Here's some video on Hechavarria from Pending Pinstripes.  If he lives up to the Alfonso Soriano comp, that would be awesome!  I love the fact he apparently flipped the bird to the Yankees.  He should be a fan favourite for that alone!  I hope his age is closer to 19 than 22 but he's believed to be 21.

John Lott spoke to AA who wouldn't comment but Lott thought he heard enough from AA to believe a deal was in the works.

The blog Cuban baseball players named Hechevarria as their seventh best Cuban prospect last November.

Hechevarria covers a lot of ground, has amazing quickness, great hands and his footwork is excellent.

Iglesias had a higher batting average in Cuba, but Hechevarria hit for more power and had a higher fielding average.

Hechevarria likes to hit behind the runners. During last season, he hit 50 times toward right field. He also hit 38 times to left field and 32 to center field.

I think Adeiny will land a contract higher than José Iglesias who signed a $8.2 million contract with Boston.

 

 

Anyone have access to the Baseball Prospectus Cuban league stat translations? Or any data on Hechevarria?

Sounds like another great move by AA. The Jays' prospect depth just got a bit stronger at a key position. I like that the team is focusing on younger players, especially those in the age 20-23 range (Drabek, Wallace, D'Arnaud, Stewart, now Hechavarria). Spending $10M on a 21-year-old Cuban SS prospect is obviously a risk, but considering the difficulties the organization has had in developing a decent shortstop, it seems worthwhile. It also sends yet another signal to the baseball world that the Jays are serious about rebuilding.

Supercalifragilisticexpealidious - please excuse the spelling...

WOW - SERIOUSLY WOW. For months Yankee blogs have been ASSUMING that since they wanted this kid they would get him AND they ALL said this kid is NO QUESTION the Yankees replacement for Jeter.

This now gives us going forward FIVE SERIOUSLY GOOD position players in Hill, Lind, Snider, Wallace and Hechavarria. IF one of Arencibia or D'Arnauld comes through that gives us SIX of the nine position players who will be championship level good.

This calls for a whole frigin' bottle of scotch (single malt natch') screw it I'm gonna make it a case! See you all when I sober up!

I'm honestly worried for MyLegacy's health will all the young talent we have around.

This is a tremendous signing for the Blue Jays, filling the team's biggest need. The team hasn't had a consistent SS since Alex Gonzalez, and a good one since Tony Fernandez in the 80s, save for a solid 2009 from Scutaro. Even if Hechevarria can't stay at SS, he looks like an incredibly athletic kid who might be suited for CF, another Jays need. If the Yankees were willing to spend more than the 8.2m it took to get Iglesias it can only be a good thing that Rogers and the Blue Jays were willing to do the same and bring the talent here instead of there. It's funny that Jeter ostensibly blocked Hechevarria from signing there - I wonder if anyone in their front office quipped that if he becomes an all-star SS, we'll just buy him as a FA when Jeter retires anyway. While I'd obviously love to have both, I think for the Blue Jays Hechevarria at around 10m is a better fit than Chapman at 25+.

Can anyone explain why so many Cubans are suddenly available?  Are they all defectors?  If so, how did so many manage to defect in the same year?  Or is there some other reason for it?  Are the Cuban authorities beginning to allow more players to leave?  Or quietly turning a blind eye to those who walk away?  I can't remember any time in the past when so many Cubans were suddenly signing deals with major-league teams.

I wanted to delay my post until the signing was official, but decided against it. This is one of the most significant moves the Jays have made in recent memory outside of the Halladay trade, and I think it is one that gives hope to Jays fans desperately searching for something to go right.

The investment made in an amateur player of this caliber speaks volumes to the new focus that this front office has put into the development of its prospects. The money, while significant, will not dip into the generous draft budget that the Jays have put aside for June. This has been recently confirmed with AA (via Bastian). Hopefully, there is still money set aside to bid on attractive, high-priced international talent that will go on the market sometime in July.

Regardless of the outcome, I believe this is a great day for the Jays. I think I'll join Mylegacy in a scotch (single malt, of course).

He's not unlike Fernandez, looking at his build and the loopy sidearm throw he makes in the video linked by #2JB.  Amazing play with the runner safe by a step.  Reminds me of better times...

When the dust settles...

We could see an infield of: Hill at 3rd, Hech at SS, Pierre at 2nd, Wallace at 1st, JP or D'Arnaud at C

With an outfield chosen from:  Snider, Thames, Sierra and Marisnick - and if AA can get us a "pure" CFer - that'd be pretty sweet.

