April 20 Minor League Report

gets a hit in Buffalo on April 14, 2013. Mandatory credit: Jay Blue

Welcome to my first Minor League Report for Jays Journal. If you haven’t read my work before, I collect and summarize the day’s action for the Toronto Blue Jays’ minor league teams all in one handy package. You’ll find my brief synopsis of the game’s action and a condensed box score of the Blue Jays’ prospects’ performances. Finally, at the bottom of each game’s capsule, you’ll find my Player of the Game for our side, regardless of a win or loss. Don’t like my decision? Tell me in the comments.

Buffalo Bisons (10-4)

Game 1

The Buffalo Bisons came out swinging (again) today, getting another great start from Dave Bush, and beat up on the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 8-4 in Game 1 of their double header. Blue Jays center field prospect* Anthony Gose hit his first home run of the season while first baseman Mauro Gomez and DH Luis Jimenez each had two hits and two RBI.

Hitting:

Mike McCoy – 0/3, R, BB, K
Anthony Gose – 1/3, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, E
Moises Sierra – 1/2, 2 R, BB, SB, OF Asst.
Mauro Gomez – 2/4, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K
Luis Jimenez – 2/3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
Andy LaRoche – 0/2, RBI, BB
Ryan Langerhans – 1/4, RBI, 2 K
Josh Thole – 0/3, BB, K
Eugenio Velez – 2/3, R, BB, K, E

Pitching:

Dave Bush – W, 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
Alex Hinshaw – 2/3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 3 BB, K
Neil Wagner – S, 1/3 IP

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Anthony Gose

*Technically Gose is not considered a prospect anymore because he exceeded at bat and roster time limits for keeping his rookie status.

Game 2

The nightcap of the double header was a decidedly different affair than the first game. This one was dominated by great pitching with Buffalo and Lehigh Valley each scoring one run until the seventh inning. Through six, each team only had five hits as Claudio Vargas was very strong for the Bisons. Luis Jiminez (“The Himmy,” as he’s called by Bisons’ play-by-play announcer Ben Wagner) drove home the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning with a base hit to right field. Juan Perez came on to pitch a scoreless (if slightly nervous) seventh inning for the save.

While Anthony Gose had a great night with the bat, he had another rough night on the bases, getting caught stealing twice, bringing his totals to two stolen bases and four caught stealing on the young season. Moises Sierra came out of the game after being hit on his hand by a pitch in the top of the first inning.

Hitting:

Jim Negrych – 0/3, BB, SB
Anthony Gose – 2/2, R, 2B, BB, 2 CS
Moises Sierra 0/0
Ryan Langerhans (PH-RF) – 1/3, BB
Mauro Gomez – 0/3, BB, 2 K
Luis Jimenez – 1/4, R, RBI, K
Eugenio Velez – 1/3, SB
Lance Zawakzki – 1/2, 2B, BB
Mike Nickeas– 0/2, BB, K
Ryan Goins – 0/3, 2 K

Pitching:

Claudio Vargas – W, 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Juan Perez – S, 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Claudio Vargas

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (8-9)

The Fisher Cats fall below the .500 mark again after getting blanked by NY Mets number eight prospect (according Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com) Rafael Montero and the rest of the Binghamton Mets 3-0. Montero was in fine form, giving up only four hits and no walks while striking out six in his six innings of work. Fisher Cats starter Marcus Walden had his best start of the year, scattering nine hits and one run over six and two-thirds innings, but unfortunately, that one run was too many. The Mets managed to cool 1B Clint Robinson’s hot bat, holding him off the score sheet, but right fielder Brad Glenn had a nice day at the plate, going two for three with a walk and a stolen base.

Hitting:

Kenny Wilson – 0/4, 3 K
John Tolisano – 1/4
Ricardo Nanita – 0/4
Clint Robinson – 0/4, K
Brad Glenn – 2/3, BB, SB
Adam Loewen – 0/4, 3 K
Kevin Ahrens – 1/2, 2B, BB, K
Jack Murphy – 1/4, K
Amadeo Zazueta – 0/3, K

Pitching:

Marcus Walden – L, 6 2/3 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Matt Wright – 2 ½, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Marcus Walden

Dunedin Blue Jays (12-4)

1B K.C. Hobson hit his first home run and 3B Andy Burns hit his fourth triple of the year to power the usually low scoring Dunedin Blue Jays to their third consecutive win 5-4 over the Lakeland Flying Tigers. In his shortest outing of the year Scott Copeland worked five treacherous innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eleven hits and a walk while only striking out one. The bullpen picked him up as Ajay Meyer, Evan Crawford, Dustin Antolin and Blake McFarland combined for the four remaining shutout innings.

