Toronto Blue Jays: News from the Nest – Sunday, May 23

To view the previous News from the Nest segment looking at players in the Blue Jays minor league system, you can find them in the attached links below:

May 9, 2021

Buffalo Bisons  – AAA

Record: 11-6

Performing well

Alek Manoah – RHP

One of the top pitching prospects in the Blue Jays organization, Alek Manoah has been fantastic so far this season. He didn’t give up an earned run until his latest start last Wednesday, a solo home run early in the game, and that has been the only run he has allowed in all three of his starts this season.

His line is incredible, pitching to a 0.50 ERA with three walks, 27 strikeouts, and a 0.56 WHIP. Another quality outing or two could see the Florida native being called up to the active roster sooner rather than later, a move that is currently being supported by a majority of the Blue Jays fan base.

The Bullpen

Similar to the Blue Jays roster, a majority of pitchers in the Bison’s bullpen are having a great start to the season. This includes:

Kirby Snead: 7 games; 8.1 IP; 0.00 ERA; 4 walks; 10 strikeouts

Bryan Baker: 6 games; 7.2 IP; 0.00 ERA; 4 walks; 12 strikeouts

Hobie Harris: 7 games; 7.1 IP; 2.45 ERA; 2 walks; 10 strikeouts

Tayler Saucedo: 6 games; 10.1 IP; 0.00 ERA; 1 walk; 13 strikeouts

Jackson McClelland: 4 games; 7.0 IP; 2.57 ERA; 0 walks; 6 strikeouts

*Snead has made one start but is considered a relief pitcher*

While the team is loaded with starting pitchers performing well like Manoah, Nick Allgeyer, and Nate Pearson, the bullpen has been pretty lights out for a majority of the staff (more on this later).

Christian Colon – OF

A veteran presence in the Bison’s clubhouse at 32 years old, Christian Colon has been impressive through 13 games so far this season. He is currently slashing .400/.481/.711 and leads the team with his 1.193 OPS along with four home runs and 13 RBI.

Brought in as a depth option given his previous major league experience, Colon is a welcome addition in the event that Bo Bichette or Marcus Semien ends up on the injured list this year and other prospects like Jordan Groshans and/or Austin Martin aren’t ready for the big leagues just yet.

Breyvic Valera – UTIL

The Bison’s have asked Breyvic Valera to play everywhere on the diamond and he is currently doing pretty well in this new role. Spending time at shortstop, second base, third base, left field, and right field, Valera is currently slashing .326/.426/.512 with one home run, 14 RBI, and a .938 OPS through 12 games.

Rough Outings

Dany Jimenez – RHP

While quite a few players in the bullpen have been pitching well this year, Dany Jimenez is one of  the outlier’s in this scenario.

In five games this season, Jimenez sports a rough-looking 7.36 ERA with six earned runs, two walks, and 13 strikeouts. These stats are largely influenced by two rough outings ( May 8th and May 11), which saw him give up a majority of the earned runs and his ERA climb to 11.25. Since the May 11th outing, Jimenez has been slowly chipping away over the past four appearances where he has given up a few hits but has only allowed one earned run. Hopefully, this somewhat hot streak can continue to carry him towards a better-looking stat line.

Dilson Herrera – INF

In 11 games this season, Dilson Herrera currently sports .205/.239/.273 with one of the lowest OPS on the team at .512.

Cullen Large – INF

Featured on the previous News in the Nest in the “Performing Well” section, Cullen Large has been struggling to put the ball in play over the past two weeks.

His slash line has dropped tremendously since the last article, with his average dropping 161 points, OBP by 103 points, and slugging percentage by 266 points. Large is struggling at the plate, going 5 for 29 since May 9th, and has only one RBI during that stretch while striking out nine times in that span.

T.J. Zeuch – RHP 

Beginning the season in the Blue Jays rotation, an injury brought T.J. Zeuch back to the Bison’s rotation, where he has pitched to mixed results. In three starts this season, Zeuch has had one quality outing but his other two starts have really impacted his stat line. For the season, the right-hander currently has a 6.14 ERA with 10 earned runs, four home runs, four walks, and 12 strikeouts.

His second outing on May 13th saw him pitch 6.0 clean innings but his two other outings is where the runs got piled on, with his most recent starts seeing him put seven earned runs on the board over 4.2 innings against the Worcester Woo Sox.

Transactions

Nate Pearson rejoins the Bison after his one start with the Blue Jays.

Nick Allgeyer was called up to the major league team on May 15th but would rejoin the Bison’s on May 17th without seeing any action.

Reliever Ty Tice was recalled back to the major league roster last night.

Pitcher Jeremy Beasley was called up to the Blue Jays roster on May 11th but was optioned back to AAA last night.

Anthony Kay was optioned back to AAA last night.

Injuries

Outfielder Josh Palacios was placed on the injured list on May 10th with a hand injury. He is expected to be out of the lineup for 6-8 weeks.

Reliever Jackson Rees was placed on the seven-day IL back on May 11th.

Promoted/Signed

On May 20th, pitcher Thomas Hatch joined the Bison’s roster after beginning the season on the injured list.

Relievers James Dykstra and Curtis Taylor were promoted to the Bisons from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Blue Jays signed relievers Carl Edwards Jr. and Casey Lawerence and both players were assigned to the Buffalo Bisons.