OR: IF Hech works better at CF - as some seem to think then Hechavarra at CF and RF and LF from among the four just above. AND an infield of Hill at 3rd, Jackson at SS, Pierre at 2nd, Wallace at 1st and JP or D'Arnauld at C.

Then consider young starters forcing their way into the lineup like: Drabek, Morrow, Jenkins, Alvarez, Scrabble, etc., etc. and WOW by mid-season 2011 and going forward for the next five or six years thereafter - WOW - simply a beautiful re-build - WOW.

Did I mention WOW?

First, let's just try to contain our enthusiasm for a few days (until it's official).

Second, this isn't necessarily the answer to our long-term SS need. This is just one more good prospect to put in the mix. We all have seen way too many prospects that were considered 'certain' flame-out.

That being said, AA's doing a good job.

This would definitely be a big step forward. Fingers crossed...

A good SS/CF prospect?  Now there's a fit for this organization. 

I tend to agree with Sano.  This guy is our top shortstop prospect and should go to AA if he can handle the cold.  He is 21 and has played in the Cuban league so AA should be do-able for him, and the Jays have two shortstops at Dunedin already.  But he is not a sure thing.

He wouldn't be an elite prospect (top 100 in all baseball) and the Cuban players have a mixed experience.  He has been compared to Iglesias who signed with Boston and BA rated Iglesias as the Red Sox #9 prospect.   BA also projects Iglesias to start at AA. 

His signing is probably the equivalent of getting a top half first round pick from college in the draft.  A 21 year old player who should handle AA would be top tier draft pick.

The best thing about the signing is that it is at a skilled position.  AA has mentioned that he has been trying hard to trade for a prospect at shortstop without success.  This signing increases the skill level in the system.

He is 21 and has played in the Cuban league so AA should be do-able for him, and the Jays have two shortstops at Dunedin already.

Gerry, would you not start him lower than that, at High-A or maybe even A? I wouldn't expect him to remain at that level all year. However, I would think that with the necessary cultural and (possible) language adjustments that Hechevarria would be making there could be some benefit to having him spend a couple of months in an easier environment for him to succeed and gain confidence.

Although there is potentially a shortstop crunch at Dunedin, I think that might be safer than exposing him to the risk of simultaneously struggling on and off the field. Last year Dayan Viciedo went straight to Double-A Birmingham for the White Sox and struggled to put up a .700 OPS.

Optimism is a drug, and Mylegacy - you are a true addict.

I think this is fantastic, but in order to put some perspective on this, nobody here had ever heard of this Cuban until today, and now people are acting as though it's the second coming of Jesus De La Cruz Colome. Let's chill out, wait till this signing is confirmed, and try and find out what this guy is all about.

If this deal goes through, and if we were serious candidates to sign Chapman over the winter, I think it's clear that AA is sensibly trying to gain a strong presence in Central America and spend serious money on talent there. Let's hope Rogers Corp keeps providing money for these types of signings. It's certainly an area that we can exploit to create a competitive advantage.

On a different note: has anyone heard how McGowan's second simulated game (44 pitches, apparently) went today? I guess we'll know more later this week.

If you put Hechavarria at Dunedin you really have a logjam at shortstop.  The Jays shortstop prospects Justin Jackson and Tyler Pastornicky were already expected to both be in Dunedin.  Ryan Goins was expected to be in Lansing.  What if the Jays decide that Hechavarria really is a single A player?  If so then Pastornicky or Jackson would have to go back to Lansing, not the end of the world but you are moving them back which isn't great for them and they are good prospects too. 

Tony LaCava said last month that players are placed based on their bat, so can "Hech" handle AA pitching?  We don't know yet but if he can it solves a lot of logistical problems.

The other issue is the weather.  Hechavarria has probably never felt cold like he will in April in New England so the Jays could start him in Dunedin until it gets warmer.  Otherwise he is likely to start slowly and be dismissed by the impatient among us.

I agree with the sentiment that this is an important signing at a position that the Jays have been horrible at developing since Manny Lee - with the exception of Felipe Lopez who was packaged off for very little because of "makeup" issues - but turned out to be pretty good when he grew up, and of course Aaron Hill - who was moved over to second.

But this guy is just another good prospect to add to the mix, which makes 3 good position prospects in the high minors (Wallace and Arencibia being the others).

By the way since we are talking about shortstops since Tony , let's not forget the wonderful job Mike Bordick did while he was here

Courtesy of MLB,com I caught Aroldis Chapman's most recent performance.

