Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Minor League Rosters 2016

Minor League Rosters 2016

Today is roster day for the minor league teams and we will have the rosters trickling out during the day. At some point the Jays will send me the full list but until then we will fill in with the news as it comes out.

The Lansing Lugnuts announced their roster. It is:

Pitchers: Travis Bergen, Ryan Cook, Josh DeGraaf, Conor Fisk, Jon Harris, Dusty Isaacs, Dan Lietz, Angel Perdomo, Sean Reid-Foley, Francisco Rios, Tayler Saucedo, Starlyn Suriel, Colton Turner.

Catchers: Justin Atkinson, Ryan Hissey.

Infielders: Aaron Attaway, J.C. Cardenas, Gunnar Heidt, Juan Kelly, Connor Panas, Carl Wise.

Outfielders: Josh Almonte, Jacob Anderson, Andrew Guillotte, Lane Thomas.

It is a bit of a surprise to see Sean Reid-Foley back in Lansing. The starters appear to be Harris, Reid-Foley, Cook, Saucedo and Rios. Bergen, Perdomo and Suriel have been "demoted" to the bullpen, for now.

Jacob Anderson is back in town. It doesn't appear that Rodrigo Orozco made the cut. And Lane Thomas is back to being an outfielder, the second base experiment appears to be over.

I also read at the weekend that Kevin Nolan has retired. He had been in New Hampshire for a couple of years and seemed to top out there.

Connor Greene is back in Dunedin, as is Anthony Alford. Rowdy Tellez in in AA. The repution of the Cleveland farm system under Shapiro and Atkins was for slow promotions. These assignments seem to confirm that.

Ben Nicholson Smith is tweeting rosters. Rogers employee gets the scoop!

Buffalo rotation: Drew Hutchison, Scott Copeland, Scott Diamond, Wade LeBlanc AAA bullpen: Ryan Tepera •Pat Venditte (S) •Ben Rowen •David Aardsma •Chad Girodo (L) •Chad Jenkins •Pat McCoy (L) •Dustin Antolin

Dalton Pompey •Domonic Brown •Junior Lake •Darrell Ceciliani

Tom Robson is in Dunedin, Shane Dawson in AA.

Meet your 2016 Fisher Cats, mostly the same as your 2015 Fisher Cats. In addition to Tellez, Matt Dean, Jeremy Gabryszwski and Shane Dawson get promoted. Otherwise it's returnees including Taylor Cole, John Anderson, Colt Hynes, Danny Barnes, Casey Lawrence, Jorge Flores, Roemen Fields, Melky Mesa, Dwight Smith Jr, Jon Berti and Shane Opitz.

More to come.

Posted by Gerry on Monday, April 04 2016 @ 11:45 AM EDT.

Minor League Rosters 2016 | 43 comments | Create New Account

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

Mike Green - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 11:57 AM EDT (#320364) #

Thanks, Gerry. I am glad that they have moved Thomas back to the outfield. Hopefully, he'll get to focus more on hitting now.

ramone - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 12:11 PM EDT (#320365) #

I thought Greene back in Dunedin was surprising, perhaps for the weather and hopefully promoted early.

China fan - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 12:12 PM EDT (#320366) #

"....The repution of the Cleveland farm system under Shapiro and Atkins was for slow promotions. These assignments seem to confirm that..."

Yes, I was a little surprised to see Greene and Alford opening the season in Dunedin. Careful treatment for sure. But they might get rapid promotions. Maybe they are being shielded from the cold weather in New Hampshire?? On the other hand, Tellez is opening the season in New Hampshire. Is he a more advanced hitter than Alford? I'm a little surprised by that. However, in the televised games that I saw this spring, Tellez did look better than Alford.

China fan - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 12:19 PM EDT (#320368) #

Amending my last post: Alford and Tellez were both statistically bad in spring training. I was just judging by the "eye test" when I said Tellez looked better. He does have 80 more games of minor-league experience than Alford. On the other hand, Tellez is nearly a year younger than Alford, and he has 20 games less experience at the High A level than Alford does. I guess the scouts and coaches felt that Tellez was a more advanced hitter than Alford and could handle the AA level. Maybe he'll reach the majors faster too. But of course Alford is hugely more valuable defensively. So we'll see.

