MLB 2012 - The Toronto Ban Jays

[Griever20]

Starting Pitching:
AA RHSP Victor Torres(19, 1.5/5*) 1-1 4.65 36K -0.3WAR 12GS – IFA Signing 2013
AA RHSP Tommy Erikson(22, 1.5/4*) 4-1 3.93 63K 0.9WAR 13GS – 5th round 2014
AA RHSP Juan Gonzales(19, 2/4*) 11-4 2.49 134K 3.0WAR 23GS – Scouting Discovery 2012
AAA RHSP Julio Acosta(22, 2/3.5*) 6-4 4.57 48K 1.3WAR 13GS – 2nd round 2014
AAA LHSP Daniel Norris(22, 2/3.5*) 11-3 3.54 104K 2.2WAR 23GS – on 40-man
AA RHSP Javier Guzman(19, 1.5/3.5*) 4-2 3.18 55K 1.2WAR 13GS – Scouting Discovery 2013
A LHSP Bobby Olenick(22, 1.5/3.5*) 9-5 3.59 135K 1.8WAR 23GS – 7th rounder 2014
S A Melvin Baiza(18, 1.5/3.5*) 4-5 2.40 104K 2.8WAR 21GS – Scouting Discovery 2013
R LHSP Danny Vasquez(18, 1.5/3.5*) 2-2 4.10 40K 0.4WAR 8GS – Scouting Discovery 2013
R RHSP Mat Rose(18, 1.5/3.5*) 0-0 3.00 11K 0.3WAR 2GS – 2nd rounder 2015
R LHSP John Hall(22, 1.5/3.5*) 1-0 2.84 5K 0.2WAR 1GS – 5th rounder 2015
R RHSP Alejandro Melendez(18, 1/3.5*) 0-1 4.40 17K 0.4WAR 4GS – 7th rounder 2015
R RHSP Greg Toomey(22, 1.5/3.5*) 1-0 2.60 40K 1.7WAR 7GS – 6th rounder 2015

Some of the scouting discoveries have come through, while others have faltered. We may have to pick the best and let the others leave.

Relief Pitching:
AA RHRP Jorge Diaz(19, 2/5*) 3-2 16SV 2.97 34K 1.1WAR 30.1IP – Scouting Discovery 2012
AA RHRP Mike Smith(19, 2/5*) 1-2 2SV 3.68 38K 1.0WAR 29.1IP – 4th round 2014
R RHRP Emilio Farentino(17, 1.5/5*) 2-1 4SV 0.00 12K 0.6WAR 10.2IP – IFA Signing 2015
AAA RHRP Roberto Osuna(20, 2.5/4*) 2-7 13SV 4.93 37K -0.1WAR 38.1IP
R RHRP Jason Bixby(18, 1.5/4*) 0-1 5.87 12K 0.2WAR 7.2IP – 4th rounder 2015
AAA LHRP Felipe Vazquez(24, 2/3.5*) 2-3 9SV 2.50 34K 0.6WAR 39.2IP – Trade with TBR 2012

Especially excited for Diaz and Smith although Diaz has become fragile lately.

Catchers:
AA C Bobby Cary(19, 2/3.5*) .292-15-56 .931OPS 2.3WAR 59G – Scouting Discovery 2012
R C Peter Kilgore(18, 0.5/5*) .355-0-4 1.007OPS 0.9WAR 10G – 3rd rounder 2015

Cary is a plesant surprise but we hope for Kilgore to become a stud in 4-5 years.

First Base:
R 1B Randy Baum(18, 0.5/5*) .370-2-20 1.069OPS 1.4WAR 25G – 1st rounder 2015
AA 1B Joe Sokolow(23, 2/4*) .340-18-83 .965OPS 3.9WAR 109G– 7th round 2013
A 1B George Capen(23, 1.5/3.5*) .267-1-9 .699OPS 0.0WAR 25G – 8th rounder 2015
S A Fernando Arriola(17, 0.5/3.5*) .272-7-41 .781OPS 0.4WAR 69G – Scouting Discovery 2015
R 1B George Benton(19, 1/3.5*) .436-1-11 1.110OPS 1.7WAR 25G– 3rd rounder 2014

Sokolow has hit every step of the way and is slated for AAA action next season, moving up a level every year.

Second Base:
S A 2B Mario Macedo(17, 0.5/3.5*) .330-6-27 .924OPS 1.9WAR 65G – Scouting Discovery 2013
R 2B Daniel Alvarez(18, 0.5/3.5*) .229-9-44 .804OPS 1.4WAR 69G – Scouting Discovery 2014

Thin group and Alvarez is already fragile.

Third Base:
AA 3B Guillermo Cervantes(19, 1.5/3.5*) .289-4-25 .779OPS 1.2WAR 61G – Scouting Discovery 2012
A 3B Jose de los Santos(17, 1/3.5*) .277-7-31 .825OPS 2.2WAR 64G – IFA signing 2015

Third is not a position of need with Anthony Rendon so we started Cervantes to learn 2B…

Shortstop:
None, Hatfield was our only and best shortstop prospect.

Outfield:
AAA LF Jesse Winker(21, 2.5/3.5*) .298-18-77 .901OPS 1.4WAR 115G – Trade with CIN
AA CF Steve Snyder(22, 2/3.5*) .333-1-6 .919OPS 0.8WAR 15G – 1st Round 2014
S A LF Miguel Licea(18, 1/3.5*) .335-19-66 .970OPS 2.2WAR 100G – Scouting Discovery 2012

Winker is making quite a case to win a job next year, but needs some work on his contact ability. Snyder dropped a star of potential since the 2014 draft… guess that’s why he dropped so far down to us.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
August 10th – LHRP Blake Snell(22, 2*, 3-0 4.00 24K -0.3WAR) was sent back to AAA as LHRP Mike Cosens(25, 3.5*, 1-3 1SV 5.59 46K 0.0WAR) was activated off the IL.