His stuff is filthy. He was working fastball-slider almost exclusively (reports are he also has a good curve but didn't use it on this occasion), and it looks like the slider will be his strikeout pitch. It isn't anything like a Carlton or Big Unit type slider, it seems to cut just under bats when the hitters are looking fastball. He throws in the high 90s with ease and seems to change speeds on his fastball well (this is a huge point in his favour).

Chapman is going to walk a lot of batters this season - as his release point is very inconsistent. His arm lags behind his body resulting in many high and outside pitches to right-handed batters. For this reason, it is imperative for him to spend at least 3 months in AAA - after which (if I were the Reds) I would say to him: if you can get your walk rate under 3.5 per 9 IP you'll be promoted.

If I were to suggest a comp, he's something like I imagine Vida Blue was when he first came up (I was too young to see him then), but without the command of the fastball that Blue had.

I like it a lot, obviously - and I agree with the general sentiment that it would work best for the logistics of the system if he was able to spend most of the year at AA.

I wonder if maybe you wouldn't see Pastornicky go back to Lansing and Jackson held in extended Spring Training for the first three or four weeks so that Hec can get his feet under him in Dunedien before promotion.Seems Jackson being on the rebound from injury might provide a bit of a rational for that.

I know that Pastornicky is beloved by most Bauxites but he's young enough that a short delay in the promotion schedule shouldn't affect him much.

I also wonder how long the Jays will continue to develop 4 above average short stops at the positions without moving one of them.

If you put Hechavarria at Dunedin you really have a logjam at shortstop. The Jays shortstop prospects Justin Jackson and Tyler Pastornicky were already expected to both be in Dunedin. Ryan Goins was expected to be in Lansing. What if the Jays decide that Hechavarria really is a single A player? If so then Pastornicky or Jackson would have to go back to Lansing, not the end of the world but you are moving them back which isn't great for them and they are good prospects too.

It's probably not great for them, I agree, but I wouldn't see six weeks back in Lansing as too detrimental to their development. I think I'd worry more about throwing Hechavarria into a situation he wasn't prepared to handle rather than having one of Pastornicky or Jackson (or both) spend two months at a level below where they should be. Will also presents another option with extended spring training, although I think it'd be ideal, if Jackson was healthy, for him to be somewhere where he was playing regularly.

I'm not suggesting the aggressive approach was the reason Jackson, Tolisano and Ahrens have yet to develop as we hoped, but I wonder if things may have been different had they been promoted more cautiously. I think I'd prefer to see Hechavarria arrive in New Hampshire on June 1 having had some degree of success at Dunedin rather than beginning his third month at the level while hitting .220.

Well for all the jays talk about spending money, this is the 1st. concrete evidence of this policy, a major coup for AA - this guy has done more for the

franchise in a few months than JP did in 8 yrs. However, I think that while this deal means that AA doesn't have to overpay/overdraft for a ss, he hopefully

will continue to aggressively try to acquire more quality talent  like Hak-Ju Lee & Wil flores(likely to move to 3dr. base) - you can never have enough quality

prospects esp. at Premium defensive positions & of course we have seen many can't miss prospects, miss over the yrs. I am open to trading just about

anyone from the bullpen in a package deal to get more quality positional prospects. - also, I would like a few out of options pitchers like Valdez,Everland

and Zincola to make the roster.

 

P.S - asked to comment about the  "HECH" signing, new espn analyst JP Riccardi said " Well, I don't know much about the young man, but, he is no

Leance Soto - that guy loved baseball and is a real dirtbag. Also, what do Canadians know about baseball?"

Love the site!

I agree with the sentiment that this is an important signing at a position that the Jays have been horrible at developing since Manny Lee - with the exception of Felipe Lopez who was packaged off for very little because of "makeup" issues - but turned out to be pretty good when he grew up, and of course Aaron Hill - who was moved over to second.

 

I don't know cause

Alex Gonzalez, Felipe Lopez, Cesar Izturis, Michael Young, Chris Woodward, Russ Adams.....all were developed in the Jays system...some had success, some burnt out, or were traded for lack of OPS....the problems has been lack of faith /patience and a valuing hitting over defence, and bad trades....the jays need to what is best for Hechavarria, over any and all prospects at ss....AA is doing a great job

Alex Gonzalez, Felipe Lopez, Cesar Izturis, Michael Young, Chris Woodward, Russ Adams.....all were developed in the Jays system...some had success, some burnt out, or were traded for lack of OPS....the problems has been lack of faith /patience and a valuing hitting over defence, and bad trades....the jays need to what is best for Hechavarria, over any and all prospects at ss....AA is doing a great job

Alex Gonzalez the First - good defensive player when young who never improved offensively. Based on his minor league numbers he should have been a star - a Miguel Tejada type player.

