With the first month in the books, it's time to hand out some Minor League hardware:
When I thought up the idea of (borrowing) the Three Star system for recognizing daily Blue Jays Minor League achievements, I had no idea it would turn into such an integral part of our comprehensive daily coverage at Da Box.
Despite its obvious limitations, the daily Three Star Selections! (made by Jordan, John, Gerry and myself) give an indication of the players who have stood out among all the Jays farmhands on each day. The points are awarded on a 5-3-1 scale, and while most of the noteworthy performances garner recognition, many players have big games (often coming in losing efforts) that are overshadowed by even more eye-opening statlines (accompanied by a win) elsewhere in the system on the same day. Both the end-of-year and mid-season winners should correlate well with overall consistent performers, while the monthly awards tend to reward individuals who who have starred on several occasions during the month, regardless of their overall monthly statistics.
Thankfully, April's Organizational Three-Stars were deserving in both regards:
April's Third Stars:
Ryan Roberts, 2B, Charleston, and Dustin McGowan, RHP, New Hampshire (13 Pts)
Second baseman Ryan Roberts was the offensive Cat-alyst during Charleston's phenomenal month of April, a month in which the Low-A affiliate put together an historic twelve-game win streak to become the winningest team in professional baseball. Roberts led his team to several come-from-behind victories, including a handful of extra inning classics (he won three games for the Alley Cats in either the ninth or later). Roberts led the team, and the organization, in average (.358), on-base percentage (.488), and slugging percentage (.582), adding a team-high 4 HR, 15 walks (one for every 4.5 AB), and only 9 strikeouts. The 2003 18th-round draft pick, in his first season at second base, has exhibited all the valued qualities emphasized by the Blue Jays organization. Kudos to JP Ricciardi and his scouting staff for the draft-day coup. A job well done, to Ken Joyce and the Alley Cat coaches. But most of all, congratulations are in order to Ryan Roberts, in receiving the Batter's Box Blue Jays Minor League Hitter of the Month award for April, as the organization's Third Star (overall).
The Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats' inaugural season was highlighted by a memorable first month. Despite their offensive struggles, the Cats finished the month near the top of the Eastern League's Northern Division, in large part due to a league-best team ERA of 2.59. Atop the list of impressive April pitching performances was that of Jays #1 pitching prospect, twenty-two year-old righty Dustin McGowan. The humble Georgian has now captured the hearts and minds of New Englanders and Bauxites alike after a dazzling start to the 2004 campaign. McGowan went 2-0, but gave his teammates a chance to win in all four of his April starts. He led the Fisher Cats' rotation with a 1.21 ERA, led the staff with 22 1/3 innings pitched, struck out almost a batter per inning (21 total), while allowing only 1 HR, 12 H, and 7 BB. (His monthly WHIP was 0.85). In his final April start, the 6-foot-3 fireballer overmatched Akron with a nine-strikeout gem under extreme weather conditions. The top prospect will have to wait for the official call from Jays management, notifying him of his imminent promotion to Triple-A Syracuse. Congratulations to April's Third Star, Dustin McGowan.
April's Second Star:
David Bush, RHP, Syracuse (15 Pts)
April's Second Star, David Bush, ended the month with an exclamation mark. The second-year starter struck out eleven batters through seven innings (7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB) en route to his team-leading third win of the season for the SkyChiefs. He leads the team with 28 strikeouts (in 30 1/3 innings) and is only one punchout away from leading the International League in strikeouts. The twenty-four year-old Pittsburgh native has an ERA of 3.86 and he has only allowed 1 home run to date. His poise, pitchability, and control (exhibited by an amazing 4:1 SO:BB rate) has rocketed him to the top of the Jays depth chart, less than two years after being selected in the second round, as a closer, from Wake Forest. Look for the "Bush 04" campaign stop at a Major League park near you this summer. Congratulations to April's Second Star, David Bush.
April's First Star:
Josh Banks, RHP, Dunedin (16 Pts)
Following on the heels of Bush, Josh Banks is on a similar track, making his High-A Dunedin debut in a fashion perhaps even more impressive than his 2nd-round predecessor. The five-pitch starter hasn't skipped a beat since the season started, leading the Florida State League in wins (3) and ERA (0.41). In his last three starts, Banks has allowed only 5 hits, while shutting out the opposition over 16 near-perfect innings. His SO:BB ratio of 27:4 (22 IP) was third among Jays' starters, behind Syracuse's Chris Baker (10:1) and Chaleston's Shaun Marcum (27:2). Banks' 0.72 WHIP led all Blue Jays minor league starters for the month of April, catapulting him up the ever-changing prospect lists. For his outstanding month, Banks picked up both the Batter's Box Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Month, and Pitcher of the Month awards, as April's Organizational First Star. Congratulations to our First Star, Josh Banks.
