It's a rare and enjoyable occasion when I get to attend a game in person that features Blue Jays prospects, but that was the case last night as the Skychiefs visited Ottawa. So now, whenever someone sarcastically demands whether I've ever actually seen any of these prospects that I write about, I can say, "Why, of course; I saw three of them in June." Today's report focuses heavily on the AAA game here in the NCR last night; Dunedin had the night off while New Hampshire won and Charleston lost.
Ottawa 6 Syracuse 1
Box score
Game report
Batter’s Box North convened at Lynx Stadium last night, as Mosely, Mark and Stephen T showed up at 6:30 as planned; half an hour later, in rushed the host of the event, late again. A few mea culpas later, we were ready to start the game.
I won’t give you the blow-by-blow description of the game – you can find that here – and there were only three players really worth watching anyway.
David Bush started and pitched much better than his final line (6 2/3 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) might indicate. Seven of the hits were singles, most of which were dinkers and dunkers that fell into the outfield; the double and the triple were scorched, though. But the Lynx hitters rarely looked comfortable; Bush was around the plate all night (as the BB/K line clearly demonstrates) and made very few mistakes. His fastball was working; there were a lot of surprised swings and misses from Ottawa batters who perhaps hadn’t thought Bush could throw that hard. Bush is supposed to be in the low 90s, and to our minds he was throwing at least that hard through much of the game. It didn’t seem like he was able to locate his slider very often, however, which left him vulnerable, although he threw what appeared to be some lovely change-ups to punch out batters on two-strike counts.
Bush is a compact package; the program listed him at 6’2”, but we were doubtful about that and would guess closer to 5’11", maybe 6 feet. But that’s not really a problem for a control artist like him. He has a minimalist, smooth delivery and seems like he'll have no issues with consistency or mechanics at all. He works fast: gets the ball back from the catcher, gets set and is ready to go again. He appears composed on the mound, though you could tell when he was unhappy with a pitch he’d made, which happened a few times. He fields his position very well, and seems to be pretty athletic.
One key aspect of his game, however, came up in discussion at the ballpark, and was noted by NDG in the minor-league thread: Bush appears to suffer from the lack of a reliable out pitch. Stephen, who was keeping score, noted that 4 of the first 5 hits off Bush came on two-strike counts; more than once, he allowed a base hit on a flat 0-2 count. Getting ahead of the hitters is not a problem for Bush – 8 Ks, a lot of them swinging, and 0 walks – but putting them away is sometimes a challenge. Perhaps if his slider had really been biting, he might have been able to shut down the opposition bats; as it was, though, he hung in very nicely and battled. In the 5th, he loaded the bases with nobody out (including two of those two-strike counts), but a fly ball, popout and strikeout later, he was out of it with only one run.
With 2 out in the 6th, Bush finally started to labour; he threw 8 pitches to the last batter he faced, who singled. He left with 2 on and 2 out, having thrown 116 pitches. Mike Smith entered the game, and a double and single later, 3 runs had scored and Bush’s line was effectively ruined. He deserved a better fate; he pitched very well, gutted out at-bats when he didn’t have his best command, and overall was pretty impressive. The only blemish was the inability to put a bunch of hitters away; it’s one thing to get ahead of Darnell McDonald and give up a single with two strikes, but it’s another to do it to David Ortiz and get launched over the wall. But then again, he finished off 8 hitters with a third strike quite nicely, so we're not talking chopped liver here. Bush has talent, command and composure, and that’ll take him a long way. If he finishes guys off consistently when he has the chance, I still think he’ll become a solid #3 starter in the majors.
Russ Adams was batting ninth when I first saw the Skychiefs in April; tonight he batted leadoff and showed why. In his first at-bat, he skipped an opposite-field double down the left-field line. In his second at-bat, he dropped a pop single to centerfield. His third time up, he struck out swinging; in his 4th PA he walked after falling behind 1-2. Coming up for the 5th time in the 9th, he whacked another double into right field. It was a very solid night at the plate for the shortstop, who raised his average to .283.