Series:
1-1 vs BAL (SS Jim Hatfield 3-4 2R 2RBI BB HR(15))
2-1 @ CWS (DH Eugenio Suárez 2-5 3R 2RBI HR(29), SS Jim Hatfield 3-6 3R 3RBI DB HR(16))
2-1 vs MIN (SP Marcus Stroman 7.1IP 3H 0ER 1BB 7K W(10-7 3.08))
2-1 @ LAA (SP Chris Archer 6IP 1H 0ER 1BB 6K W(9-3 3.04), SP Jeremy Komosinski 7IP 2H 0ER 1BB 5K ND(11-8 3.01))
2-1 vs HOU (SP Marcus Stroman 6IP 4H 0ER 1BB 4K ND(10-7 2.95))
2-1 @ SEA (SS Jim Hatfield 5-6 R 3RBI DB, 3B Anthony Rendon 5-5 R RBI 2DB)
1-2 vs CLE (SP Marcus Stroman 6.1IP 3H 0ER 1BB 4K W(11-7 2.83))
2-1 vs OAK (SP Jeremy Komosinski 8IP 4H 1ER 2BB 8K W(13-8 2.83), 3B Anthony Rendon 3-4 3R 3RBI DB 2HR(31))
3-0 @ KCR (SS Jim Hatfield 4-6 2R 3RBI BB, SP Henderson Alvarez II 7.1IP 6H 2ER 0BB 4K W(12-9 4.02), C Devin Mesoraco 3-5 2R 2RBI DB HR(30))
2-1 vs TBR (LF Nick Castellanos 2-5 2R 4RBI DB HR(24), DH Eugenio Suárez 3-4 R 3RBI HR(35))

Record: 91-44, 1st in AL East, 21 game lead
August:19-10
Runs Scored: 770(1st)
Batting AVG: .282(1st)
OBP: .347(1st)
Home Runs: 195(1st)
Stolen Bases: 96(1st)
Runs Against: 483(1st)
Starters ERA: 3.17(1st)
Bullpen ERA: 3.57(3rd)
Defensive Eff.: .715(1st)
Zone Rating: +55.5(1st)

Toronto Pitcher of the Month: See below 😊
Toronto Position Player of the Month: See below 😊

Our Magic Number is 7. Nuff said. We can’t miss those playoffs. The Toronto Blue Jays will return to the playoffs for the first time since 1993 where we won the championship. From six games down, to one game down to playoffs. Now, no reason to salivate over that. Time to not fudge this one up, I want a deep playoff run for my nerves. The fact that we swept the Awards this month helps those nerves tho.

Our pitching is doing great tho. We have five starters with double digit wins in there. There is no superstar in this group, but Stroman certainly makes a case right now. We have one issue tho. News from our scouts and pitching lab. Joakim Soria lost some of his mojo and dropped down to a 2.5* pitcher. He will be our closer towards the end… but his chances to stay are… slim.

By now, we already have three position players over 6.5WAR. Hatfield is a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year and I’m honest, Mesoraco and Rendon are fighting for the MvP Award. More amazing, we don’t have a position player with negative WAR. This offense is amazing.

The only hitters able to match our guys? Nationals LF Bryce Harper(22, 5*, .365-29-77 1.117OPS 7.8WAR) and CF Mike Trout(24, 5*, .326-27-64 1.046OPS 21/32SB 7.2WAR)… with the later having a fractured foot and is out for 2 weeks.

Minor League Report and Awards:
AAA CF Luis Ramirez(24, 2/2.5*) .402-9-24 1.094OPS 1.7WAR 28G
AA RHSP Juan Gonzalez(19, 2/4*) 4-1 1.38 40K 1.6WAR 5GS
AA C Bobby Cary(19, 2/3.5*) .360-7-24 1.069OPS 1.3WAR 26G
S A 2B Mario Macedo(18, 3.5*) .361-4-19 1.072OPS 1.7WAR 27G
R RHCL Emilio Farentino(17, 1.5/5*) 3-0 6SV 0.00 19K 0.9WAR 12.1IP
Won Monthly Awards

I love some of the arms we have down here. AA RHSP Juan Gonzalez was high on our prospect list two weeks ago… and now he added some control AND a sinker.

More good news, our first rounder in 1B Randy Baum is off to a great start, .317/.464/.547 5HR 32RBI 2.0WAR through the first 38 games and our 3rd rounder C Peter Kilgore not only was ranked up to a 5* potential catcher, he also is hitting .359/.490/.474 1HR 8RBI 1.4WAR through 22 games.

International Amateur Discovery Additions and Update:
LHSP Carlos Chavez(16, 3.5*) 45/36/80 60 Stamina, 89-91mph groundballer from the Twins.

Another good arm for the minors.

In Other News:

August 3rd – Athletics RHSP R.A. Dickey(40, 3*) pitched a gem today, 9IP 5H 0ER 5BB 0K in a 3-0 win over the Royals. The 2013 AL All-Star is 10-10 3.16 142K 3.0WAR in 23 starts.

August 10th – Marlins C J.T. Realmuto(24, 2.5*) hammered three home runs today in a 10-2 win over the Colorado Rockies, going 3-5 3R 5rBI 3HR for the night. The third year pro is batting .247-9-47 .680OPS 0.7WAR in 80 games.

August 11th – Dodgers 1B David Ortiz(39, 3*) lost a 23-game hitting streak today in a 3-2 win over the Nationals. The 6x Silver Slugger is batting .296-14-55 .835OPS 0.8WAR between LAD and TEX.

August 13th – Braves LF Chipper Jones(43, 2.5*) collected career home run #500 today. The 1999 NL MvP, 2x Silver Slugger and 8x All-Star is a career .302/.399/.523 500HR 1765RBI 1753R 2994H 166/217SB 99.2WAR player, all with Atlanta.

August 18th – Yankees RF Carlos Gonzalez(29, 3.5*) lost a 24-game hitting streak today despite winning 4-2 over the Rays. The 2010 NL Silver Slugger is batting .290-15-63 .847OPS 3.1WAR in 118 games.

August 19th – Athletics RHSP R.A. Dickey(40, 3*) blanked the Red Sox 7-0 with a complete game 3-hitter with 2BB and 9K. The former Red Sox player is 12-11 2.94 168K 3.7WAR in 26 starts.

August 19th – Cardinals RHSP Chris Carpenter(40, 3*) rolled with a 5-hitter with 1BB and 5K in a 3-0 win over the Brewers. The 4x All-Star is 10-9 3.98 129K 3.1WAR in 26 starts.

August 20th – Braves LF Chipper Jones(43, 2.5*) collected career hit #3000 today. The 1999 NL MvP, 2x Silver Slugger and 8x All-Star is a career .302/.398/.523 501HR 1769RBI 1756R 3000H 166/218SB 99.3WAR player, all with Atlanta.

August 24th – Nationals 3B/OF Jose Bautista(34, 3.5*) banged out five hits in a 14-5 rout of the Cardinals, going 5-5 2R 5RBI 3DB HR. The 4x All-Star is batting .249-26-56 .827OPS 1.5WAR in 98 games.

