 2.35 ERA/ 17 hits allowed/ 4 ER/ 4 BB/ 11 SO/ 1.37 Whip/ .293 average against

Henderson threw 112 innings in 2010, so the added work will allow the Jays to stretch him out even more in 2011, to the tune of approximately 150 innings as a maximum if they want to increase his work by a maximum of 30 innings per year. He has done well, but has had a harder time than usual getting the ball passed hitters. Their average against him is a little worrisome, but like Rzepczynski, Alvarez seems to be able to get out of jams.

SP/RP Ronald Uviedo:

Picked up last season from the Pirates, Uviedo is trying to earn a spot somewhere for 2011 and is doing very well.

14.2 IP/ 7 hits allowed/ 1 ER/ no walks/ 11 SO/ 0.48 whip/ 0.61 ERA/ .143 average against

Uviedo is looking great in the pen as he has only started 1 games out of 6 in order to get the stats above. The Jays could very well find a spot for him in the AAA pen and use him as a backup plan as they rebuild their pen. He has the stuff to get hitters out when needed and has only battled consistency.

The winter leagues are being fairly friendly to the Jays players so far. Others playing in WL but not doing as well as those listed above or who have played very little include Eric Thames (AFL), Brad Emaus (DWL), Adam Loewen (AFL), Joel Carreno (DWL), Danny Farquhar (AFL), and Matt Daly (AFL).

You can find all winter pleague stats for Jays players here.