Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Minor League Update: April 23

Charleston were the only minor league team to win last night and they now have the best record in baseball. The Jays are considering a new method for calling up players from Syracuse. Chad Hermanson was called up after hitting .350 at Syracuse and went o-fer the major leagues. Howie Clark was hitting a buck eighty at Syracuse and had four hits last night.

Ottawa 5 Syracuse 4

Chris Baker started for Syracuse as the Chief's hottest pitcher so far this season. However when I pointed out his hot start in yesterday's minor league thread I must have jinxed him. Ottawa scored in each of the first three innings and Baker was done after three. Some familiar names to Toronto Blue Jays fans helped Ottawa to the win. In the first a Chad Mottola hit scored Mike Fontenot. Mottola scored on an error by Alexis Rios. In the second Pedro Swann hit a home run. Later that inning, Robert Machado doubled and scored. Pedro Swann had a run scoring double in the third.

The Chiefs did get one run back in the first when Jorge Sequea led off with a double and scored on a Glenn Williams hit. Williams homered in the third to make the score 5-2. In the home half of the fifth Alex Rios tripled home Williams who had reached on an error. Simon Pond doubled Rios home to make it 5-4. Another familiar player, Darwin Cubillan, recorded the save.

Mike Nakamura was strong in relief pitching four shutout innings, recording six strikeouts and allowing only two hits. Gabe Gross had a tough night. Gross had a hit but struck out his other four trips.

The Syracuse Post has a very nice feature on Pedro Swann.

New Hampshire - Travel Day

Kevin Grey has a feature on the first week of baseball in New Hampshire.

Dunedin 0 Clearwater 2

Dunedin have had a number of excellent pitching performances this season so I guess turnaround is fair play. Layne Dawson shutout the Jays on two hits over seven innings to get the win. Dawson is not listed as a prospect by either Baseball America or John Sickels. He entered the game with an ERA of 4.00 in two starts, but he fooled the Jays all night. Neomar Flores started and gave up a home run in the first. Dawson meanwhile retired the first sixteen hitters. Brad Hassey singled in the sixth to break up the perfect game. However he was immediately retired on a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play. Flores pitched six strong innings with the home run the only score allowed. Carlo Cota doubled with one out in the seventh but Dawson got Jason Waugh and Vito Chiaravalloti to strike out swinging. Tracey Thorpe pitched two innings and allowed a two run home run.

Greensboro 0 Charleston 10

The Alley Cats scored in each of the first five innings and with Shawn Marcum on the mound this was no contest. Marcum pitched the first nine inning complete game of the season for any of the Jays minor league teams. Marcum retired the first nine hitters he faced. Greensboro had back to back hits to start the fourth but Marcum then retired another 11 in a row. Marcum allowed four hits and one walk while striking out eight. Marcum had a pitch count of ninety on the night. He recorded eleven first pitch out and needed only eighty four or eighty six pitches depending which newspaper you believe.

The Greenboro starter picked a bad night to have some control problems. In the first he walked Ryan Roberts and Robinson Diaz. Clint Johnston knew the pitcher had to throw a strike and he launched it for a three run homerun. Roberts has been so hot to start the year that he succeeds even when he messes up. Roberts hit into a double play in the second to score Christian Snavely who had walked to lead off the inning. Morrin Davis hit a two run home run in the third. Willie Rivera doubled and scored on a groundout by Roberts in the fourth. The Alley Cats added three more in the fifth. Roberts and Rivera each had two hits for the Cats.

The Charleston Daily Mail points out that Charleston has the best record in the minor leagues. The Gazette also praises Marcum.

Our Three-Star Selection

The 3rd Star: Glenn Williams, 2-5 with a two run home run, two runs scored, and reached on an error
The 2nd Star: Ryan Roberts, 2-3 with a walk, a run and an RBI
The 1st Star: Shawn Marcum, the first nine inning complete game shutout of the year

Posted by Gerry on Friday, April 23 2004 @ 09:34 AM EDT.

Minor League Update: April 23 | 33 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Pistol - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 09:56 AM EDT (#70442) #

I keep seeing Ryan Roberts pop up in the star of the day. Should he be in Dunedin?

Looking it up, he's .426/.542/.617 for the year.

Craig B - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 09:56 AM EDT (#70443) #

Marcum's line of 9 4 0 0 1 8 on 86 pitches? Outstanding.