August 27th – Braves SS Jose Reyes(32, 3*) collected career hit #2000 today. The 5x All-Star and 1x Silver Slugger is a career .288/.337/.429 126HR 686RBI 1118R 2000H 474/587SB 40.6WAR in 1651 games.

August 31st – Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera(32, 4.5*) collected career home run #400 today in a 10-0 win over the Rangers. The 2012 AL MvP, 10x All-Star and 5x Silver Slugger is a career .322/.397/.570 400HR 1322RBI 1183R 2210H 68.1WAR in 1835 games.

September 1st – Blue Jays C Devin Mesoraco(27, 4*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .374 with 9 home runs, 25RBIs and 24 runs scored for the month. The 3x All-Star is batting .337-30-105 1.017OPS 7.9WAR in 114 games.

September 1st – Nationals RF Bryce Harper(22, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .410 with 8 home runs, 21RBIs and 22 runs scored for the month. The 3x All-Star is batting .356-29-77 1.117OPS 7.8WAR in 129 games.

September 1st – Blue Jays RHSP Marcus Stroman(24, 3.5*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 1.25 38K in 36IP in 6 starts for the month. Having won 17 games in 2013, he is 12-7 2.81 158K 3.8WAR in 28 starts.

September 1st – Cardinals RHSP Chris Carpenter(40, 3*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-2 2.98 33K in 48.1IP and 7 starts for the month. The 5x All-Star winner is 11-11 4.01 136K 3.2WAR in 28 starts.

September 1st – Blue Jays SS Jim Hatfield(23, 3.5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .374 with 4 home runs, 21RBIs and 23 runs scored for the month. The 2012 first rounder is batting .311-18-72 .900OPS 15/24SB 6.8WAR in 128 games.

September 1st – Marlins 2B Yolmer Sanchez(23, 2.5*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .355 with 3 home runs, 19RBIs and 16 runs scored for the month. The Venezuelan native is batting .273-9-61 .728OPS 1.1WAR in 125 games.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
September 13th – RHSP Jeremy Komosinski(24, 2.5/4*, 16-8 2.68 132K 3.3WAR) was placed on the 15-day IL with a strained oblique one week. LHSP Daniel Norris(22, 2/3.5*, 14-3 3.88 132K 3.0WAR AAA) was recalled.

September 29th - LHSP Daniel Norris(22,0-2 5.51 16K 0.2WAR) was demoted to AAA as RHSP Jeremy Komosinski(24, 2.5/4*, 16-8 2.68 132K 3.3WAR) returned off the IL ready for the playoffs!

Series:
2-1 @ NYY (SS Jim Hatfield 2-6 2R 6RBI 2HR(20), LF Nick Castellanos 2-3 2R 3RBI BB DB HR(26))
2-1 vs TEX (SP Chris Archer 5.2IP 1H 2ER 3BB 7K ND(11-3 3.04), SP Henderson Alvarez III 7IP 4H 1ER 2BB 5K W(14-9 3.79))
2-1 @ DET (SP Jeremy Komosinski 6IP 3H 0ER 2BB 6K W(16-8 2.71), SP Noah Syndergaard 7IP 4H 3ER 1BB 9K W(14-5 3.18))
2-1 vs BOS (1B Adam Brzezinski 2-4 2R 3RBI 2HR(16), SP Jeremy Komosinski 5.1IP 1H 1ER 2BB 7K ND(16-8 2.68))
1-2 vs STL (DH Eugenio Suárez 3-4 R RBI 2BB DB)
2-1 @ BAL (SS Jim Hatfield 2-5 2R 5RBI 2HR(24), C Devin Mesoraco 2-3 2R 2RBI BB 2HR(34))
1-2 vs CWS (SS Jim Hatfield 3-5 2R 4RBI HR(26))
2-1 @ MIN (RF Avsail Garcia 1-3 2R 2RBI BB HR(19))
1-2 vs LAA

Record: 106-56, 1st in AL East, 25 game lead
September: 15-12
Runs Scored: 911(1st)
Batting AVG: .282(1st)
OBP: .346(1st)
Home Runs: 238(1st)
Stolen Bases: 114(2nd)
Runs Against: 597(1st)
Starters ERA: 3.38(1st)
Bullpen ERA: 3.48(3rd)
Defensive Eff.: .718(1st)
Zone Rating: +70.5(1st)

Toronto Pitcher of the Month: SP Henderson Alvarez III 5-0 2.14 15K 0.5WAR 6GS
Toronto Position Player of the Month: SS Jim Hatfield .280-9-29 .894OPS 16R 0.9WAR 26G

Playoffs baby! Given the cushion we have, we clinched the division quite early and will have the added benefit of having some time off, waiting for the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners to duke it out in the Wildcard series.

With 106 wins, this is the second time in franchise history that this team has reached double digit wins, and the best overall season in franchise history. Individual accolades so far:

SP Jeremy Komosinski 2.68 ERA – 1st
SP Henderson Alvarez 17 W – tied 1st
LF Nick Castellanos .330 batting average – 1st
LF Nick Castellanos 200H– 1st
C Devin Mesoraco 122 RBI – 1st
C Devin Mesoraco .598 SLG – 1st
C Devin Mesoraco .990 OPS – 1st
C Devin Mesoraco 8.7WAR – 1st
3B Anthony Rendon 127R – tied 1st
DH Eugenio Suárez 127R – tied 1st
1B Adam Brzezinski 220 K -tied 1st

Mesoraco, Rendon and Hatfield have finished 1-2-3 in the WAR department and for me, Hatfield is a lock for the AL Rookie of the Year. There will be a lot of silverware making its way up to Toronto this winter.

As for the rest of the league… it is a pity that C Buster Posey(28, 5*, .334-20-85 .908OPS 8.3WAR) will miss the playoffs. His team was juust not good enough, but what a career peak of 29.8WAR over the span of four seasons and he is only 28-years old.

Pitching wise… the two top pitchers WAR-wise in the AL are SP Jose Quintana(26, 3/3.5*, 14-8 3.10 173K 6.0WAR) and SP Chris Sale(26, 3.5/4*, 12-11 3.71 242K 5.0WAR)… and both are with the reigning champs from Chicago and in the other Wild Card Series.

Things are pretty clear over in the NL when it comes to pitching. SP Clayton Kershaw(27, 4.5/5*, 18-7 2.11 238K 7.2WAR) and SP Zach Greinke(27, 4*, 18-7 3.01 205K 6.0WAR) are the ones to avoid… pesky Dodgers.

