Gideon, defensive information for minor leaguers is hardest to locate. I'd like to know what percentage of runners attempting to steal Quiroz threw out, for instance. I know he has a good arm. Idon't know much, even anecdoctally, about Sequea's and Aaron Hill's (range, arm, pivot on the DP etc.)defence.

For pitchers, anecdotal comments about their repertoire are interesting, as the statistics are widely available. I haven't heard much about Justin James in Auburn, who started off poorly, but by season's end was blowing them away, and I'd like to know more.

It won't surprise anyone, but Russ Adams made his first error of the AFL in his first game.

I think it's interesting that Adams is still playing short; IIRC, many players get sent to the AFL to work on position switches, and Adams seemed like a great candidate.

I know minor league errors don't neccessarily mean anything -- BA ran a piece a while back on the high error totals of SS's like Tejada & Garciaparra -- but most analysts don't seem to think Adams will be a ML shortstop.

I could understand playing him at short if there were no other options, but Aaron Hill is just a year behind, and by most accounts is a much better shortstop option. If Adams projects as a second baseman, shouldn't be be playing second base? I suppose moving from short to second isn't drastic, but why learn in the majors when you can learn in AA/AAA?

Ricciardi does seem to be high on Adams, even his defence -- you don't get flattering Mike Bordick comparisons because of your bat -- but I've yet to read any evaluation of Adams that says he'll be playing shortstop in Toronto.

Whatever happened to Justin Miller? E.T.A?

Does anyone talk about why Adams is going to need to switch?

With shortstops, it's usually range or arm strength...

jc

Mike,

Baseball America had Quiroz throwing out 44% of all basestealers with most of his throws going to second in under 1.9 seconds.

Similarly, the scout who reviewed Hill thought he did not have enough range for shortstop but was athletic enough for second and enough bat for third.

I also recall a New Haven Register story saying that Adams was taking some practice at second base so it would not be a surprise to see him play some games at 2b in the AFL.

J.P. has most commonly compared Adams to Shortstops (Weiss, Bordick) and Hill to Biggio, a 2nd baseman...if that means anything

Justin Miller injured his shoulder weight training in the offseason and subsequently had to have surgery in the spring. Shoulder surgery is MUCH tougher to come back from than elbow surgery in general. The only benefit is that in many cases players undergoing shoulder surgery can come back a little quicker. Miller is hoping to be back for spring but realistically it will probably be midseason (or maybe never) by the time he's up to full speed again.

The reason people talk about Adams switching to 2nd is his arm. His range is supposedly top notch but the arm is a little weak.

The newest Baseball America under the Toronto Bluejay section mentioned Jesse Harper as the player to keep an eye on. It gave pretty impressive stats for this year and last year. What can you tell us and what is your prediction for his future?

Harper was a draft and follow signing from the 21st round of the 2000 draft (previously a 13th round pick by the D'backs in 1999). According to BA he throws "88-92 with a slider, curve and good changeup. His slider is a good pitch, and he mixes in an occasional splitter."

Wow, I had no idea we had readers so far-flung! Welcome, Steve, and thanks for the update. Russ Adams did indeed switch to 2B after a decent 4-1-1-1 day at shortstop, replacing Dominic Rich, who had just one hit. Tyrell Godwin led off and had two hits and a walk, scoring wice. Cam Reimers got the call to start and had a good outing, three shutout innings with 2 hits and 1 K. I also note that former Jays Rule 5 pick Gary Majewski is a Javelina; he pitched a scoreless 9th, but walked three.

Now that I think of it, here's a quick look at the performances of the two Rule 5 picks the Jays had to throw back.

Jason Dubois, OF, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (ugh), AA Southern League
130 G, 443 AB, .269/.367/.458, 57 R, 31 2B, 4 3B, 15 HR, 73 RBI, 57 BB, 118 K
- John-Ford Griffin v. 2.0. Not that there's anything wrong with that at all.

Gary Majewski, RHP, Charlotte Knights, AAA International League
6-4, 4 Sv, 3.96, 42 G, 1 GS, 72 IP, 62 H, 29 BB, 72 K, 23.4% KBF
- This would have been nice to have around in the Syracuse bulpen, huh?

The Jays' talent scouts knew what they were doing when they nabbed these guys and Aquilino Lopez last spring. It's too bad they couldn't keep all three, and that they couldn't work out deals with the Cubs and ChiSox, but that's the way the ball bounces sometimes, and it's pretty clear they kept the best one. I'm looking forward to further pillaging of other teams' rosters in the next Rule 5.