1 Blue Jays Way

Interview Excerpts: Fisher Cats RHP Tyson Brummett

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Sat, 25 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Recently our pal Jay Floyd of PhoulBallz.com chatted with New Hampshire Fisher Cats hurler Tyson Brummett. Claimed off waiver by the Blue Jays from the Phillies organization last off-season, the 28-year-old was a veteran addition to the system, but hasn't had much luck this season. Through 10 outings with the Double-A Fisher Cats, Brummett has a 0-3 record with a 5.59 ERA.

Here are some highlights from Jay's interview with Tyson...

On the differences between the Toronto and Philadelphia organizations-

There's always a lot of differences. I was in that organization for a long time. I grew up with a lot of those guys, you know, roommates and people like that, coming up through the ranks. This is my first time in a different organization, obviously there are new people, new faces. At the end of the day, it's still baseball. You've gotta go out there and perform and do all those fun things on the field.

On pitching against the Phils' Double-A team in Reading and putting forth his best effort of the season, with six shut out innings-

I mean it's always...you get up to face your old organization. I know there's guys that jump around and have played for three or four different organizations. I think there's that kind of connection there. They know you and you know them and things like that, but you always want to go out and put on a show for the team that you used to be with and obviously the team that you're with against your old team. Kind of like giving a message like, "Hey, I can still help a team win."

On who has been the biggest help to him with the Blue Jays-

I mean, honestly, there's a lot of veteran guys both here, in Double-A and at Triple-A. I think I probably learned the most, it was my first big league (spring training) this year, I had a lot of guys that I played with and Northwoods League and collegiate leagues. Once you've played this game and you move around, it's hard to not run into somebody you've played and vice versa. It's just really good communication over here. Lots of friends. They went out this year and picked up a lot of veteran guys, so it's a lot of guys that have been all over the place, so you feel like you have an instant connection with them, 'cause they're kind of in the same boat you are. I think overall it's pretty welcoming.

To read the full interview with Tyson, including details on his time playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, click here.

1BJW Interview: Fisher Cats Manager Gary Allenson

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Former big league catcher Gary Allenson has a career in professional baseball that dates back to 1976 when he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox. In a big league career that included six years with the Red Sox and a small stint in 1985 with the Blue Jays, Allenson batted .221 with 19 home runs and 131 RBI in 416 games.

Since his playing career ended, Allenson has managed in the minors for the Yankees, the Rangers, the Orioles, the Brewers and the Astros. Additionally, the 58-year-old has served as a coach in the big leagues with the Orioles and Red Sox.

Currently the manager of the Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire, Gary sat down with minor league insider Jay Floyd last week to chat about his transition into coaching, his time playing in the big leagues, his Fisher Cats players and plenty more. Check out the media player below to hear the full interview.

Press Release: NH Coach Adopts Dog at Ballpark

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Via a press release from the Trenton Thunder, Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees-

(TRENTON, NJ) - Some dogs "roll over", some can "shake hands" and others "speak", but you can bet that newly adopted "Dee Dee's" favorite trick will be fetching baseballs.

Pitching coach Tom Signore of the visiting New Hampshire Fisher Cats has adopted "Dee Dee", a year old Yorkshire Terrior, who was featured at ARM & HAMMER Park as the Trenton Thunder and Northstar VETS "Dog of the Day" on Thursday, May 9. The adoption paperwork with Res-Q-Pets of Trenton was finalized today and "Dee Dee" will be making her first baseball road trip after the game as she rides the team bus back to New Hampshire. Tom said he's considering re-naming his new puppy "Thunder".

At all 71 Thunder home games, a different "Dog of the Day" is paraded around the field in front of the crowd and a description of the potential pet is read over the public address system. Fans are invited to "meet" the dog in person or to pick up a flyer at the NJM Fan Services Center on the concourse. After the game, the dog's picture is posted on the "Dog of the Day" photo gallery accessed through the team's facebook page.

The NorthStar VETS "Dog of the Day" program, now in its seventh season, has helped hundreds of dogs find homes with Thunder fans and staff members over the years but this is the first time a member of one of the teams has adopted.

New Hampshire won two of four contests at Trenton's Arm & Hammer Park over the weekend.

An Interview with THE Sleeper Prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays Organization

noreply@blogger.com (The Man With The Golden Arm) — Sun, 12 May 2013 03:35:00 +0000

OF Prospect Kevin Pillar

We love cheering for guys like this.

A guy who spent a full 4 years in a division II college. A guy who was drafted in 2011 in the 32nd round, 979th overall.

Generally guys drafted this low either sign immediately for peanuts and start in short season ball or don't sign at all.

In 2011 in the Appalachian League with the Bluefield Bluejays he won the batting title with a .347 average in 236 at bats.

In 2012 in the Midwest League he won the MVP award despite only playing 85 of a possible 137 games with the Lansing Lugnuts. He was also chosen one of only six to represent the Blue Jays organization in the Arizona Fall League and worked his way off the taxi roster and into in the lead off spot.

He got some love on the early 2013 season prospects lists.

This year he made the jump to the Eastern League with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and he has a .331/.380/.470 slash line in 151 at bats, which is pretty damn close to his career numbers since starting in pro ball, which are .331/.376/.470. At 24 he is no longer considered old for his level.

All this accomplished and many scouts still doubt his ability to make an impact in the Major Leagues.

BP on Kevin Pillar "super grinder; fringy prospect who will profile as a backup at the absolute best"
— Clint(@StivBators) May 6, 2013

And you know what? They might be right.

We would argue he has the best hit tool in the entire system, has great wheels - he grabbed 51 bags in 60 attempts last year - and can play all three OF positions.

Even if all he ended up being is a fourth OF or a chip in a trade someday, everyone should be talking about this guy more. Or at the very least, know his name.

Below is an interview our boy Jay Floyd of PhoulBallz.com & other fine media outlets did a few days back with Kevin Pillar. In it they discuss why he plays the game with a chip on his shoulder, gives a scouting report of himself and what his mentality is depending on where he hits in the order.

Click here for his complete stats.

RHP Deck McGuire Video Footage

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:18:00 +0000

Righty pitching prospect Deck McGuire picked up his second win of the season for Double-A New Hampshire on Thursday night against the Trenton Thunder (Yankees affiliate). The Blue Jays' 1st round draft choice from 2010 allowed two earned runs while striking out two and walking three batters in five innings.

The victory took McGuire's record to 2-3 on the year. He also sports a 5.11 ERA and a .246 batting average against.

Check out the media player below to see footage of the 23-year-old McGuire warming up in the bullpen, striking out Trenton's J.R. Murphy looking and getting Ali Castillo to ground into a fielders choice.

RHP Marcus Walden Video Footage

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Sun, 05 May 2013 05:20:00 +0000

Double-A New Hampshire righty hurler Marcus Walden has been a bit of a surprise performer thus far in the 2013 season. A 9th round draft pick of the Blue Jays in 2007, Walden has posted a 1-3 record with a 2.97 ERA while striking out 15 and walking eight in 33 1/3 innings pitched through six starts for the Fisher Cats.