Minor League Report and Awards:
R RHSP Greg Toomey(22, 1.5/3.5*) 3-0 2.48 78K 3.4WAR 13GS
Won Monthly Awards

AAA RHSP Lucas Giolito(21, 2.5*) PCL Pitcher of the Year 13-6 2.74 153K 4.5WAR 30G 177.2IP
AAA LHRP Felipe Vazquez(24, 2/3.5*) PCL Reliever of the Year 3-7 10SV 2.61 42K 0.6WAR 50G 48.1IP
AAA CF Ian Dellaripa(22, 2.5/3*) PCL MvP .340-24-103 .982OPS 4.2WAR 136G
AA RHSP Juan Gonzalez(19, 2.5/4.5*) EL Pitcher of the Year 15-4 2.54 170K 4.2WAR 29GS 170.1IP
AA 1B Joe Sokolow(23, 2.5/4*) EL MvP .328-21-97 .945OPS 4.6WAR 139G
S A RHSP Melvin Baiza(18, 1.5/3.5*) NW Pitcher of the Year 6-6 2.35 129K 3.7WAR 25G 114.2IP
Won Seasonal Awards

Biggest concern? Our first rounder Randy Baum suffered from a concussion lately… and is not even in the top 500 of prospects currently. Holy hell. We are down to the #17 minor league system so there is not a lot of surprises left. The next big names that will get a chance next spring… are not that big.

International Amateur Discovery Additions and Update:
C Tony Ruano(16, 0.5/3.5*) 80/45/40/45/80, 50D at C, from the Atlanta Braves.
LHSP Tony Nava(16, 1/3*) 50/50/50 65 stamina, 80 potential splitter, finesse pitcher from the Pirates.
LHSP Willie Perez(16, 0.5/3*) 55/50/50, 60 stamina 75 potential changeup, flyball pitcher from the Rays.
RHSP Jose Gutierrez(16, 0.5/3*) 55/50/50, 70 stamina, 80 potential splitter from the Brewers.

In Other News:

September 4th – Reds RF Jay Bruce(28, 2.5*) collected a 5-hit game today, going 5-5 4R 2RBI HR in a 12-8 win over the Colorado Rockies. The 2x All-Star is batting .250-27-94 .767OPS 2.4War in 133 games.

September 8th – Nationals RF Jose Bautista(34, 3.5*) collected career home run #300 today. The 4x All-Star is a career .259/.362/.503 300HR 835RBI 871R 1287H 34.2WAR in 1455 games.

September 11th – Blue Jays LF Nick Castellanos(23, 4*) lost a 21-game hitting streak today in a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox. The 2015 AL All-Star is batting .336-27-106 .962OPS 4.4WAR in 139 games.

September 11th – Twins LF Hanley Ramirez(31, 3*) took part in a 15-2 drubbing of the Yankees, going 5-5 R 4RBI with a walk. The 4x All-Star is batting .302-11-45 .843OPS 1.6WAR in 75 games.

September 14th – Giants RF Carlos Beltran(38, 2.5*) collected career hit #2500 today. The 1999 AL Rookie of the Year, 3x Gold Glover, 7x All-Star and 2x Silver Slugger is a career .281/.355/.482 383HR 1425RBI 1502R 2500H 68.2WAR in 2322 games.

September 15th – Rockies 1B Wilin Rosario(26, 2.5*) lost a 21-game hitting streak today in 6-0 loss to the Phillies. The Dominican native is batting .277-37-95 .836OPS 2.1WAR in 144 games.

September 30th – Blue Jays LF Nick Castellanos(23, 4*) won the AL Batting Title, batting .330-30-113 .947OPS 4.7WAR in 156 games.

September 30th – Nationals RF Bryce Harper(22, 5*) won the NL Batting Title, batting .346-33-108 1.096OPS 9.1WAR in 154 games.

October 1st – Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria(29, 3.5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .361 with 7 home runs, 24RBIs and 20 runs scored for the month. The 6x All-Star is batting .276-33-111 .847OPS 5.3WAR in 156 games.

October 1st – Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki(30, 3.5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .387 with 9 home runs, 22RBIs and 21 runs scored for the month. The 5x All-Star is batting .312-41-119 106R .990OPS 6.8WAR in 155 games.

October 1st – White Sox LHSP Jose Quintana(26, 3/3.5*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 0.99 25K in 36.1IP and 7 starts for the month. The 2015 All-Star is 14-8 3.10 173K 6.0WAR in 32 starts.

October 1st – Dodgers RHSP Justin Verlander(32, 3*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 1.12 38K in 40IP and 6 starts for the month. The 5x All-Star winner is 11-11 4.18 179K 2.2WAR in 33 starts between DET and LAD.

October 1st – Blue Jays SS Jim Hatfield(23, 3.5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .280 with 9 home runs, 16RBIs and 29 runs scored for the month. The 2012 first rounder is batting .306-21-101 .899OPS 18/29SB 8.0WAR in 154 games.

October 1st – Reds CF Chris Cunningham(23, 3/4*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .348 with 8 home runs, 18RBIs and 17 runs scored for the month. The 2021 first rounder is batting .255-6-36 .875OPS 3.3WAR in 152 games.

[Griever20]

AL Wild Card Series:

New York Yankees 10 - Chicago White Sox 7
NYY RF Carlos Gonzalez 2-3 3R RBI 2BB HR(1)
New York Yankees lead series 1-0

New York Yankees 1 - Chicago White Sox 5
CWS SP Jose Quintana 6.2IP 7H 1ER 1BB 9K W(1-0 1.35)
Series tied at 1

New York Yankees 2 - Chicago White Sox 3 (10)
CWS SP Darren Oliver 6.1IP 6H 0ER 2BB 5K ND
Chicago White Sox wins Series 2-1, advance to ALDS.

Cleveland Indians 3 - Seattle Mariners 5
SEA 1B Kendrys Morales 4-4 R RBI DB HR(1)
Seattle Mariners lead series 1-0

Cleveland Indians 3 - Seattle Mariners 4
CLE SP Brandon McCarthy 7IP 1H 0ER 0BB 6K ND
Seattle Mariners wins series 2-0, advance to ALDS.

NL Wild Card Series:

Cincinnati Reds 6 - Pittsburgh Pirates 5(10)
CIN CF Chris Cunningham 3-5 3R 3RBI DB HR(1)
Cincinnati Reds leads series 1-0

Cincinnati Reds 6 - Pittsburgh Pirates 5
CIN SP Michael Pineda 7IP 2H 0ER 0BB 5K W(1-0 0.00)
Cincinnati Reds wins series 2-0, advance to NLDS.

