Jays Minors Review, 9-Apr-11: Stars are McDade and Cooper

Some of the Jays minors affiliates are beginning to turn on their offensive abilities, while 1 in particular is showing its deficiencies in that area. Here’s a recap of Saturday’s (9-Apr-11) action.

LAS VEGAS 51s (AAA): Won 14-4 vs Fresno Grizzlies (SF)

Box Score available here. Game Notes available here.

Game Notes:

• Hitting: David Cooper is doing absolutely everything he can to regain his status as a top prospect candidate. But, since Adam Lind is already the incumbent 1B in Toronto and has impressed with great D during his time there, what Cooper is really doing is making himself a very attractive trade chip. The 24-year old was 4 for 5 with a double, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI on Saturday, bringing his average up to .538 on the season. Other highlights for the 51s were the 2-3 hole combination of Brett Lawrie (.417) and Eric Thames (.417) who were both 2 for 5 with a triple and double respectively. They have been doing whatever they can to set the table for the core of the lineup and it worked as the 51s scored a ton of runs in this one. Ryan Budde was the only hitter to not manage a hit.
• Pitching: LHP Luis Perez (26) got the start for the 51s and had to work through some tough spots in this one. He allowed 4 ER on 4 hits and 3 BB while striking out 6 in 5 innings of work. It’s really the walks that got him into trouble, something that has always plagued Perez, as he allowed 84 walks in 2010 for example. The Vegas pen was lights out thereafter, allowing only 2 hits over 4 innings of shutout work while striking out 4 and walking none. Winston Abreu (1 IP), Sean Henn (1 IP), and Mike Hinckley (2 IP) were the stars of the pen on Saturday.

NH FISHERCATS (AA): Won 4-1 vs Trenton Thunder (NYY)

Box Score available here. MiLB recap available here.

Game Notes:

• Hitting: NH managed 12 hits in this game, and 3 of them were doubles (McDade, Hechavarria, Calderone). To say that Michael McDade is having a strong start to the season would be an understatement. He is now hitting .538 on the year and was 4 for 4 yesterday. Another star of the day for NH (and the year thus far) is Craig Stansberry who was 2 for 4 with a SB. The veteran has yet to strike out this season in 7 ABs, already has 3 SBs, and holds a .556 OBP. For those interested in how well Adeiny Hechavarria is doing thus far as he repeats AA, he has struck out only 1 time in 12 ABs (1 walk), has a .385 OBP, 2 doubles, and 1 SB. However, the bigger thing of note with Adeiny is the fact that he is hammering LHP with 4 hits in 7 ABs against Southpaws. The coldest hitter on the day was Anthony Gose (.167) who was 0 for 4 with 1 SO.
• Pitching: B.J. LaMura (30) was extremely effective as he allowed a measly 2 hits and 1 walk in 6 IP and struck out 8. Evan Crawford continued on from his strong spring with 2 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk only. And Alan Farina was forced to come in for the save, his first of the season, after Bobby Korecky (31) allowed 1 ER in his .2 IP.

DUNEDIN (HiA): Lost 4-2 vs Clearwater Threshers (PHI)

Box Score available here. MiLB recap available here.

Game Notes:

• Hitting: Only 1 hitter has been of note for Dunedin through 3 games, and it’s 24-year old Bradley Glenn.  The Arizona native is hitting .400 on the year, and had another strong day yesterday, going 3 for 4 with a double. Of the 7 hits in this game, 2 others were for extra bases, a double by Kevin Ahrens and a triple by Ryan Goins. A.J. Jimenez walked twice. Just to let everyone know how horrible things are going in Dunedin overall when it comes to hitting the ball, ALL hitters aside from Glenn and Corey Patterson are well below the Mendoza line. Ouch!
• Pitching: Veteran RHP Chad Beck (26) had a very good outing, allow only 1ER on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 7. Frank Gailey followed with his first 1.2 innings of the season, also being impressive with 1 hit allowed and 1 K. However, Ryan Shopshire had a hard time in his new relief role, blowing the save with 3 ER on 5 hits.

LANSING LUGNUTS (LoA): Rained out

OVERALL TAKE ON THE DAY

It’s obvious that of the 3 affiliates that have played in 2011, the Dunedin Blue Jays have hard the hardest time scoring any runs or managing a good amount of hits. Their pitching will need to be very strong for them to contend this season, but that’s exactly what they’ve gotten so far, so all hope is not lost for the season. The 51s and Fishercats, however, have both proven that they can score runs in bunches and have some exciting weapons to look for. McDade, Cooper, and the Lawrie-Thames combination in particular have been very impressive thus far and look to be setting the foundation for a great season.

OTHER MINORS NOTES

Activated from the 7-Day DL:

• 1B Ryan Shealy (AAA)

Sent to the 7-Day DL:

• OF Danny Perales (AAA)

Placed on the Restricted List:

• INF Justin McClanahan (HiA)

Assignments:

• OF Corey Patterson was assigned to HiA Dunedin 7 April
• SP Brandon Morrow was assigned to HiA Dunedin 7 April
• RP Frank Francisco was assigned to HiA Dunedin 7 April
• RP Marcus Walden was assigned to HiA Dunedin 7 April
• Sean Shoffit was assigned to HiA Dunedin from the Bluefield Blue Jays 6 April
• Casey Beck was assigned to HiA Dunedin from the Lansing Lugnuts 6 April

– MG

Like what you read and want to stay informed on all updates here at Jays Journal? Follow Jared and I on Twitter (@JaysJournal and @bigja12) or “Like” our Facebook page