The California native, who stands six feet tall and weighs 190 pounds, entered this season with a 26-18 record along with a 3.62 ERA in five pro seasons, having missed all of 2010 due to an injury. Additionally, Walden, who is 24-years-old, is armed with a sinker, a cutter, a slider and a change up.

This past week, I shot some video of Walden. The below clip features some pregame bullpen footage, a strike out of Trenton's Reegie Corona and a single surrendered to Thunder designated hitter Tyler Austin.

Challenge Completed

noreply@blogger.com (The Man With The Golden Arm) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 05:47:00 +0000

First off, let me apologize to all the contestants of this year’s 25 Man Roster Challenge for the delay on revealing the winner. I guess I could try to give you all some cheese dick reason why it happened this way but I just don’t want to do that. In my defense, I attended the Blue Jays home opener, the Buffalo Bisons home opener and the epic Fuck Farrell Friday bonanza this week so free time was at a premium. Two openers in two different countries was a pretty special opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up. Mix in some recovery time between games and the attention that this post deserves wasn’t available until now.

The Blue Jays opening day roster in 2013 contained a few wrinkles to say the least. Most notably the absence of Brett Lawrie due to a freak WBC injury and Ricky Romero’s epic melt down that resulted in him being held back in Dunedin to fix his "mechanics".

These developments made for another interesting roster challenge this year but in the end, the winner came from the ballot that was most selected AKA The Favorite. 23 out of a possible 25 was a good enough score to take the crown this year and as expected the tie breaker - the Blue Jays spring training record - factored into determining a sole winner.

Here is where it got interesting. Actually, it got very interesting.

Tiebreakers chosen by the nine contestants that needed tiebreaking were as follows.

Action Jackson: 22-10

@gregorMLB: 18-14

@gideonturk: 17-15

@AndyMc9293: 16-16

@swannsky: 15-17

Team Fightin’ Clints: 14-16

Mr. Defending Champion Sir: 14-18

@trodge: 12-18

@AHume92: 12-20

Blue Jays spring training record: 16-17-1

So yeah, no one nailed the tiebreaker dead on. To further complicate things there was a pesky tie mixed in. Even more annoying than that, the Blue Jays played 34 spring games and most of the contestants but not all chose a win/loss total based on a 32 game record.

What to do? What is the most fair thing to do in this situation?

My initial reaction was to go by wins. After discussing it with a few people – people both involved in the roster challenge and neutral third party observer types - that was quickly discarded. If the only thing that mattered was the win total, we would have only asked you to guess how many wins the Blue Jays would have this spring. No, losses needed to be validated and factored into this equation.

The next thought that wasn’t immediately rejected was winning percentage and the more we all talked about it, the more it made complete sense. Most importantly we felt it was the fairest way to determine a winner. Once we decided to run with this idea a few things that we naturally didn’t consider presented themselves.

First up, we needed to determine what the Blue Jays actual winning percentage was in spring training.

Courtesy of the always trustworthy WIKI answers

Question: How do you calculate winning percentage with a tie?

Answer: Generally, most organizations count a tie a one half win and one half loss when computing winning percentage. The National Football League is one of the organizations that does this.

So, should a team in the NFL have a record of 5 wins, 4 losses, and 1 tie (5-4-1), their winning percentage would be .550. This is calculated by taking the number of games (10) and dividing into the number of wins (5.5).

Seems legit and makes perfect sense to us. Hey, if it's good enough for the all knowing, all powerful NFL then surely it's worthy.

That means the Blue Jays record for our purposes was 16.5 – 17.5 which works out to a winning percentage of .485 if you go to the traditional third decimal point.

Now let’s re-examine the list of contestants using the same principles and see what their winning percentage is.

Action Jackson: .688

@gregorMLB: .563

@gideonturk: .531

@AndyMc9293: .500

@swannsky: .469

Team Fightin’ Clints: .467

Mr. Defending Champion Sir: .438

@trodge: .400

@AHume92: .375

Even after all this simple math was done, there was still some healthy debate on who actually won the 25 Man Roster Challenge. Do we go Price Is Right style rules and say the closest without going over? Or do we just say fuck it at this point and go with whoever has the closest winning percentage to the Blue Jays actual winning percentage and crown them the champion?

It was decided at the end of the day to say screw you Bob Barker and Drew Carey, we are going with the raw data this time.

@AndyMc9293 was 0.015 over

@swannsky was 0.016 under

So with that, we have our champion.....@AndyMc9293 in what can only be described as a photo finish. Congratulations good sir! We will be in touch shortly to arrange to have the prizes sent to you.

Please note that this formula will be used in future 25 Man Roster Challenges as it is now the gold standard. We hope you can all see why based on the unique set of circumstances that presented themselves this year.

The integrity of the 25 Man Roster Challenge was the ultimate driving force behind any decisions made with respect to the tiebreaker - from this point on to be referred to as the modified tiebreaker - changes.

Thanks again everyone for playing and we hope you can join us again next year! (when our roster is even more stacked)

MLB Betting Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:10:00 +0000

If you are planning on betting on the upcoming MLB (Major League Baseball) season, the most important single tip is to get as much information about it as you can. This means finding out what kind of quality the teams have when it comes to pitchers and hitters, and whether there are issues such as injuries or off-field problems that might have a negative impact. It is also worth looking at statistics, but make sure that they are up to date, because things change regularly in professional sports – due to the simple fact that MLB players, like other athletes, become less effective with age.

It is also well worth looking at the odds when you are making a future bet on the winners of either the American or National Leagues, or the World Series, but these should only be treated as a guide. Current pre-season favourites for the new season include the likes of Nationals, the Dodgers and the Tigers, and it should be borne in mind that teams do not get awarded this favourite status for no good reason – it generally reflects the quality they have in their sides. Of course betting a low odds favourite will not make you as much money should it prove a winning bet, but there will be some variance in odds between sports betting sites – so you should look around for the best odds you can get.

Of course one tip for limiting the risk involved is to wait and see how the MLB season progresses before you make your bet, to see if one of the teams outside of the favourites shows strong form. While you are waiting you have the option of playing a game such as Hot Shot - which is a slots game devoted to baseball – at an online casino like Gaming Club. Hot Shot has five reels and nine pay lines, and the presence of a wild symbol (a fiery baseball) can stand in for other symbols to create winning combinations – which greatly increases your chances of winning a payout. All of the reel icons are baseball related, including players like pitchers and hitters, while the sound effects of crowd noise and bats hitting baseballs really make Hot Shot come alive for any lover of the game and betting.

Gillies Excited to Represent Canada in WBC

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:30:00 +0000

Gillies is Phils' #9 Prospect, Photo- Jay Floyd

Phillies outfield prospect Tyson Gillies is a very skilled player that has had some well documented ups and downs in recent years. Being traded, bouncing back from several injuries and a return from a suspension have induced plenty of emotion from the lefty batter, but an opportunity to play for his home country of Canada in the World Baseball Classic has the Vancouver native more excited about the game than he's been in some time.