St. Louis Cardinals 0 - Washington Nationals 3
WSH SP Stephen Strasburg 6IP 5H 0ER 1BB 5K W(1-0 0.00)
Washington Nationals lead Series 1-0

St. Louis Cardinals 4 - Washington Nationals 6
WSH C Chris Ianetta 3-4 R RBI
Washington Nationals win series 2-0, advance to NLDS.

--

The Seattle Mariners:

Coming in behind the division winning Angels, Seattle ran to 86 wins and the first wild card despite losing their de-facto ace Felix Hernandez in the offseason, losing nine wins compared to 2014, yet making the playoffs the fifth time in their franchise history.

Their rotation is highlighted by a former Blue Jay of all people… in Kyle Davies(14-10 3.75 132K 2.7WAR) who suddenly turned his career around from losing 16 games with us… rude. Former Yankees starter Ivan Nova(85-9 4.30 136K 1.4WAR) was their game one starter in the Wild Card Series and was solid… but the #3 and #4 pitchers are 5+ERA junk… they really miss King Felix.

Yet, run prevention with them ranked 5th in runs against was their strong suit as the offense was… subpar. 3B Kyle Seager(27, 3*, .272-21-74 .792OPS 4.8WAR) had his second best career year after 2013 and veteran OF Curtis Granderson(34, 3*, .256-21-76 .786OPS 4.3WAR) had another strong season despite his age, but guys like CF Michael Saunders(28 ,2.5*, .201-4-28 .559OPS -0.8WAR) don’t exactly spring confidence in their ability hurt us.

American League Division Series Game 1:

October 6th, 2015

Seattle Mariners - Toronto Blue Jays @Sky Dome

SEA: SP Kyle Davies(R, 14-10 3.75)
TOR: SP Marcus Stroman(R, 12-10 3.18)

We went with our most experienced and solid starter here first… and he settled in nicely with a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. For Davies however, his return to Canada was not that successful as he was down 3-0 to Jim Hatfield right away… and the rookie watched ball four zip past to get on base. The Rendonian Devil did not wait around either and slashed a looong flyball to left center that went over the head of Saunders for a double, two in scoring position, no one out right away.

With the RBI machine Suárez at the plate Davies was visibly uncomfortable but tried his best pitch, a fast ball down in and… bounced towards shortstop… AND THROUGH! HATFIELD IN… RENDON THROUGH THE STOPSIGN… THE THROW… SAAAFEEE! 2-0 Blue Jays! By the time we stopped torturing our former employee, 10 man had come to the plate, and it was 4-0 TOR after one inning.

Given a lead, Stroman promptly dropped a couple of doubles and his first run, but Davies really was horse **** and following an RBI-single by Nicky Castellanos, Kyle Davies left with a line of 1.2IP 5H 5ER 4BB 2K. See ya Kyle. Both Stroman and new Mariners pitcher Clayton Blackburn then pitched in and out of trouble in a 5-1 lead for us for a while… until Stroman didn’t.

76 pitches in, he started the sixth with a walk to Josh Harrison… and another one David Murphy and this time, things didn’t go unpunished as Curtis Granderson doubled in two runners on a 3-2 sinker that didn’t sink… and Bannister already was busy screaming for warm ups in the pen. Kendrys Morales eventually grounded out for the first out, but advanced the runner… and that marked pitch #100 and the end for Stroman with a runner at third and 5.1 innings of 3-run ball.

The runner eventually came around to score but Mike Cosens eventually managed to end the inning after getting himself into trouble with a single and a wild pitch… SEA 4 TOR 5. Our high octane offense completely came to a halt after Davies was out, and our ballgame was in the hands of our bullpen… Cosens 1.2 scoreless, Buchanan 1.0 scoreless… Joakim Soria with the number 7-8-9 hitters coming up.

Soria took more of a shotgun approach to pitching as it seemed he had no clue where the ball was going, but he somehow got John Jaso to swing at a cutter inside that jammed him for an easy out… one down! And from there, things gone downhill.

Jurickson Profar slapped one hard grounder towards short where Hatfield made an amazing effort to stop the ball and to get rid of it to first… but not in time, infield hit. Chris Taylor, their criminally underrated second baseman Chris Taylor then put the winning run at second and the tying run at third with a loud double to left.

The Skydome fell silent in agony as Kyle Seager tied the ballgame with a sac fly and then fell into shock when Josh Harrison made it 6-5 Seattle with a simple single over the head of Hechavarria… down to the last three outs.

In came their closer in Yoshihasa Koyanagi… and he sat us down in order.

SP Marcus Stroman 5.1IP 3H 4R 4ER 3BB 9K ND PotG
SS Jim Hatfield 2-4 R BB DB
3B Anthony Rendon 2-5 2R 2DB
DH Eugenio Suárez 1-4 R 2RBI
C Devin Mesoraco 1-4 R RBI
LF Nick Castellanos 2-3 RBI BB
HR SEA: none
HR TOR: none
W: Ross Detwiler(1-0 0.00) L: Joakim Soria(0-1 18.00) SV: Yoshihasa Koyanagi(2 3.38)
SEA 6 TOR 5 SEA leads ALDS 1-0
Oh by the way. We won’t extend Soria. He sucks.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 2:

October 6th, 2015

Seattle Mariners - Toronto Blue Jays @Sky Dome

SEA: SP Miguel Chavarria(L, 0-0 4.50)
TOR: SP Chris Archer(R, 11-5 3.55)

I want a comeback from yesterday. Losers. In an ‘unfortunate’ turn of events for Seattle, they not only managed to strand two baserunners against Chris Archer who we singled out as our game 2 starter by tossing a coin, they also lost their lefty after one batter with some arm discomfort and had to go to their pen right away.

In a stunning decision, manager Eric Wedge brought in mike Ekstrom again who already threw 27 pitches yesterday and runs around with an uninspired 4.44ERA… one would guess that’s our ticket to score right? Well scoring happened, but not that way as Chris Archer was a hot mess and was the next pitcher to get beaten by Chris Taylor for a single. A sac bunt later, Taylor was at second and Rangers castoff Daniel Murphy took the liberty to deposit one in the right field bleachers. SEA 2 TOR 0 after three.

