Norfolk 1 @ BUFFALO 2
#FreeChadJenkins. Jenkins went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and no walks while striking out 3. Nearly 66% of his pitches were strikes, and he got 8 outs on the ground vs. 3 in the air. His ability to throw strikes would be welcomed by the parent club. Either in the bullpen or the rotation. When I see Aaron Sanchez, I can’t resist the temptation to plug him in the rotation and see what happens. His velocity and movement on the fastball are just too good to not let him fail as a starter before putting him in a relief role. Daniel Norris looks like a star in the making. However, if either of those two prove they hurt the 2015 Blue Jays too much to let them work out the kinks, I wouldn’t hesitate to insert Chad Jenkins into the rotation. (Sanchez immediately bolsters the bullpen, so I get why fans are itching to make that move- but seriously, he’s crazy good. You’ve GOTTA let him try. Dana Eveland got NINE starts for the 2010 Jays. Dana Eveland! You’ve got to give these guys close to that much of an audition, right? Right?)
Okay, now that I’ve written something, I can mention that this game lacked action. Eddie Gomboa, a knuckleballer, matched Jenkins’ one run in 6 innings, which allowed Steve Delabar to get the win with his scoreless inning. Delabar sports a 1.23 ERA, so don’t rush to trade for Papelbon just yet, there might be some (significantly more affordable) reinforcements in-house, including Bo Schultz, who picked up a save and had 2 strikeouts in his clean inning. Oh, Matt Hague had a pair of doubles. Sorry for the undersell Matt.
Trenton 1 @ NEW HAMPSHIRE 4
An excellent start by John Anderson, who went 7 strong innings, allowing just 1 hit and 3 walks which yielded a run in the first inning. Anderson credits catcher Jack Murphy (3-4, 2B, RBI, K) and pitching coach Bob Stanley for calming him down after over throwing. How would I know he said that? I’m stuck on #WinterIsland (Newfoundland). Well I read this, which told me the story of Anderson, who’s recovering from two Tommy John surgeries. I’ll confess, when I see J. Anderson, I immediately assume he’s former first rounder Jacob Anderson. Now I, and subsequently you, know better.
Despite striking out 11 times, the Fisher Cats plated 4 runs. Dwight Smith Jr. (1-2, 2 BB) reached three times, Matt Newman (3-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Ryan Schimpf (1-4, HR, K) and Murphy were the standouts.
Dunedin off day
Lansing 1 @ LAKE COUNTY 2
The Lugnuts were facing the 31st overall pick from the 2014 draft, Indians prospect LHP Justus Sheffield, who was compensation for the departure of Ubaldo Jiminez. Justus had a brush with justice in the offseason, and spent a small chunk of his signing bonus getting out of trouble. Quite an intro for for an opposing pitcher, you say? Deserved, to the delight of the 1222 Lake County faithful in attendance to see Sheffield allow only 2 hits in 5 innings while striking out 8 against no walks. [An aside, I’ll strive to provide a bit of context in my minor league updates, because I think it’s relevant to note what level of competition our minor league squads are facing.] Tonight, it provides me with the anecdote of a helluva fine minor league pitching matchup as Sean Reid-Foley took the hill for the Lugnuts. SRF allowed no runs and only 1 hit in his 3 innings of work. He struck out 3 against 4 walks, which chased him early. He handed the case to Andrew Case, the former Van C’s closer, who allowed two solo home runs in his inning of work. This would be enough as the Lugnuts could only muster a single, solitary run.
For the Lugnuts, there are some ugly lines. Everyone struck out at least once. Five players struck out twice, including Richard Urena (0-4), Anthony Alford (0-3, BB), and Rowdy Tellez (1-3, 2B, BB), who can at least say he served Justus with a double. Perhaps a positive night for D.J. Davis (0-3, HBP, K) to only strike out once. And hey, don’t look now, but he’s found himself with a .275/.383/.406 slash line. He’s stolen 4 bases vs. 3 times caught. Not great. But an improvement.
3 Stars
3rd star: Jack Murphy (3-4, 2B, RBI, K, while catching a fine pitching performance), New Hampshire
2nd star: Chad Jenkins (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), Buffalo
1st star: John Anderson (7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), New Hampshire
