The OOTP X Toronto Blue Jays - Page 10

ryan008 · 08-17-2009, 09:51 AM

Blue Jays Best in Baseball in Regular Season

October 3rd, 2016

The Toronto Blue Jays put together a fantastic last month and a half of the season and would end up putting up the best win/loss record in franchise history. The Jays would start play on September 1st trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by 1/2 game in the American League East and when the dust settled at the start of October the Jays would hold a 6 game lead in the American League East and the team would end up winning 120 games going 120-42. The 120 wins is the most in franchise history and is easily the best record in the Majors in 2016.

The Jays would also celebrate another milestone in the game as the longest serving Blue Jay SP Roy Halladay would rack up career victory number 250 in a 6-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. The 39 yearold Halladay had a resurgent season in 2016 posting a record of 16-3 and an ERA of 5.84. Halladay's 5.84 ERA is nearly 2.5 runs higher than his career average and his record is definately a reflection of the Jays #1 rated offence. Halladay is under contract for 1 more season and than the big righty's future is in the air.

The Blue Jays will face the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division series and they unfortunately will do it without 3 of their regular players in the lineup. The Jays had SS Joel Walker, RF Richard Davis and rookie LF Alfredo Rivera all suffer long term injuries that will keep them out of the lineup for at least the ALDS and possibly the American League Championship Series should the Jays advance.

SS Joel Walker suffered a strained abdominal muscle and will miss the next 6-7 weeks. He was hitting .325 with 26 HR and 98 RBI and was placed on the 15 Day Disabled list. SS Zhong-xian Sang who was a September Callup from AAA Las Vegas will remain with the team and SS Elvis Andrus will be the everyday shortstop for the post season.

RF Richard Davis who was having a very strong season for the Jays posting a line of .326 with 25 HR and 110 RBI suffered a strained oblique muscle and will also be out for the next 6-7 weeks. LF Alastair Parry who was also a September Callup will remain with the team. Davis is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and has not agreed to a new contract with the Jays. This injury may mean he has played his last game in a Jays uniform.

The last player to go down was rookie LF Alfredo Rivera. He was having an outstanding rookie campaign with the Jays hitting .369 with 11 HR and 99 RBI. He suffered a strained rib cage muscle and will miss the next 4 weeks. He was also placed on the 15 Day Disabled list and RF Bobby Wilt who was hitting .240 with 13 HR and 95 RBI for AAA Las Vegas was recalled to take his spot in the lineup.

The 2016 playoffs are just around the corner and the Blue Jays will face the American League Central Champions the Cleveland Indians. In the other ALDS the Wild Card winners the Tampa Bay Rays will face the American League West Champions the Oakland Athletics. In the National League it will be the Wild Card Winners the Washington Nationals tangleing with the NL West Champs the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals who captured the NL Central title will face the NL East Champs the New York Mets.

ryan008 · 08-17-2009, 11:17 AM

Blue Jays Fall to Cleveland

October 16th, 2016

The broken record just keeps on playing as the Jays put up a franchise best record of 120-42 and were eliminated from the playoffs in the American League Division Series again, this time it was the Cleveland Indians who would advance to the American League Championship Series eliminating the Jays in 5 games. The Jays were missing three of their better players heading into the ALDS as SS Joel Walker, RF Richard Davis and LF Alfredo Rivera all suffered long term injuries near the end of the season and were placed on the Disabled List. So with the defeat the Jays and GM Ryan Stewart will head into the offseason scratching their heads and no one really knows what the future holds for the Jays, one thing is for certain something needs to be done in the offseason to help the Jays get out of this playoff funk that they are currently in.

ALDS Game #1 - Cleveland Indians @ Toronto Blue Jays

SP Cody Scarpetta (10-7 5.25 ERA) vs
SP Dan Oakes (14-7 5.66 ERA)

W: SP Cody Scarpetta (1-0)
L: SP Dan Oakes (0-1)
S: CL Octavio Robertson (1)

Game #1 was a pitchers dual and SP Dan Oakes would be the first one to flinch. He would give up the first run of the game in the top of the 4th inning as 3B Anastasio Rangel would take him deep to right field making it 1-0 Indians. Cleveland would extend their lead i the top of the 6th inning on a DH Mike Dillon 2 out 2 run homerun to centerfield and it was 3-0 Cleveland. In the bottom of the 7th inning the Jays would get a pair of runs back as 3B Mike Arthur blasted his first homerun of the playoffs, a 2 run shot that put the Jays on the board and cut the lead down to 3-2. That is as close as the Jays would get as the Indians bullpen shut them down the rest of the way as the Indians would take a 1-0 series lead.

ALDS Game #2 - Cleveland Indians @ Toronto Blue Jays

SP Brendan Lowry (16-10 5.32 ERA) vs
SP James Ryan (21-6 4.22 ERA)

W: SP James Ryan (1-0)
L: SP Brendan Lowery (0-1)

The Jays bats came alive in game #2 and SP James Ryan was dynamite on the mound as he tossed a complete game shutout against the Indians in game #2. The Jays would get on the board in the bottom of the 1st inning as DH Travis Snider cracked a 2 run homerun to open up a 2-0 Toronto lead. In the 4th inning DH Travis Snider was at it again belting a second homerun, this time a grand slam into the right field seats and it was 6-0 Toronto. C Matsu Kamimura added a 2 run double in the 4th inning and it was 8-0 Toronto. Toronto would tack on 2 more runs on a SS Elvis Andrus RBI single in the 4th and a 1B Ken Phelps solo homerun in the 5th inning as the Jays cruised to a 10-0 thumping of the Indians in game #2.

ALDS Game #3 - Toronto Blue Jays @ Seattle Mariners

SP John Anderson (13-7 6.13 ERA) vs
SP Jose Velez (11-10 3.72 ERA)

W: MR William Duncan (1-0)
L: SP John Anderson (1-0)
S: CL Octavio Robertson (2)

The Blue Jays would once again jump out to an early lead as 2B Carlos Hernandez had an RBI triple in the 1st inning and it was 1-0 Jays. The lead lasted until the 4th inning when 3B Anastasio Rangel would belt his second 2 run homerun in the series and it was 2-1 Cleveland. The Indians extended their lead in the 6th as C Rafael Coronado had an RBI single and it was 3-1 Indians. The Jays would come back as they loaded the bases for DH Travis Snider who blasted his second grandslam in as many nights making it 5-3 for the Jays. The Jays would tack on another run in the 7th on a 1B Ken Phelps sac fly and it was 6-3 Blue Jays. The wheels fell off for the Jays in the 8th inning as CF Juan Alvarez got the Indians to within 1 when he reached on an error to SS Elvis Andrus that scored a run aking it 6-4 Jays. He would come around to score on a sacrifice fly by DH Tsutomu Kumatani and the indians were within 1 at 6-5. With 2 outs SP Dan Oakes walked the next 2 batters and would leave the game. MR Mike Head would come in and his first pitch was sent into right field by 3B Anastasio Rangel for an RBI single and the game was tied at 6. Head's troubles were just begining though as he would hit the next batter to load the bases and than proceed to walk RF Tommy Holland in to give the Indians the lead. Cleveland wasn't done there as anothe walk and a wild pitch later and the Indians would go on to a 9-6 victory and take a 2-1 series lead on the Jays.

ALDS Game #4 - Toronto Blue Jays @ Oakland Athletics

SP Roy Halladay (17-3 5.34) vs
SP Cody Scarpetta (1-0 1.13 ERA)

W: SP Roy Halladay (1-0)
L: SP Cody Scarpetta (1-1)

The Jays handed the ball to SP Roy Halladay in attempt to keep their season alive and the 39 yearold veteran pitched like he was a 28 yearold kid in his prime. He held the Indians off the scoreboard tossing a complete game shutout and more imortantly gave the Jays a chance to take the series at home in Game #5. The Jays scored the first run of the game in the 3rd inning on a DH Travis Snider groundout making it 1-0 Toronto. In the 4th LF Mario Velez doubled in a run and it was 2-0 Toronto. C Matsu Kamimura belted his first career post season homerun in the 8th, a 3 run shot that made it 5-0 Toronto. The Jays capped the scoring in the 9th inning on a CF Jesus Escallante RBI double as the Jays took game #4 6-0 knotting up the series and forcing a game #5 back in Toronto.

ALDS Game #5 - Oakland Athletics @ Toronto Blue Jays

SP James Ryan (1-0 0.00 ERA ERA) vs
SP Brendan Lowry (0-1 14.73 ERA)

W: MR Jordan Lutz (1-0)
L: CL Frank Pena (0-1)
S: CL Octavio Robertson (3)

Game #5 was not pretty on either side as the Indians would stage a huge comeback in the 9th inning to upset the Jays. The Indians would score in the first inning on a LF Bill Carson solo homerun making it 1-0. The Jays would respond in the home half of the first as DH Travis Snider replied with a solo homerun of his own tieing the game at 1. In the 3rd inning the Indians would score a pair of runs on a SS Kenny Lyons RBI double and a CF Juan Alvarez RBI triple and it was 3-1 Cleveland. 3B Mike Dillon would add a 3 run homerun in the 4th and the Indians lead 6-1. In the 5th inning the Indians would tack on another as 2B Gregory Long had an RBI double making it 7-1. The Jays would fnally respond in the bottom of the 5th inning as 1B Ken Phelps belted a 2 run homerun making it 7-3 Indians. In the 7th inning the Jays cut the lead to just 3 as 2B Carlos Hernandez had an RBI single and it was 7-4. In the top of the 8th inning 3B Mike Dillon was at it again belting another 2 run homerun, his second of the game making it a 9-4 Indians lead. In the bottom of the 8th inning DH Travis Snider had a bases loaded triple that cut the Indians lead to 9-7, he would later score on a 1B Ken Phelps 3 run homerun in the 8th that gave the Jays a 10-9 lead for the first time in the game. CF Jorge Escallante would cap off the comeback in the 8th inning adding a 2 out 2 run double that gave the Jays a 12-9 lead. The Jays would head into the top of the 9th inning with a 3 run lead and would bring their closer CL Frank Pena in to try and wrapp up the series. On his first pitch Pena served up a homerun to pinch hitter 3B Anastasio Rangel and the lead was cut to 2 at 12-10. Pena would walk the next 2 batters and than give up an RBI single to LF Bill Carson making it a 1 run game. Pena would get the next batter to strikeout but C Rafael Coronado would squeek a groundball through the right side to bring home the tieing run. Pena would be forced to leave the game after facing Coronado and it would later be revealed that he will miss the next 4 months with an arm injury. The situation would just keep getting worse for the Jays as CF Juan Alvarez would double of MR Lawrence Harris bringing home 2 more runs and giving the Indains a 14-12 lead. The Jays would not be able to score in the nottom of the 9th inning as CL Octavio Robertson would shut the door and the Indians would take the ALDS in 5 games over the Jays.

Articula · 08-17-2009, 02:29 PM

Seems to be the trend recently, great teams falling hard in the playoffs. Sorry bud

metzrule3 · 08-17-2009, 04:52 PM

I think your problem might be that your team relys too much on hitting. Your pitchers all have good records but mediocre to bad ERAs, implying that their records are based off good run support. That works in the regular season but teams like that tend to fail in the post season. I'd try to upgrade your pitching staff if I were you.

