Batter's Box Interactive Magazine

Chris Rowley's excellent start helped Buffalo to win. Thomas Pannone came back from suspension for a shortened start and a home run from Connor Panas helped New Hampshire to win. Angel Perdomo went five and Dunedin won in extras. Lansing had Donnie Sellers punch out eight and a couple of home runs meant another win. The run of good starts ended in Vancouver where Randy Pondler struggled and the C's lost again. The GCL Jays and DSL Jays broke the pattern, the GCL team lost while the DSL team won. Bluefield were off.

Buffalo

The Bisons won 3-1. Chris Rowley doesn't have overpowering stuff and walks a fine line between success and failure. He wasn't great at the start of the season but has been improving as the season progresses. On Wednesday he had one of his best starts of the season. He went eight innings, five hits, no walks and six K's. The only run he allowed was a home run by Adam Lind. Rowley threw exactly 100 pitches, 73 strikes. Jake Petricka has a 1-2-3 ninth.

Dwight Smith scored the first run, he singled and scored on another single by Reece McGuire. Anthony Alford walked in the eighth,in a tied game. Darnell Sweeney delivered a go ahead RBI single. Roemon Fields made it 3-1 with a single. Fields was the only hitter with two hits.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire won 11-6 in a game that featured 27 hits, 14 for the Fisher Cats. Connor Panas hit a three run home run. Harold Ramirez had three hits and three RBI. Jon Berti had two doubles. Ryan Hissey hit a solo home run. Bo Bichette, Jonathan Davis and Cavan Biggio had one hit each.

Thomas Pannone is making his way back from his suspension. He looked good for four innings but was pulled having thrown 86 pitches. He gave up one run on five hits with five K's. Four relievers were required to finish the game. Danny Young was the worst, he was hit around for four runs in one inning.

Dunedin

Dunedin won 3-2 in ten innings. In a 1-1 tie, the Jays scored twice in the top of the tenth and Florida once in the bottom. The winning runs came through a two out error by Florida. Following the error Josh Palacios and Eduard Pinto each singled in a run. The other run scored via a wild pitch. The Jays had just six hits, each by a different hitter. Kevin Smith had a triple, Riley Adams and Rodrigo Orozco doubled.

A 1-1 tie through nine innings means the pitching was good. Angel Perdomo went five shutout innings with ten K's. He did use 88 pitches so he wasn't very efficient. Juliandry Higuera and Andy Ravel kept the shutout going.

Lansing

Lansing won 6-2. Even though they have lost players to Dunedin the Lugnuts are still winning more than they are losing. They are an impressive 6-1 over their last seven games. The Lugnuts had 13 hits in this one, even if leading hitter Chavez Young was 0-5. Brandon Grudzielanek was 3-4 including his first home run of the season. Brock Lundquist had just one hit but it was a three run shot. Ryan Noda had two hits but no home runs. Samad Taylor had two hits. He is hitting better in June and will look to carry that the rest of the way. Ryan Gold was 2-3 and is hitting .333. This is Gold's third season in the system and he has shown he can hit. He is still just 20 years old and he too will look to cement his position as someone to look out for in the second half.

Donnie Sellers gave up one run in six innings with eight strikeouts. It was one of his better starts in an inconsistent season.

Vancouver

The C's lost 9-2 and allowed 17 hits. Randy Pondler struggled and conceded 10 hits in three plus innings. He was charged with five runs. None of the three relievers distinguished themselves. It didn't help that the starting pitcher for Tri-City was Henry Henry, that's distracting.

The C's had just six hits. Bryan Lizardo had two, including a triple, and scored the first run. Our own #2JBrumfield was at the game and his full report is here.

Bluefield

Bluefield had a scheduled day off.

GCL Jays

The GCL Jays lost 6-4 and were down 6-0 until the eighth. They had just six hits, all singles. Rafael Lantigua was 2-4 with two RBI.

The Jays made three errors and only one of the six Yankee runs was earned. Alvery De Los Santos was the best pitcher on the day, he pitched three shutout innings.

DSL Jays

The DSL Jays won 7-4 even though they gave a day off to some of their big hitters. Jhon Solarte was 2-4 with two doubles and three runs scored. He is hitting .354 with a .924 OPS. The Jays used five pitchers, Alexis Carmona started and pitched four innings with two runs allowed although he does have an ERA over 8.

3 Stars

3rd star: Angel Perdomo

2nd star: Brandon Grudzielanek

1st star: Chris Rowley

Boxes

Posted by Gerry on Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 09:17 AM EDT.

