Batter's Box Interactive Magazine

Vlad Jr. hit his first AAA home run. Reese McGuire, Cavan Biggio, Harold Ramirez, Luis De Los Santos and the DJ's, Neal and Daniels, were among the Jays who joined him in the homer club. Buffalo, Lansing, Bluefield and the DSL team were winners.

Buffalo

Buffalo made five errors but still won 5-1. Vlad Jr made his first error with a missed catch but he made up for it with a 3-4 night including a double and a home run. Reese McGuire also doubled and homered and he drove in three.

Jacob Waguespack got the win. In 5.1 innings, Gwinnett just got an unearned run off him. "Waggy" was pulled having thrown 99 pitches. That suggest that the hitters fouled off a lot of pitches, Waggy took some time to put the hitters away. Tim Mayza got the save going two innings without a walk!

New Hampshire

The Fisher Cats lost 13-5. Jordan Romano has had a weird year. He has gone through patches of domination and patches where he has been hit around. On Wednesday he was hit around for nine hits in four innings. He did have seven strikeouts. Andrew Case was also hit around for a bad night for the Canadians.

Cavan Biggio hit his 24th home run and walked twice. Harold Ramirez hit his ninth home run and doubled. Bo Bichette was 2-5 with three strike outs.

Dunedin

Dunedin lost 10-3 in a game that was called in the ninth due to rain. Zach Logue's has been pitching very well but he must have eaten a bad burrito or something. He gave up nine runs on ten hits in just over two innings. That turned it into a bullpen game with Nash Knight pitching the eighth, it was a shutout inning.

Kevin Smith, Alberto Mineo and Chad Spanberger each had two hits. Brock Lundquist had one hit, a double, walked but struck out three times.

Lansing

Lansing won 5-4. Samad Taylor racked up three hits, as did Jesus Navarro. Ryan Noda walked three times.

Matt Gunter gave up three runs in six innings. Braydon Bouchey pitched two perfect innings to lower his ERA to 2.08.

Vancouver

Vancouver are still on their all-star break.

Bluefield

The Jays hit three home runs in the second inning and won 12-7. DJ Daniels got it started with a solo shot. DJ Neal added a two run dinger before Luis De Los Santos hit another solo shot. Neal had two hits, scored three runs and drove in three. Hagen Danner had two doubles to raise his average to .294.

The Jays used five pitchers. Felipe Castaneda started but walked five and was gone in the third inning. Josh Almonte pitched two shutout innings to bring his ERA under nine.

GCL Blue Jays

The Jays lost 4-3. Troy Squires and Aldo Ovando each had two hits with a triple. Jordan Groshans was 0-4 as he works his way back from some time out of the lineup.

Shawn Morimando started and went two innings. The 25 year old should find himself off to New Hampshire or Buffalo soon. Rafael Monsion gave up four runs in 5.1 innings.

DSL Blue Jays

The Jays scored five runs in the last two innings to win 8-5. Jhon Solarte has hit well ecently to get his average back up to.300. He was 3-5. Pedro Hurtado was 2-4 and drove in three runs.

Jesus Gonzalez allowed three runs in five innings.

Three Stars

Third Star - Reese McGuire

Second Star - DJ Neal

First Star - Vlad Guerrero

Boxes

Posted by Gerry on Wednesday, August 08 2018 @ 10:35 PM EDT.

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

85bluejay - Wednesday, August 08 2018 @ 10:43 PM EDT (#363494) #

Patrick Murphy, Zach Logue & Maverik Buffo all of whom have pitched well this season will be coming off rough outings - will be interesting to see how they respond.

hypobole - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 02:00 AM EDT (#363500) #

Nick Tepesch, a guy who was always coming off a rough outing, has been sold to the Tigers,

85bluejay - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 08:09 AM EDT (#363503) #

I hope David Paulino returns soon, am excited to see what the Jays development people can do with him.

PeterG - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 09:53 AM EDT (#363504) #

I think that Romano has pretty much pitched his way out of 40 man contention.

Shoeless Joe - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 10:14 AM EDT (#363505) #

I think that is a bit of a leap to write off Romano.