Articula · 08-18-2009, 05:44 PM

Hopefully Ryan didn't give up, between this and Taves' Nationals thread I come here during lunch break to get my baseball fix

ryan008 · 08-18-2009, 08:30 PM

Nope didn't give up! Will be back with new updates tomorrow morning! I think I am actually more determined to do win now since I just can't seem to get over the hump!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Articula

Hopefully Ryan didn't give up, between this and Taves' Nationals thread I come here during lunch break to get my baseball fix

ryan008 · 08-19-2009, 10:31 AM

2016 Major League Award Winners Announced

Once again the Jays were eliminated from the post season in dramatic fashion, this time it wasn't the Kansas City Royals who would end the Jays season it would be the Cleveland Indians who took down the Blue Jays who held the best record in the Major Leagues during the regular season. The Jays did manage to capture some hardware as the 2016 Major league Award winners were announced, three position players would take home gold gloves and GM Ryan Stewart was named the American elague Manager of the Year for the 3rd time in his career.

The 2016 award winners were:

National League Gold Golves

P Han Ni (Arizona Diamondbacks)
C Alberto Francisco (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1B Yoriyoshi Kan (New York Mets)
2B Jack Davis (Florida Marlins)
3B Lachlan Anslow (Pittsburgh Pirates)
SS Raul Lara (Los Angeles Dodgers)
LF Quincy Peterson (Pittsburgh Pirates)
CF David Merrill (Houston Astros)
RF Liam Harris (Los Angeles Dodgers)

American League Gold Golves

P Dan Edmonds (Boston Red Sox)
C Matsu Kamimura (Toronto Blue Jays)
1B Rafael Sandoval (Baltimore Orioles)
2B Carlos Hernandez (Toronto Blue Jays)
3B Oliver Gonzales (Tampa Bay Rays)
SS Joel Walker (Toronto Blue Jays)
LF Quentin Norman (Los Angeles Dodgers)
CF Malcom Patrick (Texas Rangers)
RF Corronado Volonte (Chicago White Sox)

National League Rookie of the Year

RF Felipe Nunez (Cincinatti Reds)
.339 18 HR 77 RBI
Nunez was the Reds 4th Round Pick 110th Overall in 2012 out of Modesto Highschool

American League Rookie of the Year

LF Xavier McKee (Chicago White Sox)
.365 25 HR 86 RBI
McKee was the White Sox 1st Round Pick 12th Overall in 2014 out of teh University of Connecticut.

National League Cy Young Award

CL Josh Mitchell (Washington Nationals)
6-0 42 SV 2.19 ERA 74 K 13 BB (70 IP)

American League Cy Young Award

SP Emory Jones (Tampa Bay Rays)
22-6 4.17 ERA 197 K

National League Manager of the Year

Tony Pena Sr. (St. Louis Cardinals)

American League Manager of the Year

Ryan Stewart (Toronto Blue Jays)

National League Most Valuable Player

LF Dwight Warren (Los Angeles Dodgers)
.392 41 HR 138 RBI

American League Most Valuable Player

RF Malcom Patrick (Texas Rangers)
.372 49 HR 148 RBI
*This is the 4th time that Partick has won the AL MVP award.

ryan008 · 08-19-2009, 11:16 AM

2016 Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Year

2016 was a very good year for the Jays minor league affiliates as the Blue Jays celebrated 4 1st place finishes and 3 league championship trophies were added to the organizations trophy case. AA New Hampshire Fishercats, High A Dunedin Blue Jays and the Short Season A Auburn Doubledays all captured leage championship titles. The success of the Jays minor league teams bodes well for the future of the franchise and GM Ryan Stewart has one person he attributes that success to "We would not be in the position that we are in without all the hard work that our director of scouting John Lalonde and his scouting staff do. John's eye for talented players in the draft has really been demonstrated over the past few seasons and those players continue to rise up through our system. We are quite happy with the position we are in now and things can only get better from here"

AAA Las Vegas 51's (88-56 1st in South Division)

SP Elias Randolph
24 Years Old, LHP, Velocity: 97-99
Aquired: 7th Round Pick 218th overall in 2011 by Toronto out of Glendale Highschool in the USHSBA.
2016 Stats: 14-3 2.31 ERA 27 BB 210 K
GM's Comments: Randolph was very good for the 51's this season and is a big reason why they finished first in their division for the first time since becomming the Jays AAA Affiliate. Randolph has emmerged as a front of the rotation potental starter and will likely get a shot at making the rotation in 2017. He was a Pacifica Coast League Allstar in 2016 and was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year winner.

AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats (98-48 1st in Northern Division & 2016 Eastern League Champs)

SS Andy Austen
23 Years Old, RHB
Aquired: 2nd Round Pick 56th Overall in 2012 by Toronto (Paradise Highschool, USHSBA)
2016 Stats: .281 30 HR 98 RBI
GM's Comments: Austen emerged as the Fishercats best hitter in 2016 leading the team in HR and RBIs and was no sloutch with the glove either, as he was named the Eastern League's Gold Glover winner for 2B. He has a lot of upside and scouts as a starting secondbaseman at the Major league level. He is currently blocked by 2B Carlos Hernandez at the big league level but with production like that he may not be in the minors much longer. He will be headed to AAA Las Vegas for the 2017 season and will also get a shot to attend his first Major League Spring Training in 2017.

High A Dunedin Blue Jays (107-33 1st in North Division & Florida State League Champions)

2B Curt Albert
22 Years Old, RHB
Aquired: 1st Round Pick 30th Overall in 2014 by Toronto (Akron Highschool, USHSBA)
2016 Stats: .370 3 HR 94 RBI
GM's Comments: Albert finally began to show why the Jays considered him a 1st round talent and made him the 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft. He lead the Blue Jays in hits, RBI, batting average and stolen bases and was a gold glove winner. He repeated the season in the Florida State League and everything just seemed to click for him this year. He will be assigned to AA New Hampshire in 2017 and could see AAA Las Vegas by the end of the season. He doesn't hit for very much power but has the skills to be a potential leadoff hitter in the majors.

Low A Lansing (74-66 2ndt in East Division & Mid Western League Runners Up)

SP Diego Nunez
21 Years Old, RHP, Velocity: 92-94 MPH
Aquired: 13th Round Pick 396th overall in 2014 by Toronto (Anniston Highschool, USHSBA)
2016 Stats: 18-6 2.97 ERA 61 BB 224 K
GM's Comments: Nunez is a perfect example of good scouting. He eas a 13th round pick in 2014 and has emmerged as one of the top young arm in the Jays system. He was the Ace of the staff for Lansing in 2016 and was named to the 2016 Midwestern League Allstar team and was the Midwestern League Pitcher of the Year. He has 4 very good pitches and has really worked hard on his changeup in the minors and it is starting to pay dividends. The 21 yearold will be headed to AA New Hampshire to start the 2017 season and he will likely stay there for the season. The Jays see no reason to rush his development and don't want him to lose confidance.

Short Season A Auburn (63-13 1st in Pickney Division & 2017 New York Penn League Champions)

SP Steve Murray
21 Years Old, RHP, Velocity: 94-96 MPH
Aquired: 5th Round Pick 155th Overall in 2015 (Eureka Mills Highschool, USHSBA)
2016 Stats: 12-1 1.47 ERA 30 BB 158 K
GM's Comments: Murray had one of the best seasons in the New York Penn League that I have ever seen setting the record for Auburn for most wins in a season. He has a very good fastball and complements it with two other plus pitches. He emerged as the Doubledays best starter and was one of the best pitchers in the Jays entire system in 2016. He was a NYP League Allstar and ran away with the New York Penn League Pitcher of the Year Award. He will not be rushed through the minors and will be assigned to High A Dunedin of the Florida State League even though my scouts believe he is ready for AA now.

GCL Blue Jays (32-28 2nd in North Division)

CL Kiyoshisa Tgukamoto
19 Years Old, RHP, Velocity: 93-95
Aquired: 14th Round Pick 424th Overall in 2016 by Toronto (Tulsa Highschool, USHSBA)
2016 Stats: 1-3 13 SV 2.96 ERA 6 BB 29 K
GM's Comments: Tgukamoto performed very well for being such a late pick. He was almost lightsout in the GCL Blue Jays bullpen in 2016 and was easily their best pitcher. He has very good stuff and compliments his fastball with a cutter that is murder on right handed hitters. He is still very young and will be assigned to Auburn of the New York Penn League for the start of the 2017 season. He could move up to Low A Lansing but the Jays see no reason to rush his development right now.

TavesSoul · 08-19-2009, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryan008

Nope didn't give up! Will be back with new updates tomorrow morning! I think I am actually more determined to do win now since I just can't seem to get over the hump!

Glad to hear it. I'd have to agree that maybe Starting Pitching is your problem, not that they're bad, you just need a true ace (outside of the aged Halladay). Or maybe the games just set up so Halladay can only win one title.

ryan008 · 08-20-2009, 12:14 PM

Yeah I am starting to think that my pitchers are not as good as my Scouting Director makes them out to be. With the exception of Halladay (who has declined to a 2.5 star pitcher) all of my other starters are rated as 4.5 stars or 5. Despite this star ranking they always seem to post ERA's in the mid 5's which seems realy high to me. I have noticed that there is an upwards trend in offensive output in my universe though and that may account for some of the inflated ERA's.

I have come through the offseason and am at the 2017 Draft in June so there will be more updates coming!

Thanks for reading

Ryan

Quote:

Originally Posted by TavesSoul

Glad to hear it. I'd have to agree that maybe Starting Pitching is your problem, not that they're bad, you just need a true ace (outside of the aged Halladay). Or maybe the games just set up so Halladay can only win one title.

Articula · 08-20-2009, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryan008

Yeah I am starting to think that my pitchers are not as good as my Scouting Director makes them out to be. With the exception of Halladay (who has declined to a 2.5 star pitcher) all of my other starters are rated as 4.5 stars or 5. Despite this star ranking they always seem to post ERA's in the mid 5's which seems realy high to me. I have noticed that there is an upwards trend in offensive output in my universe though and that may account for some of the inflated ERA's.

I have come through the offseason and am at the 2017 Draft in June so there will be more updates coming!

Thanks for reading

Ryan

Does the league spit out any stats anywhere for average league ERA? You could see if that is trending up.

ryan008 · 08-21-2009, 04:09 PM

There is definately an upswing of ERA's in the league. It has climbed steadily each year since I have taken over. I don't know if this is just due to there being an abuncande of good hitters in this particular era or if it is due to a lack of good quality starting pitchers.

Here is the ERA's for both leagues for the past few seasons:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Articula

Does the league spit out any stats anywhere for average league ERA? You could see if that is trending up.

Articula · 08-24-2009, 10:31 AM

I wonder if this is being analyzed by the head honchos? This seems a bit out of place. Or else there is no PED testing in your league

ryan008 · 08-25-2009, 10:06 AM

Yeah! I am guessing that the random drug testing is seriously flawed!

I have heard that there is sometimes an upswing in offence when you use feeder leagues so I am just attributing the rise in both ERA and batting average to that. I ran a few test sims playing with the modifiers and I seem to have been able to make it stabilize at a level that I am happy with. There are going to be a few guys each year that have 150 RBIs but I think that makes the game much more interesting!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Articula

I wonder if this is being analyzed by the head honchos? This seems a bit out of place. Or else there is no PED testing in your league

ryan008 · 08-25-2009, 10:59 AM

2016 Blue Jays Offseason Report

GM Ryan Stewart was very busy this offseason as the team tried to come to terms with yet another very early and dissapointing exit from the post season. The Jays were easily the best team in the Major Leagues last year posting a record 120 win season, the first in franchise history but once again failed to advance past the American League Division Series, this time falling to the Cleveland Indians. The most frustrating thing for Jays fans is to see their Division Rivals the Tampa Bay Rays reel off their 3rd consecutive World Series Championship without ever winning the American League East.