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

Mike Green - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 11:06 AM EDT (#360797) #

Just to expand on Gerry's comment that Taylor is hitting better in June. His line for the month is .265/.390/.426 with 7 extra-base hits, 11 walks and 13 strikeouts in 79 PAs. Those are numbers that the club would be very pleased if he repeated over the next two months. He's just 19 years old and if he can combine plate discipline with medium range power and excellent speed, you have yourself a top-of-the-lineup type hitter in a few years. The Blue Jays do not have too many of those.

Gerry - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 11:17 AM EDT (#360798) #

Jon Harris has been promoted to Buffalo and will start today.

hypobole - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 11:30 AM EDT (#360800) #

Does Perdomo or Murphy get Harris' spot in the NH rotation?

bpoz - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 11:44 AM EDT (#360802) #

hypobole, I am going with both getting promoted.

Nigel - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 11:49 AM EDT (#360803) #

I got out to Nat Bailey last night (sorry, I can't adopt the new name). It was my second game of the season - I won't say much until I've seen a few more games but I think its fair to say that the early returns suggest that they are very worthy of their record.

Pondler was 87-88 with his FB, 83-84 with his SL and 78-79 with his change. He threw 2 or 3 breaking balls at 79. I assume they were just slower SL but its possible he has a harder CV as well. His SL (based only on last night) was his only interesting pitch, which was reasonably effective when he back doored it to RH hitters. He got crushed last night though. I stopped counting hard hit line drives after eight.

Lizardo, who I thought had actually turned himself into a decent fielder at 3B over the past 2 years (even though he can't hit) put on one of the more comically bad fielding displays last night. He should have had 3 errors and could have had 4. Fun night at the park anyway.

hypobole - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 11:55 AM EDT (#360804) #

Thanks for the info, Nigel. Any thoughts on McGregory?

Mike Green - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 12:04 PM EDT (#360805) #

Danny Jansen is still on the active Buffalo roster. He hasn't played since June 25 and isn't in the lineup for this afternoon's game. Anybody heard anything?

Gerry - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 12:07 PM EDT (#360806) #

I heard he took a ball of his hand and that x-rays were negative.

bpoz - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 12:58 PM EDT (#360810) #

Buffalo's C today is Michael De La Cruz.

bpoz - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#360813) #

Tellez has hit a 2 run Hr for Buffalo.

Gerry - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 01:58 PM EDT (#360815) #

So far, so good, for Harris, through four innings.

CeeBee - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 02:11 PM EDT (#360819) #

Nice to see Harris start out well at least.

bpoz - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 02:40 PM EDT (#360822) #

5IP and 60 pitches for Harris. But a long wait because the Bisons scored 4 runs. I suppose he has to come back out for the 6th.

Mike Green - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 03:17 PM EDT (#360833) #

Thanks, Gerry, for the Jansen update. Ah, the life of a catcher.

Nigel - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 03:43 PM EDT (#360835) #

Hypobole, I'd like to see McGregory a few more times before commenting. I can say that he is clearly extremely athletic and he isn't a total hacker. As he and Conine appear to represent the entirety of the prospect pool in Vancouver this year, he won't be hard to focus on whenever I go to the park!

Mike Green - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 04:08 PM EDT (#360841) #

Keep an eye for me on Podkul, Nigel. Any early observations?

mendocino - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 04:32 PM EDT (#360845) #

VancouverCanadiansPR

@CanadiansPR

TRANSACTIONS:
Thursday, June 28, 2018

RHP Jon Harris - NH to Buf
LHP Jake Fishman -Buf to Dun
C Jonelvy Molina- 7-day DL @ Dun
OF Freddy Rodriguez - Van to Lan
C Matt Morgan - released
OF Hunter Steinmetz - Blu to Van
OF Cal Stevenson - GCL to Blu

https://twitter.com/CanadiansPR/status/1012431436027068416

greenfrog - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 04:39 PM EDT (#360846) #

Harris has been pretty good of late. Apparently he was able to improve the deception in his delivery and he has been much better since then.

jerjapan - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 04:45 PM EDT (#360847) #

three position player prospects for the Cs, but three pitching prospects too, no? 4th rounder Sean Wymer, 8th rounder Joey Murray and 12th rounder Nick Allgeyer all signed around slot if I recall correctly.

Jhon Solarte is definitely proving his 10K signing bonus was money well spent. 11 SBs and a .470 OBP is as good a debut as possible. Perhaps our CF depth is even deeper.

Five players on the GCL Jays have an OPS over 1.000, and Conine isn't one. 22 games between the five, but still a nice start.

I'm hoping to see Justin Shafer or Conor Fisk in Toronto this summer. Low pedigree guys, but both have been great out of the Bison's pen this year. They can't be worse than Preston Guilmet, and both seem viable candidates for the Buffalo shuttle, at least.