Felipe Lopez - traded after a short stint in Toronto. Took a few years, but he developed into a good non-SS elsewhere.

Cesar Izturis - glove man who was never going to hit - honestly it isn't too hard to develop these kinds of guys. Also traded shortly after Jays debut.

Michael Young - was developed by the Jays in the same sense that Ryne Sandberg was developed by the Phillies. Traded as a minor leaguer. Texas deserves the credit here.

Chris Woodward  - a marginal defensive shortstop who worked hard at becoming a good utility player.

Russ Adams - a near total washout

The point remains - the Jays haven't developed a GOOD shortstop since Tony Fernandez. The only thing worse is their pitiful bounty of home-grown catchers.

P.S - asked to comment about the "HECH" signing, new espn analyst JP Riccardi said " Well, I don't know much about the young man, but, he is no Leance Soto - that guy loved baseball and is a real dirtbag. Also, what do Canadians know about baseball?"

The bad man is gone, let it go.

Rotoworld has a link that Hech is a "few months older" than Iglsias who is "19."

You could always put Hechavarria in extended spring training for a few weeks, too; I don't know how game-ready he is, so it might be necessary. Then if he's ready for AA, it would be less of a climate shock in May.

Thanks for the scouting report on Chapman, Robert.  I had only vague memories of Blue's early years, as we saw more of the National League at that time courtesy of the Expos. Blue had a fabulous first full season in 1971 with an ERA under 2 and 24 complete games.  I remembered that he did not have a great deal of success in the playoffs, and wondered what happened in 1971.  This was the answer.  Mark Belanger, of all people.  One guesses that Blue might have been tired after all those innings in the regular season.

Arencibia has not had any significant success in the high minors yet.  The vision correction might make the difference for him, but we'll see. 

I like the Vida Blue comparison and would love to have seen Chapman in a Jays uniform, still $ 30 million for a pitching prospect encompasses extreme risk.

If Hechavarria signs obviously it would be a coup, as all signs  in the baseball world had the Yankees as his likely destination. The track record of Cuban defector shortstops is quite good- Yunesky Betancourt, Yunel Escobar, Rey Ordonez and Alexi Ramirez. This kid is generally thought of as being in this class.

Hechevarria is the best available Cuban player, according to scouts who have seen many of the high-end defectors. One called him, ”Alfonso Soriano(notes) with defense,” adding, ”He’d have been a running back at Nebraska if he’d grown up in the states. There’s not much he can’t do.”

Given the precedent of his fellow countrymen, I think his fielding will be fine,  it's his hitting that will determine his ceiling.

Keith Law is going to be on ESPNews today at 2:40 EDT. I'm hoping someone that gets that channel can watch and report on whether he says anything re Hechavarria.

He wouldn't be an elite prospect (top 100 in all baseball) and the Cuban players have a mixed experience.  He has been compared to Iglesias who signed with Boston and BA rated Iglesias as the Red Sox #9 prospect.   BA also projects Iglesias to start at AA.

I'm not so sure Gerry-Law has Iglesias  at # 91-and  most people feel that Hecchivarria is better.

Frankly , the baseball world doesn't really know what to do with these Cubans. Scouting prospects on the island is next to impossible. It's a real mystery. What we do know is that  Cuba has a population of 11 million and the D.R. is at 10 million. Both countries share a common racial and social background. Baseball is an absolute passion in both countries. If you were able to take the top ten players from either country as 18 year olds-many feel the Cubans, mainly through the  typical communist emphasis on early identification of premium athletes at a young age, may even be better. Most of the guys who defect are secondary level, older players-this kid is much younger than the typical defector. I guess we'll see if he's any good.
 

Also, what do Canadians know about baseball?"

You don't suppose JP had a smile/smirk on his face as he said that, knowing full well that some Canadians would be listening?   Give the guy a break.

I'm fairly certain the Ricciardi "quote" is made up, most notably because the commenter here called him a "new espn reporter", when any real source would capitalize ESPN.  I'd enjoy the brouhaha if I'm proven wrong though.

I'd be surprised if J.P. had rancor towards the Canadian baseball fan. They didn't do anything to him. :)

I'd think the Jays could really take advantage of Cuban scouting as they're the only team in a country that doesn't observe the embargo.  Couple years ago I saw a couple games in Holguin and watched Santiago play on TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQjt0Xzb5F8

Fernando Perez for Most Valuable Performer.