The Rays are going to be significantly tougher this year as they have made two big offseason aquisitions signing former Jay DH Travis Snider to a huge 5 year $165,350,000 contract and bringing in the reigning American League MVP CF Malcom Patrick in an offseason blockbuster deal with the Texas Rangers.

The Jays on the other hand saw two of their best players leave for free agency after the team was unable to meet their contract demands. DH Travis Snider signed with the Tampa Bay Rays and RF Richard Davis inked a massive 4 year $119,700,000 deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. GM Ryan Stewart did not do nothing this offseason but his moves were not nearly as major as those made by the Angels and Rays.

Salary Arbitration

GM Ryan Stewart and the Jays were forced to go to salary arbitration with 6 different players this offseason which is a much lighter load than the 12 that the tweleve arbitration cases the Jays were faced with last season. Each player was awarded a one year deal worth the following amount:

CL Frank Pena - $4,874,000
MR Lawrence Harris - $2,788,000
MR Willie O'Macken - $3,780,000
LF Mario Velez - $10,000,000
2B Carlos Hernandez - $6,909,480
MR Manuel Ramirez - $1,300,000

The Jays also offered arbitration to DH Travis Snider and RF Richard Davis but both players declined and opted to become freeagents. Toronto also declined to offer arbitration to backup catcher C Chris House and he was eligiable to become a free agent.

Offseason Trades

Heading into the 2016 offseason GM Ryan Stewart identified 2 areas that he wanted to address "We felt like we needed an upgrade in two specific areas. The first is quite obvious, since we lost DH Travis Snider to free agency we were looking for a power bat to plug into the middle of the lineup. The secon was to upgrade the bullpen. The Jays pen ranked #15th in the league in ERA and they allowed the 4th most homeruns in the league. We wanted to go out and try to pick up a few mre groundball pitchers in an attempt to keep the ball in the park at the Rogers Center"

The Jays would address both their needs with a pair of offseason deals.

Blue Jays Complete 5 Player Swap With Arizona

The Jays would hook up with a familiar trading partner in the Arizona Diamondbacks sending CL Frank Pena, MR Ed Webster and 1B Naozane Fukuda to Arizona for CL Jose Diaz and MR Jose Moreno.

CL Frank Pena was the Jays 10th Round Pick 303rd overall in 2010 and has been the Jays closer for the past 2 seasons. He was 7-4 with 24 SV and a 6.13 ERA for the Jays in 2016. He is in his last year of Arbitration Eligibility and is slated to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2017 season. He has teriffic stuff and will be the anchor of the Dbacks bullpen.

MR Ed Webster, a former 5th round pick 153rd overall of the Jays in 2010 had evolved into a very good setup man for CL Frank Pena and was 7-6 with 3 SV and a 5.34 ERA for Toronto in 2016. He is just 25 years old and has very good stuff, GM Ryan Stewart did not want to include him in the deal but it could not be reached without him.

1B Naozane Fukuda is a 28 yearold power hitting career minor leaguer to this point who is a former 5th round pick 139th overall in 2009 by the Jays. He had a tremendous season in AAA Las Vegas in 2016 hitting .279 with 30 HR and 91 RBI. He has been blocked at the Major League level by 1B Ken Phelps and a change of scenery should do him a lot of good.

The Jays will receive a pair of pitchers in CL Jose Diaz and MR Jose Moreno. Diaz is a 25 yearold lefty with a very good fastball in the 94-96 MPH range and a devastating slider. He was the Dbacks 10th round pick 284th overall in 2009 and was 5-5 with 34 SV and a 3.49 ERA in 2016. He will immediately take over the closer's role for the Jays.

The Jays also get MR Jose Moreno a 27 yearold lefty with a big fastball in the 93-95 MPH range. He was a former 14th round pick of the Dbacks 430th overall out of Villanova University in the NCAA in 2011. He was 7-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 2016 and has an excellent ground ball percentage of 76%. He will likely slot in as the lefthanded setup man out of the pen in 2017.

Blue Jays Fill DH Opening in Trade with the Angels

The Jays would make a deal with the Angels to bring in 1B Tamotsu Fukuda, a power hitting firstbaseman expected to take over for the departed DH Travis Snider. The Angels have been very busy this offseason signing a trio of hig profile free agents in former Jay RF Richard Davis, 1B Michael Chaffin from the Dodgers and CF Doug Lee a power hitting outfielder from the Braves.

The only hole the Angels had was in their rotation and the Jays had a young arm that they were very interested in. SP Rich Fowler who made his debut with the Jays in 2016 was sent to Anaheim along with CL Ed Enright and minor league 3B Mark Jones in exchange for 1B Tamotsu Fukuda and minor league closer CL Jesse Stewart.

SP Rich Fowler is a 26 yearold right who was 13-6 with a 3.84 ERA as a rookie in the Jays rotation in 2016. He is a former 5th round pick 165th overall in 2012 out of the University of San Francisco in the NCAA. He was called up when SP Peter Clark went down for the season and was very good for the Jays even getting consideration for the rookie of the year award in the American League.

CL En Enright is a 25 yearold lefty who was a former 23rd round pick 686th overall in 2011 out of Lincoln highschool by the Jays. He had climbed up to AAA Las Vegas in 2016 and was 3-6 with 2 SV and a 2.86 ERA for the 51's. He scouts as a possible setup man at the bigleague level and his 98-100 MPH fastball backs that up.

The Jays also sent 21 yearold 3B Mark Jones who was a former 2nd round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2014 and was traded to the Jays in 2014. He has struggled a ton since moving over to the Jays and he hit just .165 with 7 HR and 44 RBI in Low A Lansing in 2016. He has a ton of talent but just hasn't been able to put it together yet. A change in organization may do him good and at just 21 years old he will be joining his 3rd organization in 2 years.

Coing over to the Jays is 24 yearold 1B Tamotsu Fukuda a big power hitting firstbaseman from Kobe Japan. The 6'3" 195 pounder was the Angels 1st Round Pick 5th overall in 2011 out of Progresso Highschool and he hit ,335 with 23 HR and 96 RBI for the Angels last season. He was bumped down the depth chart for the Angels with the signing of 1B Michael Chaffin and the Jays are happy to have him as their new DH.

The Jays will also get 21 yearold righty CL Jesse Stewart. Stewart has a very big arm with a fastball in the 97-99 MPH range and a very good slider. He was the Angels 15th Round Pick 444th overall in 2014 out of Corpus Christie Highschool. At just 21 he had already advanced to AAA Salt Lake City where he was 7-5 with 25 SV and a 6.22 ERA with 37 BB and 64 K's. He will be assigned to AAA Las Vegas for the 2017 season.

Free Agent Signings

DH Travis Snider signs deal with Tampa Bay Rays

DH Travis Sinder agreed to a 5 year $165,350,000 contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. The 29 yearold Snider hit .318 with 41 HR and 153 RBI for the Jays in 2016, but could not come to terms on an extension with the Jays. His new contract will pay him $33,070,000 a year for the next 5 seasons and includes a $500,000 bonus for winning the American League MVP. The Jays will receive the Rays 1st Round Pick and a Supplemental 1st Round Pick in the 2017 First Year Player Draft as compensation.

RF Richard Davis Inks 4 Year Deal with the Los Angeles Angels

The Jays also lost out on RF Richard Davis who turned down the Jays last offer of a 5 year $86,000,000 contract to sign with the Angels for 4 years at $119,700,000. The 29 yearold Davis hit .332 with 33 HR and 139 RBI for the Jays in 2016. His contract will pay him $26,940,000 / $28,920,000 / $30,920,000 and $32,920,000 over the 4 years. The Jays will receive the Angels 1st Round Pick and a Supplemental 1st round pick in the 2017 First Year Player Draft as compensation.

ryan008 · 08-25-2009, 11:19 AM

2017 Spring Training Preperations Underway

February 28th, 2017

The Toronto Blue Jays have begun to arrive at the Bobby Mattick Training Center in Dunedin Florida as pitchers and catchers were the first to arrive. Also amont the first to make his way to Dunedin was newly aquired DH Tamotsu Fukuda who was aquired in an offseason deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Fukuda will have some pretty big shoes to fill as he will be expected to take over the DH role from Travis Snider whos igned a huge deal with the Tampa Bay Rays in the offseason. The Jays will also be without RF Richard Davis who signed a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

2017 Spring Training Invitees

Starting Pitchers

SP John Anderson
SP Manny Holland
SP Mack Boyle
SP Peter Clark
SP Roy Halladay
SP Dan Oakes
SP Elias Randolph
SP James Ryan
SP Frank Parker

Bullpen - Middle Relievers & Closers

MR Pancho Banuelso
MR Clark Dixon
MR Lawrence Harris
MR Mike Head
MR Jose Moreno
MR Willie O'Macken
MR Manuel Ramirez
CL Jose Diaz

Position Players

C Matsu Kamimura
C Yan Bildeau
C Fred Daniels

1B Ken Phelps
1B/DH Tamatsu Fukuda
1B Francisco Martinez

2B Mal Pritchard
2B Pedro Baca
2B Brady Day
2B Carlos Hernandez

3B Edgar Goodwin
3B Mike Arthur

SS Joel Walker
SS Zhong-xian Sang
SS Andy Austen
SS Bruce Sweeney
SS Elvis Andrus

LF Alastair Parry
LF Alfredo Rivera
LF Mario Velez
CF Jorge Escallante
CF Pat Thomas
RF Bobby Wilt
RF Reime Letroit

ryan008 · 08-26-2009, 10:52 AM

2017 Blue Jays Ready to Take flight

April 4th, 2017

The start of the 2017 season is just a few days away and the Blue Jays have all packed their things and are on their way to Detroit to open up the season with a 3 game set against the Tigers. The 2017 version of the Jays is going to be a much different club. The Jays lost free agents DH Travis Snider and RF Richard Davis to the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, SP Rich Fowler was delt to the Angels in an offseason trade and CL Frank Pena and MR Ed Webster were both moved in a deal with the Diamondbacks. The Jays will be looking to a crop of new players brought into replace the ones who left, SP Elias Randolph who got a breif callup in 2016 will slot in as the Jays #5 starter, Randolph a 24 yearold from Greenwood Indiana was the Jays 7th round pick in 2011 out of Glendale Highschool.

Taking over the closer's role will be CL Jose Diaz who was aquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the offseason. The Jays also picked up MR Jose Moreno in that deal and he is slated to be the teams lefthanded setup man in 2017. GM Ryan Stewart looked to a deal with the Angels to fill the teams home at DH bringing in 1B Tamotsu Fukuda a 24 yearold lefthanded power hitter who the Jays are hoping can come close to producing at the rate that DH Travis Snider was. The Jays also looked to within to fill a hole in right field. Rookie RF Bobby Wilt who was aquired in 2016 in a trade with the Washington Nationals will serve as the teams #4 outfielder.