"It's always a dream come true to represent your country, doing something you love," Gillies said from Team Canada's training facility this week. "The excitement level has been through the roof for everyone out here in Arizona."

The 24-year-old, who plays with a hearing impairment, has experienced some considerable injury issues since the Phillies acquired him in the 2009 trade that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle. A recurring left hamstring ailment, a troublesome foot problem and a concussion that forced Gillies to miss six weeks of action following a collision in the outfield last year have limited him to 106 games in three seasons in the Phillies organization. Additionally, he was arrested for drug possession in 2010, although those charges were dropped. And last season, Gillies was suspended by the Phillies for violating team rules following a non-physical confrontation with the Double-A Reading Phillies bus driver. The arrest and the bus outburst were quite uncharacteristic for the 6-foot-2 205-pounder, as his behavior is typically on the exemplary side among his peers.

Expected to bat lead-off for Team Canada, Gillies, who was recently ranked as the Phils' 9th best prospect, performed well last year, when he was active, posting a .299/.369/.440 line with nine steals in 75 games during the 2012 regular season.

While the World Baseball Classic got rolling last week, the first round Pool D games, which feature Canada and the United States, will begin on Thursday, with each of the aforementioned clubs seeing their initial 2013 tournament action on Friday.

Armed with a solid bat, great speed and sparkling defense, Gillies feels as though the chase for a world championship is extra special because he's doing it along side some Phillies teammates, including his close friend, righty hurler Scott Mathieson, another Vancouver resident that previously spent time in the big leagues with the Phils, and team manager Ernie Whitt, a Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer that is currently the Phillies' minor league catching coordinator.

"Mathieson, Phillippe Aumont, Jay Johnson, Pete Orr and John Suomi from the Phillies! It's a great bunch of guys and Ernie Whitt has been great also. He is a players' manager and you can't ask for anything better."

Of course, we wish Tyson and all of his teammates the best as they seek to dethrone two-time defending champion Japan.

More details on this year's WBC can be found here. Exclusive quotes from Gillies following last season's suspension can be found here.

Blue Jays Swap Prospect For Phils' Expendable Hurler

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:22:00 +0000

Art Charles- photo by Joe Wombough

With a surplus of righty relievers and one in particular that has been on the outs in recent months, the Phillies made a trade on Saturday, to acquire a power hitting minor league first baseman Art Charles from the Toronto Blue Jays.

In the deal, the Phils sent 27-year-old pitcher Michael Schwimer to Toronto. Schwimer, a 14th round draft choice by the Phillies in 2008 out of the University of Virginia, has a 3-2 record with a 4.62 ERA in 47 big league contests while striking out 52 and walking 23 in 48 2/3 innings pitched.

Charles, a 6-foot-6 225-pounder, was a 20th round draft choice by Toronto out of Bakersfield College in 2010. Last season, splitting time between the Class A Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League and the Rookie level Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League, the California native batted .236 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI in 64 games.

The 22-year-old is likely to begin the 2013 season with Class A Lakewood and could be a serious offensive threat there, in the South Atlantic League.

Schwimer has had a rocky relationship with the Phillies, dating back to last August, when the team demoted him to the minors, while Schwimer insisted he was injured and should have been placed on the disabled list at that time. The variance in pay, which totals tens of thousands of dollars, which Schwimer missed out during that time, is likely something that the Phillies have not heard the last of even after sending the 6-foot-8 240-pounder away to nearby Dunedin, where the Blue Jays hold their spring training.

With a large collection of young right-handed relievers such as Phillippe Aumont, Justin De Fratus, Mike Stutes, B.J. Rosenberg, Tyler Cloyd, Jonathan Pettibone and Ethan Martin in camp, Schwimer became expendable for the Phillies.

The Blue Jays and Phils are scheduled to face off six times over the next five weeks, or so, in spring exhibition contests.

__________

Click here to check out an interview I did with Schwimer during his time with Triple-A Lehigh Valley a couple years back, prior to making his big league debut.

And click here to read last year's prospect review on Schwimer, which had him ranked as the Phils' 13th best prospect at the time.

And We're Off!

noreply@blogger.com (The Man With The Golden Arm) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 03:03:00 +0000

This year the field is jam packed with VIP's including a MLB Fan Cave top 30 finalist, blogger extraordinaire and all around solid guy The Blue Jay Hunter, our defending champion - known in these parts as Mr. Defending Champion Sir - Jason Martinez and the man with his finger directly on the pulse of your Toronto Blue Jays Gregor Chisholm.

A little over a month ago we asked the world one simple question, who will make the opening day roster April 2nd against the Cleveland Indians? In the case of a tie we also asked, what will the Blue Jays spring training record in 2013 be?

As always there is one single ballot that gets chosen more than any other.

The Favorite:

Jose Reyes
Melky Cabrera
Jose Bautista
Edwin Encarnacion
Brett Lawrie
Adam Lind
J.P. Arencibia
Colby Rasmus
Maicer Izturis
Emilio Bonifacio
Rajai Davis
Mark DeRosa
Henry Blanco
R.A. Dickey
Brandon Morrow
Mark Buehrle
Josh Johnson
Ricky Romero
Casey Janssen
Sergio Santos
Darren Oliver
Steve Delabar
Esmil Rogers
Brett Cecil
Jeremy Jeffress

Of the twenty-three ballots submitted nine looked like this. So if this is your Toronto Blue Jays opening day roster and based on almost half of the worthy competitors saying it will be so it seems likely, then whoever is destined to be crowned champion will have to rely on the tiebreaker for their chance at glory. Interestingly (thank God) nobody picked the exact same spring training record which means - cross your fingers - there should be a sole winner. We will list them from most optimistic to not so most optimistic in terms of their tiebreakers.

Action Jackson
22-10

@gregorMLB
18-14

@gideonturk
17-15

@AndyMc9293
16-16

@swannsky
15-17

Team Fightin' Clints
14-16

Mr. Defending Champion Sir
14-18

@trodge
12-18

@AHume92
12-20

The one and only Jimmy Triggs has the same ballot as The Favorite with one little wrinkle in the bullpen which is a great place to be in the 25 Man Roster Challenge.

Team Jimmy Triggs
17-16
Out: Jeremy Jeffress
In: Brad Lincoln

The next most popular ballot to be submitted with five contestants selecting it only has one difference than The Favorite. That player is back up catcher Henry Blanco and his 41 year old knees/no bat/non guaranteed contract. These gritty competitors don't think that he will be coming north with the club in April. Let's take a look at Josh Thole's newest biggest supporters or as we will call it from now until the end of time:

The Josh Thole Camp

Jose Reyes
Melky Cabrera
Jose Bautista
Edwin Encarnacion
Brett Lawrie
Adam Lind
J.P. Arencibia
Colby Rasmus
Maicer Izturis
Emilio Bonifacio
Rajai Davis
Mark DeRosa
Josh Thole
R.A. Dickey
Brandon Morrow
Mark Buehrle
Josh Johnson
Ricky Romero
Casey Janssen
Sergio Santos
Darren Oliver
Steve Delabar
Esmil Rogers
Brett Cecil
Jeremy Jeffress

The Human Rain Delay
20-10

#AprilMeansBaseball
18-14

Jays Are My 2nd Favorite Team AKA my idiot Reds fan friend
18-13

@1BJW
16-16

Team Last Row 500's
12-20

The three next ballots are firmly in The Josh Thole Camp with only one difference in the bullpen.