Poor Justin Dillon has turned back into a pumpkin in AA. I do think the org hasn't done him any favours, bouncing him around from a mediocre run in A ball, to AAA, and now NH.

hypobole - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 04:56 PM EDT (#360849) #

Actually the org did do Dillon a favour. He's going to earn more money from his AA and AAA stints than being left in A ball. Kinda like when the gov raises the minimum wage. It's not much, but when you make so little, every bit helps.

Nigel - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 05:29 PM EDT (#360851) #

Darn, I was actually hoping to see Freddy Rodriquez in Vancouver, although he has had trouble staying healthy I've wondered if he has any future in the organization.

Mike - I have been and will follow Podkul as his college numbers looked promising. He hasn't done anything to stand out in the two games that I have seen - that, in and of itself, is notable as most of the C's have stood out in a noticeably bad way. His plate approach is reflected in his current line - he clearly has some strike zone control skills. I wonder about his range at 2B - he hasn't looked very mobile out there, but 2 games is way too small a sample to judge anything, particularly defence.

CeeBee - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 05:44 PM EDT (#360852) #

"I'm hoping to see Justin Shafer or Conor Fisk in Toronto this summer. Low pedigree guys, but both have been great out of the Bison's pen this year. They can't be worse than Preston Guilmet, and both seem viable candidates for the Buffalo shuttle, at least."

Unfortunatley management seems more inclined to give other organization's castoff's like Ngope, Urshela, Guimet, etc. a spot over our own long shots. Guess you don't know what you got till it's gone.

hypobole - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 05:52 PM EDT (#360853) #

Or that waiver claim castoff Dominic Leone last year. What did they see in him?

CeeBee - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 05:56 PM EDT (#360854) #

"Or that waiver claim castoff Dominic Leone last year. What did they see in him?"
Fine if you don't have any ready or close to ready parts at the position.

jerjapan - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 06:04 PM EDT (#360855) #

agreed CeeBee. a guy like J-Leb springs to mind - why not reward your own loyal soldier then gift Urshela with more big league playing time that he really doesn't seem to have earned? Reminds me of an early comment by the FO, about how adding depth to the Buffalo rotation was a priority. They certainly have milked the 'cupboard was bare' narrative.

Hypobole, that's an interesting point and I definitely bang the drum for better pay for minor leaguers. They do it in other sports, why does "America's national pastime" get a mulligan? but the difference in salary is pretty darn minimal ... $1500 a month for Dunedin, up to $2150 in Buffalo. It's not till you get added to the 40 man that you start to make a living wage. I think these are 2015 numbers, but I don't believe much has changed.
Dillon was a senior signing - I think he got 5K as a bonus - so money may be tight, but I still think the disruption to his development isn't worth a few hundred bucks.

jerjapan - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 06:21 PM EDT (#360857) #

waiver claim relievers with options, like Leone, are totally different from position players like Ngoepe and in particular Urshela, who was out of options. They had spring training to evaluate and work with Leone, who didn't break camp with the team if I remember correctly. not to mention the fungibility of relievers.

every team makes waiver claims. that is not the same as having a preference for major league veterans over org soldiers, which is a clear trend with this FO and has been discussed periodically on the Box since the new FO arrived on the scene.

hypobole - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 06:24 PM EDT (#360858) #

jerjapan - how much was Dillon's development disrupted? We don't know that it was at all. And maybe it helped his development. We don't know that either.

jerjapan - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 06:27 PM EDT (#360859) #

Fun stuff at BlueJaysNation from Jesse Goldberg-Strasser, interviewed about Ryan Noda:
Tremendous power, both to the pull side and to the oppo gap. Fine base runner with a 6-3, 230-lb. frame, which is excellent. I enjoy watching him scoop the ball at first base, too. And the walk numbers speak for themselves.....

Hitting zero home runs through May 29th to having 10 home runs from May 30th onward has been jawdropping. Also � this is important � his home runs are MAJESTIC. They�re glorious to watch.

hypobole - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 07:05 PM EDT (#360860) #

Conine with his 1st NWL HR. Much needed.

John Northey - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 08:17 PM EDT (#360863) #

Biggest gift the Jays could give to a career minor leaguer is one day in the majors. That gets him health care for life IIRC - very, very valuable in the USA. The pension comes with a certain number of days (can't recall how many).

