A lot of pitching injuries and nonperformance early this season.

Injuries: Borucki & Zeuch are taking a long time to recover. If/when they recover they can add innings as Sept call ups.

Poor performance to date SRF and H Perez. I don't know why. Not injury related I hope. Actually I expected Perez to struggle this year in AA, because it is a big jump.

So there is a point in loading up with potential ML players. Dumpster diving. Painful.

Neither Lopez nor Kirk were the typical July 4th IFA signings. Lopez was signed on that date in 2016, but was 17, not the usual 16. Kirk was a September 2016 sign, just about to turn 18.

The top IFA's usually have deal in place at age 15, sometimes even 14. This is one reason why bonuses often don't line up with rankings - some players improve far more than others between agreements and signings.

But other's jump up from non-prospects to prospects after age 16, hence the later signings. The point of all this is the IFA money the Jays have (and most teams don't) to use before mid-June will in all likelihood be used and I'm certain the Jays are targeting other potential Lopez/Kirk's.

I hope they do, hypobole.  Needless to say!

Excellent point Hypobole.

NYY Gary Sanchez ... big bonus. L Severino $200K.

Extended ST should have a few good prospects. Gabe Moreno. I hope RHP William Gaston shows up soon.

I did not know that Otto Lopez is a dual Canadian/Dominican citizen.  His family moved to Montreal when he was 12.  If he has a really good year in 2019, I can imagine that the club might bring him to Montreal for the exhibition games in 2020 with Vlad Jr.   That would be fun. 

Lopez is one of the prospects that I would really like to see this management team make a decision as to what his best position is and then leave him there for a while. Ultimately, I think it will be either 2B or LF. I really don't think he has the arm or the defensive chops for SS or 3B.

Nigel says: "Lopez is one of the prospects that I would really like to see this management team make a decision as to what his best position is and then leave him there for a while. Ultimately, I think it will be either 2B or LF. I really don't think he has the arm or the defensive chops for SS or 3B."

It's an interesting, and good question. My two bits...

Otto Lopez is 20, R/R 5'10" 160 pounds. His 2019 stats in 32 AB's are 344/488/500/988 he has 5 SB and 2 CS. His career stats in 418 AB's are 297/386/423/809 and he has 26 SB and 11 CS. Very nice and trending in the right direction.

However, to me at 20 he is as tall as he's going to get. At 5'10" 160 pounds he's never going to be near 200 pounds unless the extra weight ends up slowing him down a lot. His stolen bases are not good if speed is considered a + tool.

To me he's a AAAA guy at best in his prime. Best now to get him as versatile as possible so he can at least be able to contribute with the glove and get a call up or two as injuries to regulars give him opportunities.

I think when we see management wanting to try a guy in 28 different positions it's usually because - like Lopez - the guy is just not big league, full time regular material.

I'm not worried about Lopez' size. Jose Altuve is 5'6" and 165, Ozzie Albies is 5'8" and 165, Jose Ramirez is 5'9" and 165, Dustin Pedroia is 5'9" and 175, Mookie Betts is 5'9" and 180, Andrew Benintendi is 5'10" and 170. Size is nice, but it's not a limiting factor in baseball. Look at the results the player is getting. Plus, Lopez probably fills out a little and adds some power over the next few years.

I feel sorry for Rusney Castillo, the Red Sox are never going to call him up because of the Luxury tax implications and they don't seem willing to release him because he may sign with a rival - so he's stuck in purgatory until the end of 2020 - it must be extremely depressing and mind numbing.

Rusney "Gurriel's Upside" Castillo

Meh, I'm not against playing Lopez around the diamond. Cody Bellinger came up mostly as 1B, but played some CF in the minors which came in handy when they had to make room for Max Muncy last year.

A few under-the-radar types have had nice starts to the season - Reggie Pruit is playing well, although he is repeating at Lansing.  He turns 22 in a few weeks so this is a big season for him to realize his potential - he was always regarded as a raw talent. 

Max Castillo is another guy playing well, and I was shocked to realize that he is still only 19, it feels like he has been in the system for years.
Cullen Large has been mentioned a bit, but he is worth mentioning again due to his hot start in Dunedin.  I seem to have missed his strong offensive season last year - he really does seem to have the offensive upside discussed when he was drafted in the 5th round in 2017.  He flew under my radar a bit due to his disappointing debut in Vancouver. 

Rusney can opt out of his final $13.5 million after this season, per Cot's. We'll find out how depressed he is being in Pawtucket. Best guess: not that depressed.

And my age is probably is showing, but I don't like the new Milb site. Why can't I see a simple boxscore until the game is over?

Large only played 27 games last year before getting injured. That's why he slipped under the radar although he was a fifth round pick.

What is the story on Nick Allgeyer? Good but overage. A lefty SP. Zack Logue?

I noticed Pruitt's improved hitting last night, but then I looked a little closer and saw that he was striking out at a higher rate than last year, walking at a lower rate than last year, and hitting extra base hits at a lower rate than last year. It looks like just a random batting average spike. It wouldn't take much for him to regain prospect status with his speed and defense, but I don't think this is it.

Large didn't hit much in 2017, but last year he had make a big leap forward in his shortened Lansing season, and so far he's been great at Dunedin. Thanks for mentioning him, I hadn't really noticed.

Allgeyer after 3 games: 15 2/3 IP, 1.15 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 1 BB, 17 K. Outstanding, and that's skipping a level, going from Vancouver to Dunedin.

I mentioned him a few days ago as a guy the Jays may have gotten as a bit of a steal in the 12th round due to his TJ surgery in 2016 that cost him the 2017 season, and he pitched in relief in 2018 in college. He throws fastball, slider change and curve, but not sure what his velocity is like post-TJ.

From BA a year ago

"There’s nothing exceptional about Allgeyer’s stuff—he’s 88-92 mph with a big-breaking slider and even bigger and slower curveball. To top it off he has a potentially average changeup. What helps Allgeyer’s stuff play up is his above-average control and ability to mess with hitters’ timing by varying his speed to the plate."

A little less excited because his stuff seems too marginal to be front of rotation material but still looking like a real prospect now for sure.

Allgeyer: I should not have called him overage. Skipped a level and doing great. A lefty like B Cecil, not high velocity. Can certainly succeed.