Two rainouts, four losses, not an inspiring night on the farm. Hitting was in short supply, the Jays affiliates had 22 hits across four games. Starting pitchers were the stars of the show, they fill all three star positions. In the absence of great performances, we look at prospect pitchers and their 2021 performances.
Lehigh Valley at Buffalo - postponed, DH Friday
Portland 4 New Hampshire 2 - game 1
Portland at New Hampshire - game 2, postponed
Vancouver 3 Everett 7
Dunedin 3 Palm Beach 4
FCL Tigers 10 FCL Blue Jays 7
This is what I noted from yesterday's games.
Elvis Luciano had an excellent start, four shutout innings with five K's. He threw 64 pitches so the Jays are being careful with him. New Hampshire took a 2-1 lead to the seventh and last inning. But Jon Harris gave up a three run home run and that was the game.
The Fisher Cats had just four hits. Samad Taylor and Vinny Capra had doubles.
Rafael Lantigua hit a three run home run in the third inning to give Vancouver the lead. But it was all downhill from there. Lantigua had two of the C's six hits.
Luis Quinones again had a problem with walks. He walked six in 3.2 innings. He was also charged with four runs.
Sem Robberse pitched five no-hit innings with eight K's. It was his best start of the season.
The Jays had only three hits. Steward Berroa and Addison Barger each had a double. Berroa drove in two with his hit.
The FCL Jays outhit the Tigers 9-7, but their pitchers walked 10. The Jays had nine hitters with one hit each. The starting pitcher was Dahian Santos, an 18 year old from Venezuela. He threw five shutout innings, two hits with six K's.
There has been some talk on Da Box recently regarding the lack of performance among the Jays pitching prospects this season. Let's have a closer look. As usual I will grade each pitcher with an Up, Down or Stay as-is, as regards their prospect status.
Nate Pearson has been disappointing. The combination of injuries and poor performances means Pearson has likely lost his number one prospect status. In AAA his performance has been mixed, his WHIP is 1.176, but you expect more from your number one prospect. Down.
Alek Manoah has graduated to the Majors and is holding his own. There is still development required but so far so good and he is ahead of schedule. So thats an Up for me.
Simeon Woods Richardson has had some mixed performances this season. He did leave the team to spend time with the US Olympic team. He hasn't dominated but he hasn't been all bad either. He is striking out almost 14 per nine innings but he is walking too many, five per nine. I would say he is Staying as-is with his relative rank.
Anthony Kay has shown flashes with the Jays, as in on Wednesday. He has also been poor from time to time. Kay was never a top prospect so from that side he has been good, but compared to his 2020, I see a Stay as is.
Adam Kloffenstein has had more bad starts than good ones. His WRA is 6.52 and his WHIP is almost two. He is young and has time but if pressed, his status has slipped. Down.
Eric Pardinho hasn't pitched. His return from Tommy John has been delayed. You have to say Down.
Patrick Murphy has lived up to his often injured reputation. He has pitched generally well in the Majors so I will say Stay as is.
Joey Murray has been injured. Down.
TJ Zeuch has been unable to establish his major league credentials and he hasn't improved his strikeout game so I will say Down.
Thomas Hatch has been injured and is returning. He has pitched reasonably well for Buffalo. Could be down but I will give him a mulligan as he seems to be getting better, Stay as-is.
Maximo Castillo has made eight starts with a 5.40 ERA and a WHIP of 1.525. He is striking out seven per nine innings. Castillo was never a top prospect so his performance might be as expected but his prospects of starting in the majors have dimmed. Down for me.
CJ Van Eyk has been disappointing for a second round pick. The assignment to Vancouver was not too much of a stretch but he has had some big blow ups in the first innings of games. He does have ten K's per nine, but he is allowing too many baserunners. Down.
Yosver Zulueta, injured in game one. Gone for the season. Down.
Nick Frasso made two starts with a zero ERA but has thrown only five innings. Is the injury a one off or a sign? Lets say Stay as-is for now with a question mark.
Trent Palmer started the season hurt and he hasn't pitched well since he returned. A 7.15 ERA stinks. Down.
Sem Robberse started with some rough starts but has thrown a couple of really good ones recently. Could be an Up but we need a few more good ones so I will say Stay as is.
Nick Allgeyer started the season as the Jays hottest minor league pitcher. He has faded since his promotion and non appearance in the majors. He is the bottom of the prospects so I will say Stay as-is.
That's seventeen pitchers. There are probably others who could be listed who have pitched well such as Zach Logue, Naswell Paulino and Luis Quinones. But of the 17, I rank just Manoah as an Up, seven as Stay as-is and nine as Down. That's not good. The Jays need some step-ups in the second half of the season.
Three Stars
Third Star - Dahian Santos
Second Star - Elvis Luciano
First Star - Sem Robberse
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