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The affiliates won four out of six on Monday that saw three one-run victories, including an extra-innings affair. The only blemish was a doubleheader sweep against the boys in the Dominican. Buffalo, New Hampshire and Vancouver all had the night off.


Dunedin 6 Jupiter 4

Dunedin, FL
- The Jays staged a two-out rally in the eighth to produce the winning run in nailing down a win against the Marlins affiliate. Mike Reeves singled, got to second on a Jorge Flores walk and scampered home on an Anthony Alford base hit. An RBI single by Richard Urena and a two-run double by J.D. Davis in the third helped erase a 2-0 deficit. Urena singled home two more runs in the seventh. Alford and Urena both had three hits at the top of the order. Flores reached three times with a double and two walks and Gunnar Heidt also had an extra-base hit. L.B. Dantzler walked twice but D.J. Davis and Danny Jansen went 0-for-4.

Justin Shafer pitched five innings of three-run ball on five hits and a hit by pitch. His K-BB and GO-FO totals were both 7-0. Adonys Cardona coughed up an unearned run (on his errant pickoff throw) on two hits in the sixth. Conor Fisk (6-3) went one-plus innings and gave up a hit and two walks while whiffing two. Colton Turner kept Fisk's shutout frame intact by stranding a couple of runners. He pitched two scoreless frames, walking one and striking out three for his eighth save.


Lansing 10 Fort Wayne 9

Fort Wayne, IN
- The Lugnuts nearly let a 10-2 lead slip away but they held on against the Padres affiliate. Lansing scored all of their runs in innings two through four. A Justin Atkinson RBI double and a John La Prise RBI single got the Lugnuts rolling in the second. Connor Panas cranked a three-run homer in the third to score a Max Pentecost double and a Juan Kelly walk. Andrew Guillotte scored a La Prise single with a groundout to open the fourth but a Pentecost two-run triple and another homer by Panas, a two-run shot, gave Lansing a seemingly comfortable eight-run lead. Ryan Hissey was the hit leader with three. La Prise and J.C. Cardenas had two apiece. Jake Thomas also had a hit.

Josh DeGraaf gave up two runs on five hits and struck out one over four innings. Tayler Saucedo (6-9) surrendered two runs on two hits and two walks but struck out five over three innings. Starlyn Suriel was slammed for five runs on three hits and two walks without retiring anyone. Jackson Lowery allowed two of Suriel's runner to score but pitched a shutout eighth with just one hit allowed. Andrew Case induced a couple of groundouts before ringing up the last batter on a called strike three to get his fourth save.


Bluefield 6 Burlington 5 (13 Innings)

Burlington, NC
- Juandy Mendoza homered in the first and scored the winning run in the thirteenth when he doubled and scored on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. base hit. RBI singles by Earl Burl III and Reggie Pruitt provided Bluefield with a 3-1 lead in the second. Cam O'Brien, who began the second with a triple, belted one over the fence to tie the game at 4-4 in the sixth. Kalik May forced the game into extra innings with a double to score a Nick Sinay base hit. Mendoza, Pruitt and O'Brien all had two hits. Guerrero added a walk to go with his game-winning hit. Burl stole a base.

Jose Espinal was an out short of five full innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks while whiffing five. Christian Cox stranded a runner and pitched 1-1/3 innings of one-hit ball with one strikeout. Kelyn Jose was jolted for a run on a hit over two frames that included a pair of punchouts. Brayden Bouchey gave the outfielders a three-inning break with seven strikeouts and three groundouts, issuing just one walk. Angel Alicea (2-0) offset three hits with tree K's over two shutout innings.


GCL Blue Jays 2 GCL Tigers East 1

Dunedin, FL
- A bases-loaded walk by Sterling Guzman in the eighth was the difference in this one. The rally started when Antony Fuentes was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a Kevin Vicuna bunt single and moved to third on an intentional walk to Norberto Obeso. The Jays scored first when Lane Thomas reached second on a error at third and scored on a Jon Berti single in the third inning. Berti was 3-for-3 while Vicuna, David Jacob and Jesus Navarro all had base hits and walks. Obeso walked twice.

Maximo Castillo allowed just one run on four hits and two walks over 5-2/3 innings, striking out four. Yonardo Herdenez (3-0) closed out the sixth by stranding a runner and pitched 2-1/3 innings of one-hit ball to go along with two K's. Jared Carkuff worked around a hit with a shutout ninth for his sixth save.