Mike Green - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 09:58 AM EDT (#70444) #

Starters for today: Sean Douglass for Syracuse, Todd Ozias for New Hampshire, Josh Banks for Dunedin and Nasty Mastny in Charleston.

I checked the game log for the Charleston game. Marcum struck out 1 in the first 4 innings and then 7 in the last 5 innings. Interesting pattern for a relief-to-start conversion. It also does not support my theory that the early starts in Charleston tend to lead to more strikeouts.

Mike Nakamura's performance was, as Gerry points out, noteworthy. I expect him to see some time in Toronto this year.

robertdudek - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:08 AM EDT (#70445) #

A complete game with 86 pitches is outstanding. It looks like Marcum will be making a few of our mid-season Top 10 prospect lists.

_MatO - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:13 AM EDT (#70446) #

It's ironic that a part-time college reliever and strictly a reliever in Auburn last year pitches the first complete game in the minors this year.

I know it's early but the Jay's pitching draft class of 2003 has been mostly very good so far. Contrast that to Brad Sullivan, the pitcher that many thought the Jays coveted in the first round last year, is off to a terrible start for the A's high A ball Modesto. He has a 7+ ERA with 19 hits in 11IP and 8BB to go with only 5K. The Jays were apparently turned-off by his loss of velocity toward the end of the college season and maybe these problems are persisting.

_A - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:13 AM EDT (#70447) #

Tonight�s ballpark promotion is �I�m Not Running For Governor Night.�� Anyone not running for governor of West Virginia will be admitted for half-price. Any of the 18 candidates that have filed for the office will be charged double the face value of their ticket

That's a brilliant promotion!

This reference whizzed right over my head, can someone fill me in on the significance of a "crooked number"?
It was nice to put a crooked number up [on the scoreboard] in the first inning.

Mike Green - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:13 AM EDT (#70448) #

One more point of interest. Quietly, Guillermo Quiroz seems to be working on his plate discipline early in the season. He's not hitting for power yet, but his .378 OBP with more walks than Ks are a very good sign.

Mike Green - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:15 AM EDT (#70449) #

A, "crooked number" means anything other than a 0, which is smooth.

_A - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:17 AM EDT (#70450) #

Thanks Mike, I was sure it had something to do with the Black Sox...Or Paul Martin ;-)

_MatO - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:19 AM EDT (#70451) #

A, "crooked number" means anything other than a 0, which is smooth.

I think it also means multiple runs. The number 1 is straight. The numbers higher than 1 are all crooked (other than 10 or 11 I guess).

robertdudek - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:26 AM EDT (#70452) #

It does not mean 0 or 1 run. It means two or more. Earl Weaver loved to put the crooked numbers on the board and leave the singletons to his opponents.

Weaver/Beane/Ricciardi motto:

If you play for one run that's all you'll get.

_Steve Z - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:50 AM EDT (#70453) #

This is what Mike Gullo, TheMinorsFirst.com, had to say after Marcum's first start of the season:

"It looked like he throws 2 different fastballs, though neither is good enough to get by hitters when they find the meat of the plate, so he needs to spot them. His predominant fastball really has a lot of movement running away from lefties. That's the one I liked best... the other seemed pretty straight. His slider is a dynamite pitch and he also flashed an occasional change. For a kid with not a lot of pitching experience, I think he's one to watch."

I keep seeing Ryan Roberts pop up in the star of the day. Should he be in Dunedin?

Looking it up, he's .426/.542/.617 for the year.

Ryan Roberts, to me at least, is the player to beat for our first installment of the monthly Minor League award, for April! Leading the SAL with an OBP of .542, he's about ready for the jump to High-A!

_Jordan - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:54 AM EDT (#70454) #

Chris Baker is an interesting case. Up to this point, I haven't been a believer at all: he spent two years at Double-A and bombed out in a previous venture at Triple-A in 2002. He hasn't had good K/IP or K/BB rates, and showed all the signs of being a minor-league lifer. That said, he was tremendous in his first few starts, and has apparently added a couple more mph to his fastball; even a small amount of speed can make a difference. I'm still a skeptic, but I'm not going to write him off after this start; let's see what he does through May. Simon Pond became a prospect in his mid-20s, so maybe Baker can, too.

Marcum is a genuine prospect, and Dunedin is very likely in his near future. That said, I would recommend some caution about last night's game: Greensboro is 4-10 and is doing as badly on offence as are the Blue Jays. Only one Greensboro batter ranks in the top 40 in any Sally League offensive rate category, and that's catcher Angel Molina, who's 40th in slugging. This was a case of very good pitcher meets very bad hitters.

