Blue Jays MiLB standouts: House & Bichette keep rolling

Jays Journal takes a look at the week that was in the Minor League system, highlighting the top hitters and pitchers at each level for the week of May 1-7th.

Triple A- Buffalo Bisons

The Bisons had a frustrating week, as they were subject to four rainouts in a single week. They did manage to finish four games though, winning just two, the second game of a double header on Wednesday with Rochester, and another against Lehigh on Saturday.

On the pitching side of things, the standout performer would have to be the red hot T.J. House. The left-hander threw a complete game shutout against Lehigh Valley, allowing just 7 hits, striking out 2 and lowering his ERA to 1.24 on the young season. It would seem the only thing holding him back from getting an opportunity with the big league club is not being on the 40 man roster, which could change sooner than later.

On offence the honour has to go to Mike Ohlman, who continued to mash opposing pitchers for the Bisons. For the scattered week Ohlman was 5-14 with 3 home runs, 4 RBI, and 5 base on balls. He raised his average to .246 as he continued to produce power numbers, and pushed his OPS to .946.

Double A- New Hampshire Fisher Cats

The Fisher Cats had a rough week as well, finishing up 2-5 to start the month of May, and also dealing with a pair of rainouts on Friday.

Despite the struggles of the club, they did receive a strong performance from one of their most exciting pitching prospects, Connor Greene. Greene started against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on Saturday and nearly threw a complete game, tossing 6.2 innings, and allowing just 4 hits and 1 earned run. He lowered his season ERA to 3.57, and has impressed the Blue Jays’ brass with his velocity, and obviously results like what he did on Saturday.

On offence, I would give the honour to middle infielder, Gunner Heidt. He didn’t have the flashiest of weeks, but quietly reached base in all 7 contests, and closed the week out with a 5 game hit streak. On Saturday as the Cats were held to a 1 hit shutout, it was Heidt who collected the lone hit.

Single A Dunedin Blue Jays

The D-Jays finished the week with a 4-3 record, faring much better than the aforementioned clubs. They took 3 out of 4 from the Tampa Yankees before dropping 2 of 3 to the Bradenton Marauders.

Max Pentecost was the standout hitter for the D-Jays going 10-26 with 1 home run, 6 RBI and a walk. In particular Pentecost went nuts during Sunday’s 16-4 victory over Bradenton, finishing 4-6 with 5 RBI in that contest alone.

Jordan Romano had a exceptionally strong performance against Tampa, throwing 6 innings, giving up just 1 run and 4 hits, while collecting 9 strikeouts. Romano’s ERA dropped down to 2.76 on the season.

Single A- Lansing Lugnuts

The Lugnuts only played 5 games on the week, and went 3-2, taking 2 of 3 from the Burlington Bees and splitting two games with the Peoria Chiefs.

Bo Bichette continued his torrid pace to begin the season, going 6-17 overall and adding 5 RBI and another home run. His batting average is now up to .368, and he is currently riding a 4 game hitting streak.

Justin Maese had an excellent start against the Bees, throwing 7 innings and allowing just 1 earned run, 3 hits and striking out 5. It was his best performance on the young season and hopefully something to build on going forward for the right-hander.

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