Beeston on the fan talking about the short stop in question.  Says he's not signed yet but would sure like him to be.

http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content=20100315_190222_11096 

Elliott's  scouting take on Hechavarria, like most Cuban players perhaps because they haven't been seen as much , opinion is really  quite variable.

“He’ll play in the majors, but probably as an outfielder,” said a National League evaluator. “I told my general manager not to go more than $1 million on him.

“Hechavarria is a much better player than Boston’s guy,” said an AL executive impressed by the Jays’ Cuban at workouts in the  Dominican Republic. “He has legitimate major-league shortstop tools and the potential to be an all star.”

This divergence of opinion is what makes baseball scouting so interesting.

The NL scout's opinion seems to clash with Cuba's decision to pencil in Iglesias at second on its national team. If Hech is such a great fielder already, why would he end up in the outfield? Somebody here is wrong.

Ten million thumbs up to this move. I'm taking everything AA's said this winter much more seriously now. Best news of the offseason no matter how Hechavarria turns out.

Interestingly enough, there's already been a major leaguer with approximately the same name as Adeiny Hechevarria:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/etchean01.shtml?redir

Here are Hechevarria's 3-year Cuban stats. The numbers don't look great, but note that he was supposed to be either 17-18-19 or 18-19-20 years old during these seasons:

46-48	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	avg	sOBP	SLG
total	555	137	24	7	4	65	46	94	11	3	0.247	0.304	0.337

sOBP is obp without HBP or SF included.

Going with the assumption that the Serie Nacional is about AA quality, starting him at A+ Dunedin would be a sufficient challenge for him. Developmentally, I think it makes sense to view him as a mid-first round draft pick out of college. So starting him at AA, especially considering his lack of game fitness, would probably be a mistake. If he is tearing up Dunedin, it's a lot easier on his confidence to promote him, rather than demote him if he struggles in New Hampshire.

The following shortstop prospect out of college, probably a significantly better hitting prospect that Adeiny, started out at short-season A and spent 238 games in the minors (approximately equivalent to two full seasons):

	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	avg	sOBP	SLG
A-	122	44	4	0	4	34	16	20	1	1	0.361	0.435	0.492
A+	119	34	7	0	0	11	11	10	1	0	0.286	0.346	0.345
AA	480	134	26	2	11	80	63	61	3	2	0.279	0.363	0.410
AAA	156	47	11	0	5	18	4	17	2	0	0.301	0.319	0.468
total	877	259	48	2	20	143	94	108	7	3	0.295	0.364	0.423

 

Agreed. Dunedin would be fine.  You could even start him in Lansing, which would have the added benefits of not creating a jam with Jackson/Pastornicky and allowing the hometown fans a quick look.  There is no rush.

Isn't there at least a bit of a rush?  It sounds like he's only signed for 4 years.  If he spends two of those years in the minors working his way from Lansing, the Jays will have paid $10 for two years in the majors, no?

Time we had this discussion...

As I understand it:

IF we've signed him for 10 million payable over 4 years we OWN him just like any other player. In other words we could keep him in the monors for three years before we had to put him on our 40 man roster or risk losing him in the Rule 5 draft. Once he made it to the BIGS we'd OWN him for 6 FULL years. In other words if he came up for September one year and then came up the next year in June - we would OWN him THOSE two partial years + 6 more. Because his 1st year doesn't END until he has been "up" for a complete year of play - which in the case I'm using he would not have done until the END of the third year he actually appeared in the BIGS. Simple? Good.

(I AM NOT 100% SURE THE FOLLOWING IS TRUE - BUT - I BELIEVE IT TO BE TRUE)

HOWEVER, IF we've signed him for 10 million for 4 years with a MAJOR LEAGUE CONTRACT - then while we could send him down using his 3 years of options - his Major League "clock" would be ticking. In other words he would be eligible to be a free agent SIX years after we signed him. IF he spent three years in the minors then he would be ELIGIBLE to be a Free Agent at the end of his 6th years : in other words he'd be a free agent AFTER the 2015 season. HOWEVER - IF - we signed him to a 5 year contract at the start of say 2013 then we'd OWN him until that contract expired the end of the 2017 season.

IF - this kid is 21 - not 19 like had been reported in some sources earlier - then in the WORSE CASE scenario we'd "OWN" him till he completes his age 26 season in 2015.

Can anyone confirm - or refute - my understanding of the implications of him signing a "4 year MAJOR LEAGUE CONTRACT for $10 million."???

