Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Adeiny’s Adjustment

New Hampshire won last night in the only victory for the affiliates on the night. Drew Hutchison had a relatively poor start – for him – and still impressed. Noah Syndergaard and Griffin Murphy were also in action, while Adeiny Hechavarria continued to adjust to Triple-A.

Las Vegas 6 @ Nashville 7 – Boxscore

PJ Walters started and gave up six runs, five earned, over 4 innings. Michael MacDonald gave up four hits and one run in his inning of relief. The bullpen was then turned over to Rommie Lewis and Bobby Korecky who pitched three innings of shutout frames.

Mike McCoy started in CF and went 2-for-4, which included 2 RBIs, two runs and a home run. Adeiny Hechavarria went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double, two runs scored and was on base after four of his five plate appearances. Travis Snider was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Brian Jeroloman and Chris Woodward were held hitless, but David Cooper and Jayson Nix contributed with singles each. Adam Loewen and Ricardo Nanita each enjoyed a two-hit performance at this office.

Akron 3 @ New Hampshire 5 – Boxscore

Anthony Gose went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI. His dinger was his 13th of the season. Mike McDade also had a multi-hit game with a double. Darin Mastroianni, Moises Sierra, Kevin Howard and Dan Perales all added singles. McDade, Sierra, Perales and Jonathan Diaz scored the runs. Diaz drew a pair of walks while adding a two-run single.

Yohan Pino threw 7 innings of shutout baseball. He only allowed two hits and walked one, while striking out seven. Rey Gonzalez gave up three runs over 0.1 innings of relief, before Evan Crawford came in and stranded one of the two inherited runners over 0.2 innings. Clint Everts picked up the save.

Tampa 7 @ Dunedin 2 – Boxscore

Drew Hutchison had one of his worst starts of the season and, even so, he still showed some very impressive signs. Hutchison allowed three runs over 6 innings on five hits and two walks. Hutchison struck out nine and retired seven of nine batters on balls in play on groundouts. Matt Daly got hit hard in relief, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks over 2.1 innings. Sean Ochinko, Bradley Glenn and Brian Van Kirk each went 1-for-4, with Ochinko and Van Kirk picking up doubles. Brad McElroy and Ryan Schimpf each contributed singles, while Ivan Contreras and Ryan Goins each went 2-for-4, with Goins knocking a double and triple and scoring both of Dunedin’s runs.

Fort Wayne 3 @ Lansing 2 (11 innings) – Boxscore

Last night, the Lugnuts turned to Casey Lawrence, who gave them 6 innings on one-run baseball. Lawrence surrendered five hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight. Dayton Martze gave up a run on three hits in the top of the seventh. The Lugnuts fought back though, by scoring a run in the bottom of the eighth. The top four hitters in the Lansing lineup: Oscar Dominguez, Markus Brisker, Marcus Knecht and KC Hobson each had two hits. Dominguez scored both of the team’s runs and added a double and a walk. Knecht had two doubles and an RBI and Hobson also drove in a run. Matt Nuzzo added a double and Gari Pena was 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. Unfortunately for Lansing, they lost the game in extras when the Wizards touched Dustin Antolin for a run during his second inning of relief.

Vancouver 0 @ Yakima 3 – Boxscore

The Vancouver bats took the night off against the Bears, managing only two hits off Yakima pitching. Bryan Kervin was 1-for-4 with a double and three strikeouts. Matt Newman added a single and Jonathan Jones and Nicholas Baligod drew two of the Canadians’ three walks. Noah Syndergaard started and took the loss, surrendering two runs over 4 innings. Syndergaard allowed six hits, but didn’t walk a batter. Eric Brown allowed one runs over 3 innings with five strikeouts out of the bullpen.

Bluefield 5 @ Pulaski 15 – Boxscore

Dalton Pompey was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run in the leadoff spot, while Andy Fermin put up the same line in the third hole. Peter Mooney drew three walks but didn’t score. Art Charles hit his 11th homer of the year, a two-run shot, and added a single. Javan Williams and Arnie Munoz scored runs after reaching base via a single and a walk, respectively. Tucker Jensen started and gave up six runs over 2.2 innings, although four were unearned on Fermin’s 10th error of the season. Myles Duvall allowed three over 2.1 innings and Toronto’s Les Williams surrendered six runs in the bottom of the eighth, turning the game into a laugher.

