Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Guerrero Pounds Portland, Pearson Pinged By Bradenton

Guerrero Pounds Portland, Pearson Pinged By Bradenton

The #BlueJays affiliates lost three of four Monday but the biggest concern is the injury suffered to the team's top pitching prospect. The good news was the team's top hitting prospect had an epic night in New Hampshire.

Rochester 7 Buffalo 3

The Herd had a 2-0 lead after six but it went away when Taylor Guerrieri was torched for a grand slam and five runs in total in the seventh. Murphy Smith gave up two more runs in 1-1/3 before Al Alburquerque mopped up. That ruined a great start by Sam Gaviglio who spun six shutout innings of five-hit ball, striking out six and walking nobody. He also produced seven outs on the ground against the Twins affiliate.

Dwight Smith Jr. had two hits, including an RBI single. Rowdy Tellez singled, walked, drove in a run and stole a base. Darnell Sweeney doubled and added a sacrifice fly. Danny Jansen walked twice. Reese McGuire and Ian Parmley singled. Richard Urena and Roemon Fields were 0-for-4.

New Hampshire 10 Portland 2

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered twice and Cavan Biggio went deep to help the first-place New Hampshire FC hammer the Boston affiliate. Guerrero drove in five runs and Biggio also had a two-hit game. Bo Bichette doubled, walked three times and stole his ninth base of the year. Jonathan Davis doubled and walked, Connor Panas had an extra-base hit and Ryan Hissey knocked home a run in a 1-for-4 night. Juan Kelly walked twice.

Sean Reid-Foley gave up a two-run bomb over among four hits and two walks but he lasted five-plus innings for the win. He struck out eight, walked two and induced five groundball outs. Dusty Isaacs put up a zero in the sixth and Nick Tepesch earned the save with three shutout innings that included four strikeouts.

Bradenton 7 Dunedin 5

Nate Pearson exited the game by taking a line drive off his right elbow in his 2018 debut. He gave up a home run among five hits and was charged with three runs (two earned) over 1-2/3 innings against the Pirates affiliate. Juliandry Higuera was jolted for three more runs in 2-1/3 innings. Justin Dillon gave up a solo home run in 3-2/3 innings but struck out six. Nick Hartman stranded a runner and struck out two over 1-1/3 scoreless frame.

Bradley Jones was 3-for-5 with a double and a run batted in. Logan Warmoth was 2-for-4 with an extra-base knock and an RBI. Riley Adams singled and walked but Kacy Clemens was 0-for-5 in his Florida State League debut. Nash Knight walked twice and took one for the team.

Wisconsin 6 Lansing 5

The bullpen could not hold a lead for the Lugnuts. Ty Tice was charged with the blown save and took the loss as the Brewers affiliate tied it in the eighth and walked it off in the ninth. Zach Logue gave up two solo dingers and four in total over six innings on eight hits and two walks. He rung up six batters and recorded seven outs on the dirt. Matt Shannon was charged with a run over 1-2/3 innings.

Christian Williams went deep as part of a 3-for-4 night at the dish. Kevin Smith tripled and doubled, Brock Lundquist doubled and singled and Chavez Young tripled and walked. Reggie Pruitt doubled in his return off the disabled list after being hit in the nose with a pitch. Kevin Vicuna and Samad Taylor also put a notch in the hit column.

*** 3 Stars!!! ***

3. Bo Bichette, New Hampshire

2. Sam Gaviglio, Buffalo

1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., New Hampshire

Linescores

Extra Innings...

MiLB.com has a story on Nate Pearson's injury
The Bisons and Blue Jays will be together for two more seasons.
The Buffalo News has a story on Roemon Fields and chats with Conor Fisk and Justin Dillon about their Triple-A debuts.
Sportsnet has a feature on Danny Jansen and says the Herd are hoping Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will make a stop there on the way to the bigs.
MiLB.com has comments from Fisher Cats hitting coach Hunter Mense about Guerrero
The New Hampshire Union Leader has a story on Craig Breslow.
The Vancouver Province catches up with new C's manager Dallas McPherson.
CanadiansBaseball.com has a story on Jason Leblebijian.
CsPlusBaseball.ca has a chat with Matt Morgan.