Team Sweaty Bobandy
20-13
Out: Brett Cecil
In: Brad Lincoln

That would leave only Darren Oliver from the left side coming out of the pen.

@pumpedupjays
13-19
Out: Jeremy Jeffress
In: Brad Lincoln

A straight one for one swap of righthanders.

Fightin' BJ Hunters
18-14
Out: Jeremy Jeffress
In: Aaron Loup

Ian says the Blue Jays decide to go with three lefties out of the pen to start the year. Not a bad idea considering they play a not as lefty heavy hitting lineup as last year yet a still somewhat lefty heavy hitting lineup in the Tribe to open the season.

The next ballot is also in The Josh Thole Camp while having a two player difference, both in the bullpen.

Sudbury Blue Jays
20-12
Out: Jeremy Jeffress
Out: Esmil Rogers
In: Brad Lincoln
In: J.A. Happ

The remaining four ballots are one offs which truly bodes well for the people that selected them if something crazy happens at spring training this year. If a player that everyone picked - think Casey Janssen or Sergio Santos - can't answer the bell,then all bets are off who the favorite really is.

Because a few of them are so ridiculously outrageous they will be listed in their entirety, purely for your enjoyment. We will attempt to highlight the differences.

Ferocious Swans
14-18

Jose Reyes
Melky Cabrera
Jose Bautista
Edwin Encarnacion
Brett Lawrie
Adam Lind
J.P. Arencibia
Colby Rasmus
Maicer Izturis
Emilio Bonifacio
Rajai Davis
Mark DeRosa
Henry Blanco
R.A. Dickey
Brandon Morrow
Mark Buehrle
Ricky Romero
Casey Janssen
Sergio Santos
Darren Oliver
Steve Delabar
Esmil Rogers
Brett Cecil
Jeremy Jeffress
Brad Lincoln

This was the only ballot not to contain the name Josh Johnson. This was also the only ballot to include a brief explanation behind the rational of their thinking. Here is how that conversation went down.

Ferocious Swans: The Johnson omission is an injury, hate to see it but I want the picks to be different.

@1BJW: Love it! Very ballsy. I actually considered the same tactic except with Morrow and his "slow build up" issues he's had in previous camps.

Ferocious Swans: I couldn't decide between Johnson & Morrow actually! I hope we're wrong and they make 33 starts each.

Insightful stuff right there ladies and gentlemen. What we forgot to do was ask if that means Lincoln slides into the rotation or if that means the Blue Jays go with an 8 man pen to start the year. Hard to imagine they'd only break camp with 4 starters and also equally hard to imagine that Lincoln would get the gig before Happ. But hey, you have to take a chance to win at life sometimes.

Team Hotbox
15-15

Jose Reyes
Melky Cabrera
Jose Bautista
Edwin Encarnacion
Brett Lawrie
Adam Lind
J.P. Arencibia
Colby Rasmus
Maicer Izturis
Emilio Bonifacio
Rajai Davis
Josh Thole
Henry Blanco
R.A. Dickey
Brandon Morrow
Mark Buehrle
Josh Johnson
Ricky Romero
Casey Janssen
Sergio Santos
Brad Lincoln
Steve Delabar
Esmil Rogers
Brett Cecil
J.A. Happ

This ballot obviously couldn't decide between Blanco or Thole so.....they just picked them both to make the team. Unconventional for sure but not completely out of the realm of possibility.

ALL IN 2013
23-7

Jose Reyes
Melky Cabrera
Jose Bautista
Edwin Encarnacion
Brett Lawrie
Adam Lind
J.P. Arencibia
Colby Rasmus
Maicer Izturis
Emilio Bonifacio
Henry Blanco
R.A. Dickey
Brandon Morrow
Mark Buehrle
Josh Johnson
Ricky Romero
Casey Janssen
Sergio Santos
Darren Oliver
Steve Delabar
Esmil Rogers
Brett Cecil
J.A. Happ
Aaron Loup
Brad Lincoln
Dustin McGowan
Luis Perez

Speaking of unconventional, how about a two man bench and an eleven man bullpen? Maybe the thinking was the Blue Jays will go with a 6 man rotation with Happ sliding in there and a ten man pen. Maybe there was no thinking at all.

Blue Jay Way a la Carolinas
20-12

Jose Reyes
Melky Cabrera
Jose Bautista
Edwin Encarnacion
Colby Rasmus
Brett Lawrie
Adam Lind
J.P. Arencibia
Emilio Bonifacio
Josh Thole
Maicer Izturis
Moises Sierra
Alex Gonzalez
R.A. Dickey
Josh Johnson
Mark Buehrle
Brandon Morrow
Ricky Romero
Casey Janssen
Steve Delabar
Justin Germano
Jeremy Jeffress
Jair Jurrjens
Esmil Rogers
J.A. Happ

This ballot takes the cake - by a mile - for most creative. No chance it's the winner whatsoever but thanks so much for playing nonetheless.

In Summary:

And with that the 4th Annual 25 Man Roster Challenge is a go for launch. Good luck to all that joined in on the fun this go around, may the best team win!

Less Than One Week To Go.....

noreply@blogger.com (The Man With The Golden Arm) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:16:00 +0000

Not quite sure what hot women in bikinis racing on a horse track has to do with this post at all but someone really smart once told us to know your audience.

Please consider this your first and only friendly reminder that the deadline to get your ballot in for the 4th annual 25 Man Roster Challenge is rapidly approaching.

The rules are ridiculously simple. You must:

1) Submit a team name.

2) Submit a list of 25 players that you think will be on the Opening Day roster.

3) Do this before the deadline which is February 12th at the stroke of midnight.

That is all that stands between you and glory.

Once again the tiebreaker will be your Toronto Blue Jays spring training record. With the WBC going on this year, it adds a certain wrinkle to the thought process on that. All teams will be missing some of their key impact players for a few weeks of games and the Jays are not immune to this. We are thinking that the teams with the best minor league depth at the upper levels will fair best this spring training. Perhaps that should be taken into consideration. Or not.

Rest assured the tiebreaker will come into play again this year so please include it with your ballot. It is not a requirement and your ballot is valid without a tiebreaker but it really is in your best interest to provide one.

For a break down on all the prizes, a bit of strategy that we really don't feel the need to go over again and many more details click here.

If you wish to submit a ballot feel free to provide as much or as little explanation for your selections as you see fit. Please use the comments section on this post or you can send an email to 1bluejaysway(at)gmail.com if you want to keep your ballot private. If you have a blog and want to do up a post about this topic, just fire over the link and we will be sure to include it with your ballot.

