I was at the Canadians game yesterday to watch Kloffenstein pitch. He hit 96 and was consistently touching 92 to 93. He had good control of his change-up and it sat at about 85. He motion is pretty fluid and he’s a giant on the mound. Was impressed. Last pitcher to impress me on Vancouver was Osuna. I was also impressed by Matt Smoral back in the day. Clearly I’m no scout.

Thanks, finch.  Glad to hear that the change is a potential weapon.  In light of Kloffenstein's youth, the focus on his fastball and his change is a good thing. 

Here's a recap of Kloffenstein's velos yesterday.

a lot to like about Kloff. still think he was a bit of a steal, given how his stuff lined up against some of the mid 1st round pick SP.

Pearson not taking the mound today, was his turn in the rotation as well. Hopefully just more of his load management.

Hope so. He was talking about how the 2 IP/5 IP split was over once they get to the half too.

It's not listed anywhere but Caracci signed. He has a listing on the newly updated GCL roster today. Not sure how accurate it is but it is the first time it has shown a full roster (and includes Manoah).

Over the years it has been rare for our AAA team to make the playoffs. This year Buffalo has been red hot recently, with a .500 W/L record.

I don't know the playoff qualifying format. It is not explained as far as I could tell.

Fan interest should be high now, if the Buffalo PR tells the population that the team is winning.

Buffalo has won 12 of their last 15 to finally hit the .500 mark on the season. Seems to have been driven by a lot of good relief pitching and the offensive duo of Alford and Brito.

The starting pitching might have improved because it was terrible in April.

The playoff format for the International League is the 3 division  winners plus a wild card.

The Bisons are second in the North Division trailing by 6.5 games.
They are 3 teams ahead of them by 3 or 2.5 games.

Buffalo last won the Governor's cup in 2004 and last made the playoffs in 2005 while a Cleveland affiliate.

Anyone know why Pearson was scratched last night?

-injured?
- sick?
- heading to Buffalo whose scheduled starter for today on IL
-heading to Boston for spot start?

PeterG, you ask,"Anyone know why Pearson was scratched last night?"

Alas, I don't know. However, I do know where, by whom and with what!" Pearson was scratched in the Conservatory, by Professor Plum, with the candlestick.

Fortunately, Kirk wasn't involved in the crime - had he been - I'd have tried to cover it up.

Just sayin'...

Shi Davidi has posted his farm report. The major part discussed Patrick Murphy and how his pitching motion was declared illegal by the umpires association. He is working on a refined delivery but that takes time.

TJ Zeuch has been promoted to Buffalo and will start tonight.

In other news David Paulino is back on the IL.

Also, the Bisons game tonight is on channel 166 on Rogers in the Toronto area.

Pearson on the 7 day IL

https://www.milb.com/milb/news/toronto-blue-jays-nate-pearson-lands-on-double-a-injured-list/c-308372024

Josh Winkowski has been promoted to Dunedin.

Shutout by the Bisons staff on Saturday. Zeuch was terrific in his AAA debut, with 5 2/3 innings of 2-hitter and 4 K's. Zach Jackson had another clean appearance, with 2 K's and Shafer closed it with a clean inning and 2 K's. Double, single and an error for Bo.

Nick Allgeyer's strong season continued with 6 shutout innings for Dunedin. Brad Wilson closed out the game for him with 2 2/3 perfect innings with 4 K's, lowering his ERA to 1.72 and his WHIP to 0.77. The 2nd consecutive season of great numbers for Wilson.

Cuban William Gaston pitched a good game for Vancouver in his 2nd game for the organization.

I'm watching that gif in the Davidi article, and I'm not sure how Murphy doesn't trip over himself.

minor groin strain for Pearson

Nice first start in high A for Josh Winkowski, five shutout innings, two hits. Just one K though.

Bo knows hits too. He's 4-4 with a stolen base this afternoon as the Bisons are cruising again. Cal Stevenson has also reached base 4 times out of the leadoff spot as the D Jay's are also cruising.

I think Cal Stevenson has some hitting ability, but he hits from a really wide stance and hits a lot of groundballs. I am not sure there will be a lot more power in his bat than what he has shown thus far. Nick Podkul also got promoted to Dunedin it seems, who like Stevenson is a rare prospect in the Jays system with strike zone control.

That's a fascinating look at Murphy's delivery, and how it is illegal. An interesting comparison video of Kershaw, who does something very similar, but doesn't actually touch the ground with his foot, so his motion is legal. Good to know there was a specific reason for Murphy's last 2 poor starts, as he had been pitching very well for a while prior to that, and it is no surprise he had a problem trying to pitch with a different delivery. Makes sense that they decided after that to keep him out of games while he learns to pitch without the toe tap.