GCL Braves 8 @ GCL Blue Jays 6 – Boxscore

The GCL Blue Jays turned to Griffin Murphy, who went 5 innings and allowed two runs, one earned. He struck out six, walked one batter and allowed three hits. Julio Carmona threw 2 frames of hitless relief and then Alex Ramirez got through the eighth unscathed. Meanwhile, the Jays had racked up six runs, in large part to a four-run 7th inning. Eric Arce was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run. Jorge Vega-Rosado didn’t get a hit, but scored twice and Ronald Melendez was 1-for-5 with a double, a run and an RBI. Angel Gomez and Manuel Garcia each had two hits and an RBI. Unfortunately, things fell apart in the ninth, as Ramirez allowed two runners to reach base and Colby Broussard was summoned from the bullpen. Broussard allowed both of Ramirez’s runners to score and then allowed four runners of his own to score, giving the GCL Braves a strong come-from-behind victory.

DSL Blue Jays 2 @ DSL Tigers 3 – Boxscore

Cesar Sanchez went 4 innings and struck out five. However, three runs came across to count on two hits and two walks and an error. Four pitchers each threw one inning apiece of scoreless relief. John Delgado went 1-for-2 with a run and a walk. The DSL Jays only had three hits, with the most notable being a triple by Angel Rojas who also had a walk and an RBI. Unfortunately, the DSL Jays couldn’t cash in Rojas and wound up losing by one.

Three Stars:
3rd Star – Adeiny Hechavarria, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, 3 TB
2nd Star – Casey Lawrence, 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
1st Star – Yohan Pino, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K

Posted by Thomas on Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 10:27 AM EDT.

Adeiny’s Adjustment | 34 comments | Create New Account

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

mamboon - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 11:27 AM EDT (#240889) #

Thomas, thanks for the nice post. But, looking at the box score of the New Hampshire game and what I remembered from the radio broadcast I heard, Diaz didn't go hitless. He had two RBIs with a bases loaded single that provided the Fisher Cats' margin of victory. He was up three times, walked twice, scored a run and then hit his 2 run single with the bases loaded and two outs. He did get caught stealing after his first walk, though. He's now even up on stealing... 5 made its, 5 didn't make its.

92-93 - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 12:14 PM EDT (#240890) #

It's worth noting that Hutchison faced ARod 3x, striking him out looking and swinging and walking him once. Hutchison was up to 93.

greenfrog - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 12:23 PM EDT (#240891) #

Did anyone catch Jim Callis of BA on the Fan 590 this morning? I would be interested to hear his comments on the Jays and the draft.

Thomas - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 12:40 PM EDT (#240892) #

Thanks for the correction, mamboon. Diaz did get a hit in his only official at-bat, you're right.

Spifficus - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 01:23 PM EDT (#240893) #

Mark Biggs just tweeted that he signed (no details). That's another on the list checked off... I love this age of instant information.

finch - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 02:04 PM EDT (#240895) #

Beede?

Spifficus - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 02:07 PM EDT (#240896) #

It's not 11:59pm Monday, yet.

China fan - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 03:03 PM EDT (#240898) #

Some interesting comments from Anthopoulos today on the Hechavarria situation. He said Hechavarria will definitely play in Las Vegas from the beginning of 2012, so his current stint in Las Vegas is mainly intended to get him comfortable for next year. He said the Jays believe that Hechavarria needs at least a full year in Las Vegas, so he won't likely be considered for an "everyday role" on the Jays until 2013 at the earliest, unless he forces their hand. He also confirmed that Hechavarria has two more option years -- 2012 and 2013 -- and doesn't need to be on the Jays until 2014. (So that's four option years, although I'm not sure why.) Finally, he also insisted that the Jays continue to see Hechavarria as a shortstop, not a 2B.

My own takeaway from this: the 4th option year is a nice thing to have, but the Jays might still give Hech a look-see on the major-league squad in the latter part of 2012 if his hitting improves next year. And although AA has said that the Jays have no intention of moving Escobar to 2B, this option really can't be ruled out. Alternatively, if Hech's hitting does not really improve very much, the Jays might keep Escobar, trade Hech and acquire another 2B by trade or free agency. A year from now, Hech might have a fair amount of trade value, given the relative shortage of good shortstops in the major leagues.

Anyone want to explain why Hech has four option years? It's a bit of a mystery to me.