Posted by #2JBrumfield on Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 12:02 AM EDT.

Guerrero Pounds Portland, Pearson Pinged By Bradenton | 31 comments | Create New Account

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

uglyone - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 12:09 AM EDT (#357524) #

vladdy hits the 2nd one off the hotel:

https://twitter.com/BenBadler/status/993656070697553925

dan gordon - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 01:46 AM EDT (#357525) #

On Bluebird Banter there is a report on Pearson which says that "a source" says he has a broken bone in his pitching arm. The ulna, which is the larger bone between the wrist and elbow, toward the outside of the forearm. I would imagine that such an injury would have a good chance of a 100% recovery.

Richard S.S. - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 02:06 AM EDT (#357526) #

Broken bones heal, shattered bones need help. Six weeks to heal and three weeks to get his arm strength back gets us to early July. Another two or three weeks to get his pitching up to par probably limits him to seven or eight starts before season end, another small sample.

Gerry - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 09:13 AM EDT (#357530) #

If all goes well once he returns, Pearson then would be a good candidate to go the fall league.

AWeb - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 09:49 AM EDT (#357533) #

Is there any sense within the organization of how long players will be allowed to dominate a minor league level before a promotion? Both Guerrero (pretty much expected) and Biggio (not expected) are killing AA. Bichette has been merely "very good", although 6 errors doesn't look great.

Is this a situation where you give them half a season before making a move, to find their "true" level a bit more? Obviously Biggio has to prove it for longer at this point, since he's never been close to this level as a professional, but the Jays have a convenient positional need at DH if nothing else. It's been a few front offices since the Jays had a hitting prospect like Guerrero burning a hole in the minors, so I have no idea what to expect.

Is it fair to say that Guerrero is the best hitting prospect the Jays have ever had at this point? He was hitting .352 after April 27th, and has raised his average in all 7 games since. Still not striking out much, takes walks, big power.

uglyone - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 09:52 AM EDT (#357534) #

Vladdy might be the best hitting prospect that any team has ever had.

dalimon5 - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 10:01 AM EDT (#357538) #

If you read the Ben Badger article on Baseball America, it seems that one of the hold ups could be where he would play. The argument being that you don't want him to play DH because he won't get game action at 3B.

Mike Green - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 10:10 AM EDT (#357539) #

Alex Rodriguez burned through 3 levels of the minors ending up at triple A at age 18, and basically destroyed the PCL at age 19. Mickey Mantle obliterated the American Association at age 19 (191 PAs, 11 homers, 23 walks, 30 strikeouts). Guerrero Jr. is probably somewhat behind these two offensively, but of course both had much more defensive value. He's noticeably ahead of where Trout was.

Gerry - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 10:15 AM EDT (#357540) #

Several articles have been written about Vlady and promotion recently. Vlad might be hitting really well but his fielding is not major league ready. He is not going to start ahead of Donaldson anyway so if you promote Vlad to the majors he DH's. If he does that for long he will never be a third baseman in the major leagues.

We actually spent some time in January debating this very topic on Da Box.

If Guerrero is promoted now he takes over from Morales at DH. Teams are reluctant to cut veterans who are liked, and Morales is part of the Cuban cartel, before mid-season. This is to give the player time to get back into form. The decision point on Vlad and Morales will come in mid-June, not this week. Injuries excepted of course.

Mike Green - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 10:28 AM EDT (#357541) #

It's not clear to me that it is best for Donaldson to stay at third base given his recurrent shoulder issues. In limited views, he looks to me to be a better first baseman than Smoak. The moves that make sense to me (if you are going to do it) is Guerrero Jr to third base, Donaldson to first base and Smoak to DH. It might be that Donaldson and Smoak would be OK with that. I agree though that you have to be satisfied that the club will gain from it overall and defence (and baserunning) are part of the equation.

