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.

Vancouver Canadians – High A

Record: 11-6

Performing Well

Previous edition players

Two of the three players in the last edition of “News from the Nest” are performing well two weeks later:

Spencer Horwitz – INF: 16 games;.319/.529/.426; .955 OPS; 0 home runs; 6 RBI

Ryan Gold – C: 13 games; .292/.404/.521; .924 OPS; 1 home run; 9 RBI

While Horwitz would go hitless for two games back on May 9th and 11th, he has since gotten a hit in every game except for two games a few days ago and is a walking machine, leading the team with 21 walks on the season.

Gold has also performed consistently well early this year, seeing his average climb to .381 on May 12th before floating back down to the .300 area, where it currently sits today.

Tanner Kirwer – OF

Canadian-born Tanner Kirwer is having a strong start to the 2021 campaign, posting a team-high .966 OPS through 15 games. His current slash line of .300/.432/.533 sits right amongst the top hitters on the team and he also has the team lead for home runs with four.

Since May 9th, Kirwer has steadily kept his average above .300 and has eight RBI with five extra-base hits over the past two weeks while manning all three positions in the outfield.

Cameron Eden – OF

After a slow start to the year, outfielder Cameron Eden has been on a hot streak since he went 4 for 6 back on May 16th. Since then, the California native has gone 12 for 26 and has seen his slash line climb to .339/.433/.411 through 15 games on the season. His .844 OPS currently has him sitting fourth on the team.

Multiple members of the bullpen

The Canadians boast some strong bullpen arms early this season (consistent with some other levels of the farm system), with the following pitchers leading the charge:

Parker Caracci: 6 games; 8.1 IP; 0.00 ERA; 7 walks; 7 strikeouts

Brandon Eisert: 3 games; 6.1 IP; 0.00 ERA; 1 walk; 7 strikeouts

Justin Maese: 5 games; 8.0 IP; 0.00 ERA; 3 walks; 10 strikeouts

Marcus Reyes: 5 games; 11.2 IP; 0.00 ERA; 2 walks; 12 strikeouts

Sam Ryan: 3 games; 5.0 IP; 0.00 ERA; 3 walks; 4 strikeouts

Rough Outings

Cobi Johnson – RHP

Through five outings this year, reliever Cobi Johnson has struggled to find success within the Vancouver Canadians bullpen. Johnson currently owns a team-worst 12.60 ERA with seven earned runs, seven walks, and eight strikeouts through 5.0 innings of work. Since May 9th, the 6’4″ right-hander has made three appearances, surrendering four earned runs while walking six batters.

Ronny Brito – INF

Through 11 games this season, Dominican native Ronny Brito has struggled to put the ball in play. He currently owns the team’s worst OPS at .416 and his slash line of .119/.178/.238 is also towards the bottom of the team’s statistical charts. Brito has five hits through 42 at-bats this season but three of them have been for extra bases (two doubles and a home run), earning him two RBI on the year. Brito also leads the team in strikeouts at 21.

Defensively, Brito has also struggled to field and throw the ball, as the infielder has five errors on the season from three different positions (2B –  2, SS – 1, 3B – 2).

Rafael Lantigua – INF

In his second season of A ball, Rafael Lantigua is off to a slow start this year, posting a .179/.289/.256 slash line through 12 games this season. Lantigua has seven hits through the first month of baseball and only three RBI while walking six times compared to his 12 strikeouts. He has one error on the season from playing third base.

Transactions

Heading to AA

RHP Willy Gaston, RHP Sam Ryan, RHP Andrew McInvale, and 3B LJ Talley were all promoted to AA New Hampshire.

Injuries

RHP Troy Watson, RHP Brayden Bouchey, and RF Will Robertson were all placed on the seven-day injured list within the past two weeks.

LF D.J. Neal was activated from the seven-day IL.

Promoted

3B Sebastian Espino, RF Eric Rivera, RHP Lazaro Estrada, and LHP Brandon Eisert were promoted to the Canadians roster from Low A Dunedin.

Dunedin Blue Jays – Low A

Record: 6-11

The Bradenton Marauders threw a combined no-hitter against the Dunedin Blue Jays on May 15th.

Performing Well

Rothier Hernandez – RHP

At 23 years old, reliever Rothier Hernandez spent the past three seasons playing in the Blue Jays various Rookie League’s and is finally getting his feet wet at the A level.

In five appearances so far this May, Hernandez has pitched to a 0.96 ERA over 9.1 innings while striking out 14 batters compared to three walks, posting an impressive 0.96 WHIP in the process. He has only allowed one earned run so far this season on a team that is struggling to find successful pitchers early in the campaign.

The Catchers

Both Ryan Sloniger and Zach Britton find themselves towards the top of most offensive categories on the Blue Jays this season, as the team overall is struggling to find consistency in the batter’s box.

Stats wise:

Britton – 14 games; .255/.453/.468; .921 OPS; 2 home runs; 5 RBI; 15 walks, 15 strikeouts

Sloniger – 9 games; .250/.455/.458; .913 OPS; 1 home run; 3 RBI; 8 walks; 5 strikeouts

While both players haven’t been the main bats behind the team’s RBI, they do account for 18 of the Blue Jays runs because of their ability to get on base via the walk.

Addison Barger – INF

Making his debut in A ball during the 2021 season, Addison Barger currently finds himself sitting second on the team in terms of RBI (11) and fourth in OPS (.756). His current slash line of .245/.327/.429 and OPS is heavily impacted by just having four walks through 13 games and 49 at-bats, but his two home runs and 11 RBI make him one of the more impactful bats in the Blue Jays lineup.

Rough Outings

A majority of the pitching staff

Similar to the last News from the Nest, the Dunedin Blue Jays pitching staff is still struggling to find a way to keep runs off the scoreboard early this season. Since May 9th, the pitching corps has allowed 45 runs (40 earned) and quite a few players are struggling such as Grant Townsend (18.90), Thomas Ruwe (17.18), Naswell Paulino (9.00), Sem Robberse (8.10), Gabriel Ponce (7.71), Juan De Paula (7.71), and Alejandro Melean (7.56), with all the mentioned pitchers having ERA’s over 7.00. Townsend did end up going on the injured list which may explain the rough outings, but overall, the pitching corps is just not having a fun time down in Dunedin right now.

Jhon Solarte – OF

In 14 games this season, Jhon Solarte is struggling in his first year of A ball. He currently owns a .137/.228/.196 slash line with a .424 OPS, one of the lowest on the team. He does have seven RBI on the year which puts him in the middle of the pack but his 25 strikeouts leads the team through the first month of the season.

Leo Jimenez – INF

After missing the start of the season on the injured list, the Blue Jays #12 ranked prospect is not having a great start to the year. Leo Jiminez currently owns one of the lowest OPS on the team at .395 and currently sports a .111/.256/.139 slash line with four hits through 36 at-bats. He also has struck out eight times with one walk while also having one extra-base hit and three RBI through 10 games on the season.

Transactions

Heading to High-A

3B Sebastian Espino, RF Eric Rivera, RHP Lazaro Estrada, and LHP Brandon Eisert were all moved to High-A

Injuries

C Anthony Morales, 3B Harrison Ray, and RHP Grant Townsend were all placed on the seven day injured list.

Leo Jimenez was activated from the injured list on May 11th.

Promoted

RHP Nick Frasso, LF Glenn Santiago, CF Steward Berroa, RHP Thomas Ruwe, and 2B Jose Rivas were promoted/assigned to the Dunedin Blue Jays.