Hope you join us and play!

25 Man Roster Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Man With The Golden Arm) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:01:00 +0000

Alright fellow Blue Jays fanatics, we've blown the dust off our desktop keyboard for this special occasion and it's just about time to get down to business. With spring training rapidly approaching, the 4th annual 25 Man Roster Challenge is a go for launch. At first glance this year should be a little easier than in the past due to the fact that our GM decided to kick some ass and get a rock solid team assembled.

But anyone who has competed in previous challenges really should know better by now.

Here are the rules, you must:

1) Submit a team name.

2) Submit a list of 25 players that you think will be on the Opening Day roster.

3) Do this before the deadline which will be February 12th at the stroke of midnight.

That's it.

We have included a countdown clock on the site to help remind you how much time you have before your ballot is due.

In the event of a tie and you can be damn well sure there will be one, a tiebreaker will be need to be picked as well. This is not a requirement but if you choose not to partake in the tiebreaker portion of the challenge and you tie with someone who did, you lose. The tiebreaker this year will remain the same which is the Blue Jays 2013 spring training record. Meaning, you must predict how you think the team will fair in the silly season. It appears as thought there will be 32 games attempted to be played this spring barring any rain outs. For comparison purposes, here is the teams record from the last seven spring training seasons.

2012 24-7

2011 16-14

2010 12-13

2009 13-17

2008 13-16

2007 12-14

2006 12-18

Up for grabs this year in terms of prizes is the coveted autographed Randy Knorr 8 x 10.

Jason the brains behind MLB Depth Charts and reigning champion, graciously agreed to put the trophy up for this years competition. We are hoping that if you win, you will be willing to do the same. The second prize, which is yours to keep if you are crowned champion, is a beauty. We dug through our old Blue Jays stuff and found a gem.

Behold! This one is for all you I can't believe we traded a top prospect away for an old knuckeballer folk out there. It's unsigned because, well, Steve Karsay never really amounted to jack shit, other than being traded with a PTBNL for a first ballot Hall of Famer.

That's pretty much it for the rules and prizes, now let's get down to some strategy.

Here are a list of guys that are confirmed to be out of options on the 40 man roster right now. All of these players must make the 25 man roster or risk being lost on waivers.

Brett Cecil
Dustin McGowan
Sergio Santos
Esmil Rogers
Rajai Davis
Adam Lind
Jeremy Jeffress
Luis Perez

I'm sure there might be some others but no one on the bubble so to speak. Does it really matter if a guy like Mark Buehrle is out of options for example?

Pay special attention to the ever growing list of players on minor league deals with an invite to spring training. Click here for that info. No real obvious Omar Vizquel types on the list but that might change.

J.A. Happ has all the potential to be this years X factor. He could be in the starting rotation if there is an injury to one of the top five guys. He could very well end up in the bullpen as the long man and/or extra lefty. He could also easily end up in Buffalo in the rotation there to be kept stretched out. Interesting choices.

The Darren Oliver saga shouldn't really factor into the challenge. We made the deadline to coincide with the reporting date for pitchers and catchers. Hence, this gongshow should be all figured out before your ballot is due.

There is a possibility that the Blue Jays decide to start the year with a short bench and an extra arm in the bullpen. There is also a strong possibility that the 25th man on the roster is not currently employed with the team and will be added late in the spring via trade after he fails to make another teams roster. AA has been uber active on the waiver wire this winter as well, so that may continue leading up to camp.

That's just about it for now. We sincerely hope you can join us this year. If you wish to submit a ballot feel free to provide as much or as little explanation for your selections as you see fit. Please use the comments section on this or the reminder post or you can send an email to 1bluejaysway(at)gmail.com if you want to keep your ballot private. If you have a blog and want to do up a post about this topic, just fire over the link and we will be sure to include it with your ballot.

And for the love of God please, PLEASE include your tiebreaker. For the record, no one has ever gone 25 for 25 yet. So it's pretty much a guarantee that it will come into play again this year.

Good luck to all that play!

Sister Site Snippets: Player Superstitions

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:43:00 +0000

Prospect Ryan Goins relies on a certain superstition to take his licks

1BJW's minor league insider Jay Floyd recently posted a lengthy feature detailing baseball superstitions, after surveying loads of players, and some former players, throughout 2012. The piece, written for PhoulBallz.com, goes over some popular good luck habits, then reviews several players' rituals which may have been previously unknown.

Included were some names very familiar to Blue Jays fans. Read ahead for those quotes.

Infielder Ryan Goins, who was Toronto's 4th round draft choice in 2009, said the following...

"I always chew three pieces of Trident Layers. I'm not gonna lie to you. I like the green apple and pineapple flavor. That's something that I do. I don't know why. I started it last year and it worked out. I kept hitting, so I wanted to keep doing it. The first couple games this year, I didn't chew it and I didn't hit well. So, finally, I got some gum and we're back on the train again," Goins said, admitting that he'll stick with the same gum, even after the flavor has worn out.

Blue Jays' lefty reliever Aaron Loup...

"There was one thing my grandpa used to tell me all the time and, I guess, it stuck. It was 'LLTC', which stood for location, location, total concentration. I write that underneath the bill of my hat and it's basically what I just go by, when I'm out there on the mound," Loup stated.

Double-A New Hampshire manager and former big league backup catcher Sal Fasano...

"I really wasn't very superstitious," Fasano stated. "It's easier (to have those) when you play every day, and I didn't play every day. I knew if the sun was out, I was playing, so that's the only superstition I had."

To read Jay's full piece, which includes details on Blue Jays pitching prospect Justin Nicolino, Phillies rookies Tyler Cloyd and Darin Ruf, Red Sox #1 draft pick Matt Barnes, Nationals prospect Cutter Dykstra and plenty more, click HERE.

Interview With Our Boy Jesse

noreply@blogger.com (The Man With The Golden Arm) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:06:00 +0000

Here's a little something that we thought might be of interest. Our boy Jesse has written a book about baseball and took some time out of his busy off season schedule to answer a few of our questions. Please join us in sending your congratulations to Jesse on the accomplishment!

Q: How does it feel to be a published author?

I'd envisioned this moment for so many years. Now it's here, and it's got me slightly dazed. I don't think I'll really believe it, though, until I see my book on a shelf in a bookstore.

Q: How long has this book been in the making? Is it fair to say you’ve been writing it your whole life?

I've been a baseball fan my whole life, that's true, but I'd only date the true genesis of the book back as far as 2005. I was an intern for the Brockton Rox, hosting the pre-game and post-game show, and I realized I was using the same words over and over to describe each game. (Every home run was "hammered," every loss was "suffered.") Frustrated with my own lack of creativity, I started brainstorming other words to use. Things took off from there, with the majority of the work completed during the 2010 season.

Q: Where can people go to buy The Baseball Thesaurus now and will it be available in print form soon?

"The Baseball Thesaurus" is currently available through Apple Books, the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes and Noble NOOK, and through Vook. The electronic version is priced at just $5.99. It will be released in print before the end of the month.