As for breaking up the "Cuban cartel", I have much less patience with that. Morales has been a bad player. I think that it sets the wrong tone to keep a bad player in the lineup at the expense of a very good one. Further, Aledmys Diaz has impressed me and I think that he makes a nice role model for Gurriel Jr.

uglyone - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 10:41 AM EDT (#357542) #

ARod is an interesting comp. Note that he is a july baby, and vladdy is a march baby, so vladdy's "19yr old season" this year is actually closer in age to ARod's "18yr old season" that year (especially given that that was toward the end of the season for Arod while this is the start of the season for vladdy).

Unfortunately fangraphs doesn't go back that far for minor leagues so we have no league- or era-adjusted stats, but....

ARod (AAA): 128pa, 6.4bb%, 19.5k%, .311avg, .277iso, .948ops (PCL)
Vlad (AA): 112pa, 10.2bb%, 10.2k%, .398avg, .276iso, 1.126ops
ARod (AA): 69pa, 14.5bb%, 18.8k%, .288avg, .153iso, .832ops
ARod (A): 278pa, 8.6bb%, 15.8k%, .319avg, .284iso, .984ops

And then we can throw in Vladdy's numbers from last year's 18yr old season:

Vlad (A+): 209pa, 17.2bb%, 13.4k%, .333avg, .161iso, .944ops
Vlad (A): 318pa, 12.6bb%, 10.7k%, .316avg, .164iso, .888ops

Looks like ARod established his elite power more firmly as a prospect, while Vladdy's is just coming on now this year. On the other hand, Vladdy's plate discipline / zone control numbers still look truly special even in comparison with a prospect like Arod's.

Of course, ARod was a shortstop. But pure hitting wise, Vladdy may legitimately be a better looking prospect.

Gerry - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 10:46 AM EDT (#357544) #

Unless Donaldson's shoulder is hurting him I don't see him being happy with that Mike. This is his free agent year and a 3B is more valuable than a 1B. I say he resists, unless of course his shoulder forces him.

Mike Green - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 10:57 AM EDT (#357545) #

I don't know, Gerry. I guess we'll see. I agree that the best thing to do is to wait until late June (although I don't think that they should wait that long to address the Morales situation).

Gerry - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 11:13 AM EDT (#357546) #

One thing that is invisible to us fans is clubhouse chemistry. In regard to Morales I can think of two factors that could delay the Jays deciding to cut him.

First, I heard Ross Atkins being interviewed around the start of the season and he was singing Morales' praises around his knowledge of pitchers, spotting trends and passing that information to teammates. If he is doing that, and if he is helping Gurriel, Hernandez, Diaz and some of the younger players, then the Jays might decide to keep him around longer than they would otherwise.

The second issue is that baseball clubhouses are very hierarchical. Senior players get a lot of respect from their juniors. Morales is one of the more senior players in the clubhouse. The other players would want to make sure that Morales gets a fair shot. I don't think baseball players would think that a month into the season is a fair shot, I believe they would need to see him get at least two months and maybe into mid June before he is moved out.

We don't know what is happening in the clubhouse but the front office has to weigh these kinds of factors, in addition to the on field performance, before making a decision.

Gerry - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 11:15 AM EDT (#357547) #

Ross Atkins confirms non-displaced fracture of the ulna for Nate Pearson.

85bluejay - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 11:24 AM EDT (#357548) #

Vladdy looks like he will be a special hitter but after all the "Free Snider" & "Free Lawrie" sound & fury blew up in their faces, I'm amazed that fans don't have more patience - Tulo is probably a month away & will require a roster spot - let's see how Pompey/Alford/Guriel hold up - If the Jays are in contention, Vladdy may be here in July, else a September audition and then the late April 2019 promotion seems more sensible.

Mike Green - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 12:04 PM EDT (#357551) #

A non-displaced fracture for Pearson is relatively good news. There's no reason to rush his recovery, which has a good chance to be complete.