I pegged Roberts as a sleeper in my pre-season Top 40 Prospects list. He's now officially awake.

_Nigel - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 11:01 AM EDT (#70455) #

Jordan - I agree about Baker but I'm pulling for him none the less. As for Roberts, I definitely would be pushing him as fast as he can go. He's 23 already (and has an September birthday) so he's very old to be a prospect for low A. I'd like to see him move in a month or so assuming he continues to hit reasonably well.

Craig B - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 11:07 AM EDT (#70456) #

Carlo Cota has been struggling in Dunedin with the bat (.212 average, good walks though) and with the glove (five errors already).

Switching him with Roberts looks like a possible move; Cota may be able to bounce back some in the Sally League, and Roberts, like Marcum and Mastny and probably Core, is too old and too good for the competition in Charleston but there's a logjam of good prospects in the system!

Cota's time has to be now. He was drafted as a college junior and it's his third pro season; he's 24 in September and if he's going to make the show, he needs to start showing what he can do. So maybe Roberts will get to terrorize low A for a while yet. He showed promise at Auburn last year so I guess they'll let him get it worked out. Cota still looks like a good pick for the 33rd round!

I'm starting to worry about Christian Snavely. He can't seem to get his bat on the ball (14 Ks in 33 ABs, hitting just .212) and he too should be doing better considering the level he's playing at. I wonder if he's hurt? The strikeouts were the same problem he had at Auburn last year, though, so I'm wondering if he's got a touch of Slow Bat Disease exacerbated by a case of Woodbatitis...

Craig B - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 11:27 AM EDT (#70457) #

I'm told that Marcum threw 28 of 31 first-pitch strikes last night. How impressive is that?

Mike Green - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 11:54 AM EDT (#70458) #

Craig, even if you didn't want to ship Cota back to the Sally League, both Cota and Roberts have played 3B, and right now, Dunedin's third baseman is Hassey.

I must admit that while I'm excited about Roberts' bat, I cannot understand why the Jays are attempting to convert him from third to second. There seem to me to be more depth in the system in the middle infield than at the corners, and Roberts is on the old side to learn a new position.

Craig B - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 12:23 PM EDT (#70459) #

Mike, Roberts isn't a big guy and I suspect the Jays think he's better suited for second base. In 2002, he played shortstop, so clearly he's quicker than your typical college third baseman (no offense, Gitz :)

Also, a second baseman who can hit like Roberts can is a huge up-the-middle boost. There's the additional fact that he may not have the cannon arm for major-league third base - put it all together, and if he can play second, I'd rather have him there, than at third.

_A - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 12:29 PM EDT (#70460) #

In one of the articles Gerry links to Marcum talks about a game plan that worked on the Bats' tendancy to swing at the first pitch. With that game plan, managing to throw a strike 90% of the time and not get banged around is some impressive trickery.

Mike Green - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 02:58 PM EDT (#70461) #

Maybe, Craig, you're right. But the ticking of the clock would bug me.

I think sometimes there is a tendency to underestimate the defensive abilities required of a second baseman, and in particular the importance of the pivot and the other DP-turning skills. I personally would rather have a fine hitter like Roberts who is 23, honing his hitting skills at high A and double A this year, rather than learning the fine defensive skills of a second baseman in the Sally league. I'd feel differently about it if he were 21.

_Dean - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 04:06 PM EDT (#70462) #

Snavely impressed the Jays during the 2002 Cape Cod season. His junior year in college was pretty ordinary. He never turned it around after turning pro last year & is continuing to struggle. Roberts' age concern's me too, along with his draft position, suggests he may be more of an organizational type player. His hitting may propel him into prospect status but for that to happen he has to move a couple steps up before seasons end.

_Steve Z - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 06:03 PM EDT (#70463) #

In yesterday's Prospect Pulse, John Manuel reported the latest on Rosario's minor setback (basically the same as that which Coach reported from his brief conversation with JP last week):

Rosario, on the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery, had muscle soreness that affected his delivery. He came out early as a precaution but shouldn't miss a start.

In other news, Shaun Marcum was named Pitcher of the Week for the Sally League. Marcum is exactly one year younger than Joe Blanton, who suprisingly spent almost a full season in the Midwest League last year (144 SO, 19 BB, 133 IP) before getting the call to High-A. It will be interesting to see how long Marcum (as well as James and Core) lasts in Charleston. Banks and Isenberg have already made great first impressions in the FSL.

