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4 wins and 3 losses for the Blue Jay farm as a former top prospect makes an encouraging start, a previously unheralded prospect continues to command attention, and a brand new prospect makes his debut.


Scranton-WB 6 @ Syracuse 3 (7 innings)
Scranton-WB 2 @ Syracuse 8 (7 innings)

Inspired by the Batter’s Box discussion of whether or not he’s been a disappointment thus far, Russ Adams cranked out a homer and 3 singles as the SkyChiefs split a twinbill with the Red Barons. Uninspired pitching from Mike Smith and Jason Kershner, coupled with little offence resulted in a SkyChiefs loss in the opener.

The Syracuse bats heated up for game 2, as Anton French, Julius Matos, and Eric Crozier joined Adams in the 2-hit-game column. French’s nightcap included his second triple of the day; Crozier doubled and walked. Guillermo Quiroz went 1 for 2 in the opener, then took the rest of the night off.

The second game was pitched by committee, with Dave Maurer handling the first 3 frames (2 runs, 3 hits, 4/0 K/BB), and Micheal Nakamura and Aquilino Lopez coming on for 2 each (each with 2 strikeouts, no walks).

Boxscores: Game 1, Game 2 - MinorLeagueBaseball.com. Recap - Post-Standard


New Hampshire 4 @ Binghampton 0

New Hampshire moved into a tie for first in the Eastern League’s Northern Division as Gustavo Chacin notched his 15th win in shutout style. Chacin tossed 7 masterful innings, allowing just 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8. His effort sunk his ERA for the AA season below 3. Dan Jackson and Jamie Vermilyea kept things tidy in the 8th and 9th. Fisher Cats Radio has the rundown on how untouchable Chacin has been of late.

LF Ty Godwin, 2B Dominc Rich, and 1B John-Ford Griffin paced the offence with 2 hits apiece. SS Aaron Hill went hitless, but collected 2 walks; 3B John Hattig flexed his man-strength with a 2-run double.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com. Recap - Union-Leader


Tampa 3 @ Dunedin 6

An encouraging start for the re-habbing Jason Arnold as the Dunedin Jays doubled the Tampa Yankees. Arnie went 5-1/3 innings, allowing a run on 5 hits and striking out 5 with no free passes. Tracy Thorpe and Felix Romero each surrendered a run in relief, and Bubbie Buzachero nailed down the final 4 outs for his 22nd save.

Carlo Cota and Ryan Roberts each homered to lead the offence to 6 runs on just 5 hits total. Both reached base twice, Cota with a single and Roberts with a walk. LF Jayce Tingler scored twice on a 1 for 4 night in the leadoff spot, 1B Vito C went hitless with a walk, DH Raul Tablado drove in 2 with a single.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com. Recap - DunedinBlueJays.com


Rome 5 @ Charleston 9

Just another day at the office for Davis Romero. Staked to an early 5-1 lead, the littlest lefty scattered 8 hits for just 2 runs over 5-2/3, striking out 6 while walking 1. Joaquin Canizal had a shaky outing, and Derrek Nunley shut the door without incident.

C Robinzon Diaz delivered 3 hits and a walk from his customary leadoff spot. DH Joe Reiman and RF Rodney Medina added 2 knocks each. The offence totaled 12 hits, but just 2 doubles; 5 walks, but 12 strikeouts.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com. Recap - Charleston Gazette


Auburn 3 @ Jamestown 4

A 2-1 Auburn lead stood up from the 2nd thru the 6th, but the Jammers notched a run in the bottom of the 7th. The Doubledays doubled back with a run of their own in the top of the 8th, but Jamestown would not be denied, scoring 2 in the bottom of the frame and hanging on for the win.

LF Adam Lind and 1B Chip Cannon led the offence with 2 hits each, including a double for Lind. SS Ryan Klosterman went hitless with 3 strikeouts; 2B Brian Hall was 1-4; C Curt Thigpen was 1 for 3 with a walk; RF Jarad Mangioni smacked a double. Joey Metropoulos started the game at first base, but mysteriously was replaced by Cannon before he came to bat.

Unfortunately, the boxscore currently available is missing the pitching lines, so I can’t tell you how Zach Jackson did in his pro debut. What I do know, thanks to Mike Green and BBRadio in yesterday’s minor league update, is that Derek Tate pitched well for 3 innings but then was dinged for 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th. Kyle Yates came on with the bases loaded and prevented further damage by inducing a double-play ball.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com.


Pulaski 1 @ Burlington 2

An off night for the Pulaski hitters, as they managed just 5 singles and a solitary walk against Burlington pitching, while striking out 12 times. CF Yuber Rodrguez was the only notable Blue Jay swinger, with 2 singles and 2 stolen bases.

Lefty Russ Savickas was effective in a 6-1/3 inning start, surrendering 2 runs on 3 hits, 3 walks and 4 whiffs. Raymon Sanchez presided over the final 5 uneventful outs.