TamRa - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 03:19 PM EDT (#240899) #

Griffin tweets that Alex in the pre-gamer said September recalls would be from Vegas only, 2 days after the season ends (which would be 9/7) and none from NH - presumably to preserve the roster for their playoff run?

That rules out d'Arnaud - but still leaves me wondering if he'll go to Arizona?

If I understand the EL playoff schedule correctly (no mean feat from the website) they should be done by 9/16 and the AFL starts 10/4

I wonder if McGowan counts in the "none from NH" remark - I'm guessing he doesn't - but they'd have a heck of a playoff rotation if he stayed for that.

TamRa - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 03:37 PM EDT (#240900) #

Anyone want to explain why Hech has four option years? It's a bit of a mystery to me.

less than five years pro experience, IIRC

I still think that - unless his hitting takes a quantum leap (and not PCL inflated but the real stuff that AA was looking for with Lawrie) that there's no conflict between Hech and Esco until 2014.

greenfrog - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 03:40 PM EDT (#240901) #

"The Blue Jays announced in a press release that the club has agreed to terms with three right-handers: third-round pick John Stilson, sixth-round pick Anthony Desclafani, and eighth-round pick Matt Biggs."

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

China fan - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 03:52 PM EDT (#240902) #

.....I still think that - unless his hitting takes a quantum leap (and not PCL inflated but the real stuff that AA was looking for with Lawrie) that there's no conflict between Hech and Esco until 2014....

True, there's no inherent conflict, but why would you keep both players at SS for the next three years if ultimately there won't be room for both of them at shortstop? If Hech's defence is major-league-ready, he's got significant trade value in 2012, even if his hitting doesn't improve. Or, if Hech's hitting does improve next season, Escobar could be shifted to 2B. Either way, there are options that could benefit the Jays in 2012 or 2013, so there's no need to keep Hech in the minors until 2014. To improve the Jays middle infield, Hech would only need to hit better than Aaron Hill, who is currently sporting an OPS of .587. (Admittedly I might be just expressing impatience with the current 2B situation -- but I really don't think AA will wait to 2014 to capitalize on Hech as an asset.)

TamRa - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 04:12 PM EDT (#240904) #

True, there's no inherent conflict, but why would you keep both players at SS for the next three years if ultimately there won't be room for both of them at shortstop?

SOP: keep a SS at SS until he proves he can't hold up or circumstances force you to. A SS, particularly a good one, can switch to 2B with virtually no effort beyond getting used to the other end of the DP turn.

If Hech's defence is major-league-ready, he's got significant trade value in 2012, even if his hitting doesn't improve.

True - and another reason to keep them both playing short until you have to do something. Although there's no more pressure to trade him than to move him. Let Esco play SS for the jays for the next two years, and Hech do the same in AAA with a recall in, say, early August (unless he forces your hand) and if all is still going well in the fall of '13 then make plans to shift Esco over for '14.

Easy-squeezy.

Or, if Hech's hitting does improve next season, Escobar could be shifted to 2B. Either way, there are options that could benefit the Jays in 2012 or 2013, so there's no need to keep Hech in the minors until 2014.

And there's no need not to. He's still 22 - we have TONS of time and his bat is not forcing anything on anyone. if he comes up and doesn't hit, he's a wash with Hill or with any stopgap we might employ for the next couple of years - but if he comes up and can't hit he likely never will, while if he stays down and does learn to hit reasonably well, then you improve the major league team when he does arrive.

If I'm Alex, the only way Hech is in the majors before late September is (a) his bat grows to the point he demands it; or (b) Esco suffers a major injury or regression. I don't see ANY upside in rushing it otherwise.

To improve the Jays middle infield, Hech would only need to hit better than Aaron Hill, who is currently sporting an OPS of .587. (Admittedly I might be just expressing impatience with the current 2B situation -- but I really don't think AA will wait to 2014 to capitalize on Hech as an asset.)

If Hech came up before he was ready, he wouldn't hit any better than that. He has the potential - but I, for one, decline to snuff that potential by rushing him. i'd rather watch Omar Infante or some such for the next couple of years as do that.

Dave Rutt - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 04:56 PM EDT (#240905) #

Agreed with TamRa. Keep guys at the hardest position until a conflict absolutely forces your hand (unless you foresee a more drastic positional change, like SS->CF). We don't know who will be the long-term SS and I think it would be better to have one of them learn 2B on the job than for Hech to go back to SS after playing 2B for a season if something happens to Escobar.