However I still think he is a reliever long-term. His left / right splits are dramatic and his fastball slider plays up in the pen against tough righties.

PeterG - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 10:33 AM EDT (#363506) #

I am not writing off Romano by any means. I am simply saying it will not be necessary to protect him from rule 5. There will be many better and younger pitchers available. I don't think there is any chance that another team would select him. Only young players coming off outstanding seasons are generally selected in rule 5.

bpoz - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 10:41 AM EDT (#363507) #

About 3 and a half weeks before Sept callups. The FO needs to know what they have.
4 catchers on the 40 man is a strength.
Are there any young SP possibilities for the Opening Day roster? The pen is also ??????????

Waveburner - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 11:11 AM EDT (#363510) #

Romano throws harder and has a much higher K rate than Biagini did when the Jays selected him in Rule 5. I think you are overestimating the level of talent available in Rule 5. As of right now I would protect Romano. There aren't enough good Jays prospects that require protection anyways.

PeterG - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 11:20 AM EDT (#363511) #

Biagini also had a 2.42 ERA in AA while Romano is around 3.40. I would be shocked if anyone would select Romano in rule 5 and in the unlikely event that he was taken, the chance of him being returned would be better than 50% as it is with rule 5 selections generally. I disagree there there will be ample room on the 40 man to accomodate him.

Shoeless Joe - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 11:24 AM EDT (#363513) #

Romano has a 0.93 WHIP against right handed hitters. He is exactly the type of pitcher a team could hide in the bullpen for a year, and really I think should be in the Jays bullpen right now.

PeterG - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 11:31 AM EDT (#363514) #

You are greatly overestimating his abilities imo. We will see how the situation plays out. You may be right that he has more value as a reliever but we don't know that yet.

ramone - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 11:52 AM EDT (#363515) #

One of the Jays deadline acquisitions, Hector Perez, is pitching right now for the Cats. He has 5 walks in two innings so far.

Nigel - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 12:02 PM EDT (#363516) #

I know that Marc Hulet remains fairly high on Perez, notwithstanding the walks. I haven't seen him pitch so I trust that view. However, my concern with Perez isn't just the volume of walks, its that he hasn't shown any progress on that front during his minor league career. He's walked 5.4/9 for his career and he's walked 5.4/9 this year. Of course, he has some time on his side and pitching prospects rarely progress in a linear fashion.

Waveburner - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 12:29 PM EDT (#363519) #

You think MLB teams still look at ERA for evaluating pitching prospects in the minor leagues? I kind of doubt it myself. Romano looks like a better prospect than Biagini to me.

Just out of curiousity what names do you see as needing 40 man protection this winter?

hypobole - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 12:42 PM EDT (#363520) #

Looks like Harold Ramirez is one guy who really wants to be on the 40 man. 3-3 already with his 10th HR.

And Perez is done. Final line 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 7 BB, 6 K.

Gerry - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 12:44 PM EDT (#363521) #

The rule 5 draft usually sees relievers and utility players selected. Players have to stay on the roster for a season so you need to pick someone who can possibly contribute, but more importantly, can be hidden.

Romano qualifies as a reliever for rule 5 purposes. As I noted in the update, Romano has had a mixed season. There would be several scouts who saw him, and filed a report, when he was at his best. Those reports will be consulted before the draft and they could persuade a team to pick him and look him over in spring training. We have a lot of tanking teams this year which could mean more roster spots for rule 5 picks in December.

PeterG - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 12:50 PM EDT (#363522) #

It's too early to say who will need 40 man protection but there are may candidates of which Romano is one. Of course teams still look at ERA amongst many other stats.

The list of possibles for the 40 man include: Davis, Waguespack, Shafer, SRF (for sure), Ramirez, Romano, Copping, Wall, Murphy (sure), Diaz, Bergen.

Probably 5 of those or thereabouts will actually make the 40 mman. Wikk be some tough decisions. I see only SRF and Murphy as locks though Bergen might be in that category as well.

ramone - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 12:53 PM EDT (#363523) #

Aaron Sanchez is pitching a rehab game in the GCL this morning, not sure if he's done, but after 3IP, 4ER, 2BB, 4K.

