Winter League Update December 2010: Pitchers

I last took a look at Jays pitching prospects in the winter leagues on November 14th,  and the majority of them have either continued their success or improved on it.

Here’s a rundown of what the Jays’ pitching prospects have been doing recently down south:

RP Winston Abreu:

Another great under the radar pick up by Alex Anthopoulos that Mat Germain touched on yesterday, here’s a look at his efforts in the Dominican Winter League through 11 games:

0-1, 0.00 ERA, 10.0 IP, 4 H, 7 BB, 11 SO, 1.10 WHIP, .125 opp avg.

Looking beyond his 7 walks, Abreu has been lights out in winter league ball so far. His 0.00 ERA and .125 opponent batting average are both the best out of any Jays pitching prospect so far.

On his player page Abreu is listed as a member of the AAA Las Vegas 51s, though he could be a dark horse for a bullpen job with the Jays if he has a successful spring.

SP/RP Ronald Uviedo:

Uviedo has continued his dominance of the Venezuelan Winter League, as evidenced in his numbers through 12 games (7 starts):

3-2, 1.74 ERA, 46.2 IP, 37 H, 9 ER, 5 HR, 6 BB, 24 SO, 0.92 WHIP, .214 opp avg.

Initially starting out as a reliever in the Venezuelan Winter League, Uviedo has been a starter recently, giving up only 4 ER in his last 4 starts. He is exhibiting great control with only 6 walks in 46.2 innings, and he has logged the most innings out of any Jays prospect so far.

SP/RP Wes Etheridge:

Etheridge had his contract purchased by the Blue Jays from Maui Na Koa Ikaika of the Golden Baseball League at the end of October, and has put up interesting numbers through 6 games (3 starts) in the Venezuelan Winter League so far:

0-1, 2.76 ERA, 16.1 IP, 12 H, 5 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 12 SO, 1.22 WHIP, .200 opp avg

Etheridge last pitched in a major league team’s system in 2008 with the Milwaukee Brewers Class-A affiliate. If he continues to have a strong winter, he could be slotted into the roster of Class-A Lansing or Hi-A Dunedin in 2011.

SP Henderson Alvarez:

Alvarez has really stepped it up over the last few weeks, and take a look at his numbers through 9 starts in the Venezuelan Winter League:

0-1, 2.17 ERA, 37.1 IP, 36 H, 9 ER, 1 HR, 13 BB, 25 SO, 1.31 WHIP, .261 opp avg.

Alvarez has logged the 2nd highest amount of innings out of all Jays prospects so far, and has only given up 3 ER in his last 4 starts. He has brought his opponent batting average down considerably and it is important to note how he has only given up 1 home run in 37.1 innings.

RP Nestor Molina:

Molina has continued his winter league success, and it shows in his numbers through in 17 games in the Venezuelan Winter League:

4-1, 2.66 ERA, 23.2 IP, 22 H, 7 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 22 SO, 1.14 WHIP, .265 opp avg.

After his success with Class-A Lansing, Molina was promoted to Hi-A Dunedin late in the 2010 season. At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if Molina was at Double-A New Hampshire at some point in 2011.

SP/RP Joel Carreno:

A reliever in winter ball up until November 20th, Carreno has made three straight starts with mixed results. Here are his overall numbers through 12 games (3 starts) so far:

1-1, 3.97 ERA, 22.2 IP, 16 H, 10 ER, 2 HR, 10 BB, 19 SO, 1.15 WHIP, .200 opp avg.

Carreno has only logged 9.2 innings in his three starts, including a start of only 2/3 of an inning on November 27th where he gave up 3 earned runs. Regardless, Carreno has still only given up 2 home runs and struck out 19 in 22.2 innings.

SP Luis Perez:

As the Jays’ main pitching prospect that has struggled at times this winter, Perez is still compiling  acceptable numbers through 8 games (6 starts) in the Dominican Winter League:

2-5, 4.20 ERA, 30.0 IP, 34 H, 14 ER, 2 HR, 14 BB, 18 SO, 1.60 WHIP, .291 opp avg.

His numbers were bloated mainly due to his last start (5 ER in 4.1 IP), and Perez hasn’t gone 5 innings in a start since October 29th.

Keep tabs on Jays’ pitching prospects playing winter league ball on the Jays official winter league website.

-JM

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