The Jays were forced to change their plans as backup infielder SS Elvis Andrus suffered a torn back muscle and will miss the entire season. Andrus was placed on the 60 Day Disabled list and rookie SS Zhong-xian Sang will make the club out of Spring Training and will be the backup/utility infielder for the time being. The Jays chose not to offer arbitration to backup C Chris House and he signed with the Tigers in the offseason. The Jays will use former 18th round pick in the 2009 draft C Yan Bildeau as the backup catcher this season.

Milestone Watch

The 2017 season will be the 20th in the distinguished career of the longest serving Jay and the winningest pitcher in Blue Jays history. SP Roy Halladay will turn 40 years old in 2017 and currently sits at #48 on the career victories list just 1 win behind hall of famer SP Bob Gibson. Halladay is in the last year of his contract and has not made his intentions after the 2017 season clear. He had a bit of a resurgance in 2016 posting a 17-4 record but an ERA of 5.80. GM Ryan Stewart "Halladay will retire as a Jay, if he decides he wants to pitch in 2018 there will be a spot in our rotation open for him and should he decide to retire there will be a spot in our organization as a coach or manager for him right away" If Halladay can repeat his 17 victory season from 2017 he will move into sole possesion of #37 on the career victories list just 1 shy of hall of famer SP Jim Palmer.

2017 Toronto Blue Jays

Starting Pitchers

SP John Anderson
SP James Ryan
SP Dan Oakes
SP Roy Halladay
SP Elias Randolph

Bullpen & Closer

MR Manuel Ramirez
MR Willie O'Macken
MR Mike Head
MR Lawrence Harris
MR Chris Dixon
MR Jose Moreno
CL Jose Diaz

Position Players

C Matsu Kamimura
C Yan Bildeau
1B Ken Phelps
2B Carlos Hernandez
2B Brady Day
3B Mike Arthur
SS Zhong-xian Sang
SS Joel Walker
LF Mario Velez
CF Jorge Escallante
RF Alfredo Rivera
RF Bobby Wilt
DH Tamotsu Fukuda

Opening Day Lineup & Starting Pitcher

RF Alfredo Rivera
2B Carlos Hernandez
SS Joel Walker
1B Ken Phelps
DH Tamotsu Fukuda
LF Mario Velez
3B Mike Arthur
C Matsu Kamimura
CF Jorge Escallante

SP John Anderson

ryan008 · 08-26-2009, 04:05 PM

Blue Jays off to Strong Start in AL East

May 1st, 2017

The Blue Jays are off and running in 2017 and after posting a strong 13-6 start, including a 3 game sweep of the Detroit Tigers to kick off the season they currently sit in 2nd place behind the Tampa Bay Rays by just 1/2 game. The Jays have both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees breathing down their necks in the American League Wild Card and just 3 games seperates the Jays and 5 other teams in the American League. The best news for the Jays was that they were able to get through a month without losing anyone to a major injury, which was a reoccuring theme to the 2016 season.

April's Hot Players

SP Dan Oakes - 3-1 4.38 ERA
SP Roy Halladay - 3-0 2.98 ERA
SP Elias Randolph - 2-0 4.80 ERA
1B Ken Phelps - .348 4 HR 18 RBI
LF Mario Velez - .343 8 HR 24 RBI
C Matsu Kamimura - .323 4 HR 19 RBI
3B Mike Arthur - .298 3 HR 10 RBI

April's Cold Players

SP John Anderson - 1-3 6.53 ERA
SP James Ryan - 1-1 6.08 ERA
MR Lawrence Harris - 1-0 24.88 ERA
SS Joel Walker - .198 1 HR 7 RBI

April News & Transactions

Awards

AAA Las Vegas - Pacific Coast League

1B Brant McPhadden (3rd round pick, 79th overall in 2012) was named the Pacific Coast League Batter of the Month for August after hitting .361 with 13 HR and 29 RBI.

High A Dunedin - Florida State League

RF Vincent Morales (1st Round Pick 5th Overall in 2013) was named the Florida State League Batter of the Month for August after hitting .494 with 6 HR and 25 RBI.

Low A Lansing - Midwestern League

SP Joseph Gordon (11th Round 335th Overall in 2015) was named the Pitcher of the Month for August after going 4-0 with a 0.26 ERA.

ryan008 · 08-27-2009, 11:07 AM

Blue Jays Fall to 4 Back in AL East

June 1st, 2017

The Toronto Blue Jays had an average month in May posting a record of just 16-14 and improving their overall record to 29-20. This is good enough for second place in the American League East behind the red hot Tampa Bay Rays who have won 12 of their last 13 games after starting off the month with a 5 game losing streak. The Jays currently trail the Rays by a full 4 games but have a hold on the American League Wild Card by just 1/2 game over the New York Yankees and a 1 game lead on the Oakland Athletics.

The Jays hopes of making a push in the division also took a hit with an injury to their starting LF Mario Velez who will miss the next 7-8 months. He is an integral part of the Jays offence and will be a tough loss for a lineup that has seen its share of struggles during the first two months of the season. The Jays who normally have one of the best offences in baseball are currnetly in the middle of the pack in the american league in most offensive categories. The rank at #8th in batting average, 7th in runs scored and 9th in homeruns. GM Ryan Stewart has no real explanation for the drop off in performace this season "I think we are just seeing some guys haveing down years, add to that the face we have seen a number of guys playig with minor injuries so far and you are seeing the results. Guys will start to heat up and I think by the time the end of the season rolls around we will be up their in most offensive categories"

May's Hot Players

SP John Anderson - 4-2 3.72 ERA
SP Elias Randolph - 3-0 3.03 ERA
CL Jose Diaz - 0-1 6 SV 0.73 ERA
SS Joel Walker - .359 8 HR 33 RBI
DH Tamotsu Fukuda - .330 3 HR 16 RBI
3B Mike Arthur - .321 4 HR 20 RBI

May's Cold Players

SP Dan Oakes - 2-2 7.82 ERA
MR Mike Head - 0-1 9.95 ERA
C Yan Bildeau - .167 0 HR 4 RBI
C Matsu Kamimura - .209 4 HR 17 RBI
CF Jorge Escallante - .237 4 HR 21 RBI

May News & Transactions

Injuries

The Jays will be without the services of their starting LF Mario Velez who is suffering from bone chips in his elbow and will miss the next 7-8 months. He was hitting .340 with 8 HR and 30 RBIs at the time of the injury and was placed on the 15 Day Disabled list. The Jays recalled LF Alastair Parry from AAA Las Vegas. Parry was having a very good season in the Pacific Coast League hitting .377 with 3 HR and 13 RBI.

Awards

AA New Hampshire - Eastern League

1B Migdonio Caroo (9th Round Pick 281st Overall in 2013) was named the Eastern League Batter of the Month for May after hitting .386 with 13 HR adn 37 RBI.

High A Dunedin - Florida State League

RF Ernesto Castillo (2nd Round Pick 66th Overall in 2014) was named the Florida State League Batter of the Month for May after hitting .402 with 11 HR and 22 RBI.

ryan008 · 08-27-2009, 11:49 AM

2017 Major League Draft Preview

June 14th, 2016

The Blue Jays will once again be very busy on draft day as for the second straight season they hold 5 selections betweent he first and supplemental first rounds. Toronto received compensation picks from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Tamp Bay Rays for the loss of DH Travis Snider and RF Richard Davis in the offseason. The Jays tried desperately to get them both to resign but both players would end up signing for double the contract offers from the Blue Jays.

The top ten prospects were identified in Baseball Americas yearly pre draft rankings and this year C Jeremy Gray out of Western Michigan University in the NCAA is considered to be the top talent. Gray is a front line talent and should easily be a starting catcher at the big league level in a short time. He has a rocket for a throwing arm and is very intellegent behind the plate. He hits for both average and power and was an NCAA Allstar in 2017 as well as being named the NCAA Gold Glove winner for C for the second straight season. The only knock against him is that he is tremendously slow but that is to be expected for a catcher. He will definately go within the first few picks on draft day.

The Kansas City Royals who have seen a dramatic decline going from a playoff team who would defeat the Jays over and over have fallen to last place in the league and will select first in tomorrows draft. The Royals also lost SP Zack Greiknie as a free agent to the Detroit Tigers last year and that has definately contributed to their downfall. After the Royals the Tigers, Yankees, Brewers and Mets will round out the top 5 selections.

2016 Baseball America Top 10 Ranked Players

1. C Jeremy Gray (Western Michigan University, NCAA)
2. RF Xavier Pena (UCF, NCAA)
3. LF Scott Howell (William & Mary University, NCAA)
4. RF Hirotada Kichida (Muleshoe Highschool, USHSBA)
5. C Sam Baker (Saint Paul Highschool, USHSBA)
6. LF Norberto Ramirez (University of Illinois, NCAA)
7. SS Van Piper (UCF, NCAA)
8. RF Artie Jackson (University of Virginia, NCAA)
9. 2B Dave Sellick (Saint Paul Highschool, USHSBA)
10. LF Henry hollinshead (TCU, NCAA)

Toronto Blue Jays Draft Preview

For the second straight season the Jays will make 5 selections in the first and supplemental forst rounds of the 2017 First year Player Draft. They will select at # 17th overall as compensation from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the loss of RF Richard Davis, their next pick is at #28 from the Tampa Bay Rays as compensation for the loss of DH Travis Snider and than their have their own pick at #30th overall. They also received a supplemental first round pick for each player and will make those selections at #31 and #2 overall. With their 5 selections in this years draft the Jays will have made 10 picks in the first and supplemental 1st rounds in the last two season. This should really give the Jays farm system a boost in the seasons to come.

Blue Jays 1st Round Picks

2009 - 1st Round 19th Overall
SP James Ryan
Ryan has emerged as a solin #2 starter for the Jays. He Is struggling a bit in 2017 but is battling a nagging back injury that is causing him some discomfort. He is 4-3 with a 6.19 ERA for the Jays in 2017. He is a 3 time allstar and like anothe Jays former 1st round pick (SP Roy Halladay) has a chance to be one of the best pitchers in Jays history.

2010 - 1st Round 11th Overall
3B Mark Terry
After a trade to Baltimore in 2015 Terry was claimed off waivers in 2016 by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He has been the Angels starting thirdbaseman since being claimed. He is off to a good start to the 2017 season hitting .302 with 8 HR and 26 RBI and is starting to look like the player the Jays thought that they were getting when they took him 11th overall. He may even get some consideration for the 2017 Allstar game.

2011 - 1st Round 27th Overall
SP Robert Buchanan
Buchanan has emmerged as a solid #2 starter ever sice he was delt to the Philedelphia Phillies. He is having a tough season in 2017 but has managed to post a respectable 4-5 record with a 5.43 ERA for a last place Phillie team. He is in the last year of his contract with the Phillies and could become a free agent at the end of the season. He is not considered a front line talent but could be a solid pickup for a contending team at the trade deadline. There are rumours swirling that he is on the trade block right now.

2012 - 1st Round 30th Overall
2B Mal Pritchard
Pritchard had a good season in AAA in 2016 and started the 2017 campaign back in Las Vegas. He was impressive in Spring Training with the Jays hitting .336 with 2 HR and 12 RBI but is blocked at the Major League Level by 2B Carlos Hernandez. He started slowly in 2017 for the 51's hitting just .224 with 6 HR and 26 RBI and suffered a fractured food in May. He is currently on the Disabled List and is scheduled to return before the end of June.