In a stunning way, the Mariners kept on throwing bad relievers at us, and those guys kept us silent as lefty Cesar Jimenez(4.66) struck out the side in the fourth and left after three scoreless innings of 7K ball… PATHETIC BUNCH OF LOSERS. While the playoff commentators from FOX described the Blue Jays hitters as ‘overeager’, ‘antsy’ and ‘offbalance’, Archer settled in and came into a rhythm, getting the handshake after Saunders flew out to end the top of the seventh.

Showing a little bit of progress, Eugenio Suárez got our third hit of the night in the bottom half and was able to get to third before Avsail Garcia made a pathetic out, but the truth is, despite two strong scoreless innings by Mike Bishop… we never managed another hit.

SP Chris Archer 7IP 4H 2R 2ER 1BB 6K L PotG
SS Jim Hatfield 1-4
3B Anthony Rendon 1-4 DB
DH Eugenio Suárez 1-4
HR SEA: Daniel Murpphy(1)
HR TOR: none
W: Mike Ekstrom(1-0 0.00) L: Chris Archer(0-1 2.57) SV: Jerry Blevins(1 0.00)
SEA 2 TOR 0 SEA leads ALDS 2-0
The offense is not on the field.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 3:

October 9th, 2015

Toronto Blue Jays - Seattle Mariners @Safeco Field

TOR: SP Jeremy Komosinski(R, 16-8 2.68)
SEA: SP Ivan Nova(R, 0-0 1.42)

Without much confidence, we travelled to Seattle with our rookie slated to start today. Before he could even take the mount, we had our first crack at their waiver wire claim turned ace Ivan Nova and that didn’t look that great as he got two quick outs… Before Suárez landed a single into right and with the help of a wild pitch, stood at second for our superstar catcher Devin Mesoraco.

And finally, we came through with a solid single on a 2-2 pitch that landed in front of Daniel Murphy… A RUN! Castellanos flew out softy to right, but we threatened again in the 2nd as our bottom of the order got something going. Garcia singled after Brzezinski struck out for the first out, and Nova lost a curve to hit Marisnick. The lineup turned over with two on and two out… and after a foul ball that was DEEP foul in left, Hatfield waited on the 0-1 pitch… and ZIPPED it into center…. Garcia to third… and holds.

Bases loaded, two down… and Rendon at the plate… working a tough at bat to a 3-2 count… payoff pitch… groundball to short … and we leave em loaded. Komosinski promptly pitched into his own jam with base hits by Morales and Ketel Marte and a walk to Taylor got the bases loaded with two outs… before Jesus Montero swung through a 3-2 sinker to end the frame… TOR 1 SEA 0.

The wheels came off when Jose Iglesias came up with a leadoff triple that we could not strand and by the end of the third, it was 1-1 with 5 hits each. After an uneventful fourth, we did something we haven’t done all series long. On a 89 mph sinker… Chris Hatfield turned on it hard… AND DEEP TO RIGHT CENTER AND GOONE. The first home run for us in the series!

That started the end of Ivan Nova’s outing, but today, their bullpen surely had to bleed… RIGHT BOYS? After three scoreless innings of 7K ball, Cesar Jimenez was back on… and finally due. Walking Garcia was his first mistake. Putting one up the middle for Jake Marisnick for an RBI-double was the fatal one.

With one out in the sixth, Komosinski exited the game the unpleasant way… with discomfort in his arm, and we handed the ball to James C. Eaton with a runner at second and no outs… a little present by Jeremy. Three quick outs later, the inning was over and scoreless… and that was a good thing as our offense still was anemic.

That meant, we went through our bullpen setup from Eaton to Buchanan to game one loser Joakim Soria… and things got underway in the ninth with a single up the middle by Kendrys Morales. Here we go again. Lefty versus righty matchup with John Jaso… sharp bouncer towards short… flip to second… FLIP TO THIRD… ONE OUT AWAY FROM FORCING GAME FOUR.

Trying to spoil our party… Daniel Murphy… swing and a drive… RIGHT CENTER… DROPS AT THE TRACK… DOUBLE. Next up, Ketel Marte… ahead 2-0… swinging strike… lazy flyball to center… SEE YOU TOMORROW FOR GAME FOUR

SP Jeremy Komosinski 5IP 7H 1R 1ER 1BB 2K W PotG
SS Jim Hatfield 2-5 R RBI HR
DH Eugenio Suárez 1-4 R
C Devin Mesoraco 3-4 RBI 2DB
RF Avsail Garcia 1-3 R BB
CF Jake Marisnick 1-3 RBI DB
HR TOR: Jim Hatfield(1)
HR SEA: none
W: Jeremy Komosinski(1-0 1.80) L: Ivan Nova(0-1 2.45) SV: Joakim Soria(1 9.00)
TOR 3 SEA 1 SEA leads ALDS 2-1
Komosinski is only day-to-day.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 4:

October 10th, 2015

Toronto Blue Jays - Seattle Mariners @Safeco Field

TOR: SP Henderson Alvarez III(R, 17-9 3.69)
SEA: SP Bud Norris(R, 1-0 3.60)

No one better to give the ball to than a 17-game winner. Who am I kiddin’ here. Alvarez usually gets along with a lot of big balls so let’s hope he can do it one more times. Starting off against Bud Norris who posted a stunning 5.96ERA after getting traded for at the deadline, he got handed a lead before even touching a baseball as Suárez got on the board with a big fly to left field. Norris had trouble one inning later and only got out of the second due to a little popup with runners at the corners… maybe we get our offense going tonight?

Before we could put that plan into reality, Kendrys Morales tied the game with a home run in the second, and Norris promptly tried to sabotage his team more by hitting Hatfield with the first pitch in the top of the third. One way to get the leadoff hitter on. Rendon was motivated to do damage but was waaay upfront on a curveball that resulted in a tapper to Norris… forceout at second… and the inning sizzled down with Suárez looking stupid on a curveball in the dirt for a K.

Alvarez pitched in and out a 2-on, one out situation in the bottom half, and FINALLY, the long ball came through again with Adam Brzezinski being useful once, depositing a solo shot into right and Devin The Man adding one in the top 6th… 3-1 TOR after six, four hits, three home runs for us.

Things then got fishy for Alvarez in the seventh. Morales and pinch-hitter Garrett Jones both snug singles through the infield to start off the inning, and Mike Cosens quickly started throwing in the pen right away, but he was not ready yet to face John Jaso. The at-bat was a typical Henderson Alvarez III one with close balls, four foul balls… and a sharp liner to second that… GOT CAUGHT BY HECHAVARRIA… THE RUNNERS WENT… DOUBLE PLAY ON A LINEOUT!

