Blue Jays Minor League System Monthly Review – May, 2012

It’s time for the monthly Toronto Blue Jays minor league system and prospect update.  Let’s take a look at how the top names in the system performed for the month of May.  All of the top rated prospects will be accounted for with a few exceptions, Daniel Norris, Jacob Anderson, Dwight Smith Jr, Joe Musgrove and Adonys Cardona are still in instructional league (rookie ball) and do not have registered stats yet this year.

Check out the full April review to compare numbers.

Any player rated or mentioned in my top 15 prospect piece are in bold.

LoA – Lansing Lugnuts, Record 44-20, 1^st place

2012	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	2B	HR	BB	K
(OF) Chris Hawkins	232	310	347	397	743	11	1	13	34
(C) Carlos Perez	189	265	341	423	764	15	3	23	28
(3B) Kellen Sweeney	140	179	297	207	504	2	0	23	30

 

 

 

No real changes here with the exception of Kellen Sweeney, who might be making his last appearance on this list unless he shows a marked improvement.  Perez continues to show a decent bat with some patience and a bit of pop.

2012	IP	H	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA	WHIP
Justin Nicolino	47.0	38	7	9	45	2	1.34	1.00
Aaron Sanchez	43.0	22	4	23	38	0	0.84	1.05
Noah Syndergaard	39.2	41	19	13	51	3	4.31	1.36

Syndergaard has really struggled since his dominating April, Nicolino has continued his dominance as has Aaron Sanchez. 

HiA – Dunedin Blue Jays, 41-22, 1^st place

2012	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	2B	HR	BB	K
(OF) Jake Marisnick	202	262	338	431	768	13	3	16	44
(OF) Michael Crouse	128	195	297	297	594	8	1	18	44
(OF) Marcus Knecht	213	221	321	418	739	14	8	30	71

 Jake Marisnick hasn’t hit a homerun in over a month and has been scuffling at the plate.

2012	IP	H	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA	WHIP
John Stilson	54.1	56	17	19	47	2	2.82	1.38
Asher Wojciechowski	57.1	64	31	11	44	3	4.87	1.31
Sean Nolin	72.2	62	19	17	73	7	2.35	1.09

Sean Nolin continues to raise his stock significantly with some dominating numbers while Stilson continues to strike out batters at a solid clip but is giving up too many hits.  It was a rough month for Asher Wojciechowski who raised his ERA to 4.87 from 3.09. 

Double-A – New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 22-40, 6^th place

2012	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	2B	HR	BB	K
(1B) Mike McDade	225	311	391	498	889	12	10	27	42
(C) AJ Jimenez	105	257	295	371	666	4	2	5	14

 Ho-hum.

2012	IP	H	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA	WHIP
Joel Carreno	29.2	21	14	12	31	4	4.25	1.11
Chad Jenkins	51.0	67	36	14	20	10	6.35	1.59
Brett Cecil	42.2	44	16	14	34	2	3.38	1.36
Deck McGuire	64.1	73	48	25	45	9	6.72	1.52

 Brett Cecil has finally started to turn it around after a dreadful start fighting off an injury.  He might be called upon to help out the big league club if Brandon Morrow is hurt for any length of time.

Triple-A – Las Vegas 51s, 36-21, 3^rd place

2012	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	2B	HR	BB	K
(RF) Travis Snider	96	333	411	604	1.015	11	5	14	19
(C) Yan Gomes	166	349	379	590	970	19	7	7	34
(1B) David Cooper	161	298	378	497	875	12	6	22	19
(CF) Moises Sierra	232	297	358	474	832	11	10	20	53
(SS) Adeiny Hechavarria	257	327	375	455	830	17	4	21	51
(C) Travis D’Arnaud	231	333	383	593	976	18	14	18	45
(CF) Anthony Gose	266	289	365	414	778	12	3	29	64
(1B) Adam Lind	89	416	471	663	1.134	7	5	12	19

These numbers speak for themselves.  Anthony Gose, Travis d’Arnaud and Adeiny Hechavarria have simply been on fire.  I included Adam Lind for reference sake as he has been extremely hot since the demotion. 

2012	IP	H	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA	WHIP
Jesse Chavez	63.2	54	26	13	60	7	3.68	1.05

Blue Jays Minor League System Month In Review – April, 2012

It’s time for the monthly Toronto Blue Jays minor league system and prospect update.  Let’s take a look at how the top names in the system performed for the month of April.  All of the top rated prospects will be accounted for with a few exceptions, Daniel Norris, Jacob Anderson, Dwight Smith Jr, Joe Musgrove and Adonys Cardona are still in instructional league (rookie ball) and do not have registered stats yet this year.