I just had a look at a video of Stevenson hitting, Not sure exactly when it was filmed, but his stance didn't look all that wide to me. Maybe a bit wider than average, but he has a good stride into the ball with his lead foot, and good hip rotation to generate some power. He's on a pace this year for about 10 HR's per 550 AB's in pretty tough league for HR's. He's now 9 for his last 13 - nice little hot streak.

It's nice seeing a lot of hitters with a good eye in the system right now. Even though their success really come down to their overall hit tool, I think the combination of a good eye and plate discipline is one of the hardest things you can teach. Whenever a high prospect hitter has question marks, it's their ability to lay off the ball that determines whether or not they ultimately become successful.

We have had some players that have had both this year: Stevenson, Kirk, Adams, Moreno, Groshans, Lopez, Podkul, Wall. And certainly a good number more than that who have a good eye yet can't lay off sometimes - Noda, Large, Lundquist.

Pardinho is scheduled to pitch tomorrow.

I know I've been bringing him up a decent amount but glad to see Rivera with 4 BB today. That's 6 BB to 1 K. Keep it up!

The GCL is warming up for their 1st game. They finally posed a full/big roster. Nick Neal is listed as a pitcher on the 60 day IL.

Julian Merryweather has started in the GCL and pitched two innings so far. Javier D'Orazio was the best hitter in the DSL and now is in the GCL.

Cullen Large is also playing on rehab, he hurt his shoulder a few weeks ago.

just gonna do my update before the short seasons get into full swing:


AAA

1B Guerrero (20): 34pa, 11.8b%/5.9k%, .320bip/.367avg, .333iso, 186wrc+
2B Biggio (24): 174pa, 19.5b%/16.1k%, .352bip/.312avg, .203iso, 152wrc+
SS Bichette (21): 101pa, 6.9b%/18.8k%, .329bip/.286avg, .198iso, 107wrc+
IF Gurriel (25): 130pa, 2.3b%/17.7k%, .309bip/.276avg, .203iso, 95wrc+
OF Teoscar (26): 83pa, 7.2b%/25.3k%, .280bip/.253avg, .227iso, 93wrc+
CF Alford (24): 257pa, 10.1b%/29.6k%, .363bip/.256avg, .150iso, 92wrc+
OF McKinney (24): 90pa, 13.3b%/15.6k%, .230bip/.211avg, .184iso, 83wrc+
C McGuire (24): 194pa, 9.3b%/17.0k%, .283bip/.241avg, .106iso, 68wrc+
3B Urena (23): 168pa, 3.0b%/25.6k%, .333bip/.261avg, .127iso, 65wrc+

SP Zeuch (23): 5.2ip, 20.0k%/5.0b%, .133bip, 0.00era, 2.73fip, 3.73xfip
SP Paulino (25): 28.2ip, 21.4k%/8.7b%, .333bip, 3.45era, 4.00fip, 4.96xfip
SP Waguespack (25): 49.0ip, 21.8k%/10.0b%, .329bip, 5.51era, 5.24fip, 4.86xfip
SP R-Foley (23): 69.0ip, 24.5k%/16.2b%, .267bip, 5.87era, 5.37fip, 5.28xfip
SP Sopko (24): 31.1ip, 15.3k%/10.4b%, .281bip, 6.61era, 7.57fip, 6.67xfip


Bo continues to show his first ~10gms of the year were an abberration, as he's been torrid since, even before the injury. Another month of this and he'll be in line for a callup. Alford is hitting enough now that we can start hoping on him at least as a bench OF again, and maybe more. McGurie and Urena have been improving a bit, but still well below where they need to be to make us hope for legit quality bench pieces at the MLB level - I was hoping that both would at least be around league average in AAA this year, but not so far.

Zeuch with a very nice debut at his age appropriate level. If he can keep it up then he just continues on his solid age-appropriate progression to the bigs that he's been on all along. Of the other guys, only Paulino is showing anything interesting so far.