Mike Green - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 12:21 PM EDT (#320369) #

I am not too surprised by these decisions. The club is treating Ceciliani as though he is a medium-term asset, which means that they are at least 4 deep for 2017 (Pillar, Pompey, Saunders, Ceciliani), with Lake and Brown as question marks. They can afford to give Alford a little more time to hone his skills. Tellez is a more refined hitter, and might be ready in 2017. They're hoping...

Connor Greene started off last year in Lansing, did not really dominate there and made 7 starts in Dunedin before being promoted. I can see why they decided to start him off in Dunedin. I expect to see him in New Hampshire by mid-May.

China fan - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 12:30 PM EDT (#320370) #

Looks like poor Domonic Brown will be squeezed to find playing time in Buffalo. The outfielders with upside are clearly Pompey, Lake and Ceciliani. They should be playing every day. So where does Brown fit in? Is he now a minor-league 4th outfielder? He won't even get much time at DH as long as Jesus Montero is on the team.

The Buffalo infield looks very crowded too. On the other hand, it's a thin roster at catcher and starting rotation. I'm a little surprised to see LeBlanc in the rotation, but he does have a fair amount of experience as a starter. I guess he has fallen far enough down in the LHP category, after the acquisition of Morales, that he's not needed in the bullpen any more. I'm still wondering if Chris Leroux will join the Buffalo rotation when he arrives.

China fan - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 12:41 PM EDT (#320371) #

Also -- no sign of Hernandez, who might still be pondering offers from other organizations.

Shi Davidi has confirmed that Leroux will be in the Buffalo rotation.

Richard Urena will start in Dunedin.

Gerry - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 01:21 PM EDT (#320372) #

BUFFALO (AAA)
SP: Drew Hutchison, Scott Copeland, Scott Diamond, Wade LeBlanc
RP: Ben Rowen, David Aadsma, Chad Girodo, Pat McCoy, Dustin Antolin, Chad Jenkins, Pat Venditte, Ryan Tepera

C: Tony Sanchez, Humberto Quintero
INF: Casey Kotchman, Andy Burns, Jio Mier, Matt Dominguez, David Adams, Alexi Casilla
OF: Darrell Ceciliani, Dalton Pompey, Domonic Brown, Junior Lake
DH: Jesus Montero
DL: Blake McFarland, Bobby Korecky

NEW HAMPSHIRE (AA)
SP: John Anderson, Jeremy Gabryszwski, Jasin Berken, Casey Lawrence, Shane Dawson
RP: Wil Browning, Danny Barnes, Brady Dragmire, John Stilson, Chris Smith, Murphy Smith, Daniel Schlereth, Colt Hynes

C: Wilkin Castillo, Jorge Saez
INF: Rowdy Tellez, Jon Berti, Jorge Flores, Matt Dean, K.C. Hobson, Shane Opitz
OF: Dwight Smith Jr., Roemon Fields, Melky Mesa, Ian Parmley
DL: Derrick Chung, Taylor Cole, Martin Medina

DUNEDIN (High-A)
SP: Conner Greene, Tom Robson, Ryan Borucki, Justin Shafer, Luis Santos
RP: Adonys Cardona, Chris Rowley, Tim Mayza, Jose Fernandez, Matt Dermody, Carlos Ramirez, Alonzo Gonzalez, Brad Allen

C: Dan Jansen, Mike Reeves
INF: Ryan McBroom, Christian Lopes, Richard Urena, Jason Leblebijian, Dickie Thon
OF: D.J. Davis, Anthony Alford, Jonathan Davis, Derrick Loveless, David Harris
DL: Mitch Nay, Emilio Guerrero, L.B. Dantzler

LANSING (Low-A)
SP: Sean Reid-Foley, Jon Harris, Tayler Saucedo, Francisco Rios, Ryan Cook, Conor Fisk, Angel Perdomo
RP: Travis Bergen, Dusty Isaacs, Josh DeGraaf, Dan Lietz, Colton Tyrner, Starlyn Suriel

C: Justin Atkinson, Ryan Hissey
INF: Juan Kelly, Gunnar Heidt, J.C. Cardenas, Carl Wise, Connor Panas, Aaron Attaway
OF: Jacob Anderson, Lane Thomas, Josh Almonte, Andrew Guillotte
DL: Max Pentecost, Jon Wandling, Austin Davis

Gerry - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 01:23 PM EDT (#320373) #

The above rosters were posted by John Lott on his facebook page. Thanks John.

ramone - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 01:36 PM EDT (#320375) #

"DL: Max Pentecost"

The dreaded catcher of the future curse strikes again.