2013 - 1st Round 30th Overall
RF Jose Ramirez
Ramirez was promoted to AA New Hampshire after the 2016 season and has been ver good for the Fishercats this year hitting .313 with 10 HR and 58 RBI and being named the Eastern League Batter of the Week twice. He is considered to be the Jays #2 outfield prospect (behind RF Vincente Morales) and should have a bright future with the Jays. He will likely spent one more month in AA before getting promoted to AAA Las Vegas where he should finish off the 2017 season.

2014 - 1st Round 30th Overall
2B Curt Albert
Albert suffered an injury after the 2016 draft and missed the remainder of the 2016 season. He is back to 100% healthy now and is tearing up the Florida State League hitting .400 with 1 HR and 21 RBI. He is not considered a homerun threat but has a very good eye at the plate and is extremely patient. He will get a few more atbats in the Florida State League and than we would like to move him up to AA New Hampshire to finish out the season. He could be on the Jays radar for the 2018 season.

2015 - 1st Round 30th Overall
SS Jesus Huerta
Huerta continues to impress the Jays development staff after a very strong showing in the Gulf Coast League in 2016, his first year as a professional Huerta is tearing the cover off the ball in the FLorida State League hitting .389 with 10 HR and 68 RBI. He is emmerging as one of the better prospects in the Jays system and could move very quickly. He is going to get a few more atbats in Dunedin but will finish off the season in AA New Hampshire. He has a great bat, good eye at the plate and is defensively solid and could end up being a steal for the Jays with the last pick in the forst round in 2015.

2016 - 1st Round 30th Overall
CL Peter Bray
Bray was a player that scoutig director John Lalonde highly recommended and pushed for and he has not dissapointed. After a strong season in the GCL he was moved up to Low A Lansing and is off to a terriffic start posting a 2.18 ERA with 18 SV for the Lugnuts. He was recently promoted to AA New Hampshire and could be fast tracked to the big leagues. He has very good stuff and scouts as a closer at the big league level. He could see time with the Jays as soon as September 2018.

08-17-2009, 09:51 AM	#181
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	Blue Jays Best in Baseball in Regular Season October 3rd, 2016 The Toronto Blue Jays put together a fantastic last month and a half of the season and would end up putting up the best win/loss record in franchise history. The Jays would start play on September 1st trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by 1/2 game in the American League East and when the dust settled at the start of October the Jays would hold a 6 game lead in the American League East and the team would end up winning 120 games going 120-42. The 120 wins is the most in franchise history and is easily the best record in the Majors in 2016. The Jays would also celebrate another milestone in the game as the longest serving Blue Jay SP Roy Halladay would rack up career victory number 250 in a 6-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. The 39 yearold Halladay had a resurgent season in 2016 posting a record of 16-3 and an ERA of 5.84. Halladay's 5.84 ERA is nearly 2.5 runs higher than his career average and his record is definately a reflection of the Jays #1 rated offence. Halladay is under contract for 1 more season and than the big righty's future is in the air. The Blue Jays will face the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division series and they unfortunately will do it without 3 of their regular players in the lineup. The Jays had SS Joel Walker, RF Richard Davis and rookie LF Alfredo Rivera all suffer long term injuries that will keep them out of the lineup for at least the ALDS and possibly the American League Championship Series should the Jays advance. SS Joel Walker suffered a strained abdominal muscle and will miss the next 6-7 weeks. He was hitting .325 with 26 HR and 98 RBI and was placed on the 15 Day Disabled list. SS Zhong-xian Sang who was a September Callup from AAA Las Vegas will remain with the team and SS Elvis Andrus will be the everyday shortstop for the post season. RF Richard Davis who was having a very strong season for the Jays posting a line of .326 with 25 HR and 110 RBI suffered a strained oblique muscle and will also be out for the next 6-7 weeks. LF Alastair Parry who was also a September Callup will remain with the team. Davis is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and has not agreed to a new contract with the Jays. This injury may mean he has played his last game in a Jays uniform. The last player to go down was rookie LF Alfredo Rivera. He was having an outstanding rookie campaign with the Jays hitting .369 with 11 HR and 99 RBI. He suffered a strained rib cage muscle and will miss the next 4 weeks. He was also placed on the 15 Day Disabled list and RF Bobby Wilt who was hitting .240 with 13 HR and 95 RBI for AAA Las Vegas was recalled to take his spot in the lineup. The 2016 playoffs are just around the corner and the Blue Jays will face the American League Central Champions the Cleveland Indians. In the other ALDS the Wild Card winners the Tampa Bay Rays will face the American League West Champions the Oakland Athletics. In the National League it will be the Wild Card Winners the Washington Nationals tangleing with the NL West Champs the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals who captured the NL Central title will face the NL East Champs the New York Mets.

08-17-2009, 11:17 AM	#182
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	Blue Jays Fall to Cleveland October 16th, 2016 The broken record just keeps on playing as the Jays put up a franchise best record of 120-42 and were eliminated from the playoffs in the American League Division Series again, this time it was the Cleveland Indians who would advance to the American League Championship Series eliminating the Jays in 5 games. The Jays were missing three of their better players heading into the ALDS as SS Joel Walker, RF Richard Davis and LF Alfredo Rivera all suffered long term injuries near the end of the season and were placed on the Disabled List. So with the defeat the Jays and GM Ryan Stewart will head into the offseason scratching their heads and no one really knows what the future holds for the Jays, one thing is for certain something needs to be done in the offseason to help the Jays get out of this playoff funk that they are currently in. ALDS Game #1 - Cleveland Indians @ Toronto Blue Jays SP Cody Scarpetta (10-7 5.25 ERA) vs SP Dan Oakes (14-7 5.66 ERA) W: SP Cody Scarpetta (1-0) L: SP Dan Oakes (0-1) S: CL Octavio Robertson (1) Game #1 was a pitchers dual and SP Dan Oakes would be the first one to flinch. He would give up the first run of the game in the top of the 4th inning as 3B Anastasio Rangel would take him deep to right field making it 1-0 Indians. Cleveland would extend their lead i the top of the 6th inning on a DH Mike Dillon 2 out 2 run homerun to centerfield and it was 3-0 Cleveland. In the bottom of the 7th inning the Jays would get a pair of runs back as 3B Mike Arthur blasted his first homerun of the playoffs, a 2 run shot that put the Jays on the board and cut the lead down to 3-2. That is as close as the Jays would get as the Indians bullpen shut them down the rest of the way as the Indians would take a 1-0 series lead. ALDS Game #2 - Cleveland Indians @ Toronto Blue Jays SP Brendan Lowry (16-10 5.32 ERA) vs SP James Ryan (21-6 4.22 ERA) W: SP James Ryan (1-0) L: SP Brendan Lowery (0-1) The Jays bats came alive in game #2 and SP James Ryan was dynamite on the mound as he tossed a complete game shutout against the Indians in game #2. The Jays would get on the board in the bottom of the 1st inning as DH Travis Snider cracked a 2 run homerun to open up a 2-0 Toronto lead. In the 4th inning DH Travis Snider was at it again belting a second homerun, this time a grand slam into the right field seats and it was 6-0 Toronto. C Matsu Kamimura added a 2 run double in the 4th inning and it was 8-0 Toronto. Toronto would tack on 2 more runs on a SS Elvis Andrus RBI single in the 4th and a 1B Ken Phelps solo homerun in the 5th inning as the Jays cruised to a 10-0 thumping of the Indians in game #2. ALDS Game #3 - Toronto Blue Jays @ Seattle Mariners SP John Anderson (13-7 6.13 ERA) vs SP Jose Velez (11-10 3.72 ERA) W: MR William Duncan (1-0) L: SP John Anderson (1-0) S: CL Octavio Robertson (2) The Blue Jays would once again jump out to an early lead as 2B Carlos Hernandez had an RBI triple in the 1st inning and it was 1-0 Jays. The lead lasted until the 4th inning when 3B Anastasio Rangel would belt his second 2 run homerun in the series and it was 2-1 Cleveland. The Indians extended their lead in the 6th as C Rafael Coronado had an RBI single and it was 3-1 Indians. The Jays would come back as they loaded the bases for DH Travis Snider who blasted his second grandslam in as many nights making it 5-3 for the Jays. The Jays would tack on another run in the 7th on a 1B Ken Phelps sac fly and it was 6-3 Blue Jays. The wheels fell off for the Jays in the 8th inning as CF Juan Alvarez got the Indians to within 1 when he reached on an error to SS Elvis Andrus that scored a run aking it 6-4 Jays. He would come around to score on a sacrifice fly by DH Tsutomu Kumatani and the indians were within 1 at 6-5. With 2 outs SP Dan Oakes walked the next 2 batters and would leave the game. MR Mike Head would come in and his first pitch was sent into right field by 3B Anastasio Rangel for an RBI single and the game was tied at 6. Head's troubles were just begining though as he would hit the next batter to load the bases and than proceed to walk RF Tommy Holland in to give the Indians the lead. Cleveland wasn't done there as anothe walk and a wild pitch later and the Indians would go on to a 9-6 victory and take a 2-1 series lead on the Jays. ALDS Game #4 - Toronto Blue Jays @ Oakland Athletics SP Roy Halladay (17-3 5.34) vs SP Cody Scarpetta (1-0 1.13 ERA) W: SP Roy Halladay (1-0) L: SP Cody Scarpetta (1-1) The Jays handed the ball to SP Roy Halladay in attempt to keep their season alive and the 39 yearold veteran pitched like he was a 28 yearold kid in his prime. He held the Indians off the scoreboard tossing a complete game shutout and more imortantly gave the Jays a chance to take the series at home in Game #5. The Jays scored the first run of the game in the 3rd inning on a DH Travis Snider groundout making it 1-0 Toronto. In the 4th LF Mario Velez doubled in a run and it was 2-0 Toronto. C Matsu Kamimura belted his first career post season homerun in the 8th, a 3 run shot that made it 5-0 Toronto. The Jays capped the scoring in the 9th inning on a CF Jesus Escallante RBI double as the Jays took game #4 6-0 knotting up the series and forcing a game #5 back in Toronto. ALDS Game #5 - Oakland Athletics @ Toronto Blue Jays SP James Ryan (1-0 0.00 ERA ERA) vs SP Brendan Lowry (0-1 14.73 ERA) W: MR Jordan Lutz (1-0) L: CL Frank Pena (0-1) S: CL Octavio Robertson (3) Game #5 was not pretty on either side as the Indians would stage a huge comeback in the 9th inning to upset the Jays. The Indians would score in the first inning on a LF Bill Carson solo homerun making it 1-0. The Jays would respond in the home half of the first as DH Travis Snider replied with a solo homerun of his own tieing the game at 1. In the 3rd inning the Indians would score a pair of runs on a SS Kenny Lyons RBI double and a CF Juan Alvarez RBI triple and it was 3-1 Cleveland. 3B Mike Dillon would add a 3 run homerun in the 4th and the Indians lead 6-1. In the 5th inning the Indians would tack on another as 2B Gregory Long had an RBI double making it 7-1. The Jays would fnally respond in the bottom of the 5th inning as 1B Ken Phelps belted a 2 run homerun making it 7-3 Indians. In the 7th inning the Jays cut the lead to just 3 as 2B Carlos Hernandez had an RBI single and it was 7-4. In the top of the 8th inning 3B Mike Dillon was at it again belting another 2 run homerun, his second of the game making it a 9-4 Indians lead. In the bottom of the 8th inning DH Travis Snider had a bases loaded triple that cut the Indians lead to 9-7, he would later score on a 1B Ken Phelps 3 run homerun in the 8th that gave the Jays a 10-9 lead for the first time in the game. CF Jorge Escallante would cap off the comeback in the 8th inning adding a 2 out 2 run double that gave the Jays a 12-9 lead. The Jays would head into the top of the 9th inning with a 3 run lead and would bring their closer CL Frank Pena in to try and wrapp up the series. On his first pitch Pena served up a homerun to pinch hitter 3B Anastasio Rangel and the lead was cut to 2 at 12-10. Pena would walk the next 2 batters and than give up an RBI single to LF Bill Carson making it a 1 run game. Pena would get the next batter to strikeout but C Rafael Coronado would squeek a groundball through the right side to bring home the tieing run. Pena would be forced to leave the game after facing Coronado and it would later be revealed that he will miss the next 4 months with an arm injury. The situation would just keep getting worse for the Jays as CF Juan Alvarez would double of MR Lawrence Harris bringing home 2 more runs and giving the Indains a 14-12 lead. The Jays would not be able to score in the nottom of the 9th inning as CL Octavio Robertson would shut the door and the Indians would take the ALDS in 5 games over the Jays.