AA

OF Wall (23): 285pa, 10.9b%/20.0k%, .346bip/.277avg, .157iso, 137wrc+
OF Palacios (23): 121pa, 12.4b%/17.4k%, .278bip/.238avg, .129iso, 114wrc+
OF Lundqvist (23): 227pa, 11.9b%/25.1k%, .345bip/.253avg, .111iso, 114wrc+
C Adams (23): 156pa, 5.1b%/34.6k%, .376bip/.248avg, .135iso, 106wrc+
IF Capra (22): 232pa, 7.8b%/13.8k%, .299bip/.261avg, .092iso, 100wrc+
SS Smith (22): 258pa, 6.6b%/30.6k%, .219bip/.169avg, .153iso, 62wrc+

SP Pearson (22): 26.2ip, 31.0k%/5.0b%, .290bip, 2.70era, 1.97fip, 2.41xfip
SP Logue (23): 77.1ip, 18.1k%/5.9b%, .276bip, 3.14era, 3.87fip, 3.89xfip
SP Diaz (22): 79.2ip, 19.2k%/9.3b%, .257bip, 3.63era, 3.90fip, 4.21xfip
SP Perez (23): 70.2ip, 22.2k%/11.7b%, .381bip, 5.35era, 4.08fip, 3.94xfip

The trio of slightly overaged OF are all doing just enough to be interesting, but nothing spectacular. Still, i'd like to see all three in AAA this year to see if they can do anything at their age appropriate level. Adams unfortunately is showing that he was just benefitting from being a couple years old for A+ to start the year - he's been able to just keep his head above water thanks to high babip, but nothing really looks good in that line. Capra continues to just hold my interest, but Smith has taken another dive down since a bit of a resurgence. He's got a long way to go the rest of the year to keep his prospect shine.

Hopefully Pearson gets healthy quick. The other 3 guys have all been solid, really - though Diaz is the only one that really looks good on because he's only 22.


A+

C Kirk (20): 114pa, 14.0b%/14.0k%, .370bip/.309avg, .124iso, 155wrc+
OF Stevenson (22): 264pa, 11.7b%/13.6k%, .304bip/.270avg, .104iso, 120wrc+
SS Vicuna (21): 261pa, 7.7b%/19.2k%, .306bip/.246avg, .078iso, 93wrc+
OF Young (21): 224pa, 6.3b%/25.4k%, .289bip/.228avg, .129iso, 91wrc+
2B Taylor (20): 186pa, 12.4b%/25.8k%, .266bip/.192avg, .096iso, 84wrc+

SP Pearson (22): 21.0ip, 46.7k%/4.0b%, .229bip, 0.86era, 1.71fip, 1.18xfip
SP Murray (22): 41.1ip, 28.5k%/7.9b%, .280bip, 1.74era, 3.14fip, 3.23xfip
SP Castillo (20): 68.2ip, 19.8k%/4.8b%, .287bip, 2.62era, 2.99fip, 3.57xfip
SP Winckowski (21): 5.0ip, 5.6k%/5.6b%, .125bip, 0.00era, 3.58fip, 5.14xfip

Kirk's insane hot start has cooled off, but he's still hitting great, especially for a catcher, and an underaged one at that. The one thing to keep an eye on here imo is that his power has dipped since the promotion. I just put Stevenson on this list because his performance has now moved far enough above average that it counteracts his age - he's now putting himself in line for a deserved midseason promotion and it'll be interesting to see what he can do in AA this year at 22. the only thing missing right now for him is power. Vicuna is doing just enough to stay relevant if his defense is good. Young's rebound has slowed down a bit but he's still tracking up and i'm guessing he ends the year with good numbers again - and a full season in A+ at age 21 is just fine. Taylor is scuffling but he's young for the level.

Murray continues to look good and I hope to see him bumped up at some point. Castillo continues to look great, but there's no real rush here so i'd keep him down. Nice debut for Winckowski at his age appropriate level.


A

OF Conine (21): 94pa, 10.6b%/34.0k%, .489bip/.337avg, .325iso, 204wrc+
C Kirk (20): 96pa, 18.8b%/8.3k%, .299bip/.299avg, .221iso, 172wrc+
3B Groshans (19): 96pa, 13.5b%/21.9k%, .433bip/.337avg, .145iso, 166wrc+
C Moreno (19): 102pa, 8.8b%/8.8k%, .280bip/.299avg, .218iso, 157wrc+
IF Lopez (20): 217pa, 9.7b%/15.2k%, .358bip/.313avg, .104iso, 131wrc+
C Gold (21): 219pa, 6.8b%/19.2k%, .307bip/.251avg, .144iso, 109wrc+
C Danner (20): 193pa, 6.2b%/32.1k%, .206bip/.177avg, .229iso, 80wrc+

SP Winkowski (21): 73.2ip, 23.7k%/8.7b%, .299bip, 2.32era, 3.25fip, 3.36xfip


Conine is turning into a fascinating prospect - both his babip and iso are indications of his massive power, but it's coming at the expense of way too many strikeouts. It'll be interesting to see if a) there's any chance his approach works and the power makes up for the whiffs, or b) if he adjusts his approach to cut down on both. Moreno continues to look great, with a ton of power and no whiffs, and a good amount patience and contact. This kid is good. Otto continues to move on up as the year goes on....his power is still lagging but everything else is looking good. Don't see much in Gold or Danner still, tbh.