Marte then rounded out to the pitcher, and Alvarez got a well-deserved handshake for pitching seven strong innings of 1-run ball. The later innings went down rather quickly, and we are back at it, Granderson, Morales and Profar versus Joakim Soria. granderson got a wide assortment of fastballs between 88-93 with cut, without cut, some with mustard seemingly… and struck out on a 3-2 cookie over the middle of the plate that he thought was a changeup… bad luck.

An excuse me swing that rolled back to the pitcher and a grounder towards Rendon later… WE ARE GOING HOME FOR GAME FIVE!

SP Henderson Alvarez III 7IP 6H 1R 1ER 1BB 1K W PotG
SS Jim Hatfield 0-3 HBP
DH Eugenio Suárez 1-4 R RBI HR
C Devin Mesoraco 1-4 R RBI HR
LF Nick Castellanos 1-4 DB
1B Adam Brzezinski 1-2 R RBI 2BB HR
2B Adeiny Hechavarria 2-4
HR TOR: Eugenio Suárez(1), Adam Brzezinski(1), Devin Mesoraco(1)
HR SEA: Kendrys Morales(2)
W: Henderson Alvarez III(1-0 1.29) L: Bud Norris(1-1 3.97) SV: Joakim Soria(2 6.00)
TOR 3 SEA 1 ALDS tied at 2.
The home run bats came alive, now we need some more batting average and we’ll be rolling again. CMON GAME 5!

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 5:

October 12th, 2015

Seattle Mariners - Toronto Blue Jays @Sky Dome

SEA: SP Kyle Davies(R, 0-0 27.00)
TOR: SP Marcus Stroman(R, 0-0 6.75)

We lit up Davies really good last time, can we do it again is the question. After Stroman retired the side on five pitches and soft to semi-soft contact, the first impression was… no. Davies looked locked in and pitched no-hit inning after no-hit inning while Stroman was in semi-big trouble in the third. John Jaso got a hold on a slider and dribbled it under the glove of a diving Brzezinski at first, and the Mariners promptly started playing smallball, moving him over to third base on a bunt and a groundout. That brought up their best offensive player in Kyle Seager.

Starting off Seager with a changeup looked like a bad idea right away as Seager put a jolt into that one… left field… DEEP… VERY DEEP… TRACK… GLOVE! Castellanos juuust flagged it down at the warning track to end the inning… exhale… Seattle played themselves out of a one-out single when Jose Iglesias was caught stealing on a failed hit-and-run play.

While Canadas finest still were no-hit by Davies of all people, a not so dangerous situation turned into a nightmare for Stroman in the sixth. With Seager, who singled with one out, erased on a fielders choice, Marcus was one out away from getting out of the inning with Daniel Murphy at the plate. With a 1-1 count, Stroman tried a cheeky high sinker to confuse Murphy… but it was the pitcher that looked confused over his right shoulder when the baseball dropped in for an RBI-double.

That was the time when things unravelled for our sinkerballer as veteran Curtis Granderson then rapped a double into the right center field gap to make it 2-0 Seattle. Murphy then zinged a hard groundball into the grass in right field… Granderson to third… AROUND THIRD… RELAY THROW TO FIRST… TO HOME… THEY GOT HIM! GARCIA GOT RID OF THE BALL QUICKLY AND SO DID BRZEZINSKI, INNING OVER!

No reason to really party tho as we were down 2-0 and no-hit so far. That no-hitter ran through the sixth… and for Stroman, the day as over after Ketel Marte sunk his ship with a solo home run, 3-0 SEA. Going into the bottom of the seventh… we NEEDED a rally… A BASE HIT would be nice. Anthony Rendon, the master of big hacks into strikeouts this series… FINALLY got hold of one and homered to left to GET THIS BLOODY NO-HITTER OFF THE BOARD.

Celebrations were muted as we needed more, and things looked up two pitches later as Eugenio hammered one to the right centerfield wall… OFF THE WALL for a double. Now, Mesoraco and Castellanos surely do something right??? Right, Mesoraco swung at a ball down and in that flew lazily to right… Castellanos time. Starting at Davies, he watched the first pitch… AND A BIG SWING AND A DRIVE… RIGHT CENTER… DEEP… WAY DEEP…. Agony. Chris Taylor ran it down at the wall. Brzezinski did nothing as usual, and the inning was over.

Our bullpen with Joe Szczygiel and Kevin Buchanan got the job done… but the truth is, our arch-nemesis was on the pitch. 22-year old Clayton Blackburn had pitched in game one, three and four and amassed 7.1 scoreless innings of 4-hit and 1BB ball with 6K against us… and was back out there to pitch the final two innings…

And he did. Not allowing a baserunner. End of story.

SP Marcus Stroman 6.2IP 8H 3R 3ER 0BB 3K L
3B Anthony Rendon 1-3 R RBI BB HR
DH Eugenio Suárez 1-4 DB
1B Adam Brzezinski 0-2 BB
PH Eric Thames 1-1
HR SEA: Ketel Marte(1)
HR TOR: Anthony Rendon(1)
W: Kyle Davies(1-0 6.23) L: Marcus Stroman(0-1 5.25) SV: Clayton Blackburn(1 0.00)
SEA 3 TOR 1 SEA wins ALDS, advances to ALCS
******** Kyle Davies… Whatever… Gone fishing.

[Griever20]

AL Division Series:

Chicago White Sox 2 - Los Angeles Angels 4
LAA SP Phil Hughes 5.2IP 6H 1ER 2BB 5K W(1-0 1.59)
Los Angeles Angels lead series 1-0.

Chicago White Sox 2 - Los Angeles Angels 9
LAA CF Mike Trout 3-4 2R 2RBI BB 2DB
Los Angeles Angels lead series 2-0.

Los Angeles Angels 4 - Chicago White Sox 5
CWS 1B Erick Aybar 3-4 2R RBI
Los Angeles Angels lead series 2-1.

Los Angeles Angels 5 - Chicago White Sox 6
LAA SP Phil Coke 5.1IP 6H 1ER 1BB 5K ND
Series tied at 2.

Chicago White Sox 6 - Los Angeles Angels 1
CWS SP Jose Quintana 6.2IP 3H 1ER 3BB 6K W(2-1 3.31)
Chicago White Sox wins series, advances to ALCS.

