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Minor League Update Berti Cycle, Bichette Blast & Cuevas Gold
#BlueJays affiliates won two of five Tuesday. Lansing and Vancouver had the night off.


Rochester 5 Buffalo 4 (Game 1 - 7 Innings)

The Red Wings scored the go-ahead run in the sixth against Jacob Waguespack who had the complete game loss. Dalton Pompey, Dwight Smith Jr. and Darnell Sweeney all had two hits apiece with Pompey driving in a pair.


Rochester 6 Buffalo 4 (Game 2 - 7 Innings)

Sean Reid-Foley was slammed for five runs in two innings. Gunnar Heidt doubled twice and knocked home a run. Roemon Fields and Alberto Mineo also had two-hit performances.


New Hampshire 8 Portland 4

Jon Berti capped off a four-hit night with a home run to complete the cycle. Bo Bichette homered and had a couple of doubles. Harold Ramirez also went yard and singled. Cavan Biggio had two hits and a walk.

Jon Harris gave up two home runs and three runs overall in five innings but got his 11th win of the season.


Palm Beach 10 Dunedin 2

Maverik Buffo was bombed for seven runs over 4-2/3 innings.

Logan Warmoth doubled and tripled and Rodrigo Orozco had a couple of knocks. Josh Donaldson singled and walked in three plate appearances.


Bluefield 5 Burlington 4

The Bluef-Jays nearly squandered a 5-0 lead in this one. Cal Stevenson was 3-for-5 with two walks and Rafael Lantigua was 0-for-0 with not one, not two, not three, not four but five walks. Jordan Groshans singled and walked.

Adams Cuevas pitched a two-hitter over five shutout innings and struck out six for the win. Brad Wilson was the fourth reliever of the night and locked it down in the ninth for the save.



*** 3 Stars!!! ***

3. Adams Cuevas, Bluefield

2. Bo Bichette, New Hampshire

1. Jon Berti, New Hampshire


Posted by #2JBrumfield on Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 03:22 AM EDT.
Berti Cycle, Bichette Blast & Cuevas Gold | 25 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
scottt - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 09:29 AM EDT (#364491) #
Berti is 28 and playing in AA, tough.
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short - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 09:40 AM EDT (#364492) #
Yeah, he has had concussions the last 3 seasons after being hit in the head in 2015 and 2016 while in the batter's box and then he was run into in 2017 during Spring Training. He has missed significant time and there seemed to be too many players in Buffalo for him to be able to get any playing time.
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jerjapan - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 09:46 AM EDT (#364495) #
Tough night to get on the three stars list - Berti is number one for sure, but Cal Stevenson got on base five times without a mention, and Lantigua's five walks deserves a spot most days too.  I can't recall the last time someone got five walks in a game.  Stevenson is now 20 for 21 stealing bases to go along with his OPS of over 1000.  He's played every position in the OF, more LF than CF, not sure if the team sees him as a CF. 

I feel for Berti - he had his best opportunity at a call-up taken away from him last season due to injuries.  He got a ton of spring training ABs and was getting on base regularly, got injured, and he just couldn't hit AAA pitching when he came off the seven day DL.  Close to 3000 milb ABs without a sniff of the bigs. 
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jerjapan - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 09:55 AM EDT (#364497) #
Or what Short said.
Is Mineo a potential 3rd catcher?  Dan Gordon mentioned him yesterday and got me wondering.   He had just over 500 ABs in his first five seasons before posting a .374 OBP in 349 ABs in high A last year.  we signed him as a minor league FA and he looked good in high A again.  A 24 year old catcher getting his first taste of advanced ball is a longshot, but perhaps being from Italy delayed the guys development.  Then again, Justin Dillon looked awesome in his first taste of AAA and he turned back into a pumpkin quickly. 
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hypobole - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 10:37 AM EDT (#364501) #
Not often the AAA phase of the Rule 5 draft yields anything - Justin Bour of the Marlins is the only guy I know of who did anything noteworthy in the majors.

This past year, we lost Mitch Nay to the Reds (3rd overall) and picked up Drew Muren in the 1st round, Mineo in the 2nd and Ivan Castillo in the 3rd.

Muren pitched 1 inning for NH before being released - guessing due to injury. Both Mineo and Castillo have had pretty good seasons with Dunedin.

Mineo will have to go on the 40 man this offseason though, otherwise he's a FA.
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jerjapan - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 11:42 AM EDT (#364507) #
Good point about FA Hypobole, and I'd forgotten that he was a rule 5 guy.  I'd guess that Mineo might like to be in an org that values him more than the Cubs did.  I'm guessing it comes down to D if the org values him - not being the statistician many here are, I don't know how to read those Clay Davenport stats that (I think?) you posted.
I could see us resigning him without using a 40 man roster spot, if he sees a path forward with the Jays.  With Jansen, McGuire and the resurgent Pentecost ahead of him, he may not.
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hypobole - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 11:52 AM EDT (#364508) #
For the Davenport stats, once you have the Jays org up on the DTS by Org, the far right column Defense has games played,position, + or-.
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bpoz - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 02:17 PM EDT (#364514) #
I expect Lansing to be crowded with catchers next year. A Kirk, H Danner and G Moreno. They are all worthy of full season ball IMO.

I don't know how good the C's catchers are.