DSL White Sox 5 DSL Blue Jays 4 (Game 1 - 9 Innings)

Boca Chica, DR
- The White Sox walked this one off with a double, a walk and a single against Juan Bautista (0-1) with two outs in the ninth. Bautista pitched 2-1/3 innings, giving up two other hits and allowing a inherited runner to score. Anderson Nunez started and went four innings, allowing a run on four hits and a walk while striking out four. Oscar Brito was banged around for two runs on three runs with a 1-1 K/BB total over just two-thirds of an inning. Felix Cornelius stranded two runners but gave up a run of his own on a hit and two walks over 1-2/3 innings while whiffing two.

The Jays held three leads in this one. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second with a two-out rally when McGregory Contreras walked and scored on a Victor Figuereo double. Figuereo came home on an Andres Guerra base hit. Yhordegny Kelly restored the two-run cushion with an RBI single in the third to plate a Yeison Estevez double. The Jays took another lead when pinch-runner Sam Buelens (after a Guerra single) scored on an Estevez double play grounder in the seventh. Guerra had a 2-for-2 day at the plate with a walk. Contreras walked three times and stole a base.


DSL White Sox 2 DSL Blue Jays 0 (Game 2 - 7 Innings)

Boca Chica, DR
- A two-run homer against Adams Cuevas (3-2) in the sixth gave the Pale Hose the doubleheader sweep. Cuevas pitched 5-2/3 innings, conceding five hits and a two walks while striking out three. Jesus Colman stranded a runner and pitched 1-2/3 shutout innings that included two punchouts.

McGregory Contreras
and Ronald Concepion both doubled. Yhordegny Kelly, Aldo Ovando, Andres Guerra and Anderson Green all singled with Kelly drawing a walk. Antonio Concepion also had a free pass.


Monday's Linescores


*** 3 Stars!!! ***


3. Anthony Alford, Dunedin


2. Richard Urena, Dunedin


1. Connor Panas, Lansing



Extra Innings


The Vancouver Province has a story on Northwest League all-star pitcher Patrick Murphy.


And finally...

Your random blast from the past Blue Jays minor leaguer.

Honors For Connor & Conor | 33 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Tuesday, August 02 2016 @ 11:15 AM EDT (#327914) #
Alford hit 4 line drives and a soft ground ball yesterday.  Two of the line drives were caught

His nadir this year was July 9.  He was hitting .183/.279/.257.  Since then, he's walked 15 times and struck out 15 times in 88 PAs, had 11 extra base hits and stolen 8 bases without being caught.  His seasonal slash line is up to .232/.333/.369. 


uglyone - Tuesday, August 02 2016 @ 12:41 PM EDT (#327924) #
he has been so amazing tbe past 20gms or so that he might earn a promotion before his overall line looks all that great.

And Urena keeps killing it too.
China fan - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 08:34 AM EDT (#328032) #
Some excellent news: Richard Urena has been promoted to New Hampshire -- at the age of 20.   He might be the Jays top prospect at this point.  He posted a .797 OPS with excellent defence at Dunedin this season.
bpoz - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 10:04 AM EDT (#328037) #
R Urena was signed July 2012. He moved up well and so has time in the minors left to deal with any bumps in the road.

It would be fantastic if he became a star in the Majors.
finch - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 10:23 AM EDT (#328041) #
Richard Urena screams Francisco Lindor to me.
uglyone - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 10:35 AM EDT (#328045) #
baseball america did their monthly all-prospect team. for july.

SRF was the top RH pitcher.

Tellez came in just behind dominic smith for 1B.

Urena was runner up at SS to one Franklin Barreto.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospect-team-july/#oigWjuPRdZzGYvFL

note they use ops+ which we don't have access to I don't think...but imo is a good measure to use, just like wRC+.
uglyone - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 10:38 AM EDT (#328049) #
finch....while Urena seems to be looked at as legit defensive SS now I'm not sure he'll ever match Lindor's elite D there.
finch - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 10:51 AM EDT (#328053) #
that's true uglyone, with the bat yes.
SK in NJ - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 11:16 AM EDT (#328054) #
Lindor had great plate discipline and good base stealing ability in the minors to go along with elite defense. Urena's shown more pop in his bat. I really don't see any similarities between the two at all, other than being young and SS's.