Gerry - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 08:51 PM EDT (#360864) #

Matt Morgan was released, he never could hit as a pro.

hypobole - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 09:29 PM EDT (#360865) #

Back on June 10th, Maximo Castillo was torched for 8 runs. That pushed his season ERA over 7. Since then, in 3 starts combined, he's done this:

16 IP, 10 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 14 K.

His ERA is down to 5.35

bpoz - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 10:39 PM EDT (#360870) #

M Castillo is a favorite of mine. So young.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, June 28 2018 @ 11:15 PM EDT (#360882) #

Steve Pearce traded to the Red Sox for Santiago Espinal (MI hitting ok at high A). Return seems about appropriate to me.

Pearce has now completed the AL East Circuit having played for all 5 teams.

uglyone - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 12:15 AM EDT (#360888) #

espinal has some interesting features - legit contact ability and plausible SS defense - but imo he's much too old for his decent A+ line for it to be too exciting. but worth keeping an eye on at least.

and yeah I agree with you guys on Castillo - his fip/xfip have been solid all year for a 19yr old in full season ball, and now his ERA is coming down to meet them. he looks legit to me.

uglyone - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 12:20 AM EDT (#360889) #

sounds like the jays chipped in some cash too in the deal.

that's good.

dan gordon - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 01:52 AM EDT (#360892) #

Espinal looks to be improving quickly. He played in the Gulf Coast League in 2016, skipped 2 levels to play in A ball in 2017, and, despite the big jump, he actually increased his OPS by almost 100 points. This year, he has moved up to A+ and has increased his OPS a further 148 points. That's the kind of thing I like to see. Great percentage base stealer as well. I like the acquisition.

jerjapan - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 03:36 PM EDT (#360947) #

Hypobole, fair point. we don't know at all if Dillon's development has been disrupted, but he is clearly reeling right now as a player, and has a development path that is unprecedented in my mind. Can you think of someone struggling in A ball, promoted to AAA because he is organizational fodder and the org needs a starter, reels off a bunch of crazy good starts, gets demoted to AA simply because he dominated AAA, and is getting slammed?
I get that we can't 'know' if this hurts his development. but we can know that this is highly unusual. we also know that he is a super low profile prospect. I can add my personal knowledge as a teacher that I dislike the idea of putting someone in a situation where they seem destined to fail. I also dislike the idea of lowly paid young people being jerked around - we all might believe it's lovely for a longshot prospect to get a shot at AAA, but he's got to disrupt his life in order to do so. I would freakin' hate being bounced around in my work life like this.

I doubt it's possible to argue that he isn't being treated like org filler, which I simply dislike as precedent from a developmental perspective. and whether or not it's justifiable from the sense of 'hey, this guy won't make the bigs', I have a strong dislike for that being acceptable treatment of any employee, regardless of their ceiling. And developmentally, I imagine his teammates, some of whom are legitimate prospects, don't like it much either.

CeeBee - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 03:42 PM EDT (#360948) #

It's possible he's been working on something in the lower levels but in AAA he was allowed to go with what he was comfortable with. All of us really don't know nothing unless someone gets it from the horses mouth.

jerjapan - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 04:46 PM EDT (#360953) #

CeeBee, anything is possible. what is not possible to debate is the fact that nobody gets treated like this - can you give me a comp to the way Dillon has been treated, from any year?- and at this point, I'd say clearly established principals universal to every team at every level are more significant than 'he's working on something'.

CeeBee - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 04:48 PM EDT (#360954) #

Perhaps management and his minor league manager felt he was the best candidate to fill in on short notice?

hypobole - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 04:58 PM EDT (#360955) #

Maybe he wanted to do it. Some people like challenges and working with more experienced people. Got to work with Jansen and McGuire.

Michael de la Cruz is similar, as a fill in throughout the org. I think De Los Santos got a cup of coffee in Lansing last year.

jerjapan - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 05:03 PM EDT (#360956) #

well, I think that's how i described it in my original post ... he's org fodder, so they don't think it will disrupt any development, since he's not going to develop into anything anyway. so yeah, management felt he was the perfect candidate.

I've been commenting on this for a few weeks now, but this FO is far more willing to move guys up multiple levels in the short term - just look at the number of A ball / mediocre AA pitchers with an appearance in Buffalo this year - Fishman, Eller, Rodriguez, DeGraff, Fernandez.

I don't really know how I feel about the strategy, generally, but I do feel it has done a disservice to Dillon. even if we leave the developmental issue aside - maybe it's good for him, maybe not- it's pretty disruptive to one's life to have to relocate, meet new people, adjust to a new challenge. I deal with mental health issues, so I'm sensitive to this, but frankly, pay the guy a lot more if you are going to treat him this poorly.

CeeBee - Friday, June 29 2018 @ 07:49 PM EDT (#360987) #

When you're in the minors advancing a level is what you die for. They are mostly living out of hotel rooms or the like anyway.

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