When I thought up the idea of (borrowing) the Three Star system for recognizing daily Blue Jays Minor League achievements, I had no idea it would turn into such an integral part of our comprehensive daily coverage at Da Box.
Despite its obvious limitations, the daily Three Star Selections! (made by Jordan, John, Gerry and myself) give an indication of the players who have stood out among all the Jays farmhands on each day. The points are awarded on a 5-3-1 scale, and while most of the noteworthy performances garner recognition, many players have big games (often coming in losing efforts) that are overshadowed by even more eye-opening statlines (accompanied by a win) elsewhere in the system on the same day. Both the end-of-year and mid-season winners should correlate well with overall consistent performers, while the monthly awards tend to reward individuals who who have starred on several occasions during the month, regardless of their overall monthly statistics.
Thankfully, April's Organizational Three-Stars were deserving in both regards:
April's Third Stars:
Ryan Roberts, 2B, Charleston, and Dustin McGowan, RHP, New Hampshire (13 Pts)
Second baseman Ryan Roberts was the offensive Cat-alyst during Charleston's phenomenal month of April, a month in which the Low-A affiliate put together an historic twelve-game win streak to become the winningest team in professional baseball. Roberts led his team to several come-from-behind victories, including a handful of extra inning classics (he won three games for the Alley Cats in either the ninth or later). Roberts led the team, and the organization, in average (.358), on-base percentage (.488), and slugging percentage (.582), adding a team-high 4 HR, 15 walks (one for every 4.5 AB), and only 9 strikeouts. The 2003 18th-round draft pick, in his first season at second base, has exhibited all the valued qualities emphasized by the Blue Jays organization. Kudos to JP Ricciardi and his scouting staff for the draft-day coup. A job well done, to Ken Joyce and the Alley Cat coaches. But most of all, congratulations are in order to Ryan Roberts, in receiving the Batter's Box Blue Jays Minor League Hitter of the Month award for April, as the organization's Third Star (overall).
The Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats' inaugural season was highlighted by a memorable first month. Despite their offensive struggles, the Cats finished the month near the top of the Eastern League's Northern Division, in large part due to a league-best team ERA of 2.59. Atop the list of impressive April pitching performances was that of Jays #1 pitching prospect, twenty-two year-old righty Dustin McGowan. The humble Georgian has now captured the hearts and minds of New Englanders and Bauxites alike after a dazzling start to the 2004 campaign. McGowan went 2-0, but gave his teammates a chance to win in all four of his April starts. He led the Fisher Cats' rotation with a 1.21 ERA, led the staff with 22 1/3 innings pitched, struck out almost a batter per inning (21 total), while allowing only 1 HR, 12 H, and 7 BB. (His monthly WHIP was 0.85). In his final April start, the 6-foot-3 fireballer overmatched Akron with a nine-strikeout gem under extreme weather conditions. The top prospect will have to wait for the official call from Jays management, notifying him of his imminent promotion to Triple-A Syracuse. Congratulations to April's Third Star, Dustin McGowan.
April's Second Star:
David Bush, RHP, Syracuse (15 Pts)
April's Second Star, David Bush, ended the month with an exclamation mark. The second-year starter struck out eleven batters through seven innings (7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB) en route to his team-leading third win of the season for the SkyChiefs. He leads the team with 28 strikeouts (in 30 1/3 innings) and is only one punchout away from leading the International League in strikeouts. The twenty-four year-old Pittsburgh native has an ERA of 3.86 and he has only allowed 1 home run to date. His poise, pitchability, and control (exhibited by an amazing 4:1 SO:BB rate) has rocketed him to the top of the Jays depth chart, less than two years after being selected in the second round, as a closer, from Wake Forest. Look for the "Bush 04" campaign stop at a Major League park near you this summer. Congratulations to April's Second Star, David Bush.
April's First Star:
Josh Banks, RHP, Dunedin (16 Pts)
Following on the heels of Bush, Josh Banks is on a similar track, making his High-A Dunedin debut in a fashion perhaps even more impressive than his 2nd-round predecessor. The five-pitch starter hasn't skipped a beat since the season started, leading the Florida State League in wins (3) and ERA (0.41). In his last three starts, Banks has allowed only 5 hits, while shutting out the opposition over 16 near-perfect innings. His SO:BB ratio of 27:4 (22 IP) was third among Jays' starters, behind Syracuse's Chris Baker (10:1) and Chaleston's Shaun Marcum (27:2). Banks' 0.72 WHIP led all Blue Jays minor league starters for the month of April, catapulting him up the ever-changing prospect lists. For his outstanding month, Banks picked up both the Batter's Box Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Month, and Pitcher of the Month awards, as April's Organizational First Star. Congratulations to our First Star, Josh Banks.