China fan - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 01:41 PM EDT (#320376) #

Dan Jansen, now at Dunedin, might now be the catcher of the future.

Chuck - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 01:48 PM EDT (#320377) #

If history means anything, the catcher of the future is currently playing for another organization.

Lylemcr - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 02:55 PM EDT (#320381) #

We have to think of a nickname for Buffalo's lineup
Darrell Ceciliani, Domonic Brown, Junior Lake
DH: Jesus Montero

Can't miss Players who missed.

Blue Chipped? AAAA?

That being said, if someone has angel dust, ship it off to Buffalo. If those guys manage to meet their potential, Buffalo is going to be outstanding.

Doom Service - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 03:21 PM EDT (#320382) #

Matt Dominguez, Tony Sanchez, Casey Kotchman, Jio Mier, David Aardsma, Chad Jenkins all former first-round picks. Wade Leblanc was a first or second. (Might have missed some others.) But I'm not sure - and certainly don't have the time to thrash through 30 rosters - that it's all that unusual for AAA rosters.

uglyone - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 03:22 PM EDT (#320383) #

the demotion of all the top prospects back to a level they've already dominated reeks of shapiro trying to prove his cleverness again, imo.

tercet - Monday, April 04 2016 @ 11:03 PM EDT (#320405) #

Bit of a shocker to see Adonys Cardona in Dunedin, any reports how he has been since he has been pretty much injured the last two seasons..

China fan - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 07:21 AM EDT (#320407) #

Cardona's return is very interesting. I've seen no scouting reports this year, but I did see a photo of a bunch of prospects gathered together to watch Cardona pitching at some point this spring, and they seemed quite mesmerized by his performance, so it must have been good. There's also a March 2016 video of him pitching, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UIZJTdLnhc

On the other hand, Cardona did reach Lansing in 2014 and he is 22 now, so Dunedin might be the right place to put him. There's no point in having him pitch to younger hitters in Lansing if he has recovered from his injuries.

Lugnut Fan - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 08:24 AM EDT (#320409) #

The two biggest surprises to me (and most everyone else on this board looking at the comments), were Reid-Foley in Lansing and Alford in Dunedin.

I'm not one that prescribes that you protect guys from the cold weather. I think you try to get your guys as much cold weather experience as you can. If you play in NY or Bos in April, it's going to be cold, so it's best they're conditioned for it in Lansing, New Hampshire and Buffalo rather than at the MLB level.

That being said, Greene and Alford both started the season last year in Lansing, so I don't believe the weather was the reason for their placement. It could have just boiled down to a numbers game.

SK in NJ - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 08:25 AM EDT (#320410) #

I am not too surprised by Greene and Alford in Dunedin. They could have started in Double-A, at least Alford could have, but giving them a bit more experience in A+ before a promotion isn't going to hurt them. Greene in particular was lackluster in 25 Double-A innings last season (poor BB/K rate). Could be any numbers of reasons to start them in Dunedin (weather, getting more experience, etc), but the cream will rise to the top regardless.

This regime will be more conservative with promotions, but right now they are new and the big league club is set, so there's no real urgency to start fast tracking guys. I'm sure it will be a case by case basis.

China fan - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 09:30 AM EDT (#320417) #

On the Cardona question, I came across this tweet by a prospect-watcher in Florida this spring: "Adonys Cardona pumping easy 95-97. One of the heaviest FB's you'll see."

Sounds like he is back on track, and worth watching closely this season.

BlueMonday - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 11:50 AM EDT (#320424) #

What happened to AJ Jiminez? Did we lose him to waivers? He's still a Jay on mlb.com.

John Northey - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 12:00 PM EDT (#320425) #

Seems Jiminez is still in DFA limbo until tomorrow. MLBTR lists Michael Bourn (OPS+ in the 60's last year making $14 mil this year), Emilio Bonifacio (OPS+ of 10 last year), among many others.

