Dalton Pompey has been promoted to AA.

Dalton Pompey has been promoted to AA.

Interesting right before he gets traded :)

"The Cubs want four players, and one wild one flying around Tuesday was that the Jays were willing to part with prized prospects Aaron Sanchez, lefty Daniel Norris and outfielder Dalton Pompey. The Cubs are looking for strictly pitching prospects in return."

http://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/articles/samardzija-jays-pre-deadline-wish-list/

It's Friday, ramone (Joey or Dee Dee?).  No black humour please. Pompey, by the way, went 2-5 last night with his 29th stolen base in 31 attempts.  He's getting advice and instruction from the best (Tim Raines), and it shows. 

The Blue Jay centerfield depth chart is very interesting.  There are plenty of short-term, medium and long-term options.  That's the way you like it.

"It's Friday, ramone (Joey or Dee Dee?)"

Actually for me it's Marky, one time long ago I may have been a drummer in a punk/garage band.

If there was any truth to the cubs rumour from Elliot I'd rather see the Jays go the extra mile for someone who they'd control after this year.

A speedy centre field prospect who actually understands the basics of baserunning! That's pretty fantastic.

It would be nice if the deals with Pentecost and Heidt were finalized.  There is no rush to reach a deal with Hoffman (although the dollar figure in the deal has implications for other draftees) and it doesn't matter that much when the high-schoolers sign, but Pentecost has now had a good rest after the CWS and it's time for him to get some pro experience.  Most other clubs have signed their first round drafts.

Well, with the draft the rule is they can sign up until the 15th of July so I suspect the first 2 picks are being held off until closer as the Jays need to know what space they have left (have probably got deals set) but don't want to let other draftees know how much space there is.  I think it'd be nice to just have those guys signed though and move forward.  Get it done early for a change.

Hoffman and Pentecost are the big 2 still.  Still unsigned and ranked...
Will sign: Gunnar Heidt, Todd Isaacs
Possible: Tanner Houck
Unlikely: Drew Lugbauer, Zach Pop
Not signing: Michael Papierski, Keith Weisenberg

So down to 9 guys worth signing.  Just 3 are top 200's though, the big 2 plus Weisenberg.  The rest shouldn't need much past the base bonus ($100k) and the Jays already have $71k in spare bonus cash plus the 5% they are allowed to go over.  I really don't see much need for gamesmanship here as only Weisenberg should be a hard sign that they want that would need more than $100-150k.  Unless, of course, the big 2 are suddenly demanding above slot in which case we have an 'uh oh'.

Right now, via Baseball America, there is one player drafted higher than #11 who hasn't signed and isn't a Jay (Carlos Rodon #3 overall to White Sox).  5 other first rounders haven't signed also, drafted from #14 to #19 including Beede (that would be funny if he still won't sign) covering the Giants, Angels, Royals, Nationals and Reds.  C'mon AA, lets get this done already.

Sean Reid-Foley made his GCL debut today and it was a poor one. 2/3IP 1H 2BB 2R.

Ramone that rumour is already almost a week old, and latest I've read is that both the cubs "insiders" deny any such ask has been made and the jays "insiders" saying that trading that package would simply never happen.

With Pompey progressing as well as he has, I'd be much more inclined to trade Gose in a deal for help now. Gose's AAA numbers haven't been improving, and I'm beginning to have serious doubts about his ability to become a quality major league hitter. No idea what kind of trade value Gose would have.

They do seem to be showcasing Gose. That may have contributed to Pillar's frustration a few days ago. 

It helps that Gose has been surprisingly kinda good in MLB. Having quality at bats consistently, hitting LHP pretty well, and just generally looking like he belongs. He might just be the kind of guy who will always look better than he actually is, in which case this could definitely be a good chance to showcase and build back some trade value. I wonder if he's built back any trade value with his fairly notable contributions to the big squad this year.

It would be extremely encouraging to see Pompey take to AA like a duck to water....or even better like a Norris to AA. If he does, then suddenly he starts to get the attention that Norris has suddenly begun to get since his promotion. A good stint at AA has pompey on some top-50 lists I think.

While this comparison is probably random and might not mean anything, it's still a comparison for pompey that gives me pause, and that's Jake Marisnick. So I looked back at Jake at the same age (21):

Marisnick (A+): 306pa, 8.5bb%, 18.0k%, .309babip, .263/.349/.451/.800, .366woba, 127wrc+
D.Pompey (A+): 317pa, 11.0bb%, 17.7k%, .380babip, .319/.397/.471/.867, .400woba, 153wrc+

Marisnick (AA): 247pa, 4.5bb%, 18.2k%, .278babip, .233/.286/.336/.622, .284woba, 70wrc+
D.Pompey (AA): ???


So Marisnick flopped after his midseason promotion, but looking back his play in A+ wasn't actually demanding a promotion like Pompey's is. Marisnick was probably bumped up more because he had had such a great year the year before in Lansing, and his A+ performance here was deemed "good enough" to keep him on what was probably a pre-set promotion plan.