I would not be surprised to see A Kirk DHing a lot next year. This year he caught the most games for Bluefield I think. OR Maybe they jump him to Dunedin. Bichette made the jump from the GCL to Lansing. C Biggio from Vancouver to Dunedin without a wow Vancouver season.
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pubster - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 03:01 PM EDT (#364517) #
Stevenson's 60bbs to 20ks is fairly eye-popping. But so are the rest of his numbers.
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pubster - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 03:02 PM EDT (#364518) #
Oh, except for his age. His age is not impressive.
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Gerry - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 03:11 PM EDT (#364519) #
Patrick Murphy is the FSL pitcher of the year. Josh Palacios and Ivan Castillo also made the team.
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hypobole - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 03:24 PM EDT (#364522) #
Patrick Murphy and Cal Stevenson would be the Pitcher and Position Player of the Year for the "Mystery Non-Promotion" awards in the Jays system, with an HM to Ryan Noda.
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hypobole - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 03:55 PM EDT (#364523) #
Eric L at FG with his Daily Prospect Notes:

College seniors are expected to dominate short-season leagues after signing but what Cal Stevenson has done merits some discussion, in part because he played through a hand injury this spring that may have clouded his actual skill. Stevenson has a .513 OBP at Bluefield because he has walked nearly three times more often than he’s struck out. He’s also stolen 21 bags in 22 attempts since signing. These numbers corroborate scouting reports which compliment Stevenson’s plus speed and bat-to-ball skills before noting his likely corner-outfield defensive projection and lack of characteristic power for the position. But let’s keep an eye on this guy because Toronto has a track record of making swing adjustments to bat-first college players that have helped those players become more viable prospects.
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dan gordon - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 04:12 PM EDT (#364524) #
I looked at the notes I made after the June draft, and beside Stevenson, I had written "good on base % guy". No kidding - he has been amazing. I would expect he will skip Vancouver next year and start at Lansing, with a mid-season move to Dunedin if all goes well. His age won't look like an issue if he can do that - he'll be ready for AA in 2020 at age 23. Of course, that's assuming he continues to perform well at the higher levels, which is the big question. I hope he succeeds, I like seeing guys who weren't expected to do much excel like he has.
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Mike Green - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 04:20 PM EDT (#364525) #
Stevenson reminds me a bit of Brett Gardner.   Gardner was a walk-on at the College of Charleston and drafted by the Yankees in the 3rd round.  He hit .284/.377/.376 in the NYPL after being drafted- he turned 22 in August of that year (Stevenson turns 22 in September).  Given the difference in leagues, there is probably not that much difference between what Stevenson achieved and what Gardner did.  Gardner moved up to the FSL the following year, and split the season between the FSL and the EL.  He hit .320 with no power and almost an even W/K in the FSL and then .272/.352/.318 in the EL.  He hit .300 with an even W/K in the EL the following year (age 23) again with little power and moved up to the IL where he played a year.  When he was called up to the Show in the middle of his age 24 season, Gardner was #8 on BA's list of Yankee prospects behind Joba Chamberlain, Austin Jackson, Jose Tabata, Ian Kennedy, Alan Horne, Jesus Montero and Jeff Marquez.  He's turned out to be the best of the lot. 

Stevenson is probably not as gifted in the outfield as Gardner was, and because of draft position, it's not likely that he will get the aggressive promotion that Gardner did. 

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Mike Green - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 04:32 PM EDT (#364526) #
There is some video of Stevenson online.  Like Pedroia, he swings hard.  I wonder what his EVs are like.
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uglyone - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 04:55 PM EDT (#364532) #
"because Toronto has a track record of making swing adjustments to bat-first college players that have helped those players become more viable prospects."

we do?
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scottt - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 05:54 PM EDT (#364545) #
Yeah, I'm a bit puzzled by that as well. Harold Ramirez isn't a college player.
Biggio? I'm drawing a blank here.

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hypobole - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 06:01 PM EDT (#364547) #
Biggio and Smith
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#2JBrumfield - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 06:18 PM EDT (#364551) #
Rob Fai has tweeted that Hisashi Iwakuma will make a rehab start for Everett in the regular season home finale at Nat Bailey Stadium.
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greenfrog - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 07:06 PM EDT (#364555) #
Chavez Young, maybe
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hypobole - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 07:43 PM EDT (#364556) #
Young wasn't a college hitter, though. If I was to guess, it would be Noda.
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greenfrog - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 08:32 PM EDT (#364560) #
Speaking of Noda, he’s 2/2 with a triple and a HR so far today (and an assist from RF).
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ayjackson - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 08:43 PM EDT (#364562) #
Chase De Jong just struck out Vlad in a matchup of two prospects who were traded for each other...kind of.
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dan gordon - Wednesday, August 29 2018 @ 11:36 PM EDT (#364571) #
Hagan Danner is on a nice little run here, 5 for his last 14 with his first 2 HR's of the season and 3 walks. His OPS is now .841 after last year's anemic .445.

Jordan Romano had a very poor performance today, and over his last 6 games, he has pitched 26 innings, allowing 43 hits and 21 earned runs. He was having a great season up until then. In the same game as Romano's 8 runs allowed, Espinal had 3 hits including a HR, Pentecost had 2 hits with a HR, and Bichette had a single, double and 2 walks.
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Berti Cycle, Bichette Blast & Cuevas Gold | 25 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.