No, even if it's a 4 year major league contract, the only time that gets counted as service time is time he spends on the major league roster (or on the major league DL). So, if he's sent down for a year, that year does not count as service time, but it does count as using an option year (of which a player gets 3). So conceivably, he could be sent down for 3 years, make the team out of spring training in the 4th, and have 6 years to go til free agency.

The difference between a minor league and major league contract is that a team has 4 (or 5 depending on the player's signing age) before they have to purchase his contract and put him on the 40 man roster, starting the options / service time clock mentioned above... or leave him off and risk losing him in the Rule 5 Draft.

The exception to the rule are Japanese players, which will sometimes have a No Arbitration understanding with their contract. So, when the contract's done, the team is supposed to not (or maybe contractually obliged... I'm not sure if they can actually have that clause in their contract, or if it has to be a hand-shake agreement) offer arbitration, making the player a free agent. I can't see that being the case here.

I was just over at "Blue Jay Junction" and he's got an EXCELLENT link to news about Hechavarria (with an excellent "link" with its own excellent "discussion" thread) titled "Hechavarria Clarity" - WELL WORTH a look.

If he spends two years and a bit in the minors (total, that is), he would potentially be under control of the team until the end of 2018 (he has to have 6 or more years of service time to become a free agent).

Hey I know it's early, but has anyone heard who the Blue Jays have been linked to this upcoming Draft?
I would be happy with any of these players...
Drew Pomeranz LHP Mississippi, Austin Wilson OF HS California, Dylan Covey RHP HS California, Yordy Cabrera SS HS Florida, Nick Castellanos 3B HS Florida, DeAndre Smelter RHP HS Georgia, Brian Ragira OF HS Texas

Most of the mock drafts have Taillon or Cole going before the Jays, but if either fall I think we should draft them.

Most of the guys I mentioned here are in High School. I really hope the Jays invest at least three of their top picks in prep arms. I really like Smelter. He's a football star and when you watch video he looks like Kevin Brown who nonetheless is his pitching coach.
What does everyone else think? Anyone impressed them in some of the reports and videos they've seen?

Really looking forward to the Draft and International Signing Period. It seems like most of the Jays brass is as well.

If you meant Gerrit Cole, he's not eligible until the 2011 draft. I believe Anthopolous was scouting Yordy Cabrera in Lakeland last week. It would be great if someone like Taillon dropped to the Jays because of bonus demands and AA pulls the trigger.

"Most of the guys I mentioned here are in High School. I really hope the Jays invest at least three of their top picks in prep arms."

No to rekindle and old, played-out, debate... but... why would you hope this? I hope that the Jays take the best player on the board (that they know they can sign) when it is their turn to pick. Focusing on one type of player got the Jays into their current situation (whatever one thinks of it) and doing the opposite what has not worked, is not likely to work

I see the argument in favor going for upside on picks, but the stats on the number of prep arms that make the majors hasn't magically changed in the last decade as far as I know.

Not to rekindle an old, played-out, debate... but... why would you hope this? I hope that the Jays take the best player on the board I agree with that draft philosophy. It was Tim Wilken's philosophy. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6102 It certainly wasn't Ricciardi's at least in his first several years of drafting. Even at the end he ignored prep arms in the first round. As for 'the stats' you refer to, I'm not sure which stats you mean. I suspect it varies a great deal by year, but ruling out hs arms based on what you call 'the stats' has never seemed wise to me. Have a look at the 2002 draft and tell me which group you like better. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6102 I'd feel better with a Greinke, Hamels, Kazmir, Cain rotation.

The question, though, is how you'd feel with Chris Gruler, Adam Loewen, and Clint Everts fronting your rotation, all guys who were selected before Greinke. Besides, the 2002 draft is the outlier when it comes to high school arms - the two drafts preceding and following it show a much higher whiff rate when it comes to the prep arms. The 2000 draft in particular was disgustingly bad for the young arms taken at or near the top.

AJ Cole was who I was referring to. Sorry for the mix up. I agree with the best player available philosophy. But from my understanding in reading the very little information available to us, this upcoming draft isn't necessarily deep in impact college players. In reading some of the bios, most of the high school pitchers possess better raw stuff than most of the prospective college pitchers. Most of the bios on college arms in this draft with the exception of two or three arms read as if they are refined products, you get what you see guys. While most of the high school arms seem to be potential power pitchers or have one or several plus-plus tools. Also, getting guys into the organization early has to be prioritized now.