_Sneeps - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 08:27 PM EDT (#70464) #

Banks has another no-hitter through 5 innings in Dunedin. 2nd time in a row for that. Maybe the Jays should be aggressive w/ Banks and bump him up to New Hampshire.

_JohnnyS99 - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 08:48 PM EDT (#70465) #

http://fanhome.com
Tom Mastny is throwingshutout too. Mastny is older then Marcum, Maybe he should be the next guy bumped to dunedin??

_Steve Z - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 08:53 PM EDT (#70466) #

Patience and Power... Guillermo Quiroz just hit his second homer of the game in the top of the 8th. It's 7-4 Chiefs.

_JohnnyS99 - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 09:25 PM EDT (#70467) #

http://fanhome.com
Hmm.. If Mastny or Marcum get promoted, any of you guys think Chad Mulholand will get the call ? IMO Jeremy Harper, Jordy Templet all pitched well in Auburn to get the call. Scout any updated on Amos day? Baseball America seemed pretty high on him.

Craig B - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:06 PM EDT (#70468) #

Snavely impressed the Jays during the 2002 Cape Cod season. His junior year in college was pretty ordinary.

This is not correct. Snavely was one of the 50 best hitters in the NCAA (park- and competition-adjusted) in 2003. There is no doubt that he had a junior season entirely consistent with his draft position.

2001 .307/.369/.550
2002 .360/.438/.596
2003 .335/.487/.665

But he definitely hasn't done it in the pros. It's not much of a sample size - not even 250 at-bats yet - but I'm concerned because he's striking out but still not showing power.

_Steve Z - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:27 PM EDT (#70469) #

Banks threw another gem (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO), leading Dunedin past Clearwater 1-0. Charleston won 4-0 behind a masterful Mastny (4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO!). Alley Cat pitchers have a 23 1/3 inning shutout streak going...

Mike Green - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 10:35 PM EDT (#70470) #

JP's 2003 draft looks better and better- Aaron Hill, Josh Banks, Shaun Marcum, Kurt Isenberg, Justin James, Jamie Vermilyea, Tom Mastny, Vito Chiavaralotti and Ryan Roberts. Wow.

At this stage last year, the 2002 draft looked good, but nothing like this.

_Dean - Friday, April 23 2004 @ 11:41 PM EDT (#70471) #

Baseball America, in their 2003 draft preview, called Snavely's season disappointing, saying he lacked the athleticism, speed and agressiveness he had displayed the summer before. They also questioned his arm strength and that it may force him to 1st or left field but he may not have the consistent power for those positions. They did say that he had a good approach to hitting and was disciplined at the plate. He apparently came on strong though as he was barely hitting .200 halfway through the season.

_Jeff Geauvreau - Saturday, April 24 2004 @ 12:06 AM EDT (#70472) #

This would be a shame scout to leave this site.I think I speak for many posters when I say we love to here your tidbits. Don't be putoff by some people's views.

From 4/22/03 minor league thread.

#166325 Posted 04/23/2004 08:00 PM by scout:

Don't know who Robie Goldberg is and don't really care. He has the right to say "highly intelligent" things anytime that he wants. He also has the right to think that I am "spreading rumours" anytime that he wants. If you look back, anything that I have told you is fact and has come true. No secretive information leaking out that is destined to destroy the Jays. Just doing some homework and informing you on what I was told.I guess to make this easy on everyone I will keep my "top level secrets" to myself.I will agree with Robbie on one thing though before I sign off of this site, the majority of people on this site are informed and have great knowledge about the game and the Jays. Then you have a few people on here that ruin it for everybody else. Good luck and have fun.

GO JAYS

_johnnnyS99 - Saturday, April 24 2004 @ 10:27 AM EDT (#70473) #

http://fanhome.com
Yep, it would be a shame. None of the information we were getting is top secret. The problem is , outside of the die hard minor leauge followers no one really cares how Jesse Harper is doing, were not going to read about it in the Toronto Star or on the blue jays website. I guess thats why people come to battersbox cause their getting the information thats hard to find via the web, newspapers etc.

_Darren - Saturday, April 24 2004 @ 08:07 PM EDT (#70474) #

What's the news about this Pidutti guy. It seems he is talked about a lot. I have read some things about him. What's his story? I guess he is in extended spring training right now? How is doing? And how does he project as a minor leaguer? Anyone know anything.

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