Hobson, in only his third game since being activated from the DL, looks to be getting his swing back, as he went two for three (including the aforementioned home run) with a walk. I’ve identified Hobson as a potential sleeper prospect, ranking him 18^th on my own Top 20 Prospects list, primarily due to the huge improvements he made last year in Lansing. Another sleeper prospect of note is Andy Burns who drove in the eventual winning run in the top of the seventh. He’s now hitting .322/.431/.593, and as Dunedin Blue Jays broadcaster Tyler Murray has told me, he might not be staying in Dunedin long if he keeps it up. 2B Jon Berti also had a great game, going two for five with a double and a triple.

Hitting:

Jon Berti – 2/5, 2 R, 2B, 3B, RBI
Peter Mooney – 1/4, R, 3B, RBI, BB, K
Andy Burns – 1/2, 3B, 2 RBI, BB, E
Kevin Patterson – 0/4, 2 K
K.C. Hobson – 2/3, R, HR, RBI, BB, K
Marcus Knecht – 0/4, 2 K
Matt Newman – 1/4, 2B
Aaron Munoz – 1/4
Nick Baligod – 1/3, R, BB

Pitching:

Scott Copeland – 5 IP, 11 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 1 K
Ajay Meyer – W, 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Evan Crawford – 1 1/3 IP, 2 K
Dustin Antolin – 2/3 IP
Blake McFarland – S, 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: K.C. Hobson

Lansing Lugnuts (4-8)

There was only one word for the final result of the Lansing Lugnuts’ match against the Fort Wayne TinCaps: ugly. What started out as a potentially outstanding battle of teenaged pitching prospects in Fort Wayne, Indiana, ended up as a thorough pasting of the Lugnuts pitching staff as they fell 17-8 to the home squad. Nineteen-year-old Max Fried, the San Diego Padres’ first round pick in 2012, locked horns with eighteen-year-old Roberto Osuna, the Jays’ Mexican international free agent who signed in 2011, but today, the hitters were the story. Five TinCaps had three or more hits and catcher Dane Phillips took Osuna deep and tacked on a triple and two singles to go four for six on the day. While Osuna cruised through the first two innings, he got into trouble after that and ended up leaving with two outs in the fourth. His line was the best of the day for Lugnut pitchers: three and two-thirds innings pitched, five hits, three runs (all earned), one walk and four strikeouts. It just gets ugly from there.

Scoring eight runs, the Lansing offense awoke, amassing fourteen hits including four doubles and two triples. Mississauga-born CF Dalton Pompey had another great game in which he was on base in four of his five times at bat and only struck out once. Also having excellent games at the plate were diminutive shortstop Jorge Flores (two for four with a double), second base prospect Christian Lopes (three for five with a double and three RBI), and right fielder Carlos Ramirez (three for five with a double, a triple, and two RBI).  1B Balbino Fuenmayor continues to struggle, registering another “O-fer,” and striking out another three times.

The troubling trend of teams running on the Lugnuts continues. The TinCaps stole three bases today bringing my count to nine stolen bases against catcher Santiago Nessy as opposed to only one runner caught stealing. The Lugnuts’ other catcher, Seth Conner, has given up seven steals with only one runner gunned down. This defensive deficiency is more than troubling in Lansing.

Hitting:

Dalton Pompey – 2/3, 3 R, 2 BB, K, 2 SB
Jorge Flores – 2/4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, K
Gustavo Pierre – 1/5, R, 3B, RBI, 2 K
Christian Lopes – 3/5, R, 2B, 3 RBI
Carlos Ramirez – 3/5, R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, K, OF Asst.
Santiago Nessy – 1/5, RBI, K
Balbino Fuenmayor – 0/5, 3 K
Chris Hawkins – 2/4, 2B, K
Emilio Guerrero – 0/4, 2 K

Pitching:

Roberto Osuna – 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Griffin Murphy – L, 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Tucker Donahue – 1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB
Chuck Ghysels – 1 1/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 BB
Matthew Johnson – 1/3 IP, 2 H

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Carlos Ramirez

If you like what you’ve seen by Jay Blue, read his work on Blue Jays from Away and follow him on Twitter: @Jaysfromaway.