Blue Jays MiLB Standouts – Weekend 4/30

Jays Journal takes a look at the week that was in the Minor League System.  We will discuss top hitters and pitchers at each level.  We had some dazzling performances this past week let us see who made the list.  Stat period was 4/23-4/29

Triple A – Buffalo Bisons

The first place Bisons stumbled into the end of the week with a 3 game losing streak.  With a pair of doubleheaders, the Bisons finished the week with a 3-4 record.  The offense has been struggling over the past week and had few breakout performances.

Top Hitters

Dwight Smith Jr. has another stellar week.  He had a hit in all but 2 of the 7 games this week.  He went 8-21 (.381) with 4 runs scored and an RBI.  He is still hitting the ball hard as he popped 3 doubles this week.  Smith also stole a base and struck out just 4 times in those 21 at bats.  Smith currently leads the team in most offensive categories.

Top Pitchers

Jarrett Grube was masterful in his outing this week against the Norfolk Tides.  He would throw 5 innings of work and allow just 3 hits.  He also issued a pair of walks but allowed just 1 run during the outing.  He struck out 4 Tides batters on his way to his second win of the season.  Grube has pitched in 4 games this season and has allowed more than 2 runs in just 1 of those starts.  He currently sits at a 4.05 ERA which could be significantly less if you negate the one bad start.

Mike Bolsinger pitched 5 innings of shutout baseball.  In his longest outing of the season, he allowed just 3 hits.  He did no issue a free pass and allowed zero runs.  He also struck out 6 during the outing against the Tides.  Bolsinger has pitched 12.1 innings on the season and has gotten 2 starts.  If he can keep this up the Bisons have a solid starter on their hands.

Double-A – New Hampshire Fisher Cats

A rough week for the Fisher Cats as they go just 2-4.  The team has plenty of talent to be something special but they have struggled to find consistency here in the early going.

Top Hitters

Tim Lopes had at least 1 hit in 4 of his 5 games this week.  He drove in a 3 and scored 3 runs as well.  He had a double to go along with his 5 singles.  He is currently batting a cool .311 on the season after a solid week.

Emilio Guerrero finished the week strong and is now on a 4 game hitting streak.  He scored 3 and drove in 3 runs.  He also hit a double and his first home run of the season.

Top Pitchers

Conner Greene had his best start of the season to kick off the week.  Greene threw 7 innings of incredible baseball.  He scattered 6 hits and a walk while allowing just 2 earned runs.  He also struck out 4 of the Trenton Thunder hitters.  He, unfortunately, did not pick up a win for his efforts as the offense was only able to amass 1 run during the evening.

Francisco Rios continues to impress here in the young 2017 season.  He threw 5 innings and did not allow an earned run against the Thunder this week.  He would allow 7 hits and walk just 1 batter.  He struck out 5 batters as well but got the loss.  The Thunder scored 3 unearned runs while he was on the mound.  Rios currently has a 2.53 ERA through 4 starts.

Single A+ – Dunedin Blue Jays

The 2nd place D-Jays had a week to remember as they lost just 1 of their 6 games this week.  The bats are definitely awake for the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Top Hitters

Andrew Guillotte entered Sunday’s game with a 10 game hitting streak.  Over the past week, he has been at the center of the run production that the D-Jays have been displaying.  He has scored 9 runs while driving in 4 RBIs.  He also added a home run and 3 doubles to his season totals.

Danny Jansen continues to pace the league for the hitting crown.  He is currently leading the league with a .416 batting average and has shown no signs of slowing down.  He played in 6 games this week and had multi-hit performances in 4 of them.  This week he showed off some power as he popped his first 2 home runs of the season.  He drove in 7 RBIs this past week.

Max Pentecost is also on a 14 game hitting streak.  Over that span, Pentecost has been showing off his hitting abilities and power.  This past week he went 10-26 (.385) with 4 home runs and 11 RBIs.  His approach at the plate seems to be just right and he has been playing first base, DH, and catcher.  It may be hard for him to get much time behind the plate with how well Jansen has been hitting however but it is encouraging to see he still wants to catch after all the shoulder issues.

Top Pitchers

Jordan Romano has 2 solid outings this past week.  His first start this week was delayed an inning due to J.P. Howell getting in some work on his rehab assignment.  Regardless Romano got in 9.2 innings this week and allowed just 2 earned runs.  Between the 2 starts, he allowed 10 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 9.

Angel Perdomo had one of the better starts of the week as he pitched 6 innings of dominance this week.  He allowed just 3 hits and 3 walks while giving up just 1 earned run.  Perdomo continues to show some plus strikeout potential as he set down 6 this past outing himself.  He had 7 his past outing.  He picked up his second win with his efforts this past week.

Single A – Lansing Lugnuts

A full week for the Lugnuts led to a 5-2 record.  The Lansing Lugnuts currently sit in 4th place with a 13-10 record on the season.

Top Hitters

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been on a tear lately.  Heading into Sunday he has an 11 game hitting streak.  In the 5 games he played in this week he had multiple hits in 3 of them.  Those hits would include 3 doubles and a home run.  While batting in the meat of the Lugnuts order he has driven in 7 RBI and scored 5 runs this past week.  He is batting .348 on the season in 20 games.

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Bradley Jones has found himself with an 8 game hitting streak as he continues to put the Midwest League on notice.  This past week he hit a home run, 2 doubles, and a triple.  He was a home run short of the cycle one game against the South Bend Cubs.  His teammate Edward Olivares did complete the cycle that same night.  Jones drove in 7 runs this week and scored 4.  He currently leads the league with 23 RBIs.

J.B. Woodman showed off his power stroke this past week with a pair of home runs.  They were the first 2 of his 2017 campaign but helped the Lugnuts win 5 games this past week.  He drove in 6 RBIs this week and a scored 6.

Bo Bichette continued his hit parade around the Midwest League but had his hitting streak snapped at 15 games.  This week he hit his 2nd home run and had 4 doubles.  His bunches of hits also led to 6 runs scored and 4 RBI.  During the span of his hitting streak, he also had a 6 game span where he scored a run in each game.

Top Pitchers

Andy Ravel had a bounce back start this week as he pitched 7 innings against the Bowling Green Hot Rods.  During the performance, he proceeded to shut down the Hot Rod hitters to just 4 hits.  He would allow 1 earned run during the outing but gave up just one free pass and struck out 4.  Ravel started the season off with a gem but then has had trouble his past 2 starts.  He picked up his second win during his start this week.

Patrick Murphy got the win in his start this week.  He threw 5 strong innings and allowed just 1 earned run.  He did struggle with control at times and was shown by the 4 walks.  He only surrendered 4 hits to the Hot Rods and struck out 3.  Murphy continues to improve after opening the season with a 6 earned run outing.  Look for him to continue to trend up.

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