One of the best stories in the Jays system this season has been the performance of the Vancouver Canadians. When you look at the reasons why, one of the biggest reasons has to be the depth of the lineup. Many minor league teams have a few hitters in the top half but then have guys in the bottom half hitting just over .200. But not the C's. The number eight hitter Saturday was Kekai Rios, who had three hits and is hitting .300. The number seven hitter, Garrett Spain, is hitting .281 with a .855 OPS. Devonte Brown often hits low in the order, he is hitting .248 but has hit eight home runs. And bear in mind they have already promoted Rainer Nunez and Riley Tirotta to AA.
Vancouver put up 12 runs in their win. Buffalo also won with some good offense. Dunedin lost while New Hampshire's game was suspended due to rain.
Toledo 2 Buffalo 8
Altoona 0 New Hampshire 3 - suspended in 2nd inning
Eugene 3 Vancouver 12
Dunedin 4 Bradenton 5
FCL Blue Jays 6 FCL Tigers 11
Three Stars
Third Star - Jordan Luplow
Second Star - Kekai Rios
First Star - Spencer Horwitz
NOTES
Hyun Jin Ryu gave up one run in five innings. Ryu threw 66 pitches and his fastball averaged 88 mph.
Jordan Luplow and Spencer Horwitz homered. Horwitz went 3-5 with three runs scored and two RBI. Davis Schneider was 2-3 with two walks. Luplow also had two hits.
For NH, Rainer Nunez hit a three run home run in the first inning. It was his third home run in AA. Chad Dallas threw two inning sna dthen the rains came. The game will be finished today.
Vancouver just keep rolling, 12 runs on 15 hits with all nine starters picking up a hit. Kekai Rios had three hits and three RBI including his first home run for the C's. Alan Roden had his usual two hits. Michael Turconi, Cade Doughty and Garrett Spain did too.
Pat Gallagher coming off his no hitter, went five innings, three hits, eight strikeouts. Joey Murray followed and he had trouble finding the zone, walking four while getting just one out. Murray's fastball sat at 86-87 mph. He was throwing a lot of fastballs, 22 out of 29 pitches, presumably to build up his arm after a couple of years of inactivity.
Yhoangel Aponte was 2-3 with a walk in the FCL. His two hits were a double and his fifth home run. Aponte has been on the fringes of the top 30 for a couple of years now. He had a good June, a .937 OPS, not so good June, but he is hitting .345 in July with a 1.265 OPS. If he can keep it going through the rest of the season he could be back on the top 30. He is still 19.
The DSL Jays scored 21 runs with out a triple or a home run. They were helped by six errors by Arizona. Top prospect Enmanuel Bonilla was 2-6. He has been steady in his first pro season at age 17. Railin Tejada, age 18, was 3-5 and he too is playing well.
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