Complete Prospect Report: July 29

With New Hampshire having their game postponed due to rain, Jays affiliates played six games yesterday and had a good day, going 5-1 overall.

Highlights include Brett Lawrie continuing to rake in Vegas, Casey Lawrence tossing another strong start with Dunedin, a dominant, six-inning relief outing for Mitchell Taylor with Bluefield, and Nicholas Purdy regaining his confidence, to say the least, with the GCL Blue Jays.

In minor league news, it was revealed about two weeks ago that two Dominican Summer League pitchers in the Jays organization, Aderly De La Cruz and Luillyn Guillen, were thrown 50-game suspensions for testing positive for steroids.

Wins/Losses: 54-53 | Streak: W1 | 2nd in PCL Pacific South (10.0 GB)

Las Vegas 51s 11, Reno Aces 7 (WP: Drabek)

Despite a five-run second inning for Reno, the 51s were able to score seven runs later in the game to pull away with an 11-7 win on Friday.

Hitting:

It’s getting downright crazy what Brett Lawrie is doing in Las Vegas, and it’s only a matter of time before he gets called up to the Jays (we can all assume). He went 2-for-3 with a double, triple, and two walks on Friday, and in his last ten games, he has gone — wait for it — 19-for-42 (.452) with ten extra-base hits, seven walks, and an obscene 1.412 OPS. Clearly there’s nothing left for the 21-year-old to do in Triple-A with the stick.

Apart from Lawrie, Chris Woodward went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, Adam Loewen continued to rake, going 2-for-3 with two walks and an RBI, and David Cooper chipped in with a solo home run in the third inning, a solo shot. Honorable mention goes to catcher Brian Jeroloman, who went 4-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, and his four hits was a season-high.

Pitching:

Vegas starter Kyle Drabek definitely didn’t look great, allowing five earned runs on ten hits in six innings despite earning the win. He walked two, only struck out two, allowed a home run, and managed eight ground ball outs.

Rommie Lewis pitched two shutout frames in relief, and Danny Farquhar gave up a pair of earned runs on three hits in the ninth inning.

Wins/Losses: 57-48 | Streak: L1 | 1st in EAS Eastern (0.0 GB)

Postponed due to rain

Wins/Losses: 17-18 | Streak: W1 | T-3rd in FSL North (4.0 GB)

Dunedin Blue Jays 9, St. Lucie Mets 2 (WP: Lawrence)

Thanks to some late offense and strong pitching, the D-Jays were able to top the Mets 7-2 on Friday to take the opener of a three-game series.

Hitting:

Ryan Schimpf led the way for Dunedin with a 3-for-4 night that included two home runs and four RBIs, Sean Ochinko went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Ivan Contreras went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, and pinch-hitter Brian Van Kirk drew a walk and hit a single in two at-bats.

Pitching:

Making his second start with Dunedin, Casey Lawrence dazzled once again, allowing two earned runs on eight hits over 6.2 strong innings. He walked none while striking out six, and the only blemish on his night was really the solo home run that he allowed in the third inning.

Harold Mozingo pitched 1.1 shutout innings in relief, and Steve Turnbull chipped in a scoreless frame himself.

Wins/Losses: 22-11 | Streak: L1 | 2nd in MID Eastern (1.0 GB)

West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Lansing Lugnuts 5 (LP: Berl)

Despite out-hitting West Michigan 13-9, the Lugnuts were downed by a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning and fell to the Whitecaps 6-5 on Friday.

Hitting:

Cleanup hitter Marcus Knecht finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with his 11th home run of the season, Markus Brisker went 3-for-5 with an RBI, K.C. Hobson went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, and Garis Pena added a double and an RBI.

Jake Marisnick went 0-for-4, but drew a walk and managed to steal his 25th base of the season right after.

Pitching:

After allowing just five earned runs in six starts with the Gulf Coast League Jays, Tucker Jensen made his Midwest League debut and allowed three earned runs on four hits in five innings, walking one and striking out three.

Reliever Dustin Antolin issued two walks and gave up a pair of earned runs on one hit in one inning of work, and Brandon Berl was saddled with his first loss of the season after allowing only the go-ahead home run in two innings of work.

Wins/Losses: 25-17 | Streak: W1 | 2nd in NOR West (2.0 GB)

Vancouver Canadians 9, Tri-City Dust Devils 5 (WP: Longpre)

After taking a 3-0 lead with a three-run third inning, the C’s ran away with the game after a five-run seventh to beat Tri-City 9-5 on Friday to snap a four-game losing streak.

Hitting:

Balbino Fuenmayor went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, Jonathan Jones and Matt Newman both went 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Kevin Patterson added two RBIs.

Pitching:

Canadians starter Zack Breault allowed just three hits in four shutout innings of work, and bullpen anchor Bryan Longpre earned the win after allowing just an unearned run on two hits in three strong innings, walking two and striking out two.

Philip Brua pitched a perfect eighth and Eric Brown allowed four runs (one earned) on three hits in the ninth inning.

Wins/Losses: 22-16 | Streak: W3 | 1st in APP East (0.0 GB)

Bluefield Blue Jays 7, Burlington Royals 1 (WP: Taylor)

After each team scored a run in the third inning, the game remained tied at one until the top of the 11th inning, when Bluefield erupted for six runs to top the Royals 7-1 in extra innings on Friday.

Hitting:

Andy Fermin went 2-for-6 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, leadoff hitter Daniel Arcila went 2-for-5 with a walk, two doubles, and an RBI, Gustavo Pierre added an RBI double, and Art Charles added a double in a 2-for-4 night.

Pitching:

Tyler Ybarra, making his second start of the year for Bluefield, allowed one earned run on just three hits in four innings, walking one and striking out five.

Mitchell Taylor rightfully earned the win in this game, pitching six dominant innings. He allowed just one hit and no runs, walked two while striking out nine. His six inning outing was a season-high.

Wins/Losses: 13-23 | Streak: L1 | 6th in GCL North (12.0 GB)

GCL Blue Jays 3, GCL TIgers 0 (WP: Purdy | S: Carmona)

Two runs in the top of the first inning turned out to be enough for the GCL Jays, as their pitching was dominant all game and they were able to top the Tigers 3-0 on Friday.

Hitting:

Dickie Thon went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, leadoff hitter Dalton Pompey went 2-for-5, and Seth Conner went 1-for-1 with a pair of walks and an RBI.

Pitching:

Making his first start of the year, Nicholas Purdy earned his third win in as many outings with the GCL Jays after being demoted from Vancouver following an 8.62 ERA in 15.2 innings there. Purdy pitched a season-high five innings, allowing just one hit and no runs. He walked one while striking out a season-high eight batters, and seems to be getting his confidence back before returning to Vancouver soon.

The bullpen was solid behind Purdy, as three pitchers combined to toss four shutout innings, with one walk and three hits.

-JM

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