Blue Jays Morning Brew: When will first domino fall?

The Toronto Blue Jays are heading West, but not before a day of rest. They’ll face the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners for three games apiece, and will run into the likes of Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir and Felix Hernandez.

Aaron Sanchez‘s move to the bullpen is the hot-button topic in Blue Jays circles today, with many seeing this as a sign that Toronto is more likely to add a starter in the very near future. If not, the job will be open to competition between Felix Doubront, Daniel Norris and others. For now, let’s take a collective deep breath and get up to date on what you might have missed in Jays news from the past weekend.

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Jays scouting Kazmir  –  Scott Gelman of MLB Daily Dish reports that the Blue Jays had scouts at Scott Kazmir’s most recent start. Make of this what you please, but this is the type of report that I’d caution you to dismiss from your “exciting” category. Teams scout opposing players all season long, and do so with great frequency. While Kazmir may be a more sensible option than Johnny Cueto or Cole Hamels, let’s wait until we have something a little more concrete before we order his jersey.

Dalton Pompey is having fun again  –  Pompey is now back with AAA Buffalo, but gives a great deal of credit to his coaches and fellow players in AA New Hampshire for helping him to get his 2015 season back on track. In this feature from Amy Moritz of the Buffalo News, the outfield prospect singles out Minor League managers Stubby Clapp and Gary Allenson.

“I’m not too concerned with getting hits anymore,” Pompey said. “I just want to compete and I tell myself every day if I can get myself four or five solid at-bats a day and whatever happens, happens. I can live with that.”  This is the same mentality that has helped Kevin Pillar to success, and Pompey will continue to benefit from the change.

High expectations for Vlad Jr… from Vlad Jr.  –  Vladimir Guerrero Jr. joined the Blue Jays for batting practice this past Friday, and the 16 year old caused some serious buzz. With his $3.9 million contract now signed, the power prospect has set his sights on besting his father’s home run total of 449, and he plans to get started sooner than you might think.

Vlad Jr. hopes to crack the Major League club in just two seasons, which would make him one of the youngest players ever to do so. That’s a bit optimistic, obviously, but as far as first impressions go: he nailed it.

Jays prioritizing Mike Leake?  –  From Friday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports suggests that the Blue Jays are especially interested in Reds’ starter Mike Leake. Leake remains one of my favorite names to monitor over the next week plus, and could give the Jays quality production without sending a crippling package of prospects the other way.

The same article quotes a scout as saying “Toronto has nothing to close the game”. I’d enjoy the opportunity to introduce that scout to Roberto Osuna, but we’ve got more important things to worry about here.

Next: Does Sanchez's bullpen move hint at Jays trade?

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