Blue Jays Quick Hits: Marcus Stroman, Kendall Graveman and Tim Mayza

Blue Jays news and notes from the morning of April 28th, 2018, including the continued struggles of Marcus Stroman, and the recent optioning of a former top Blue Jays prospect.

Snowmen for Stroman

After another disastrous outing on Friday night against the visiting Texas Rangers, Marcus Stroman saw his ERA rise to a crooked 8.88, the highest it has ever been throughout his career. With an 0-3 record, Stroman’s WAR sits at -0.9, and he has yet to complete the sixth inning in any of his five starts.

After the game, Stroman vowed to improve, saying “it’s frustrating, I’ve gotta be better”. For the season, Stro’ has allowed 25 earned runs in just 25.1 innings, with a WHIP of 1.816 and 25 strikeouts. Stroman threw 91 pitches on Friday night, 61 of them for strikes, striking out four and walking one.

Former Jays Prospect Optioned

Former Blue Jays prospect Kendall Graveman, who was one of the main pieces in the Josh Donaldson trade, was optioned to Triple-A Nashville by the Oakland Athletics. Graveman, 27, was the Opening Day starter for the A’s this season.

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In six starts, Graveman was an awful 0-5 with an 8.89 ERA (a number eerily similar to another current Jays starter), with 28 runs allowed and 41 hits allowed. He led the majors in losses, runs allowed, and hits allowed.

Graveman briefly appeared in the majors for the Jays in 2014 but spent most of his time in Dunedin and New Hampshire, where he pitched a combined 135.0 innings during the 2014 season. He has since logged 77 major league starts with Oakland.

Mayza Optioned, Perfect in Limited Action

Following the return of righty John Axford, lefty Tim Mayza was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move. At the time of his reinstatement, Mayza was perfect in 1.2 innings, allowing just two hits and striking out two.

While Mayza’s stint with the team was short, he showed good command and great location. It’s possible that we’ll see more of him as the season progresses, especially given the extreme lack of lefty depth in the upper minors.

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