Urena is definitely a good prospect though, especially if his defense sticks at short (I've read conflicting reports there).
Gerry - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 12:02 PM EDT (#328062) #
New Hampshire play a day game today. Richard Urena, Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez are all in the lineup.
uglyone - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 12:03 PM EDT (#328063) #
urena's having a great year but not quite up at that elite SS prospect level yet I don't think.

imo what's really encouraging this year is that after a couple of years of severely deteriorating BB/K ratios, he's recovered to post solid ones this year. still doesn't walk enough but walks more, and has his strikeouts well under control this year.

2013 10.6bb% / 15.8k% - quite good ratios to start
2014 7.0bb% / 20.5k% - worrisome decline in both
2015 3.0bb% / 20.5k% - borderline disastrous
2016 5.8bb% / 14.8k% - best K% yet, BB% back up to ok

the ratios he dipped down to last year were putting his prospect status in real jeopardy imo. I'm not sure he'll ever walk a lot but the question might be whether he can tap into his raw power while maintaining his improved contact rate.

A good stint in AA should get him some top-50 consideration I think.
uglyone - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 12:21 PM EDT (#328066) #
I wonder how long until Alford gets promoted, given how great he's hitting.

Suddenly we might have an AA lineup stacked with top-100 type talent

1. RF Ramirez
2. CF Alford
3. 1B Tellez
4. SS Urena
5. C McGuire
Mike Green - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 12:23 PM EDT (#328067) #
I have no idea whether Urena will walk a lot by the time he's 28.  The K rate is a big item for a 20 year old though. 

The New Hampshire ballclub suddenly looks very good.  It might be an idea to get SRF up there for a few starts to work with McGuire. 

Mike Green - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 12:28 PM EDT (#328068) #
Harold Ramirez singled in a run in his first at-bat, and Reese McGuire followed that up with a 3 run double.  Welcome to the organization, young men!
ayjackson - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 02:33 PM EDT (#328082) #
Urena, Ramirez and Tellez are a combined 8 for 12 with a walk.
85bluejay - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 03:55 PM EDT (#328095) #
Lack of power seems to be the main deficiencies in Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez resume - will be interesting to see if the Jays development people can help.
dan gordon - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 04:37 PM EDT (#328102) #
Urena hit 2nd and finished 3 for 5 with a triple. Ramirez hit 3rd, played CF, and was 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. Tellez hit 4th and was 3 for 5 with a double. McGuire hit 7th and was 1 for 4 with the aforementioned 3 run double. Interesting looking team.
jerjapan - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 04:59 PM EDT (#328109) #
Anyone have any idea if Ramirez can stick in CF?  All the descriptions of his body type indicate a move to LF - which gives him a floor of Dwight Smith Jr. and a ceiling of Melky Cabrerra, IMO. 

He certainly can hit, even without the power, and if everyone wants to predict a move to LF because of his body type, perhaps there is a power uptick in there too. 

PeterG - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 05:09 PM EDT (#328112) #
I have not seen Ramirez play but from what I have read, there would be better options in center. I think he may already be above the floor suggested as he seems a legit prospect whereas Smith is not in that I doubt he will ever play in majors with Jays (Smith that is)
Mike Green - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 05:10 PM EDT (#328113) #
Surely after the Kirby Puckett experience, we can all safely reject body-type assumptions.  Ramirez may or may not have the speed, instincts etc. to play centerfield at the major league level.  I'm sure Marcus Stroman will be rooting for him!
uglyone - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 06:16 PM EDT (#328120) #
Personally I love prospects who are rated lower than their performance deserves thanks to having supposed limited bodies.....Betts, Pedroia, Stroman, Travis come to mind.

IMO it's a fantastic market inefficiency to take advantage of.
Chuck - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 06:42 PM EDT (#328128) #
IMO it's a fantastic market inefficiency to take advantage of.

You mean we're not selling jeans here?

jensan - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 07:29 PM EDT (#328131) #
Trade Pompey and Montero for Puig
PeterG - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 09:22 PM EDT (#328139) #
Don't want Puig anywhere near this team. Dodgers would probably take less than that to be rid of him. Let someone else take him.
SK in NJ - Wednesday, August 03 2016 @ 11:21 PM EDT (#328160) #
Puig would make baseball sense as a trade target. Coming off a down season, but very affordable contract and seems like the Dodgers won't ask for (and won't get) much in return for him. The Jays will need OF help next season with Bautista and Saunders as free agents. The fit is there.