In the field, it was something of a mixed bag. He made a fine play in the 4th inning when he ranged to his right and tracked down a dying quail in very short left field with 2 on and 2 out. And he handled most of the grounders hit his way smoothly and cleanly. But in a key sequence in the 7th inning, he double-clutched on a grounder and just missed getting the runner as a result. We were unsure, lacking the benefit of replay, whether he was waiting for the first baseman to cover the bag or whether he just got the yips and couldn’t unload; my sense was more the latter.
And there was a strange play in the 3rd. Adams was on first and Jorge Sequea was on third with one out. Adams was stealing second on a strikeout when he appeared to pull up; the catcher threw to second and they appeared to have him in a rundown. But then the Ottawa first baseman threw to Sequea to try to nail him; both runners evaded the subsequent tag attempts and the Chiefs ended up with runners on 2nd and 3rd, with Adams credited with a steal. Again, we weren’t sure if it was a double-steal gone awry, or whether Sequea tried to break for home during the rundown, or whether Adams simply had a brain fade. But on this occasion, I think it was probably a variation on the first option; Adams is said to have excellent instincts, and I think he made the best of a broken play. But, like any young player, every so often he seems to drop a clunker out there. Who knows? I still think he’ll look very good in a Toronto uniform, and if the glove isn’t quite ready yet, the bat sure seems to be pretty much there.
Not much to tell you about Gabe Gross; he started off 0-for-2 before walking (after falling behind 0-2) and later singled in a run (off Bruce Chen, of all people); but he lined very hard back to the pitcher in the first, and overall had himself a pretty decent evening at DH. Simon Pond singled twice, but that was pretty much it for the interesting stuff. Mike Smith throws hard, but that appears to be pretty much all he does, and I can’t imagine he’ll be in the organization a whole lot longer.
Good game and good company; we’ll do it again in August when the Skychiefs make their third and final visit to the City That Fun Forgot.
New Hampshire 8 Trenton 6
Box score
Game report
Kind of a motley game here. John-Ford Griffin doubled twice and walked, scoring twice and driving in one run; a positive development for him. DH Maikel Jova also scored twice and drove in a run with 2 singles and a walk. A double and single were recorded by Dominic Rich (3 RBIs) and Danny Solano (1 RBI), while Justin Singleton singled twice and walked as well. If that sounds like a lot of baserunners, it is: the Fisher Cats put 19 runners on the basepaths.
On the mound, Gustavo Chacin was staked to a 4-0 lead after 2 innings, and promptly served up a three-run homer to someone named Mitch Jones. But he hung on after that, and ended with 9 hits and 4 runs allowed in 5 2/3 innings, walking 1 and 4 strikeouts. Brandon League and Jordan DeJong combined for 2 mostly mediocre relief innings (5 H. 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K) before Adam Peterson came in to shut the door for 1 1/3 hitless innings, striking out one. Any evening when a Yankee farm team loses is an evening well spent.
The Florida State League is on its midsummer All-Star Break. The Dunedin Blue Jays reached the halfway point of their season at 37-26, leading the Western Division by 2 ½ games over Sarasota and tied for the best record in the FSL with East-leading Palm Beach.
Kannapolis 6 Charleston 3
Box score
Game story
Not a happy night in Charleston, as Alley Cat hitters struck out 15 times to earn the wrath of manager Ken Joyce, who afterwards accused some of his players of “giving up out there” (see game story). Ouch. Centerfielder David Smith singled and tripled, scoring one run and driving one in, but his was the only extra-base hit of the night for Charleston. Clint Johnston and Robinzon Diaz each contributed a single and a walk.
On the mound, Shaun Marcum had a rare poor outing. He allowed 4 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks in 5 2/3 innings, but at least struck out 6. Afterwards he admitted that he couldn’t get any of his breaking stuff over consistently, and had to rely on his fastball all night, with predictable results. Only Mark Sopko provided solid relief, striking out 2 in a perfect inning.
Your Three-Star Selection:
The Third Star: David Bush, Syracuse, who pitched better than his final numbers indicated and struck out 8 against 0 walks.
The Second Star: John-Ford Griffin, New Hampshire, who doubled twice, scored twice, walked and drove in a run
The First Star: Russ Adams, Syracuse, who reached base 4 times with 2 doubles, a single and a walk.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20040612084732999