So if we're picking at #11 and hypothetically speaking someone like Anthony Ranuado or Deck Macguire slides to us, I would be thrilled to select either. But in those later rounds, or even rounds 3-20 where the Jays have selected almost exclusively college players, if they select High School guys with bonus demands I would be really happy. Hopefully they sign some of them.

"As for 'the stats' you refer to, I'm not sure which stats you mean. I suspect it varies a great deal by year, but ruling out hs arms based on what you call 'the stats' has never seemed wise to me."

Take several years of data, long after the fact and you see that prep arms make the majors hit the majors less frequently than the other categories of players. Sure, it varies from year to year, but picking off one year (yes, 2002 was a good year from prep arms) of data doesn't mean anything in this context.

WOW !!! ... quite the photo of Adeiny Hechevarria at the El Nuevo Herald beisbol site.  He sure does look bigger than 160 lbs. and older than 19 . I also saw one site refer to his age as 22 as of April 15, 2010 . 

Here is the link to the photo ...    http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2010/03/16/676016/un-salto-gigante-da-el-cubano.html 

 

 

From the article:

""Pero Adeiny es un chico especial'', indicó Julio Estrada, entrenador que se ha encargado de poner a punto a Hechevarría antes de los try outs en estos largos meses de espera"

Chico especial?  Los try outs?  I love it.  Youneverknow, maybe the Box's days of being a pena will return some day.

Hechavarria has been compared to Alfonso Soriano who is fairly big so I expect Hechavarria but be a good size for a shortstop.

I saw somewhere (forgot where now) that Hechavarria is 21.  Some thought he was 19 because Cuba has listed him at a younger age so he could play junior national baseball even though he was over age.  The story I read said that was normal practice for Cuba.  So lets assume he is 21.  When dealing with latino players they are nearly always the higher of two quoted ages.

So who knew that Boston had signed Joseph Churches to play shortstop for $8.5 million .... as per Google translation button .

ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. has a story up (might be insider access only) about MLB clubs signing younger Cuban players.  Hecehavarria is discussed there and the story definitely downplays expectation for him.

It's not like Hechavarria is some Dominican kid with little or no game experience, or even a kid from the U.S. who only played 50-75 games of high school or college ball," wrote one Cuban baseball expert in an email. "Hechavarria has played hundreds and hundreds of games at all levels of Cuban baseball and has never shown power or even been close to a league-average hitter, but now scouts are saying he's Soriano and 'should hit 20 HR.' I hope the scouts are right, but 'investing' $10 million almost entirely on the basis of subjective optimism seems like a strange way of doing business, especially in baseball's so-called post-Moneyball era."

The Blue Jays, Red Sox and Royals are hoping that with better facilities, more in-depth instruction and better diets, the players can live up to the potential they exhibited in workouts. Already, Iglesias has drawn rave reviews for his time in Boston's spring training camp. In just 11 spring training at bats, Iglesias even homered, something he did not do in 450 at-bats for Habana in his final season in Cuba. So perhaps there is reason for optimism.

Steve Treder had some very nice things to say recently on Primer about the quality of the infield defence in Cuban baseball, as compared with MLB.  It sounds as though Hechhevaria will likely stick at the position, and the real questions surround the development of his bat.  He has a good chance to hit better than John McDonald, at a minimum. 

KLaw has spoken on Hech:

"I've never seen him live or on video, so I can only offer secondhand thoughts - consensus has him better than Iglesias, mostly because of the bat, with mixed opinions on his glove - for example, I talked to a guy who says he's an above-average shortstop with a plus arm, and another who thought he might outgrow short but whose bat would play at third. Sounds like a pretty nice talent addition. Oh, and once again, we see how badly the Rule 4 Draft screws American, Canadian, and Puerto Rican amateur players."

On when Zach Stewart would be ready for the Bigs:

"As a reliever, now, but I think he can start and Toronto does too, which means giving him probably a full year in the minors."

Spotted this article about Paul Beeston from the London Free Press and in the interview came across this nugget that I hadn't heard of yet.

"We needed to go and fix up our farm system so we hired 35 scouts. We've had to fix up our development so we're looking at adding another team. We're starting to scout worldwide again. We've put ourselves in a position where we grow internally and use the internal growth to actually augment through trades and free agency but that takes time. We don't want to just be competitive. We want to be a team that wins."

I remember when J.P. cut out their 7th minor league team thinking that it didn't bode well for long term player development.  Scary to think they were pondering downsizing all the way to 5 affiliates briefly.  It's been a long time since the Hagerstown Suns and the Pulaski and Medicine Hat Blue Jays, but it would be nice to get another rung of the ladder to send future high school draftees and international signings to.  It will be nice to see more action in the minor league updates too.