08-17-2009, 02:29 PM	#183
Articula Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 39	Seems to be the trend recently, great teams falling hard in the playoffs. Sorry bud

08-17-2009, 04:52 PM	#184
metzrule3 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 22	I think your problem might be that your team relys too much on hitting. Your pitchers all have good records but mediocre to bad ERAs, implying that their records are based off good run support. That works in the regular season but teams like that tend to fail in the post season. I'd try to upgrade your pitching staff if I were you.

08-18-2009, 05:44 PM	#185
Articula Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 39	Hopefully Ryan didn't give up, between this and Taves' Nationals thread I come here during lunch break to get my baseball fix

08-19-2009, 10:31 AM	#187
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	2016 Major League Award Winners Announced Once again the Jays were eliminated from the post season in dramatic fashion, this time it wasn't the Kansas City Royals who would end the Jays season it would be the Cleveland Indians who took down the Blue Jays who held the best record in the Major Leagues during the regular season. The Jays did manage to capture some hardware as the 2016 Major league Award winners were announced, three position players would take home gold gloves and GM Ryan Stewart was named the American elague Manager of the Year for the 3rd time in his career. The 2016 award winners were: National League Gold Golves P Han Ni (Arizona Diamondbacks) C Alberto Francisco (Los Angeles Dodgers) 1B Yoriyoshi Kan (New York Mets) 2B Jack Davis (Florida Marlins) 3B Lachlan Anslow (Pittsburgh Pirates) SS Raul Lara (Los Angeles Dodgers) LF Quincy Peterson (Pittsburgh Pirates) CF David Merrill (Houston Astros) RF Liam Harris (Los Angeles Dodgers) American League Gold Golves P Dan Edmonds (Boston Red Sox) C Matsu Kamimura (Toronto Blue Jays) 1B Rafael Sandoval (Baltimore Orioles) 2B Carlos Hernandez (Toronto Blue Jays) 3B Oliver Gonzales (Tampa Bay Rays) SS Joel Walker (Toronto Blue Jays) LF Quentin Norman (Los Angeles Dodgers) CF Malcom Patrick (Texas Rangers) RF Corronado Volonte (Chicago White Sox) National League Rookie of the Year RF Felipe Nunez (Cincinatti Reds) .339 18 HR 77 RBI Nunez was the Reds 4th Round Pick 110th Overall in 2012 out of Modesto Highschool American League Rookie of the Year LF Xavier McKee (Chicago White Sox) .365 25 HR 86 RBI McKee was the White Sox 1st Round Pick 12th Overall in 2014 out of teh University of Connecticut. National League Cy Young Award CL Josh Mitchell (Washington Nationals) 6-0 42 SV 2.19 ERA 74 K 13 BB (70 IP) American League Cy Young Award SP Emory Jones (Tampa Bay Rays) 22-6 4.17 ERA 197 K National League Manager of the Year Tony Pena Sr. (St. Louis Cardinals) American League Manager of the Year Ryan Stewart (Toronto Blue Jays) National League Most Valuable Player LF Dwight Warren (Los Angeles Dodgers) .392 41 HR 138 RBI American League Most Valuable Player RF Malcom Patrick (Texas Rangers) .372 49 HR 148 RBI *This is the 4th time that Partick has won the AL MVP award.

08-19-2009, 11:16 AM	#188
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	2016 Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Year 2016 was a very good year for the Jays minor league affiliates as the Blue Jays celebrated 4 1st place finishes and 3 league championship trophies were added to the organizations trophy case. AA New Hampshire Fishercats, High A Dunedin Blue Jays and the Short Season A Auburn Doubledays all captured leage championship titles. The success of the Jays minor league teams bodes well for the future of the franchise and GM Ryan Stewart has one person he attributes that success to "We would not be in the position that we are in without all the hard work that our director of scouting John Lalonde and his scouting staff do. John's eye for talented players in the draft has really been demonstrated over the past few seasons and those players continue to rise up through our system. We are quite happy with the position we are in now and things can only get better from here" AAA Las Vegas 51's (88-56 1st in South Division) SP Elias Randolph 24 Years Old, LHP, Velocity: 97-99 Aquired: 7th Round Pick 218th overall in 2011 by Toronto out of Glendale Highschool in the USHSBA. 2016 Stats: 14-3 2.31 ERA 27 BB 210 K GM's Comments: Randolph was very good for the 51's this season and is a big reason why they finished first in their division for the first time since becomming the Jays AAA Affiliate. Randolph has emmerged as a front of the rotation potental starter and will likely get a shot at making the rotation in 2017. He was a Pacifica Coast League Allstar in 2016 and was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year winner. AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats (98-48 1st in Northern Division & 2016 Eastern League Champs) SS Andy Austen 23 Years Old, RHB Aquired: 2nd Round Pick 56th Overall in 2012 by Toronto (Paradise Highschool, USHSBA) 2016 Stats: .281 30 HR 98 RBI GM's Comments: Austen emerged as the Fishercats best hitter in 2016 leading the team in HR and RBIs and was no sloutch with the glove either, as he was named the Eastern League's Gold Glover winner for 2B. He has a lot of upside and scouts as a starting secondbaseman at the Major league level. He is currently blocked by 2B Carlos Hernandez at the big league level but with production like that he may not be in the minors much longer. He will be headed to AAA Las Vegas for the 2017 season and will also get a shot to attend his first Major League Spring Training in 2017. High A Dunedin Blue Jays (107-33 1st in North Division & Florida State League Champions) 2B Curt Albert 22 Years Old, RHB Aquired: 1st Round Pick 30th Overall in 2014 by Toronto (Akron Highschool, USHSBA) 2016 Stats: .370 3 HR 94 RBI GM's Comments: Albert finally began to show why the Jays considered him a 1st round talent and made him the 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft. He lead the Blue Jays in hits, RBI, batting average and stolen bases and was a gold glove winner. He repeated the season in the Florida State League and everything just seemed to click for him this year. He will be assigned to AA New Hampshire in 2017 and could see AAA Las Vegas by the end of the season. He doesn't hit for very much power but has the skills to be a potential leadoff hitter in the majors. Low A Lansing (74-66 2ndt in East Division & Mid Western League Runners Up) SP Diego Nunez 21 Years Old, RHP, Velocity: 92-94 MPH Aquired: 13th Round Pick 396th overall in 2014 by Toronto (Anniston Highschool, USHSBA) 2016 Stats: 18-6 2.97 ERA 61 BB 224 K GM's Comments: Nunez is a perfect example of good scouting. He eas a 13th round pick in 2014 and has emmerged as one of the top young arm in the Jays system. He was the Ace of the staff for Lansing in 2016 and was named to the 2016 Midwestern League Allstar team and was the Midwestern League Pitcher of the Year. He has 4 very good pitches and has really worked hard on his changeup in the minors and it is starting to pay dividends. The 21 yearold will be headed to AA New Hampshire to start the 2017 season and he will likely stay there for the season. The Jays see no reason to rush his development and don't want him to lose confidance. Short Season A Auburn (63-13 1st in Pickney Division & 2017 New York Penn League Champions) SP Steve Murray 21 Years Old, RHP, Velocity: 94-96 MPH Aquired: 5th Round Pick 155th Overall in 2015 (Eureka Mills Highschool, USHSBA) 2016 Stats: 12-1 1.47 ERA 30 BB 158 K GM's Comments: Murray had one of the best seasons in the New York Penn League that I have ever seen setting the record for Auburn for most wins in a season. He has a very good fastball and complements it with two other plus pitches. He emerged as the Doubledays best starter and was one of the best pitchers in the Jays entire system in 2016. He was a NYP League Allstar and ran away with the New York Penn League Pitcher of the Year Award. He will not be rushed through the minors and will be assigned to High A Dunedin of the Florida State League even though my scouts believe he is ready for AA now. GCL Blue Jays (32-28 2nd in North Division) CL Kiyoshisa Tgukamoto 19 Years Old, RHP, Velocity: 93-95 Aquired: 14th Round Pick 424th Overall in 2016 by Toronto (Tulsa Highschool, USHSBA) 2016 Stats: 1-3 13 SV 2.96 ERA 6 BB 29 K GM's Comments: Tgukamoto performed very well for being such a late pick. He was almost lightsout in the GCL Blue Jays bullpen in 2016 and was easily their best pitcher. He has very good stuff and compliments his fastball with a cutter that is murder on right handed hitters. He is still very young and will be assigned to Auburn of the New York Penn League for the start of the 2017 season. He could move up to Low A Lansing but the Jays see no reason to rush his development right now.

08-24-2009, 10:31 AM	#193
Articula Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 39	I wonder if this is being analyzed by the head honchos? This seems a bit out of place. Or else there is no PED testing in your league