China fan - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 05:27 PM EDT (#240906) #

There's also a more immediate 2B question: do the Jays allow Hill to reclaim his regular job at 2B when he's been completely outplayed by John McDonald in the past few weeks?

Two consecutive games on the bench is not good news for Hill's career prospects. But it appears, from the comments by Anthopoulos and Farrell today, that the Jays still see Hill as the full-time 2B and they simply wanted Hill to get some time with Murphy to work on the mechanics of his swing. Anthopoulos also made the point that Bautista and Encarnacion used their strong Septembers (in 2009 and 2010 respectively) as a springboard for a big improvement in the following season. That implies that the Jays will allow Hill to keep getting the regular job at 2B for the rest of the season -- despite his awful OPS of .587. It also implies that Hill can bounce back from two consecutive bad seasons -- even though those seasons have been worse than anything Bautista or EE had recorded at their worst.

China fan - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 05:36 PM EDT (#240907) #

John McDonald since July 1, not including his excellent game today: 18 games played, 47 plate appearances, .370 batting average, 9 runs batted in, OPS of .796.

Aaron Hill since July 1: batting average of .198, and an OPS of .526.

Thomas - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 05:41 PM EDT (#240908) #

There's really no harm in running Hill out there regularly throughout the course of the rest of the season. The only conceivable replacements are McDonald and McCoy and the team knows what they have in both of those players. I suspect Hill will get the vast majority of starts with McDonald and McCoy (once he's up in September) picking up a couple each over the last month. It's worth it to see if the coaching staff sees any signs of of life with any swing tinkering he is going through right now, as that may affect what price the Jays are willing to offer Hill, once they turn down his options.

TamRa - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 05:52 PM EDT (#240909) #

McCoy doesn't have to wait for September. Davis blew out a hammy and Mike's back on the plane.

smcs - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 06:08 PM EDT (#240910) #

Two consecutive games on the bench is not good news for Hill's career prospects.

Also remember that Hill didn't pinch hit for McDonald in the bottom of the 9th. I also thought for sure that the Angels were going to walk Arencibia (so it would have been 1st and 2nd with 1 out), let McDonald bunt, walk Escobar and pitch to Teahen. Surprising amount of trust in Walden after giving up back to back doubles, one of which came within a foot of going out.

92-93 - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 07:10 PM EDT (#240912) #

I have no problem giving Hill all the starts but it's frustrating seeing him batting 7th just because he has more service time than the 8th and 9th hitters. We'd all be a lot easier on Hill if he were just a light hitting #9 middle infielder, but our expectations get in the way of that, and batting him 7th doesn't help.

Hopefully Jose Bautista can build on today's success because he's been slumping at the plate since the ASG.

I smiled when I noticed that Rzepczynski was used for 39 pitches over 3 scoreless innings yesterday. Kudos TLR.

Moe - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 07:21 PM EDT (#240913) #

McCoy doesn't have to wait for September. Davis blew out a hammy and Mike's back on the plane.

Interesting that they don't call up Snider instead. OF goes down, UT comes up. This way Snider gets more playing time, I suppose.

FranklyScarlet - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 07:24 PM EDT (#240914) #

Here are today's comments from AA and Farrell re Hill:

“First and foremost, he’s our second baseman,” Farrell said of the struggling Hill. “Mac has done a great job in the role he’s had and when he’s either played on a semi-regular basis, or when he’s called into action, a day game after a night game. This gives Aaron another day to work with Murph (hitting coach Dwayne Murphy) as he has been doing early.

“And another day, maybe a little mental breather as well. But first and foremost he is our second baseman.”

“Aaron’s still our everyday second baseman,” he said. “We’ve tried multiple things to try to get him going and this is just another route. We don’t know what the answer is but at any point you can get hot and I always go back to Jose Bautista getting hot that September (2009). To me he’s still young, he’s still got a world of ability and it’s going to come back.

“I haven’t closed the book on Aaron at all. If he was 38 years old at the end of his career that’s one thing. But it’s still in there. He’s flashed it at times. It just hasn’t come out on a regular basis. I would not rule it out. People thought Edwin Encarnacion was not going to come back. We’re always open-minded for Aaron still being a long-term part of this team.”

braden - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 08:26 PM EDT (#240915) #

Jays have signed Dwight Smith Jr., according to Jim Callis.

subculture - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 09:12 PM EDT (#240917) #

No ML thread for a remarkable series vs the Angels?