Q: Who do you think will get the most enjoyment out of this book as the holiday season approaches?

Everyone. I've heard from true baseball diehards that they were surprised by how many stories they had never read before, and I've heard from people with only a passing interest in the game -- and yet they couldn't get over how much they enjoyed reading about baseball.

Q: Being that you are a broadcaster for the Lansing Lugnuts, have you ever used a word/term/phrase on air that someone asked you about after?

All the time. The third inning, actually, is my official "Baseball Lingo" inning, where I'll use a bit of slang in the top half and define it in the bottom half. It's been a popular feature ever since I introduced it in 2008.

Q: Is there one or a few terms in the book that are your favorites to use either on air? Why?

Every year brings a new favorite. "Wormburner" (a hot ground ball) caught on hugely two years ago. When Drew Hutchison pitched for the Lugnuts in 2011, his change-up was termed "the dead fish," and that became fun to foreshadow. ("The 2-2 pitch.... The dead fish! Swung on and missed, side retired!")

Q: How would you describe Noah Syndergaard’s fastball if you could only use the material found in your book?

Sometimes it's a chainsaw, making kindling out of the other team's lumber rack. Other times, it's the ol' radio ball, able to be heard but not seen.

During the year, by the way, Noah described one of his heaters as an "angry ball." I'd never heard that term before, but I love it. You know exactly what he means.

Q: Did you encounter writer’s block at any point during the making of your book? If so, how did you manage to overcome it?

It was the opposite, actually, that got me in trouble. I'd spend the entire day typing intensely, forgetting to eat and forgetting to exercise. I would also flip madly through book after book in my library, trying to find any additional information/quotes/anecdotes that I could include.

Q: Seeing that Mike Redmond was the manager of the Lugnuts in 2011 and Sal Fasano was the manager in 2010, did you have an opportunity to quiz the former Big League veterans on their baseball lingo knowledge?

Oh, yes, mostly with Sal, but each guy gave a laugh and shrugged. Here's the thing about it: Sometimes the guys involved in the game don't even realize how much slang invades their vocabulary. They're just talking, simple as that. I picked up far more by just listening and asking innocent questions than by talking directly about the idea of "baseball lingo."

Q: Do you have any favorite baseball related books that inspired you to create The Baseball Thesaurus?

"The Dickson Baseball Dictionary" is the ultimate baseball reference tome and my foremost inspiration. I wrote to Paul Dickson and asked for his blessing before proceeding. Otherwise, I felt it might feel like I was stepping on his toes. Other motivating baseball books: Peter Morris' "A Game of Inches," Bill James' "Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame" (I wore that book out when I was a kid), Daniel Okrent and Steve Wulf's "Baseball Anecdotes," and everything by Rob Neyer.

Q: Describe the process of finding a publisher (August Publications) in this internet driven age we live in. Was it a challenge?

Oh man. The timeline:

* Summer 2009 & Winter/Spring/Summer 2010: Wrote book. (20,000 words)
* Fall 2010: Signed with a reputable New York City literary agent (DeFiore & Co.) who was enthused about the book and its potential; he asked me to bump the book up to 35,000 words, so I did so.
* January 2011: Informed by the agent that publishers loved the idea but didn't want to take the chance; agent wished me luck and moved onward. Well then.
* Winter/Spring/Summer 2011: Sent out Thesaurus to anyone and everyone. Dirk Hayhurst provided the most help, offering a new direction for the book (make it funnier and more inside-the-clubhouse oriented). I wrote two pages of this, then quit. There's only so much "inside the clubhouse" a person can write without jeopardizing his career in baseball. I also sent the Thesaurus to Kevin Reichard of Ballpark Digest because, hey, why not? I was sending it to everyone at this point, hoping for the best somehow.
* Fall 2011: Contacted by Kevin Reichard, explaining that (unbeknownst to me) he was in charge of August Publications and he wished to publish "The Baseball Thesaurus."

Fast forward 13 months, and I'm a published author. Exhaustive work, success, disappointment, frustration, and success again. It's been a rollercoaster ride.

Q: Which of the old school terms, not currently being used anymore, would you like to see make a comeback?

"Biff stick" - baseball bat. I also love "gazoonie" to describe a rookie.

Q: Being around Low A ballplayers for basically half the year, do you sit and listen to their conversations for new material that you may not have heard before?

Oh yes. The best players to listen to are hitters, who love talking shop. I hear new synonyms for a home run every year.

Q: Are you working on any other writing projects that you hope to get published as well?

I'm working on two different ideas for novels as well as a football thesaurus. It's my aim to publish books regularly now that I've got this first one under my belt.

Follow Jesse on Twitter here

Be sure to check out his blog here

Rogers Centre Security's Most Wanted

noreply@blogger.com (The Man With The Golden Arm) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 05:04:00 +0000

I guess it really boils down to one simple question for me: Do I honestly think that our SS wrote "You are a Faggot" on his face and then played 9 innings of baseball?

My answer is also simple: No chance.

Apparently I'm not alone.

Probably the most interesting conversation I had Thursday night was with a woman and her child from New York while walking down the stairs to our seats. Basically she concluded that we Canadians take things a tiny bit too serious when it comes to this stuff.

Funny how none of the newspapers noticed us when they tried to squeeze one last drop of blood out of this story Friday morning.

Can The Blue Jays Make An Orioles-Like Run In 2013?

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 20:14:00 +0000

Fans of the Blue Jays are well aware of the AL East Division they have to deal with on a yearly basis. The Yankees and Red Sox are bad enough, but the past few years the Tampa Bay Rays have done it with young talent. Now, in 2012, the Orioles are battling the Yankees for the AL East crown, while also keeping an eye on their Wild Card lead just to get into the playoffs.

Is the AL East now tougher than ever? Possibly, but when you step back and look at things, there is no reason not to think that the Blue Jays could make a similar surprise run next season. The extra Wild Card slot certainly helps, but it’s not like the Blue Jays don’t have talent on their roster and in their system.

The first step to a successful run next season is to make a decision one way or another on John Farrell. Reports are that the Red Sox want him as their next manager. The Blue Jays have him signed to a contract. The team needs to make a decision early in the off-season to either give him up (with some sort of compensation) or hold on to him.

As far as players are concerned, the Blue Jays do not have to be major players in the free agent market, but one thing they do need is better starting pitching. Ricky Romero was supposed to emerge as an ace, but instead he’s struggled all season. Same goes for Henderson Alvarez. All of their other promising pitchers were sidelined by injuries. It would help to go out and get a veteran or two who can be dependable for a full workload. They don’t have to be aces, they just need to give the bullpen a rest.

Speaking of injuries, it’s hard to look at the Blue Jays this season and not feel badly for them. This team has talent when healthy. Brandon Morrow and Kyle Drabek are still young enough to emerge as potential aces, but they have to be on the mound to do that. As far as the offense is concerned, any time Brett Lawrie and Jose Bautista spend a huge chunk of time on the disabled list, you know you are in for some struggles.

