Blue Jays MiLB Recap: Fields plays in Buffalo; Perdomo deals in rookie ball

Buffalo Bisons (57-53) @ Charlotte Knights (59-52) – 7-3 W

Buffalo improved to 57-53 yesterday with a road win over the Knights, and a bunch of potential September call-ups got playing time in this one.

Roemon Fields played in his first AAA game, hitting second behind Dalton Pompey. Fields, who started the year in high A Dunedin, has worked his way up to Buffalo with his speed and a strong showing in AA New Hampshire. He went 1/4, notching a single and he also worked a walk. His AA line of .351/.400/.392/.792 was great, and his 7:11 K:BB ratio was encouraging, he’ll look to continue that in AAA.

Co-Editor at Jays Journal, Keegan Matheson, looked at the possibility of Fields coming up in September to help the Jays during the stretch run and potentially in the playoffs. With the expanded rosters, he could be used solely as a pinch-running option, much like the Royals did with Terrence Gore last season. Gore got into 11 games during the regular season, and six more during the playoffs. He only received two PA’s, both in the regular season, but he scored 7 runs and stole 8 bases during those games while being used as a pinch runner. He was undoubtedly a factor late in games, and it will be interesting to see if the Jays employ Fields in a similar manner.

Dalton Pompey, also another potential September call-up, went 0/3, but he did manage to work 2 BB’s and steal a base. He’s still rolling as of late, hitting .341 over his last 10 games with 8 BB’s and 7 K’s.

Jon Berti had a strong game, going 2/3 with a 2B, 3 RBI, and a BB. Matt Hague also had a multi-hit effort, going 2/4 with an RBI and a BB.

Scott Copeland delivered another quality outing for the Bisons: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. His season ERA sits at 2.11 through 14 starts, but his FIP is quite a bit higher at 3.76 due to a rather unspectacular 49:30 K:BB ratio through 89.2 IP. However, in 6 of his last 7 starts, he’s thrown at least 5 innings while allowing 2 ER or less.

Steve Delabar gave up 2 ER in 2 innings of work, but he did strike out 3 without issuing a walk. Ryan Tepera went 1.2, allowing just one baserunner and striking out two. Both Delabar and Tepera could be back up in September.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (55-51) @ Richmond Flying Squirrels (56-52) – 3-0 L

Not much to note in this affair for the Fisher Cats, as they only managed 6 base hits, all of which for singles as they got shut out but the Richmond staff.

23-year-old SS, Jorge Flores, reached base 3 times with two base hits and a walk out of the leadoff spot. The 2012 19th rounder out of Central Arizona College is putting together a solid year at AA. .303/.386/.379/.765 so far with a noteworthy 36:46 K:BB ratio. His wRC+ is sitting at 126 despite offering zero power (20 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR on the year), and he’s played all over the diamond. He’s primarily been a SS, but if he can play everywhere, he’s a guy to potentially keep your eyes on despite the lack of raw tools.

Scott Barnes delivered a decent start, going 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. Dustin Antolin and Luis Perez combined for 3 innings of shut out baseball in the loss.

Dunedin Blue Jays (46-61) @ Daytona Tortugas (59-47) – 6-4 L

Dunedin got up 2-0 in the 4th inning of this one, lost the lead in the middle innings, but retook the lead in the 7th, going up 4-3. Arik Sikula came into the game in the 8th, and allowed 3 runs to cross as he didn’t get much help from the defence, as they all came in unearned.

Dunedin starter, Jeremy Gabryszwski, struggled in this one, only going 4.2, while allowing 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, and 5 K. He was probably lucky to only allow those 2 ER, as the 9 baserunners in those 4.2 IP isn’t ideal.

Richard Urena, Jays top SS prospect, went 2/5 with an RBI, raising his average to .279. However, the pop he displayed in Lansing hasn’t shown up in Dunedin, as he only has one HR in 111 AB’s, and his plate discipline is still an area that needs considerable improvement. His OPS in Dunedin is currently .650.

Anthony Alford went 0/4 with a BB and a run scored. He’s in a bit of a rut as of late, going 5/32 (.156) in his last ten games. His 5:4 K:BB ratio during that time is still solid, but he’s struggled to find base hits. His Dunedin slash rate isn’t as sparkly as it was a couple of weeks ago, but it’s still a solid .290/.357/.406/.763.

Dickie Joe Thon went 2/4 with a HR and 2 RBI in the loss.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (36-71) @ Lansing Lugnuts (62-46) – 5-0 W

The Lugnuts received a phenomenal start from Chase Mallard, as he threw 7 strong innings while allowing only 4 base hits while striking out 9. Mallard was working out of the pen earlier in the year, but since joining the rotation he’s struggled to stay consistent, but he had his good stuff going yesterday.

Dusty Isaacs came into close the game, throwing 2 shutout innings.

D.J. Davis went 1/4 with a 2B and 2 RBI, and Chris Carlson hit his 6th home run of the year, as that was more than enough offence to get the win.

Greeneville Astros (21-19) @ Bluefield Blue Jays (18-23) – 3-2 W

One of the many new additions to the Blue Jays top 30 prospects done by MLB.com after the deadline deals, is Angel Perdomo. The 21-year-old is still in rookie ball due to his raw and uncontrollable talent at times, but his ceiling is said to be quite high. The 6’6 LHP touches the mid 90’s with his fastball, and has yet to grow into his huge frame.

He threw 5 innings of one run ball yesterday, allowing only 2 base hits, while striking out 8 and not walking a batter. His season ERA sits at 2.01, and he’s struck out 34 and walked 12 in 44.2 IP. He looks ready to move on from rookie ball and it will be interesting to see how he does at more challenging levels. It’s worth noting that the Astros rookie ball squad had Kyle Tucker and Daz Cameron in the lineup, who went 5th and 37th in this years draft respectively.

Rodrigo Orozco and Yeltsin Gudiuno both went 1/4, and Dieferson Barreto went 3/4 with a 2B, HR and 2 RBI.

Next: Blue Jays could have eye on Roemon Fields for September