As I watch all the Jays games via PVR (young kids, dislike of commercials), participating in the Live Chat isn't an option for me. Thus the ML thread is the primary attraction for me to this site, but I notice there often aren't any current ML threads. Is this intentional, or just a result of busy times for all of us?

Also, when I do check the live chat - "yesterday's log" option, it never seems to work... I'm using a Mac if that makes any difference.

Awesome series anyways, and wow does Lawrie look like a legitimate impact player... not only from a 'tools' perspective, but from a 'rise to the moment' kind of player. His defence (though athletic and quick) requires more polish, but everything else is looking off-the-charts !! As hyped as Rasmus was, Lawrie has taken all the focus off him (and Alvarez) by his intense presence.

Mylegacy - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 09:29 PM EDT (#240918) #

Braden - and Jim calls him "one of best HS bats in the Draft." Nice - very nice.

NOW - we need two of Beede, Comer and Norris; plus both Matt Dean and Nick Wiper, and this is one kick-ass draft.

IF - we can get Beede, Comer and Norris - WOW - clearly our best draft ever.

finch - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 09:46 PM EDT (#240919) #

Have not heard anything about Cormer but speculation early was Beede and Jays had a predraft deal...I think that report is accurate and all this latest on their situation is just smoke and mirrors in order to dispute the original report.

Norris has already been in Florida to undergo a physical with the Jays. I believe 100% he's got a deal done that MLB won announce until the deadline.

Dean is already signed but not announced.

With the signings of a few more players, potential to have the best ever in terms of high ceiling players.

AA has done so well thus far!

hypobole - Sunday, August 14 2011 @ 11:14 PM EDT (#240920) #

I was feeling pretty good about Norris' physical, but someone (Callis?Law?) mentioned some teams get the physicals done before they sign players; the Red Sox, for instance, will not sign anyone until they've had a physical. Makes sense to avoid a repeat of the Barrett Loux situation.
That said, I know AA realizes this is "THE" draft, with a massive amount of high upside talent in his grasp and he will hold onto as much of it as he can. The combination of multiple high picks and a deep strong draft class may never come up again. This draft has the very real possibility of keeping the Jays as contenders for years.

metafour - Monday, August 15 2011 @ 12:50 AM EDT (#240921) #

The Norris physical means nothing other than that our chance of signing him is greater than zero. It makes sense to knock the physical out of the way early so that you're not fumbling at the last second to do a physical if you indeed reach a agreement; and with us having drafted so many guys that were going to go down to the wire no matter what it just makes simple sense to do the physical early.

Norris' physical in no way suggests that he has agreed to sign.

dawgatc - Monday, August 15 2011 @ 01:36 AM EDT (#240922) #

it just means that money will tell the day - nobody would bother going to Florida for a physical if they were stuck on going to college

finch - Monday, August 15 2011 @ 02:32 AM EDT (#240923) #

Callis on the twitter tip was teething about the overslot for Smith Jr then adding the Jays with much more to come on Monday. Ummm...I just peed myself.

TamRa - Monday, August 15 2011 @ 04:12 AM EDT (#240924) #

Callis seems to really like Smith. He's been as little-commented on as any higher pick for the Jays I can remember - but the way he described him doesn't jive with the usual "a lot like his dad" commentary.

Jonny German - Monday, August 15 2011 @ 11:03 AM EDT (#240936) #

"a lot like his dad" sounds like lazy analysis to me, and doesn't tell us much. You could reasonably say Prince Fielder is a lot like his dad, but a more complete summary would reveal he's much better.

MatO - Monday, August 15 2011 @ 11:21 AM EDT (#240939) #

We're all a lot like our dads, but we're not our dads.

Mike Green - Monday, August 15 2011 @ 11:41 AM EDT (#240941) #

It's really hard to say much about Big Daddy. He didn't get much of a chance in his early 20s, and he might have been a pretty comparable player to his son if he had.

Dwight Smith Sr. was actually drafted first by the Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the January 1984 draft and unsigned. If you look at his statistics, you would swear that he had a leg injury or something that caused him to lose a lot of his speed at age 23.

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