Hodgie - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 12:11 PM EDT (#357552) #

It is certainly possible that the clubhouse dynamics play a role in the Morales decision, but to be fair he hasn't just had one bad month. His 1+ season with the club has been a disaster, mitigated only slightly by a few well-timed home runs in 2017. It would be difficult for any player to genuinely argue that Morales hasn't been given a fair shot.

uglyone - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 12:16 PM EDT (#357553) #

Obviously I agree that Morales has stunk, but to Gerry's point, we can add that in terms of topline traditional numbers, Morales put up a .250avg, 28hr, 85rbi line last year....which for many players is a pretty good performance in their eyes, which might be deserving of a longer look this year.

Hodgie - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 12:27 PM EDT (#357555) #

Perhaps uglyone, although I suspect fewer and fewer players today would subscribe to the "Buck and Pat" theory of player valuation. Even if they chose to ignore the more advanced metrics, they would also see a player that can't hit anything but a fastball, can't keep the ball off the ground, can't run the bases, has no defensive value etc.

uglyone - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 01:13 PM EDT (#357558) #

oh crap.

John Lott @LottOnBaseball
#BlueJays closer Roberto Osuna was arrested this morning and charged with assault on a woman, Toronto police confirm. Story coming shortly.

PeterG - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 01:47 PM EDT (#357560) #

Here is new mock from BA. Personally, I think Jays more likely to take Swaggerty if available.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/mlb-mock-draft/

hypobole - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 01:57 PM EDT (#357561) #

BA link is behind a paywall

lexomatic - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 02:19 PM EDT (#357563) #

The Osuna news is terrible and disappointing.
I hope the team takes the opportunity to gives the whole organization - top to bottom - a reminder about consent and assault and what is not cool.
Sadly the Jays tend to be pretty reactive to these types of situations from what I remember.

pubster - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 02:22 PM EDT (#357564) #

"John Lott @LottOnBaseball
#BlueJays closer Roberto Osuna was arrested this morning and charged with assault on a woman, Toronto police confirm. Story coming shortly."

Has Trump commented?

ComebyDeanChance - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 02:25 PM EDT (#357565) #

Sadly the Jays tend to be pretty reactive to these types of situations from what I remember.

I imagine the team will treat this seriously and intelligently, as it did last year in dealing with the Pillar case, and as it should. Osuna has already been placed on administrative leave by MLB and I suspect he is out until at least his June 18 court date.

Chuck - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 02:30 PM EDT (#357567) #

I imagine the team will treat this seriously and intelligently

Concur.

The fanbase will want to avoid the misguided instinct to conflate the Escobar and Pillar situations with this one. Apples and oranges.

ComebyDeanChance - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 02:40 PM EDT (#357569) #

The fanbase will want to avoid the misguided instinct to conflate the Escobar and Pillar situations with this one. Apples and oranges.

Absolutely. Those two sets of circumstance involved uncontested facts and more importantly, did not involve the criminal code. This situation is as yet unproven in court, and if it is, will have more serious ramifications. Osuna has likely already seen a cell. My comment spoke to the nature of the team's response, not the nature of the offence.

PeterG - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 02:45 PM EDT (#357570) #

Has the Jays taking Naylor at 12.

hypobole - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 02:55 PM EDT (#357571) #

Thanks, Peter.

hypobole - Tuesday, May 08 2018 @ 03:54 PM EDT (#357579) #

"I hope the team takes the opportunity to gives the whole organization - top to bottom - a reminder about consent and assault and what is not cool."

From 2015

"Training, Education and Resources:
All players will be provided education about domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse in both English and Spanish at regular intervals. Resources to players' families -- including referral information, websites, hotline numbers and outreach facilities -- will be made available, along with a confidential 24-hour helpline."

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-mlbpa-agree-on-domestic-violence-policy/c-144508842

Guerrero Pounds Portland, Pearson Pinged By Bradenton | 31 comments | Create New Account

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