Last season, the Orioles won all of 69 games. The Blue Jays will most likely finish with more than that. It seems improbable to make a huge turnaround in just one season, but it can be done. The Red Sox will be down next season, the Rays will most likely end up losing some key free agents and people are still not completely sold on the Orioles. Yes, the Yankees will always be the Yankees, but with a few subtle off-season moves and a clean bill of health for their stars, the Blue Jays could return to the postseason and be the surprise story of 2013.

FanDuel.com has provided this guest article, check them out if you play fantasy baseball leagues for daily fantasy baseball action.

1BJW Interview: RHP Sam Dyson

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 05:40:00 +0000

News dropped on Wednesday night that 24-year-old righty hurler Sam Dyson would be promoted to Toronto's big league roster.

After missing 2011 following elbow surgery, Dyson, a 4th round draft selection out of the University of South Carolina in 2010, began this season with Class A Advanced Dunedin and earned a promotion to Double-A New Hampshire.

In 21 games this season combined at the two levels, the 6-foot-2-inch 205-pounder who sports a mid-90's fastball, posted a 2-0 record with 3 saves and a 2.56 ERA.

Last month I spoke with Sam about his recovery & rehab, his success this season, New Hampshire and plenty more. Read ahead to check out that interview.

-You certainly had a solid start to your pro career this year. What do you attribute to such great success?

I just try to get ahead in the count and make my pitches no matter what the count is as well. Pretty much just staying healthy and getting out there, every opportunity I have.

-You began the season with Dunedin as a starter, then moved up to New Hampshire, where you were moved to the bullpen. Do you have a preference for either role? And was it a more difficult or an easier switch than you have expected?

I think pitching in Dunedin was a little easier routine wise. Being on a five-day schedule, you know when you have to work out and you can have a little more time for your arm to recover, 'cause here, you might have an idea of when you're throwing, (or) you might not have an idea. It's a completely different routine, throwing before the game and having to sit down for a couple hours. That's just the main difference.

-I wanted to get some thoughts from you on your surgery and the recovery process overall.

I had Tommy John Surgery in October, 2010. The usual recovery time is, like, 12-16 months, or something like that. Mine took a little longer. I wasn't going to play last year anyway. I was down in Dunedin. I stayed there all off-season. I live in Tampa, so it was a 40-minute drive, so it wasn't too bad. I drove over there every day and rehabbed with the Blue Jays training staff.

-Were there any real setbacks, or did everything go as expected?

I think everybody has setbacks along the way, whether it's early on or, you know, once they get out here in the games. Sometimes you've got to break a little scar tissue up and stuff like that. I think mine happened at 11 months. I was right before Instructs, so they shut me down for, like, two months and then I started throwing again and that led into spring training and thank God I'm out here playing.

-Coming off being drafted that year, you had to be super excited to be selected by Toronto. Did the down time with the injury take away from that and did it make you hungrier?

I mean, it makes you hungrier whenever you're not out there playing because you definitely want to get out there. You just try to work as hard as you can, whether you're injured or whether you're not injured. I think when you're injured, you kind of see things from a different light just because everyone else is out there working their butt off and you want to do more and more and more to get out there sooner.

-And we mentioned you joining the New Hampshire club here after some time in the Florida State League this year...do you have anything thoughts on New Hampshire, the facilities, the community there?

The community is nice. It seems like it's always raining up there. We haven't had too many sunny days. And the complex is very nice. It seems like a college atmosphere. Not night-life wise, just the fans. There's a bunch of fans, like four or five thousand people every night. It's a great place to play!

-If you had the opportunity to give advice to young players that might wish to play baseball in college or in the pro's, what advice would you give?

I would say- Believe in yourself and work as hard as you can, whenever you have to opportunity to. And do the right things on and off the field and things will work out for you.

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Follow 1BlueJaysWay on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Interview with Brian Bocock

noreply@blogger.com (The Man With The Golden Arm) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:37:00 +0000

Our boy Jay took some time out of his busy schedule a few weeks back and sat down with the utility infielder extraordinaire. Looking at the logjam of similar players within the Blue Jays organization, Bocock has been plying his trade in the Eastern League this year.

Based on organizational depth, Bocock, a Stetson University product that was a 9th round draft choice of San Francisco in 2006, is officially blocked by:

Omar Vizquel
Mike McCoy
Jon Diaz
Chris Woodward

These all glove, minimal bat, backup shortstop types are great players to have around and I wonder if a few of them have some value, perhaps as a throw in, at the trade deadline.

The 27-year-old Bocock has big league experience with both the Giants and the Phillies. In 31 games this season for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Bocock has posted a .258 batting average with 7 doubles, 12 RBI and 5 stolen bases.

1BJW Interview: Brett Cecil

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 06:01:00 +0000

As Brett Cecil continues on his journey back to the Majors, the 25-year-old has had some ups and downs this season. Over last off-season, the lefty hurler dropped significant weight and ran into problems with his location and fastball velocity this spring, as he learned to adapt to pitching with his "new body".

He had been improving with Double-A New Hampshire, in recent outings. Through 7 starts, Cecil had posted a 3-2 record with a 3.71 ERA. Over his previous 4 starts, Cecil had posted a 1.66 ERA and most recently, his velocity was back in the 90's.

Cecil got the start for NH in Trenton on Friday night and his velocity maxed out at 88 MPH. In the outing, a no decision, Cecil threw 5 2/3 innings while allowing 10 hits, 2 earned runs and 3 walks while striking out 5.

After the game was suspended with a 2-2 tie in the 8th inning, due to rain, I spoke with Brett about his progress, his adaptation to the weight loss, how his manager Sal Fasano has impacted his season and plenty more. Check out the media player below to hear the full interview.

As a bonus, here's a video clip of Cecil striking out Trenton Thunder player Luke Murton.

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Follow 1BJW on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Hot Prospects: May Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Sat, 26 May 2012 18:45:00 +0000

Throughout the minors, there are so many players to keep up with. It is often difficult to know who or what to pay attention to. With that in mind, right here, right now we'll take a glance at some of the top performers throughout the Blue Jays' system this season and get you all caught up.

Lansing Lugnuts….34-13 record, 1st place in the Class A Midwest League’s Eastern division.

David Rollins, a 24th round draft choice out of San Jacinto College North last year, has posted outstanding numbers for the Lugnuts. The 22-year-old lefty hurler has a 4-0 record with a 2.64 ERA while striking out 41 batters and walking just 15 in 44 1/3 innings through 10 starts this season. Rollins, who stands 6-feet-1-inch tall and weighs around 195 pounds, sports a 1.45 ERA in 4 road games this year. Last year, in 7 combined starts with Bluefield and Vancouver, Rollins went 4-0 with a 1.77 ERA.

Outfielder Chris Hawkins, a 3rd round draft selection in 2010, has put up some excellent numbers for Lansing as well. The 20-year-old has a .327 batting average with 6 doubles, 2 triples and 1 HR while driving in 15 runs in 42 games this season. He has also stolen 6 bases without being caught. In his previous two professional seasons, mainly in the Gulf Coast League and at rookie level Bluefield, Hawkins, a lefty hitter, tallied a .290 batting average with a .783 OPS.