That previous year at age 20:

Marisnick (A): 523pa, 8.2bb%, 17.4k%, .371babip, .320/.392/.500/.892, .403woba, 153wrc+
D.Pompey (A): 511pa, 12.3bb%, 20.7k%, .329babip, .261/.358/.394/.752, .350woba, 115wrc+


So Pompey has been more deserving of this midseason promotion than Marisnick was at the time, and has more encouraging plate discipline numbers, so hopefully this means he won't faceplant in AA like Jake did. Jake's previous year, though, had been extremely impressive, while Pompey's was just ok. That being said I was a bit curious to see how much Pompey's mediocre 2013 might have been effected by missing most of 2012 to injury, and the monthly splits do seem to show a pretty solid improvement through the year, with his 2nd half numbers closer to what Jake put up over his full season in Lansing.

Pompey's 2013 monthly splits in Lansing, after missing most of 2012 to injury:

APR: 87pa, .771ops
MAY: 113pa, .467ops
JUN: 95pa, .826ops
JUL: 105pa, .872ops
AUG: 107pa, .842ops
SEP: 4pa, 1.250ops

So those last few months of 2013 had Pompey up in the mid-.800s ops range which might show that he just needed to get his timing back in the early part of the year.

Of course, I should point out that while Jake did faceplant that year in AA, the next year he went back to AA and dominated for half a season:

J.Marisnick (22, AA): 298pa, 5.7bb%, 22.8k%, .351babip, .294/.358/.502/.860, .391woba, 150wrc+

Then the Marlins (hastily) decided to give Marisnick his first MLB shot, which was a mistake. His poor and deteriorating BB/K rates in AA that year, even though his overall line looked great, should probably have been a clear warning sign that he needed more time in AA. And since that promotion from AA he's put up a .451ops in 164pa in MLB, and a .710oops in 374pa in AAA.


I think in the end this comparison makes me feel better about Pompey than I did about Marisnick. He's more deserving of promotion than Jake was, is having a better year now than jake ever had, when you take into account the crucial BB/K rates and not just the overall production lines.

So yeah, hopefully Pompey at least holds his own at AA to finish the year. I think he will, and if he does, then he'll be getting legit attention as a top prospect.

Also need to take into account defence. I haven't heard much good or bad about Marasnick but the reports on Pompey are that he's already an elite defender or has the potential to be.

Marisnick got hit by some injuries last year - he broke his hand in March, and then had a bad knee that required surgery in the off season. Pompey certainly isn't immune to that - a pulled hamstring or a sprained wrist could take him off the fast track pretty quickly, too.

Mat - IIRC Jake's defense has always been considered plus, even in CF....though with his size there were some who thought he'd end up in RF when he filled out. That being said, the one thing that has translated to his brief MLB career so far is his speed - both on offense with 8 steals in 9 attempts in 1/4 of a season's worth of plate appearances, and defensively, where admittedly in a too-small sample he's rated extremely well so far in CF - +13.6uzr/150, +8drs, and +5tz.

Though you're probably right that Pompey's speed and defense still rates higher than Jake's did.

I honestly would be quite disappointed to see Norris or Pompey traded. Unless you are getting Price or Hamels, who would really be the ace on this team, there is no point in looking for more than maybe a veteran #3-4. It's so tough with Happ because his inconsistency is so problematic. Hutchison is inconsistent too, but I have much more confidence in his potential and ability. Hutchison, Stroman, Buehrle and Dickey shouldn't leave the rotation anytime soon. In a dream world, I'd love to see us go after Andrus to solve the infield. He has great defense at SS and unless Reyes is putting up .750+ OPS years, Andrus always posts better WAR.

Also, I can't be the only one okay with trading Sanchez if we have to, right? Certainly, the fact that every year the knock on him is command, and he certainly has not alleviated that problem. A 5 BB/9 isn't going to translate to the majors (almost 6 BB/9 this year).

"....It's so tough with Happ because his inconsistency is so problematic...."

It's true that he's had a very inconsistent career, and he's been inconsistent as a Jay, if you look at his historical performance.  But the future isn't necessarily the same as his history.  It's clear that the Jays believe that Happ has been getting better over the past two years -- especially if we set aside the games where he was still recovering from his fluke injury last year.  The improvement might not be evident from his numbers in 2013 and 2014 but the Jays are assessing his future on the basis of his improving mechanics, his rising velocity, etc.   The fact that he was throwing 96 mph in the 8th inning of a shutout last night is one example of what has impressed the Jays brain-trust and has clearly convinced them that he can be better than his inconsistent career.  Of course they could be wrong, and I can't disagree with anyone who is skeptical about this kind of optimism about Happ.  But just one more data point:  most fans were very negative about Happ after his poor spring training, yet Gibbons continued to praise the guy and describe him as someone who would be a big part of the Jays future, and I think Gibbons has been (to some extent) proven to be largely correct.  If the current numbers are correct that Happ is league-average now, with a chance to improve, he's worth keeping.

The argument for acquiring another good starter by trade is not necessarily to replace Happ; it is to upgrade the whole rotation (if the Jays can get a Price or a Shark), or at a minimum it is insurance against injury.  Who is the 6th starter in the depth chart today?  The soft-throwing hittable Hendriks?  The underdeveloped too-raw Sanchez or Norris?  The relatively unimpressive McGuire or Nolin or Rogers?  The Jays need some depth, and that's why Anthopoulos should still be trying to acquire a starting pitcher.

Casey Lawrence alert, tune into NH radio if you can.