Does anyone know which leagues (I'm guessing short season) they might be targeting? 

It seems every scout approached has a different opinion on Echevarria. In terms of age my best guess is that he was born in 1989.

He did not appear to be on the 2008 Cuban team at the World Juniors in Edmonton that Red Sox prospect  Jose Inglesias,  defected from. The Boston minor leaguer is listed as being born in 1990. Echevarria was however on the 2007 Cuban under 18 team, and he was the starting shortstop over Inglesias who played second.  Dayan Viciedo another Cuban defector now with the White Sox was also on that squad. It should be noted that the Cuban coaches batted him third in this crucial game against Cuba's main arch rival the U.S.A., so obviously compared to his peers they saw him as having a modicum of hitting ability. So if he wasn't on the 2008 team he most likely was born in 1989, depending on what month he was born would now be either 20  or 21 ( although we can't discount he may be actually have been younger and was punted from the team for being a flight risk).

I've actually heard the Cubans who dominate this age category, don't cheat at all given their huge abundance of readily available talent. Still any third world country birth dates should be met with some degree of skepticism. At any rate Arangure argues that age is relative , given the typical latin players poorer diet and training regimes.

Umm, is this signing ever going to be formally announced or actually happen?

I remember when J.P. cut out their 7th minor league team

Except that this never happened.  Medicine Hat became Pulaski which became the GCL team.  Hagerstown is now Lansing.  It was actually Ash and Beeston who cut out the the 7th team back in 1995.  There was no GCL team after that season (Halladay was on that 1995 GCL team) until JP brought it back to replace the Pulaski rookie-ball team.  Now JP may have had an an idea to go to only 5 minor league teams(after dropping Pulaski) but after the draft of Ahrens, Jackson etc they decided to restart the GCL team.  JP started with 6 and ended with 6 (not counting DSL where they actually had an extra team for a couple of years).

I guess a good question is what is the optimal number of minor league teams?

One school of thought is a ton where you make competition extremely high...
2 AAA teams feeding one ML team
4 AA teams feeding 2 AAA
8 A/A+ teams feeding 4 AA
16 ssA teams feeding 8 A/A+
--
30 minor league teams

Now that would be a bit much. 30 teams = enough players for every major league team.

Currently all teams (afaik) go with ...
1 AAA
1 AA
1 A+
1 A
2+ short season
--
6+ teams

But right now the Jays are hitting a road block in full-season A ball at shortstop. Might a better method be...
1 AAA
1 AA
2 A+
2 A
2 short season
--
8 teams

That way you can sign more college players on the bubble to A/A+ deals while giving your high school kids a place to play and to move quickly if they do well. Plus more rehab spots in Florida with the extra A+ team (one could be for rehab/current non-prospects, the other for 'real' prospects with overflow from 'real' ones to the 'non' team).

Y'know, 2 A+ with a single regular A and 2 short season might make a lot of sense. Don't know the cost factor involved (could have both A+ play in Dunedin to cut facility costs down, although fans would be minimal) but it might be worth a thought.

It sure would be nice if the Vancouver Canadians found their way into the Jays' fold sometime.  I imagine that it might lead to a boost in attendance there.  I wonder if the good people of Montreal will forgive baseball sometime soon, and support a triple A team (the Royals?).  It might help if the MLB club were called the Canada Geese instead of the Toronto Blue Jays!

Or Ottawa. I'd be frightfully chuffed if there was *some* kind of professional baseball in Ottawa.

I think "frightfully chuffed" is more appropriate for a game of cricket, wot?

Perhaps the Ottawa Bassington-Bassingtons can succeed where the Lynx failed.

Nice one.

I think the Jays trimmed back from 2 DSL squads to one last year, so maybe Beeston was referring to reversing that.

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this, but according to mlbtraderumors.com as per the Star, Tom Tango will play a big part of the Jays front office. For those of you who has been hoping to such a move to be made for the last couple years, that dream is now a reality. I am really happy to see the Jays hiring quality people like Tom Tango to help them make decisions, another great step for the Jays.

I'd be frightfully chuffed if there was *some* kind of professional baseball in Ottawa.

My wish has been granted! The Inter-County League is fielding a team in Ottawa this year, the Ottawa Fat Cats. Okay, it's only semipro, but that'll do. They shall enjoy my patronage!

(Try and tell me that you don't want a Fat Cats hat.)