Andrew Burns is another one of the Lugnuts’ offensive threats. The 21-year-old was drafted last season in the 11th round by Toronto out of the University of Arizona. Through 42 games this season, the shortstop is batting .283 with 15 doubles, 2 triples, 7 HR and 22 RBI. His .931 OPS is second best in the league. The righty hitting Burns batted .250 with 3 HR and 14 RBI in 28 combined games last year for the GCL Blue Jays and with short-season Class A Vancouver.

Dunedin Blue Jays….31-17 record, 1st place in the Class A Advanced Florida State League’s North division.

Gabe Jacobo has put up some very solid production for Dunedin. The Rule 5 draft selection from last year, out of the Angels system, has hit .301 with 11 doubles, 2 homers and 17 RBI through 20 games this season. The 25-year-old Jacobo, who plays first base, is a right-handed hitter that was a career .284 hitter in the minors before joining the Toronto system.

Left-handed hurler Sean Nolin may be on the verge of a promotion, as his numbers just keep getting better in the FSL. The 22-year-old, who was drafted in the 6th round by Toronto in 2010, has gone 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA while striking out 57 batters in 56 innings over 10 starts for Dunedin. The San Jacinto Junior College product, who stands 6-feet-5-inches tall and weighs 235 pounds, went 4-4 with a 3.49 ERA with 113 K’s in 108 1/3 innings pitched last season for Lansing.

Dunedin’s closer, Danny Barnes, has a 1-1 record with 16 saves and a 2.08 ERA in 22 appearances this season. The Princeton University product was a 35th round draft selection in 2010 by the Blue Jays. The right-handed Barnes has a 1.69 ERA in 10 May games. In his previous 2 pro seasons, Barnes posted a 6-2 record with a 2.26 ERA and a .203 batting average against in 66 games (2 starts).

New Hampshire Fisher Cats…19-27 record, 5th place in the Double-A Eastern League’s Eastern division.

Ryan Goins has been scorching hot all season for NH. The lefty hitting second baseman has a .331 batting average with 12 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR and 22 RBI through 44 games this season. In 22 May games, the lefty batting Goins has posted a remarkable .380 batting average. Goins, 24, was a 4th round draft pick in 2009.

Catcher Sean Ochinko has done a very good job filling in for injured counterpart AJ Jimenez (elbow ligament). In 6 games since joining the Fisher Cats, the 24-year-old Louisiana State University product is batting .333 with 2 doubles and 2 HR.

Left-handed reliever Aaron Loup has continued a strong campaign out of the NH bullpen. The 24-year-old is 0-1 with 2 saves and a 1.46 ERA in 20 relief outings this season. Drafted in the 9th round by Toronto in 2009, Loup made the Midwest League All-star team the following year in his first full season as a pro. Loup could be well on his way to getting another such honor this season if his production keeps up.

Las Vegas 51’s….25-23 record, 3rd place in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League’s Southern division.

Highly touted shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria is posting strong numbers for the 51’s. Through 47 games played, the Cuba native is batting .322 with 14 doubles, 2 triples, 4 HR and 34 RBI with 6 stolen bases. Hechavarria, 23, was a career .255 hitter with 12 HR in 2 seasons in the minors prior to this year.

Catcher Travis d’Arnaud, fresh off an MVP season in the Eastern League, is having another big year. Through 40 games, the 22-year-old is hitting .307 with a team leading 10 HR and 25 RBI. d'Arnaud was, of course, acquired from Philadlephia in the December, 2009 Roy Halladay trade.

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1BJW Interview: AJ Jimenez

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:49:00 +0000

New Hampshire Fisher Cats' backstop A.J. Jimenez is ranked among the top prospects in the Toronto system by virtually every outlet that ranks such things. Regularly praised for his defense and his abilities guiding a pitching staff, Jimenez is among the deep group of catchers the Blue Jays have in the minor league system.

Thus far this season, the 22-year-old Puerto Rico native has posted a .257 average with 2 homeruns and 10 RBI in 27 games in the Double-A Eastern League.

Drafted in the 9th round of the 2008 amateur draft by Toronto, Jimenez has progressed steadily up the developmental ladder since turning pro. Last season with the Class A Advances Florida State League, Jimenez sported a .303/.353/.417 line and was named a mid-season and post-season All-Star.

Recently, I spent some time chatting with AJ and he talked about his draft process, playing for New Hampshire, his manager Sal Fasano and plenty more. Check out the media player below to hear that interview.

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1BJW Interview: LHP Prospect Aaron Loup

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Lefty hurler Aaron Loup has been a standout contributor out of the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats' bullpen thus far in 2012.

Loup, who was the Blue Jays' 9th round draft selection in 2009, began the season with 13 scoreless appearances. Since then, he has allowed runs in back-to-back outings, but he still sports very impressive numbers. Entering action on Thursday, the Tulane University product had posted a 1.76 ERA with no decisions and 1 save while striking out 11 batters and walking 4 in 15 1/3 innings.

The 24-year-old Loup has moved up the developmental rankings steadily since turning pro, progressing one level each season.

Last week, I spoke with Aaron about his early success, playing in New Hampshire, his pitch repertoire and plenty more. Check out the media player below to hear the full interview.

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Mark Sobolewski Postgame Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:00:00 +0000

As well thought out as it is to play match ups in baseball, it's always remarkable when you see a team make a smart move and have it completely blow up in their faces. That exactly what happened to Trenton Thunder manager Tony Franklin in the 7th inning against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Saturday night, when, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, the veteran baseball man elected to issue an intentional walk to switch-hitting slugger Mike McDade. Immediately, NH clean up hitter Mark Sobolewski stepped up and delivered a huge blow, with a grand slam to break a 2-2 tie.

The Thunder battled back to tie the game, but the Fisher Cats locked down a 7-6 win in 10 innings.

After the game, I spoke with the man they call "Sobo" about his big hit, the mentality of the on-deck hitter when the other team issues an intentional walk and more. Check out the media player to hear that interview.

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1BJW Interview: Ryan Goins

noreply@blogger.com (Jay Floyd) — Sat, 05 May 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Infielder Ryan Goins, a 4th round draft choice of the Blue Jays in 2009, has been hot as of late with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The 24-year-old has posted a .372 batting average with 5 extra base hits, 8 RBI and 3 steals in his last 10 games as the team's lead off hitter.

Overall, the Texas native is sporting a .298/.336/.433 line in 26 games for the Fisher Cats.

This week I had the opportunity to speak with Ryan about his success this year, his work at improving, his draft experience and plenty more. I even set off a bit of a false alarm, asking Ryan about the potential for Yankees legend Andy Pettitte to face NH in a possible tune up start with the Thunder, however Pettitte is set to pitch for the Yanks' Triple-A club this weekend instead.

Check out the media player below to hear that full interview.

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