Shoeless Joe - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 01:04 PM EDT (#363524) #

What makes Harold Ramirez more interesting than a lot of prospects talked about is that he is a minor league free agent at the end of the season and I imagine that unless we place him on the 40-man he will 100% be gone next season versus a lot of other guys may or may not be gone as a result of that decision. I would think he would prefer a situation with less outfield bodies at the AA/AAA level.

PeterG - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 01:08 PM EDT (#363525) #

I think it's probably Ramirez, Davis and Smith Jr. for one spot. At this point, I think I would give the nod to Ramirez but it's not a sure thing by any means.

85bluejay - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 01:13 PM EDT (#363526) #

I think if Ramirez & Romano are not protected there's an excellent chance of both getting selected in rule V draft and sticking with the new teams who are likely to be rebuilding.

A non-prospect whom I think may get a Sept. audition if he has a good August is Lefty Jose Fernandez - he's had a good run in Buffalo, lowering his walks and vastly increasing his GO/AO ratio - with the terrible jays pen and a need for LHP in the pen next year, I think the Jays may want to see what they have and if he deserves a winter roster spot. I definitely hope we get some consolidation trades before the 40 man roster is set.

PeterG - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 01:22 PM EDT (#363527) #

Jays can't protect eveyone so consolidation trades do seem like a good idea. A 3 for 1 deal might make sense or including a prospect with Pillar for a starting pitcher if possible.

SK in NJ - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 01:32 PM EDT (#363528) #

Alford and McKinney will likely both start in AAA next season (and are already on the 40-man). Pompey is out of options so either the Jays like him enough to give him a shot at a 4th OF spot or they move him. As mentioned, it comes down to who the team wants to keep between Ramirez, DSJ, and Davis. I don't think we have to worry about Wall, who is striking out about 40% of his plate appearances in AA since the trade. No team is taking him.

Marc Hulet - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 03:00 PM EDT (#363530) #

It's Perez's second start in the system and the coaches are likely working to tweak his delivery in an effort to throw more strikes... the walk total in this game early on could have been a byproduct of that as he works to create muscle memory.

85bluejay - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 03:26 PM EDT (#363531) #

Kudos to you Marc about Tony Kemp who has had a productive season for the Astros - would have been a good get for the jays - how do you think Christopher Bostick whom the Pirates Designated compares?

Spifficus - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 03:29 PM EDT (#363532) #

Along the same lines, Marc, I'll be looking more at Perez next year after they've had some time to work with him this year as well as a full spring in the system.

PeterG - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 03:50 PM EDT (#363534) #

Yes, it is far too early to make any evaluations on Perez. He does seem to have an electric arm though, so it's just a matter of harnessing that potential.

ComebyDeanChance - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 05:04 PM EDT (#363541) #

I thought the biggest story today was Nick Cafardo's about Ben Cherington being open to a move. That would be a big hit to the player development group.

Shoeless Joe - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 05:21 PM EDT (#363543) #

I read the article in the globe, but I didn't get the impression he is a flight risk. Of course if somebody asks do you think you'll leave if you get offered a promotion hes going to say yeah I would look it over.

dan gordon - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 05:30 PM EDT (#363544) #

I'm beginning to think they need to put H.Ramirez back on the 40 man. He's showing that he's not just a batting average guy, with 4 HR's in the last 9 games bringing him to 10 on the year, with 30 doubles (365 AB's). He also has stolen 3 bases in that span to bring him to 12 for 14 in stolen base attempts. A season slash line of .321/.372/.485/.857 in AA at age 23 is pretty impressive, particularly when you consider he started the season 14 for 62. Hitting .340 since then.

Shoeless Joe - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 05:34 PM EDT (#363545) #

I would be curious to see him jump AAA and see how he performs in a major league trial, especially while he is hot.

dan gordon - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 05:43 PM EDT (#363546) #

Sure, why not. Ramirez has been in AA for 3 years now. He's hitting righties, lefties, at home, on the road. His OPS this season by month: .599, .782, .823, .994, 1.309.

hypobole - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 07:00 PM EDT (#363547) #

Shoeless Joe - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 07:03 PM EDT (#363548) #

I would be curious to see how that groundball rate has trended as the season progressed.