Any player rated or mentioned in my top 15 prospect piece are in bold.

LoA – Lansing Lugnuts, Record 18-6, 1^st place

Hitters	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	2B	HR	BB	K
(OF) Chris Hawkins	83	313	345	422	767	4	1	4	11
(C) Carlos Perez	70	271	342	414	756	6	0	8	10
(3B) Kellen Sweeney	71	197	313	254	567	2	0	11	11

 

 

 

Chris Hawkins has shown he can hit early in the season and Carlos Perez has recovered nicely from a slow start.  Kellen Sweeney has struggled immensely thus far though he batting eye has been solid (11 walks in 71 ABs). 

Pitchers	IP	H	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA	WHIP
Justin Nicolino	15.0	12	0	2	17	0	0.00	0.93
Aaron Sanchez	15.0	5	0	8	20	0	0.00	0.87
Noah Syndergaard	14.2	11	3	7	20	1	1.84	1.23

Wow, what  a trio of starters.  The Jays are treating them with care as each are going only 3 or 4 innings each start but this might be the top threesome in the minor leagues right now.  Of the three Aaron Sanchez has impressed scouts the most but look at the stats of Justin Nicolino, so impressive. 

HiA – Dunedin Blue Jays, 18-7, 1^st place

Hitters	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	2B	HR	BB	K
(OF) Jake Marisnick	100	270	362	500	862	8	3	9	18
(OF) Michael Crouse	72	167	265	264	529	5	0	10	25
(OF) Marcus Knecht	91	154	235	308	543	6	2	10	36

Jake Marisnick has recovered from a slow start and is showing a lot of confidence at the plate.  Look for him to continue improving in all aspects of his offensive approach.  I’d expect a promotion to Double-A sometime this season, which is always considered one of the toughest transitions in baseball.

Pitchers	IP	H	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA	WHIP
John Stilson	17.2	15	4	8	15	0	2.04	1.30
Asher Wojciechowski	23.1	22	8	5	15	0	3.09	1.16
Sean Nolin	27.2	21	8	8	28	2	2.60	1.05

A lot of Blue Jays fans are eager to see what John Stilson can do if healthy and so far he has not disappointed.  Big Asher has come as advertised with the big fastball and solid control so far.  Sean Nolin has outperformed almost everyone this season even though he is not a highly regarded prospect, players can come out of nowhere all the time. 

Double-A – New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 11-13, 5^th place

Hitters	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	2B	HR	BB	K
(1B) Mike McDade	84	298	375	369	744	3	1	11	19
(C) AJ Jimenez	75	280	316	413	730	2	2	3	10

A pretty weak overall lineup but catching prospect AJ Jimenez is still a guy the Jays are high on.  A lot of attention goes to Carlos Perez and Travis D’Arnaud but Jimenez still offers a solid all-around package.

Pitchers	IP	H	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA	WHIP
Drew Hutchison	16.2	16	4	3	12	1	2.16	1.14
Chad Jenkins	27.2	31	17	8	12	5	5.53	1.41
Brett Cecil	12.1	20	10	4	11	1	7.30	1.95
Deck McGuire	26.1	36	21	6	18	6	7.18	1.59

 Drew Hutchison pitched well in the minor leagues and was summoned to the big leagues when the Jays needed an extra starter.  He has looked overmatched at times in the show, not unexpectedly.  Deck McGuire is off to a rotten start and his stock is definitely slipping.  Brett Cecil still appears lost and his stats show the result of that.

Triple-A – Las Vegas 51s, 10-15, 3^rd place

Hitters	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	2B	HR	BB	K
(RF) Travis Snider	75	400	477	693	1.170	10	4	11	11
(C) Yan Gomes	81	358	381	556	937	10	2	3	13
(1B) David Cooper	94	319	396	489	886	11	1	12	11
(CF) Moises Sierra	89	292	370	472	842	4	4	9	21
(SS) Adeiny Hechavarria	106	311	357	443	800	9	1	8	25
(C) Travis D’Arnaud	85	282	354	424	778	6	2	8	16
(CF) Anthony Gose	102	216	298	284	583	3	0	11	33

Travis Snider is raking, Yan Gomes has continued hitting since his torrid spring and David Cooper has been solid.  The PCL and Las Vegas in general is an offensive haven and can inflate statistics which makes Anthony Gose’s rough start even more perplexing.  Adeiny Hechavarria continues to put up solid Triple-A stats and gets high praise for his glove work.

Pitchers	IP	H	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA	WHIP
Joel Carreno	20.1	27	14	4	17	2	6.20	1.52