Boxscore - MinorLeagueBaseball.com.


Three-Star Selection!

The Third Star: Russ Adams, Syracuse. A homer and 3 singles in a twinbill.

The Second Star: Robinzon Diaz, Charleston. 3 hits (4 bases) and a walk.

The First Star: Gustavo Chacin, New Hampshire. 7 dominant innings as the F-Cats move into first place.

Honourable Mention: Jason Arnold, Dunedin. A very solid 5-1/3 innings on the comeback trail.

Minor League Update: August 17 | 26 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
_Ryan01 - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 10:12 AM EDT (#16023) #
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2004/08/17/sports/sports02.txt
Solid debut for Jackson, 2 2/3 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1 run, no walks and 2 K's. COMN for the boxscore and game wrap at the Auburn Citizen.
_Ducey - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 11:22 AM EDT (#16024) #
Here is a list of the farmhands with more than 10 homers:

Hattig 22
Crozier 22
Williams 22
JFG 20
Roberts 20 (at two levels)
Tablado 19
Singleton 15 (but w/ .289 OBP and 130 K in 111 games)
Davenport 14
Snavely 13
D. Smith 12
Clint Johnson 11 (but 27 years old in low A)

There are of course lots of others guys in Pulaski and Auburn who have comprable or better Hr/ AB than the guys listed above.
_Marc - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 11:36 AM EDT (#16025) #
And I would rate the "power" prospects in this order for how likely they are to make an impact in the major leagues:
Tablado (awesome power numbers for Florida State League)
Crozier (he's a little old, but could be a Hafner)
Roberts (2B with pop and good eye)
Hattig (age is creeping up but power has improved each year)
Davenport (third year in Dunedin but still young)
Griffin (first round pick: power = up, average = nosedive)
Snavely (good power numbers, poor plate discipline)
Smith (OK power, too many K's)
Williams ("old" and only one solid power season - this year)
Singleton (organizational player at best, horrible plate discipline)
Johnston (27 in low A and use to be a pitcher, 'nuff said)
Gerry - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 11:41 AM EDT (#16026) #
On TV last night JP announced the Jays attendees at the Arizona Fall League. Aaron Hill, John Hattig and Vito are the hitters. Jason Arnold, Francisco Rosario and Adam Peterson are the pitchers. Marty Pevey will manage the team.
_Marc - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 11:43 AM EDT (#16027) #
I'd throw Chiaravalloti (12 homers and 32 doubles after jumping two levels from NYP to FSL) in there between Crozier and Roberts.
Pistol - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 11:45 AM EDT (#16028) #
FWIW, I like those AFL choices.

Arnold and Rosario could use some more innings after being injured for a good chunk of this season.
_Ryan01 - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 12:02 PM EDT (#16029) #
Well it will certainly be a much more interesting AFL season for the Jays this year than last. I'm a little surprised Peterson is going. It's his first full season (got a late start last year) and I thought they'd shy away from that after what happened to Rosario a couple years ago. But I suppose he's older and a reliever so it's less risky.

Quiroz would have been a good choice too but I imagine he prefers heading back to winter ball back at home.
_Jonny German - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 01:03 PM EDT (#16030) #
I agree, those AFL picks look real good. Interesting that Hill is going - I'd say he's more ready for AAA than Adams is for the majors. Is Hill going to leapfrog Adams?