08-25-2009, 10:59 AM	#195
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	2016 Blue Jays Offseason Report GM Ryan Stewart was very busy this offseason as the team tried to come to terms with yet another very early and dissapointing exit from the post season. The Jays were easily the best team in the Major Leagues last year posting a record 120 win season, the first in franchise history but once again failed to advance past the American League Division Series, this time falling to the Cleveland Indians. The most frustrating thing for Jays fans is to see their Division Rivals the Tampa Bay Rays reel off their 3rd consecutive World Series Championship without ever winning the American League East. The Rays are going to be significantly tougher this year as they have made two big offseason aquisitions signing former Jay DH Travis Snider to a huge 5 year $165,350,000 contract and bringing in the reigning American League MVP CF Malcom Patrick in an offseason blockbuster deal with the Texas Rangers. The Jays on the other hand saw two of their best players leave for free agency after the team was unable to meet their contract demands. DH Travis Snider signed with the Tampa Bay Rays and RF Richard Davis inked a massive 4 year $119,700,000 deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. GM Ryan Stewart did not do nothing this offseason but his moves were not nearly as major as those made by the Angels and Rays. Salary Arbitration GM Ryan Stewart and the Jays were forced to go to salary arbitration with 6 different players this offseason which is a much lighter load than the 12 that the tweleve arbitration cases the Jays were faced with last season. Each player was awarded a one year deal worth the following amount: CL Frank Pena - $4,874,000 MR Lawrence Harris - $2,788,000 MR Willie O'Macken - $3,780,000 LF Mario Velez - $10,000,000 2B Carlos Hernandez - $6,909,480 MR Manuel Ramirez - $1,300,000 The Jays also offered arbitration to DH Travis Snider and RF Richard Davis but both players declined and opted to become freeagents. Toronto also declined to offer arbitration to backup catcher C Chris House and he was eligiable to become a free agent. Offseason Trades Heading into the 2016 offseason GM Ryan Stewart identified 2 areas that he wanted to address "We felt like we needed an upgrade in two specific areas. The first is quite obvious, since we lost DH Travis Snider to free agency we were looking for a power bat to plug into the middle of the lineup. The secon was to upgrade the bullpen. The Jays pen ranked #15th in the league in ERA and they allowed the 4th most homeruns in the league. We wanted to go out and try to pick up a few mre groundball pitchers in an attempt to keep the ball in the park at the Rogers Center" The Jays would address both their needs with a pair of offseason deals. Blue Jays Complete 5 Player Swap With Arizona The Jays would hook up with a familiar trading partner in the Arizona Diamondbacks sending CL Frank Pena, MR Ed Webster and 1B Naozane Fukuda to Arizona for CL Jose Diaz and MR Jose Moreno. CL Frank Pena was the Jays 10th Round Pick 303rd overall in 2010 and has been the Jays closer for the past 2 seasons. He was 7-4 with 24 SV and a 6.13 ERA for the Jays in 2016. He is in his last year of Arbitration Eligibility and is slated to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2017 season. He has teriffic stuff and will be the anchor of the Dbacks bullpen. MR Ed Webster, a former 5th round pick 153rd overall of the Jays in 2010 had evolved into a very good setup man for CL Frank Pena and was 7-6 with 3 SV and a 5.34 ERA for Toronto in 2016. He is just 25 years old and has very good stuff, GM Ryan Stewart did not want to include him in the deal but it could not be reached without him. 1B Naozane Fukuda is a 28 yearold power hitting career minor leaguer to this point who is a former 5th round pick 139th overall in 2009 by the Jays. He had a tremendous season in AAA Las Vegas in 2016 hitting .279 with 30 HR and 91 RBI. He has been blocked at the Major League level by 1B Ken Phelps and a change of scenery should do him a lot of good. The Jays will receive a pair of pitchers in CL Jose Diaz and MR Jose Moreno. Diaz is a 25 yearold lefty with a very good fastball in the 94-96 MPH range and a devastating slider. He was the Dbacks 10th round pick 284th overall in 2009 and was 5-5 with 34 SV and a 3.49 ERA in 2016. He will immediately take over the closer's role for the Jays. The Jays also get MR Jose Moreno a 27 yearold lefty with a big fastball in the 93-95 MPH range. He was a former 14th round pick of the Dbacks 430th overall out of Villanova University in the NCAA in 2011. He was 7-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 2016 and has an excellent ground ball percentage of 76%. He will likely slot in as the lefthanded setup man out of the pen in 2017. Blue Jays Fill DH Opening in Trade with the Angels The Jays would make a deal with the Angels to bring in 1B Tamotsu Fukuda, a power hitting firstbaseman expected to take over for the departed DH Travis Snider. The Angels have been very busy this offseason signing a trio of hig profile free agents in former Jay RF Richard Davis, 1B Michael Chaffin from the Dodgers and CF Doug Lee a power hitting outfielder from the Braves. The only hole the Angels had was in their rotation and the Jays had a young arm that they were very interested in. SP Rich Fowler who made his debut with the Jays in 2016 was sent to Anaheim along with CL Ed Enright and minor league 3B Mark Jones in exchange for 1B Tamotsu Fukuda and minor league closer CL Jesse Stewart. SP Rich Fowler is a 26 yearold right who was 13-6 with a 3.84 ERA as a rookie in the Jays rotation in 2016. He is a former 5th round pick 165th overall in 2012 out of the University of San Francisco in the NCAA. He was called up when SP Peter Clark went down for the season and was very good for the Jays even getting consideration for the rookie of the year award in the American League. CL En Enright is a 25 yearold lefty who was a former 23rd round pick 686th overall in 2011 out of Lincoln highschool by the Jays. He had climbed up to AAA Las Vegas in 2016 and was 3-6 with 2 SV and a 2.86 ERA for the 51's. He scouts as a possible setup man at the bigleague level and his 98-100 MPH fastball backs that up. The Jays also sent 21 yearold 3B Mark Jones who was a former 2nd round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2014 and was traded to the Jays in 2014. He has struggled a ton since moving over to the Jays and he hit just .165 with 7 HR and 44 RBI in Low A Lansing in 2016. He has a ton of talent but just hasn't been able to put it together yet. A change in organization may do him good and at just 21 years old he will be joining his 3rd organization in 2 years. Coing over to the Jays is 24 yearold 1B Tamotsu Fukuda a big power hitting firstbaseman from Kobe Japan. The 6'3" 195 pounder was the Angels 1st Round Pick 5th overall in 2011 out of Progresso Highschool and he hit ,335 with 23 HR and 96 RBI for the Angels last season. He was bumped down the depth chart for the Angels with the signing of 1B Michael Chaffin and the Jays are happy to have him as their new DH. The Jays will also get 21 yearold righty CL Jesse Stewart. Stewart has a very big arm with a fastball in the 97-99 MPH range and a very good slider. He was the Angels 15th Round Pick 444th overall in 2014 out of Corpus Christie Highschool. At just 21 he had already advanced to AAA Salt Lake City where he was 7-5 with 25 SV and a 6.22 ERA with 37 BB and 64 K's. He will be assigned to AAA Las Vegas for the 2017 season. Free Agent Signings DH Travis Snider signs deal with Tampa Bay Rays DH Travis Sinder agreed to a 5 year $165,350,000 contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. The 29 yearold Snider hit .318 with 41 HR and 153 RBI for the Jays in 2016, but could not come to terms on an extension with the Jays. His new contract will pay him $33,070,000 a year for the next 5 seasons and includes a $500,000 bonus for winning the American League MVP. The Jays will receive the Rays 1st Round Pick and a Supplemental 1st Round Pick in the 2017 First Year Player Draft as compensation. RF Richard Davis Inks 4 Year Deal with the Los Angeles Angels The Jays also lost out on RF Richard Davis who turned down the Jays last offer of a 5 year $86,000,000 contract to sign with the Angels for 4 years at $119,700,000. The 29 yearold Davis hit .332 with 33 HR and 139 RBI for the Jays in 2016. His contract will pay him $26,940,000 / $28,920,000 / $30,920,000 and $32,920,000 over the 4 years. The Jays will receive the Angels 1st Round Pick and a Supplemental 1st round pick in the 2017 First Year Player Draft as compensation.

08-25-2009, 11:19 AM	#196
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	2017 Spring Training Preperations Underway February 28th, 2017 The Toronto Blue Jays have begun to arrive at the Bobby Mattick Training Center in Dunedin Florida as pitchers and catchers were the first to arrive. Also amont the first to make his way to Dunedin was newly aquired DH Tamotsu Fukuda who was aquired in an offseason deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Fukuda will have some pretty big shoes to fill as he will be expected to take over the DH role from Travis Snider whos igned a huge deal with the Tampa Bay Rays in the offseason. The Jays will also be without RF Richard Davis who signed a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels. 2017 Spring Training Invitees Starting Pitchers SP John Anderson SP Manny Holland SP Mack Boyle SP Peter Clark SP Roy Halladay SP Dan Oakes SP Elias Randolph SP James Ryan SP Frank Parker Bullpen - Middle Relievers & Closers MR Pancho Banuelso MR Clark Dixon MR Lawrence Harris MR Mike Head MR Jose Moreno MR Willie O'Macken MR Manuel Ramirez CL Jose Diaz Position Players C Matsu Kamimura C Yan Bildeau C Fred Daniels 1B Ken Phelps 1B/DH Tamatsu Fukuda 1B Francisco Martinez 2B Mal Pritchard 2B Pedro Baca 2B Brady Day 2B Carlos Hernandez 3B Edgar Goodwin 3B Mike Arthur SS Joel Walker SS Zhong-xian Sang SS Andy Austen SS Bruce Sweeney SS Elvis Andrus LF Alastair Parry LF Alfredo Rivera LF Mario Velez CF Jorge Escallante CF Pat Thomas RF Bobby Wilt RF Reime Letroit

08-26-2009, 10:52 AM	#197
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	2017 Blue Jays Ready to Take flight April 4th, 2017 The start of the 2017 season is just a few days away and the Blue Jays have all packed their things and are on their way to Detroit to open up the season with a 3 game set against the Tigers. The 2017 version of the Jays is going to be a much different club. The Jays lost free agents DH Travis Snider and RF Richard Davis to the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, SP Rich Fowler was delt to the Angels in an offseason trade and CL Frank Pena and MR Ed Webster were both moved in a deal with the Diamondbacks. The Jays will be looking to a crop of new players brought into replace the ones who left, SP Elias Randolph who got a breif callup in 2016 will slot in as the Jays #5 starter, Randolph a 24 yearold from Greenwood Indiana was the Jays 7th round pick in 2011 out of Glendale Highschool. Taking over the closer's role will be CL Jose Diaz who was aquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the offseason. The Jays also picked up MR Jose Moreno in that deal and he is slated to be the teams lefthanded setup man in 2017. GM Ryan Stewart looked to a deal with the Angels to fill the teams home at DH bringing in 1B Tamotsu Fukuda a 24 yearold lefthanded power hitter who the Jays are hoping can come close to producing at the rate that DH Travis Snider was. The Jays also looked to within to fill a hole in right field. Rookie RF Bobby Wilt who was aquired in 2016 in a trade with the Washington Nationals will serve as the teams #4 outfielder. The Jays were forced to change their plans as backup infielder SS Elvis Andrus suffered a torn back muscle and will miss the entire season. Andrus was placed on the 60 Day Disabled list and rookie SS Zhong-xian Sang will make the club out of Spring Training and will be the backup/utility infielder for the time being. The Jays chose not to offer arbitration to backup C Chris House and he signed with the Tigers in the offseason. The Jays will use former 18th round pick in the 2009 draft C Yan Bildeau as the backup catcher this season. Milestone Watch The 2017 season will be the 20th in the distinguished career of the longest serving Jay and the winningest pitcher in Blue Jays history. SP Roy Halladay will turn 40 years old in 2017 and currently sits at #48 on the career victories list just 1 win behind hall of famer SP Bob Gibson. Halladay is in the last year of his contract and has not made his intentions after the 2017 season clear. He had a bit of a resurgance in 2016 posting a 17-4 record but an ERA of 5.80. GM Ryan Stewart "Halladay will retire as a Jay, if he decides he wants to pitch in 2018 there will be a spot in our rotation open for him and should he decide to retire there will be a spot in our organization as a coach or manager for him right away" If Halladay can repeat his 17 victory season from 2017 he will move into sole possesion of #37 on the career victories list just 1 shy of hall of famer SP Jim Palmer. 2017 Toronto Blue Jays Starting Pitchers SP John Anderson SP James Ryan SP Dan Oakes SP Roy Halladay SP Elias Randolph Bullpen & Closer MR Manuel Ramirez MR Willie O'Macken MR Mike Head MR Lawrence Harris MR Chris Dixon MR Jose Moreno CL Jose Diaz Position Players C Matsu Kamimura C Yan Bildeau 1B Ken Phelps 2B Carlos Hernandez 2B Brady Day 3B Mike Arthur SS Zhong-xian Sang SS Joel Walker LF Mario Velez CF Jorge Escallante RF Alfredo Rivera RF Bobby Wilt DH Tamotsu Fukuda Opening Day Lineup & Starting Pitcher RF Alfredo Rivera 2B Carlos Hernandez SS Joel Walker 1B Ken Phelps DH Tamotsu Fukuda LF Mario Velez 3B Mike Arthur C Matsu Kamimura CF Jorge Escallante SP John Anderson