CeeBee - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 12:29 PM EDT (#320430) #

Seems to me it would make way too much sense to shorten the DFA window to 3 or 4 days. 10 seems way too long.

Richard S.S. - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 01:13 PM EDT (#320432) #

The Blue Jays might have moved prospects too fast, but they were developing them for trade assets. The Indians might have moved prospects too slow, but they needed to develop everyone possible to the max. They had no money to spend so most positions had to be filled in-house. Hopefully somewhere in-between a happy medium can be reached.

uglyone - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 01:23 PM EDT (#320433) #

there is no evidence that shapiro's Indians moved prospects any slower than AA did.

codyla - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 01:45 PM EDT (#320436) #

Hey guys,

Anybody have any word on Matt Smoral. I've always though got that guy was on the verge of being great.

Richard S.S. - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 02:40 PM EDT (#320438) #

When a Player is DFA'd, he goes through waivers and that never happens very fast.

#2JBrumfield - Tuesday, April 05 2016 @ 02:49 PM EDT (#320439) #

Shi Davidi has a story about the minor league assignments by chatting with Ross Atkins.

cybercavalier - Wednesday, April 06 2016 @ 01:55 PM EDT (#320539) #

Is the happy medium about stacking former first-round picks so they can improve themselves as trade assets. Whereas prospects are developed as in-house assets until they are decided no longer useful in-house.

John Northey - Wednesday, April 06 2016 @ 11:24 PM EDT (#320612) #

Smoral is currently listed on Bluefields roster on the MILB site. His twitter has no info.

uglyone - Thursday, April 07 2016 @ 05:18 PM EDT (#320647) #

So with Jimenez and Leroux in the fold, I guess the Buffalo team looks something like this now (with career AAA stats):

1.CF Pompey (23): 351pa, 118wrc+
2.RF Ceciliani (26): 254pa, 157wrc+
3.DH Montero (26): 1898pa, 129wrc+
4.LF Lake (26): 551pa, 120wrc+
5.C Sanchez (28): 1215pa, 114wrc+
6.3B Burns (25): 527pa, 112wrc+
7.2B Adams (29): 333pa, 112wrc+
8.1B Kotchman (33): 374pa, 110wrc+
9.SS Casilla (31): 1237pa, 100wrc+

B.UT Dominguez (26): 1323pa, 81wrc+
B.OF Brown (28): 759pa, 111wrc+
B.IF Mier (25): 118pa, 80wrc+
B.C Jimenez (26): 366pa, 74wrc+

X - IF Barney (30): 1190pa, 81wrc+
X - C Quintero (36): 1403pa, 90wrc+

SP1 RH Hutchison (25): 23.0ip, 6.24era, 4.50fip
SP2 RH Copeland (28): 150.0ip, 2.74era, 3.77fip
SP3 RH Diamond (29): 540.2ip, 4.56era, 3.86fip
SP4 LH Leblanc (31): 654.0ip, 4.44era, 4.10fip
SP5 RH Leroux (32): 284.1ip, 4.24era, 3.87fip
SP6 RH Jenkins (28): 159.1ip, 4.07era, 4.13fip
SP7 RH Leon (27): 274.1ip, 4.10era, 4.16fip

RP1 RH Tepera (28): 98.0ip, 2.76era, 2.99fip
RP2 RH Rowen (27): 116.0ip, 2.14era, 3.04fip
RP3 SH Venditte (31): 110.0ip, 2.62era, 3.49fip
RP4 RH Korecky (36): 509.1ip, 3.20era, 3.50fip
RP5 RH Aardsma (34): 159.1ip, 3.11era, 3.86fip
RP6 LH McCoy (27): 89.1ip, 4.03era, 3.92fip
RP7 LH Girodo (25): 4.0ip, 6.75era, 1.66fip
RP8 RH McFarland (28): 10.2ip, 3.38era, 3.63fip
RP9 RH Antolin (26): ---

scottt - Thursday, April 07 2016 @ 06:21 PM EDT (#320649) #

Seems to me it would make way too much sense to shorten the DFA window to 3 or 4 days. 10 seems way too long.

I bet it doesn't seem that long to the GMs that are considering all the possibilities after discussing with the coaches and the scouts.