Any word on Groshans anyone?

Youngest players on the GCL active roster, by DOB:

Javier D'Orazio, C, Dec 2001
Orelvis Martinez, SS, Nov 2001
Alexis Carmona, P, Mar 2001
Geyber Jimenez, C, Jan 2001
Erickvi Celedonio, OF, Dec 2000

Groshans is still recovering from a stress reaction in his foot. No timetable for return as far as I know.

D'Orazio has two hits already today. Here is the BA report from this spring:

Javier D'Orzario is a 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher the Blue Jays signed from Alexi Quiroz on July 2. He has a lean build (6-foot-1, 170 pounds) that's starting to fill out and a lot of intangibles that scouts and managers love to have in a catcher. He's a smart player who has picked up English quickly, projecting to stick behind the plate with potentially average defense and a solid-average arm. He has a simple swing from the right side with a line-drive approach and doubles power.

2080 ball has a report on the FSL, including Alejandro Kirk. Here is part of the Kirk report:

Listed at 5-foot-9 and 220 pounds, he’s significantly heavier than that and will need to get in better shape before reaching the big leagues. Kirk has tools on both sides of the ball but is hindered by his current physique, struggling to get low in the squat at catcher and keeping his hands inside at the plate. Natural feel to hit is his best attribute, with a mature sense of the zone and advanced contact skills. His bat isn’t the fastest, but it’s a loose stroke that keeps the barrel in the zone a long time and squares up an above-average rate of line drives. Despite his shorter stature, Kirk’s strength and quality of contact project for some game power if he can start to lift the ball more. Defensively, his hands receive fairly well at catcher, showing surprising blocking ability and lateral quickness given his hefty frame. Kirk throws well—drawing average to solid-average grades from scouts—so his ability to stick at the position will come down to simply getting in better shape and setting quieter targets.

Despite falling into the “bad body” category, it’s hard to write off Kirk as a prospect given his hitting ability and chance to stick at a premium position. The Blue Jays are high on his instincts and polish, things he has continued to show by consistently performing against older competition throughout the low minors. The ingredients are here to develop into a low-end regular or solid role player/spot-starter if Kirk gets his body in check and keeps developing defensively. His bat at catcher is interesting, though he’ll lose significant value if he moves off the position and down the defensive spectrum to 1B.

Here is the link to that report.

Scott, where did you see that Pardhino is scheduled to pitch today. I can't find any mention of it anywhere. Maybe just not looking in the right place.

A bunch of video on Kirk, both at and behind the plate:

https://youtu.be/GWcqTo49qTw

He looks good behind the plate to me. Quick and agile.

When he's hitting you can really see the belly fat that should be the easiest to lose without effecting performance.

It was good to see Large in the line-up so soon, but with only 1 AB I wonder if he was dealing with more soreness than expected. With De Paula, I assume they've been working on mechanical changes.

Glad to see the challenge with D'Orazio. Interested to see how Adrian Hernandez, Santos Moreno, and Jhon Solarte do.

There certainly seems to be a lot of promising catching at the lower levels.

rounds 11-49 signed players bonus money
https://www.mlb.com/draft/tracker/all/team/bluejays

11R Neal, Nick $125.00k
12R Ryan, Sam $125.00k
13R Schwecke, Trevor $125.00k
14R Rivera, Eric $125.00k
15R Dominguez, Michael $197.50k
16R Lebron, Jackxarel $125.00k
17R DiCesare, Jared $ 50.00k
20R Robbins, Jimmy $125.00k
21R Caracci, Parker $100.00k
22R Fraze, Nick $ 80.00k
23R Tolhurst, Anders $125.00k
24R Horwitz, Spencer $100.00k
28R Ponce, Gabriel $ 75.00k
31R Sanderson, Blake $ 1.00k
34R Quinones, Luis $ 50.00k
36R Bradley, Scotty $ 5.00k
37R McInvale, Andrew $ 90.00k
38R Sloniger, Ryan $ 1.00k