08-26-2009, 04:05 PM	#198
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	Blue Jays off to Strong Start in AL East May 1st, 2017 The Blue Jays are off and running in 2017 and after posting a strong 13-6 start, including a 3 game sweep of the Detroit Tigers to kick off the season they currently sit in 2nd place behind the Tampa Bay Rays by just 1/2 game. The Jays have both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees breathing down their necks in the American League Wild Card and just 3 games seperates the Jays and 5 other teams in the American League. The best news for the Jays was that they were able to get through a month without losing anyone to a major injury, which was a reoccuring theme to the 2016 season. April's Hot Players SP Dan Oakes - 3-1 4.38 ERA SP Roy Halladay - 3-0 2.98 ERA SP Elias Randolph - 2-0 4.80 ERA 1B Ken Phelps - .348 4 HR 18 RBI LF Mario Velez - .343 8 HR 24 RBI C Matsu Kamimura - .323 4 HR 19 RBI 3B Mike Arthur - .298 3 HR 10 RBI April's Cold Players SP John Anderson - 1-3 6.53 ERA SP James Ryan - 1-1 6.08 ERA MR Lawrence Harris - 1-0 24.88 ERA SS Joel Walker - .198 1 HR 7 RBI April News & Transactions Awards AAA Las Vegas - Pacific Coast League 1B Brant McPhadden (3rd round pick, 79th overall in 2012) was named the Pacific Coast League Batter of the Month for August after hitting .361 with 13 HR and 29 RBI. High A Dunedin - Florida State League RF Vincent Morales (1st Round Pick 5th Overall in 2013) was named the Florida State League Batter of the Month for August after hitting .494 with 6 HR and 25 RBI. Low A Lansing - Midwestern League SP Joseph Gordon (11th Round 335th Overall in 2015) was named the Pitcher of the Month for August after going 4-0 with a 0.26 ERA.

08-27-2009, 11:07 AM	#199
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	Blue Jays Fall to 4 Back in AL East June 1st, 2017 The Toronto Blue Jays had an average month in May posting a record of just 16-14 and improving their overall record to 29-20. This is good enough for second place in the American League East behind the red hot Tampa Bay Rays who have won 12 of their last 13 games after starting off the month with a 5 game losing streak. The Jays currently trail the Rays by a full 4 games but have a hold on the American League Wild Card by just 1/2 game over the New York Yankees and a 1 game lead on the Oakland Athletics. The Jays hopes of making a push in the division also took a hit with an injury to their starting LF Mario Velez who will miss the next 7-8 months. He is an integral part of the Jays offence and will be a tough loss for a lineup that has seen its share of struggles during the first two months of the season. The Jays who normally have one of the best offences in baseball are currnetly in the middle of the pack in the american league in most offensive categories. The rank at #8th in batting average, 7th in runs scored and 9th in homeruns. GM Ryan Stewart has no real explanation for the drop off in performace this season "I think we are just seeing some guys haveing down years, add to that the face we have seen a number of guys playig with minor injuries so far and you are seeing the results. Guys will start to heat up and I think by the time the end of the season rolls around we will be up their in most offensive categories" May's Hot Players SP John Anderson - 4-2 3.72 ERA SP Elias Randolph - 3-0 3.03 ERA CL Jose Diaz - 0-1 6 SV 0.73 ERA SS Joel Walker - .359 8 HR 33 RBI DH Tamotsu Fukuda - .330 3 HR 16 RBI 3B Mike Arthur - .321 4 HR 20 RBI May's Cold Players SP Dan Oakes - 2-2 7.82 ERA MR Mike Head - 0-1 9.95 ERA C Yan Bildeau - .167 0 HR 4 RBI C Matsu Kamimura - .209 4 HR 17 RBI CF Jorge Escallante - .237 4 HR 21 RBI May News & Transactions Injuries The Jays will be without the services of their starting LF Mario Velez who is suffering from bone chips in his elbow and will miss the next 7-8 months. He was hitting .340 with 8 HR and 30 RBIs at the time of the injury and was placed on the 15 Day Disabled list. The Jays recalled LF Alastair Parry from AAA Las Vegas. Parry was having a very good season in the Pacific Coast League hitting .377 with 3 HR and 13 RBI. Awards AA New Hampshire - Eastern League 1B Migdonio Caroo (9th Round Pick 281st Overall in 2013) was named the Eastern League Batter of the Month for May after hitting .386 with 13 HR adn 37 RBI. High A Dunedin - Florida State League RF Ernesto Castillo (2nd Round Pick 66th Overall in 2014) was named the Florida State League Batter of the Month for May after hitting .402 with 11 HR and 22 RBI.

08-27-2009, 11:49 AM	#200
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	2017 Major League Draft Preview June 14th, 2016 The Blue Jays will once again be very busy on draft day as for the second straight season they hold 5 selections betweent he first and supplemental first rounds. Toronto received compensation picks from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Tamp Bay Rays for the loss of DH Travis Snider and RF Richard Davis in the offseason. The Jays tried desperately to get them both to resign but both players would end up signing for double the contract offers from the Blue Jays. The top ten prospects were identified in Baseball Americas yearly pre draft rankings and this year C Jeremy Gray out of Western Michigan University in the NCAA is considered to be the top talent. Gray is a front line talent and should easily be a starting catcher at the big league level in a short time. He has a rocket for a throwing arm and is very intellegent behind the plate. He hits for both average and power and was an NCAA Allstar in 2017 as well as being named the NCAA Gold Glove winner for C for the second straight season. The only knock against him is that he is tremendously slow but that is to be expected for a catcher. He will definately go within the first few picks on draft day. The Kansas City Royals who have seen a dramatic decline going from a playoff team who would defeat the Jays over and over have fallen to last place in the league and will select first in tomorrows draft. The Royals also lost SP Zack Greiknie as a free agent to the Detroit Tigers last year and that has definately contributed to their downfall. After the Royals the Tigers, Yankees, Brewers and Mets will round out the top 5 selections. 2016 Baseball America Top 10 Ranked Players 1. C Jeremy Gray (Western Michigan University, NCAA) 2. RF Xavier Pena (UCF, NCAA) 3. LF Scott Howell (William & Mary University, NCAA) 4. RF Hirotada Kichida (Muleshoe Highschool, USHSBA) 5. C Sam Baker (Saint Paul Highschool, USHSBA) 6. LF Norberto Ramirez (University of Illinois, NCAA) 7. SS Van Piper (UCF, NCAA) 8. RF Artie Jackson (University of Virginia, NCAA) 9. 2B Dave Sellick (Saint Paul Highschool, USHSBA) 10. LF Henry hollinshead (TCU, NCAA) Toronto Blue Jays Draft Preview For the second straight season the Jays will make 5 selections in the first and supplemental forst rounds of the 2017 First year Player Draft. They will select at # 17th overall as compensation from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the loss of RF Richard Davis, their next pick is at #28 from the Tampa Bay Rays as compensation for the loss of DH Travis Snider and than their have their own pick at #30th overall. They also received a supplemental first round pick for each player and will make those selections at #31 and #2 overall. With their 5 selections in this years draft the Jays will have made 10 picks in the first and supplemental 1st rounds in the last two season. This should really give the Jays farm system a boost in the seasons to come. Blue Jays 1st Round Picks 2009 - 1st Round 19th Overall SP James Ryan Ryan has emerged as a solin #2 starter for the Jays. He Is struggling a bit in 2017 but is battling a nagging back injury that is causing him some discomfort. He is 4-3 with a 6.19 ERA for the Jays in 2017. He is a 3 time allstar and like anothe Jays former 1st round pick (SP Roy Halladay) has a chance to be one of the best pitchers in Jays history. 2010 - 1st Round 11th Overall 3B Mark Terry After a trade to Baltimore in 2015 Terry was claimed off waivers in 2016 by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He has been the Angels starting thirdbaseman since being claimed. He is off to a good start to the 2017 season hitting .302 with 8 HR and 26 RBI and is starting to look like the player the Jays thought that they were getting when they took him 11th overall. He may even get some consideration for the 2017 Allstar game. 2011 - 1st Round 27th Overall SP Robert Buchanan Buchanan has emmerged as a solid #2 starter ever sice he was delt to the Philedelphia Phillies. He is having a tough season in 2017 but has managed to post a respectable 4-5 record with a 5.43 ERA for a last place Phillie team. He is in the last year of his contract with the Phillies and could become a free agent at the end of the season. He is not considered a front line talent but could be a solid pickup for a contending team at the trade deadline. There are rumours swirling that he is on the trade block right now. 2012 - 1st Round 30th Overall 2B Mal Pritchard Pritchard had a good season in AAA in 2016 and started the 2017 campaign back in Las Vegas. He was impressive in Spring Training with the Jays hitting .336 with 2 HR and 12 RBI but is blocked at the Major League Level by 2B Carlos Hernandez. He started slowly in 2017 for the 51's hitting just .224 with 6 HR and 26 RBI and suffered a fractured food in May. He is currently on the Disabled List and is scheduled to return before the end of June. 2013 - 1st Round 30th Overall RF Jose Ramirez Ramirez was promoted to AA New Hampshire after the 2016 season and has been ver good for the Fishercats this year hitting .313 with 10 HR and 58 RBI and being named the Eastern League Batter of the Week twice. He is considered to be the Jays #2 outfield prospect (behind RF Vincente Morales) and should have a bright future with the Jays. He will likely spent one more month in AA before getting promoted to AAA Las Vegas where he should finish off the 2017 season. 2014 - 1st Round 30th Overall 2B Curt Albert Albert suffered an injury after the 2016 draft and missed the remainder of the 2016 season. He is back to 100% healthy now and is tearing up the Florida State League hitting .400 with 1 HR and 21 RBI. He is not considered a homerun threat but has a very good eye at the plate and is extremely patient. He will get a few more atbats in the Florida State League and than we would like to move him up to AA New Hampshire to finish out the season. He could be on the Jays radar for the 2018 season. 2015 - 1st Round 30th Overall SS Jesus Huerta Huerta continues to impress the Jays development staff after a very strong showing in the Gulf Coast League in 2016, his first year as a professional Huerta is tearing the cover off the ball in the FLorida State League hitting .389 with 10 HR and 68 RBI. He is emmerging as one of the better prospects in the Jays system and could move very quickly. He is going to get a few more atbats in Dunedin but will finish off the season in AA New Hampshire. He has a great bat, good eye at the plate and is defensively solid and could end up being a steal for the Jays with the last pick in the forst round in 2015. 2016 - 1st Round 30th Overall CL Peter Bray Bray was a player that scoutig director John Lalonde highly recommended and pushed for and he has not dissapointed. After a strong season in the GCL he was moved up to Low A Lansing and is off to a terriffic start posting a 2.18 ERA with 18 SV for the Lugnuts. He was recently promoted to AA New Hampshire and could be fast tracked to the big leagues. He has very good stuff and scouts as a closer at the big league level. He could see time with the Jays as soon as September 2018.