Spifficus - Thursday, April 07 2016 @ 08:18 PM EDT (#320655) #

Not only that, but waivers is a 72h process itself if I remember right, and DFA is meant to give you a bit of time in front of that to try to do something other than just waive them, so 7 days to work out a trade or something.

cybercavalier - Friday, April 08 2016 @ 12:46 AM EDT (#320656) #

http://www.battersbox.ca/comment.php?mode=view&cid=320372
http://www.battersbox.ca/comment.php?mode=view&cid=320647

In Buffalo, Kotchman seems occupying a 1B that could be moved up... Would Montero as the starting 1B give a late-inning sub chance as a catcher ? Lake, Ceciliani, Pompey, Brown rotates in occupying the 3 outfield position...

1.CF Pompey (23): 351pa, 118wrc+
2.RF Ceciliani (26): 254pa, 157wrc+
3.1B Montero (26): 1898pa, 129wrc+
4.LF Lake (26): 551pa, 120wrc+
5.C Sanchez (28): 1215pa, 114wrc+
6.3B Burns (25): 527pa, 112wrc+
7.2B Adams (29): 333pa, 112wrc+
8.DH Brown (28): 759pa, 111wrc+
9.SS Casilla (31): 1237pa, 100wrc+

B.1B Kotchman (33): 374pa, 110wrc+
B.UT Dominguez (26): 1323pa, 81wrc+
B.IF Mier (25): 118pa, 80wrc+
B.C Jimenez (26): 366pa, 74wrc+

jerjapan - Friday, April 08 2016 @ 09:11 AM EDT (#320658) #

AJ Jiminez has cleared waivers and been assigned to Buffalo. Good news for our catching depth - I still think he has a solid chance to be a quality backup catcher.

uglyone - Friday, April 08 2016 @ 12:27 PM EDT (#320662) #

yeah cyber that would work.

Waveburner - Friday, April 08 2016 @ 12:40 PM EDT (#320665) #

I am curious about a few players. Is this a sign the Jays don't see Travis Bergen as a starter prospect? I had some hope of a Matt Boyd-esque type of prospect. Is John La Prise injured, or just not good enough for Lansing? Does anyone know their plans for Taylor Cole when he comes off the DL? Will they try him in the pen to see if his velo ticks up? I wanted them to try it last year, if his fastball gets closer to his pre-Mormon mission days, his FB-CH combo could make for a deadly late inning reliver. Not sure if anyone would know.

China fan - Friday, April 08 2016 @ 01:30 PM EDT (#320668) #

"....Montero as the starting 1B...."

No matter how bad his defence in the past, he's too young to be converted into a full-time DH. The Jays will surely try something to extract some defensive value from him, at some position, and 1B is the easiest. I suppose the Catcher ship has already sailed, but isn't there some remote scenario in which Montero finally realizes his career is jeopardy and that he has to get into serious shape, and that this perhaps allows him to try catching again? Very unlikely, I know, but it might be conceivable if he turns around his conditioning, works on his arm strength, etc.

uglyone - Friday, April 08 2016 @ 02:21 PM EDT (#320671) #

Bisons lineup tonight:

1.2B Burns
2.LF Brown
3.CF Ceciliani
4.DH Montero
5.RF Lake
6.1B Kotchman
7.3B Dominguez
8.SS Mier
9.C Quintero

No pompey, amongst other surprises.

China fan - Friday, April 08 2016 @ 02:35 PM EDT (#320673) #

In the other thread, I mention that Pompey apparently has a minor injury -- he "jammed his toes" during a slide last week, according to Ben Wagner.

Mike Green - Friday, April 08 2016 @ 02:48 PM EDT (#320675) #

Montero is, by all reports, a bad defensive first baseman and without potential to get much better. The best thing in my view is to not push him defensively and see how that pans out. Maybe like Ortiz and Encarnacion , he lives up to his potential as a hitter once relieved of the burden of developing his defensive abilities.

scottt - Friday, April 08 2016 @ 07:25 PM EDT (#320678) #

It's really hard to crack a MLB roster as a DH.
Just look at today's lineup.

jerjapan - Sunday, April 10 2016 @ 12:03 PM EDT (#320761) #

Scott Copeland has been sold to a Korean team - good luck to him, this is likely his best chance to cash in as a ballplayer.

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