Marc's power list looks pretty good to me. These numbers are a week old, but for what it's worth here are the top Blue Jay prospects in terms of IsoP, normalized to league:
Name          	Age	Level	AB	IsoP
Raul Tablado 22 A+ 260 251
Ron Davenport 22 A+ 365 188
Eric Crozier 25 AAA 303 176
Chris Snavely 22 A 265 152
Big Vito 23 A+ 393 152
John Hattig 24 AA 311 151
(Ryan Roberts) 23 A 226 151
Glenn Williams 26 AAA 392 145
JF Griffin 24 AA 371 145
(Anton French) 28 AA 124 133
John Schneider 24 A+ 153 127
Clint Johnston 27 A 386 126
Carlo Cota 23 A+ 382 122
David Smith 23 A 347 118
G. Quiroz 22 AAA 186 118
Miguel Negron 21 A+ 310 114
(Rodney Medina) 22 A+ 197 108
Anton French 28 AAA 156 104
Simon Pond 27 AAA 269 102
(Gabe Gross) 24 AAA 377 100
Ryan Roberts 23 A+ 147 98
_MatO - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 07:26 PM EDT (#16031) #
Marcum won the first game of a doubleheader today in mediocre fashion. With the win and the zero walks he issued he now has as many walks as wins at 3. Tablado also hit his 20th.
_Finn McCool - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 07:56 PM EDT (#16032) #
That's two ordinary starts in a row for Marcum. He's pitch a total of 136 innings so far this year and you have to wunder if he is starting to ware down in his first year of being a starter.
_Finn McCool - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 08:10 PM EDT (#16033) #
Raul Tablado was at it again in the first game of the double hitter with a home run, his 20th and a double which gives him 46 extra base hits in just 282 AB's, but perhaps even more impressive is the 71 RBI's in just 72 games, oviously the guy comes through when it matters.
_Finn McCool - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 08:16 PM EDT (#16034) #
can we say double header duh!
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 09:01 PM EDT (#16035) #
http://milb.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=minorbaseball&misc=8&page=milb-fs/scores/final/finallog.aspx?GAMEID=18298
Marcum actually pitched pretty well. He gave up a single and homer to start off the game, and then struck out 7, picked off a runner and walked nobody. He's striking out over a batter an inning and is walking a batter every 3 or 4 starts.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 09:02 PM EDT (#16036) #
http://milb.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=minorbaseball&misc=8&page=milb-fs/scores/final/finallog.aspx?GAMEID=18298
Oops. COMN for the Dunedin game log.
_#2JBrumfield - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 09:11 PM EDT (#16037) #
New Hampshire leads Binghamton 3-1 in the top of the 8th inning. Don't have any other details other than that. I'm listening to the Mets broadcast and the sound quality is terrible.
_#2JBrumfield - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 09:17 PM EDT (#16038) #
Jova just hit a 3 run homer to make it 6-1 F-Cats in the 8th!!!!
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 09:45 PM EDT (#16039) #
Tablado went 2-3 with another homer in the nightcap. He's slugging .627 for the season.
_#2JBrumfield - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 09:49 PM EDT (#16040) #
New Hampshire wins 6-2. The F-Cats now lead the B-Mets by 1 game in the EL's North Division.
_Holy Hand Grena - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 09:59 PM EDT (#16041) #
Josh Banks breaks out the whiff machine going 5 innings tonight, giving up 4 hits, 1 ER on 2 BB and 9 SO! Could he have turned the corner? Have they let loose his whole arsenal?
_#2JBrumfield - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 10:04 PM EDT (#16042) #
Skychiefs lose 8-7 to Scranton. Sanders fouled out to the catch with the tying and winning runs on in the 9th.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 10:16 PM EDT (#16043) #
Marcum's BABIP was .348 in Dunedin prior to tonight. It probably went up after 7 non-homer hits and 8Ks in 5 innings. It was a more typical .278 in Charleston.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 17 2004 @ 10:35 PM EDT (#16044) #
In the Syracuse game, Ryan Howard hit 2 more homers. He's now hit 43 on the season, and we're in the middle of August. The Phillies have Thome signed up for a few more years; I wonder what they're going to do with Howard. Hmmm.
_DaveInNYC - Wednesday, August 18 2004 @ 12:24 AM EDT (#16045) #
Anyone know what's up with Vince Perkins?

How much longer is he expected to be out for?

Why wouldn't he be sent to the AFL instead of Peterson? I think his upside is higher than Peterson's and he certainly needs the innings.

Thoughts?
_David Paul - Wednesday, August 18 2004 @ 02:46 AM EDT (#16046) #
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=42307
After Josh Banks pitched a nice 5 innings with 9 strikeouts tonight, Kip Bouknight followed up with 4 innings of 2-hit, 1-unearned-run ball. "Who the #$@&! is Kip Bouknight?" you might ask?

COMN Apparently he's a 26yo right hander acquired from Colorado over the weekend for a PTBNL or cash. Did anyone know about this? I'm too tired to think about who he's replacing, or what this means in the grand scheme of things, or whether he's worth a darn.
_Ryan01 - Wednesday, August 18 2004 @ 09:09 AM EDT (#16047) #
He's not a great prospect or anything anymore, mostly just some help for the Fisher Cats playoff drive. But he was an absolute star pitcher in college. He won several National player of the year awards including the covetted Golden Spikes award in 2000. If you want to get a better idea how prestigious this award is take a look at the recent winners:

2004 Jered Weaver - Long Beach State
2003 Rickie Weeks - Southern
2002 Khalil Greene - Clemson
2001 Mark Prior - Southern California
2000 Kip Bouknight - South Carolina
1999 Jason Jennings - Baylor
1998 Pat Burrell - Miami
1997 J.D. Drew - Florida State
1996 Travis Lee - San Diego State
1995 Mark Kotsay - Cal State Fullerton
1994 Jason Varitek - Georgia Tech
1993 Darren Dreifort - Wichita State
1992 Phil Nevin - Cal State Fullerton

He's a finesse guy though, mid-high 80's. Today's update will be up soon, I'm just hoping to find some information on what happened to Chi-hung Cheng last night.
Gerry - Wednesday, August 18 2004 @ 09:23 AM EDT (#16048) #
News: Gustavo Chacin has been promoted to Syracuse. It might be a temporary move as Jesus Sanchez has gone on family leave.

Shawn Fagan is serving a 15 day suspension handed down by MLB. No-one is saying what for but it could be related to MLB's drug testing for minor leaguers.
Minor League Update: August 17 | 26 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.