Marc Hulet - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 07:50 PM EDT (#363550) #

Interestingly enough (well to me) the Bostick page at FanGraphs still has a link to an article I wrote about him in 2014... back when he looked like a potential 15/15 guy... He's stopped hitting homers and stealing bases so he's another one-tool guy (and he doesn't walk a ton). There are worse back-ups in the majors but his potential impact is probably limited at this point. And the fact he's playing more outfield and less infield would make him less interesting to the Jays...

hypobole - Thursday, August 09 2018 @ 08:56 PM EDT (#363553) #

HR #2 for Vlad

Glevin - Friday, August 10 2018 @ 05:25 AM EDT (#363557) #

Ramirez is really coming on. I can see a Melky Cabrera kind of career as a ceiling but I like him now more than Smith who has never really hit in the minors and is almost 26 (and has similar defensive profile to Ramirez). Interested to see what Pannone does. He's not exciting, but you need these kinds of pieces as well. I don't expect the Jays to fix Perez in a second. It might not ever happen but it will take some work if it does. Still, you can't teach stuff and I'll take that over someone like Logue (better numbers, stuff that likely won't cut it at higher levels) anyday.

ComebyDeanChance - Friday, August 10 2018 @ 08:57 AM EDT (#363562) #

Pannone was. a much more interesting prospect to me before it was revealed he was using PED's. T-bol made a huge difference to Colabello's performance, for example, and I'm skeptical of Pannone's ability playing clean. HIs 2018 numbers are pretty ugly - 10 home runs in 50 innings. I have the feeling that he's now someone on the cusp of the independent leagues, which may explain his call-up. His next step may be a release.

SK in NJ - Friday, August 10 2018 @ 10:00 AM EDT (#363564) #

The key for Ramirez is whether his power surge (by his standards) is real. He is repeating AA for the third time (despite only being 23, soon to be 24) so we really need to see how he does in AAA. His current performance is definitely noteworthy, though. Some times all a player needs is a little adjustment and things change for the better. If whatever he did to get more fly balls (which has translated to more HR/XBH) is sustainable, then he becomes a lot more interesting. The downside is if he's not good defensively then it really limits his ceiling and puts more pressure on his bat.

ComebyDeanChance - Friday, August 10 2018 @ 11:08 AM EDT (#363565) #

Ramirez' resurgence could make him attractive as a second part of a trade for a higher level outfielder and/or pitcher. The farm systems of the Jays and Astros continue to match up well in this regard, with the latter heavy on pitching and outfielders and light on infielders. Something along the lines of Cavan Biggio and Ramirez for Yordan Alvarez and a pitcher.

cybercavalier - Friday, August 10 2018 @ 04:05 PM EDT (#363568) #

Just noticed Ramirez had a 56% ground ball rate last year. For context, only 4 of 156 qualified MLB players this year have a rate that high.
He's cut it to 46% this season, still above average, but a fairly hefty improvement. The key for Ramirez is whether his power surge (by his standards) is real. He is repeating AA for the third time (despite only being 23, soon to be 24) so we really need to see how he does in AAA. His current performance is definitely noteworthy, though. Some times all a player needs is a little adjustment and things change for the better. If whatever he did to get more fly balls (which has translated to more HR/XBH) is sustainable, then he becomes a lot more interesting. The downside is if he's not good defensively then it really limits his ceiling and puts more pressure on his bat.

Does giving Ramirez more PAs help his improvement away from hitting groundballs? It seems to be. Ngoepe and Fields are struggling in hitting. Can promoting Ramirez to Buffalo and either one of the latter group going to New Hamsphire help Ramirez? Sweeney can switch from OF to IF...

cybercavalier - Friday, August 10 2018 @ 04:10 PM EDT (#363569) #

Something along the lines of Cavan Biggio and Ramirez for Yordan Alvarez and a pitcher.
If sending the son of Craig to Astros means more than just a trade of prospects, Bo Bichette's elder brother Dante Jr. aged 25 and soon 26 is playing in an independent league. Seeing the Jays signing Cumpton and Stewart, maybe the Jays shall keep an eye on Dante Jr.?

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