Whether they want to deal with the potential headache is the issue. Plus this will be Puig's 2nd consecutive mediocre season, after two great seasons prior to that, so you really don't know what you're getting.
dan gordon - Thursday, August 04 2016 @ 01:34 AM EDT (#328165) #
I think Puig is very interesting as a possible acquisition. His OPS of .925 in 2013 when he was only 22 is quite an achievement. His numbers have declined steadily since then and I understand that he has had significant injury problems the last 2 years. I would want to get a better feel for the extent to which his injuries may have contributed to his poor showing the last 2 years, and also what kind of a guy he is. If you could get reasonably positive answers to those questions, I think he could be an interesting target. The Dodgers apparently want to get rid of him, so the cost wouldn't be very high, and he is on a contract that pays him less than $10 million a year for the next 2 years. If he performs at a level close to what he did in 2013-2014, that's a bargain.
Chuck - Thursday, August 04 2016 @ 05:50 AM EDT (#328169) #
and also what kind of a guy he is

And there's the rub. Scaring up witnesses to vouch for the man's character might by a Sisyphean task.

uglyone - Thursday, August 04 2016 @ 07:55 AM EDT (#328176) #
taking a gamble on puig sounds exactly like a value move that shapiro would love, like early AA did - would be a lot like getting rasmus.
uglyone - Thursday, August 04 2016 @ 08:01 AM EDT (#328177) #
....or morrow or escobar.
Chuck - Thursday, August 04 2016 @ 08:15 AM EDT (#328179) #
I don't presume to know the minds of Shapiro and Atkins, but wouldn't it be one thing to bring a "troubled" Rasmus to a mediocre team, looking to acquire free talent, than it would be to bring a "troubled" Puig to a very strong team that is contending?

In one case, you've got nothing to lose. In the other, you might not want to upset the apple cart.

Clearly just speculating here. Puig might be invited with open arms and fit right in. Who knows?

Mike Green - Thursday, August 04 2016 @ 09:02 AM EDT (#328182) #
Puig is obviously enormously talented, and has had hamstring problems.  Those problems have led to a decline in his speed and consequently a decline in his batting average in 2016 (his BABIP on ground balls has gone from .330-.340 to .301).  His 2015 performance had a significant bad luck component (a .472 BABIP on line drives is pretty hard to do). From a performance perspective, I'd be happy to take my chances on him in the medium term.  There is, of course, more to the equation than performance though.
uglyone - Thursday, August 04 2016 @ 09:13 AM EDT (#328184) #
He's tempting but myself after the rasmus/morrow/escobars I'm kinda done with these kinds of guys. Sure they might give you a great year or two and make the war/$ analysis look pretty but it seems expecting them to turn into dependable championship calibre pieces is asking too much.

I thought it was genius when AA picked those guys up but after years of frustration I was glad when AA stopped trying to be the clever value guy and just paid the price for true dependable all around pros like martin and tulo.

Of course if the price is that cheap then fine, but i'm a little wary of hints at moving towards filling the team with inconsistent Upton/bruce/puig types and letting consistent studs like ee/bautista go, even if the $/war analysis justifies it.
SK in NJ - Thursday, August 04 2016 @ 10:06 AM EDT (#328191) #
Interesting that Puig has a 131 wRC+ (.308/.390/.440) in 105 plate appearances since coming off the DL in June, yet the Dodgers still decided to demote him and trade for Reddick.

With the team's OF situation next season and the poor free agent market, I'd probably lean towards trading for Puig as long as the cost was reasonable/cheap. You run the risk of "Puig being Puig", but he makes $6.5M in 2017 and $7.5M in 2018. You won't get a 'nice guy' with his upside for that little.

If the team was reasonably set in the OF and just needed a small upgrade, then I'd likely pass, but the team is losing a significant amount of their power/offense next season with Bautista/Edwin/Saunders. They'll need more than marginal improvement, and Puig would at least have the upside to be a star.

Tough call. After having to witness years of Lawrie, Rasmus, Arencibia, Escobar, etc, I can certainly understand the trepidation.
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