NL Division Series:

Cincinnati Reds 2 - Atlanta Braves 7
ATL SP Kris Medlen 7IP 5H 2ER 1BB 8K W(1-0 2.57)
Atlanta Braves lead series 1-0.

Cincinnati Reds 1 - Atlanta Braves 9
ATL RF Bryan LaHair 3-4 R 5RBI HR(1)
Atlanta Braves lead series 2-0.

Atlanta Braves 2 - Cincinnati Reds 5
CIN SP Michael Pineda 6.1IP 3H 2ER 4BB 3K W(2-0 1.35)
Atlanta Braves lead series 2-1.

Atlanta Braves 1 - Cincinnati Reds 6
CIN SP John Lackey 7IP 4H 1ER 2BB 9K W(1-0 1.29)
Series tied at 2.

Cincinnati Reds 2 - Atlanta Braves 5
ATL SS Andrelton Simmons 2-3 R 2RB BB
Atlanta Braves wins series 3-2, advances to NLCS.

Washington Nationals 3 - Los Angeles Dodgers 1
WSH SP Jordan Zimmerman 6IP 3H 1ER 1BB 7K ND
Washington Nationals lead series 1-0.

Washington Nationals 1 - Los Angeles Dodgers 6
LAD SP Zach Greinke 8IP 3H 1ER 1BB 7K W(1-0 1.12)
Series tied at 1.

Los Angeles Dodgers 2 - Washington Nationals 3 (11)
WSH SP Hiroki Kuroda 6.2IP 4H 2ER 1BB 4K ND
Washington Nationals lead series 2-1.

Los Angeles Dodgers 6 - Washington Nationals 8
WSH SP Bruce Chen 6.1IP 2H 2ER 2BB 3K W(1-0 3.68)
Washington Nationals wins series 3-1, advances to NLCS.

[Griever20]

Yep, they did it. With World Series MvP Ryan Zimmerman(31, 3*, .266-22-98 .791OPS 3.4WAR) batting .345/.387/.448 0HR 6RBI in a tightly fought World Series, he outshined phenom RF Bryce Harper(23 ,5*, .346-33-95 1.096OPS 9.1WAR) who only hit .214 in the series. The biggest surprise these playoffs however was SP Stephen Strasburg(27, 3.5/4.5*. 13-12 3.91 228K 3.8WAR) completely getting his act together and going 4-1 2.54 in the playoffs while former Toronto Blue Jays 3B/OF Jose Bautista(35, 3*, .247-33-73 .823OPS 2.5WAR) struggled in the playoffs and only hit .211.

Anyways, congrats to the Washington Nationals for their first World Series win.

[Griever20]

Salary Arbitration:

Non-Tendered:
RHRP Al Albuquerque(29, 2*, 4-1 3SV 3.61 56K 0.4WAR AAA) – Estimate $1.2M
1B Eric Thames(28, 2*, .206-1-5 .629OPS 0.1WAR) – Estimate $2.2M
2B Eduardo Escobar(26, 2.5*, .266-4-13 .717OPS 0.2WAR) – Estimate $3.2M
SS Ryan Goins(25, 2*, .229-3-16 .707OPS 0.1WAR AAA) – Estimate $1.1M

Another tough group, but we have replacements lined up for all of those people. Bring in the kids. No one really hurts here anymore.

Contract Extension Offered:
RHSP Henderson Alvarez III(25, 2.5*, 17-9 3.69 107K 1.7WAR 33GS) – Estimate $5.72M – Offered 1y/$5.7M
RHSP Chris Archer(27, 2.5/3*, 11-5 3.55 186K 3.0WAR 33GS) – Estimate $2.448M – Offered 1y/$2.4M
RHRP Arodys Vizcaino(24, 2*, 3-+0 3SV 4.05 60K 0.5WAR) – Estimate $1.2M – Offered 1y/$1.15M
2B Adeiny Hechavarria(26, 2.5*, .297-3-52 .700OPS 2.6WAR 151G) – Estimate $3.2M – Offered 1y/$3.1M
3B Anthony Rendon(25, 4*, .305-35-113 .945OPS 8.7WAR 153G) – Estimate $5.612M – Offered 9y/$167.3M
CF Kevin Kiermaier(25, 2.5*, .231-4-19 .705OPS 0.9WAR 74G) – Estimate $1.5M – Offered 1y/$1.45M

The key one: Anthony Rendon until his age 32 season. The kid amassed 21WAR in three years.

Upcoming Free Agents:
RHRP Joakim Soria(31, 2.5*, 9-5 30SV 4.06 56K 0.9WAR 60G) – wants 3y/$18M – No offer
AAA RHSP Joe Musgrove(22, 2/2.5*, 10-10 5.27 113K 1.7WAR 26G AAA) – minor league FA – out with a torn labrum – offered minor league extension.
AAA CF Juan Lagares(26, 2*, .320-5-29 .828OPS 4/5SB 1.2WAR 62G AAA) Minor League Free Agent – No offer.

Lagares fell behind the eight ball and mostly played as a backup in AAA. Joakim Soria was a soldier for us for four years, but his ERA keeps on climbing and the scouting report dropped from 4* to 2.5*. Three years of $6M for that? I’ll give the innings to Buchanan.

Transactions:
November 2nd – LHP Blake Snell(22, 2*, 0-1 1SV 4.69 37K -0.3WAR 28G AAA) and RHRP Chris Devenski(24, 2/2.5*, 0-0 1SV 3.63 20K 0.2WAR AAA) were waived and DFA’ed today to make room on the 40-man.

Development Lab:
MLB RHSP Jeremy Komosinski(24, 3/4*) Endurance Training
AAA RHRP Roberto Osuna(20, 2.5/4*) Improve Control
AAA LF Jesse Winker(22, 2.5/3.5*) Quality of Contact
AA RHSP Juan Gonzalez(19, 2.5/4.5*) Secondary Pitch Improvement
AA LHSP Victor Torres(19, 1.5/4.5*) Improve Control
AA 1B Joe Sokolow(23, 2.5/4*) Plate Discipline
+ Defensive Improvements for Position Player Prospects.

[Griever20]

Blue Jays Awards:

We nailed it with five Silver Sluggers and 4 Gold Gloves!

Detroit Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera(31, 4.5*, .326-42-116 1.014OPS 5.6WAR) won his 5th Silver Slugger Award.

Major Awards:

Transactions:
November 6th – All of our contract extensions were agreed upon, including Anthony Rendon!

International Amateur Discovery Additions and Update:
none

Contract Extensions:
None more stunning than our Anthony Rendon contract.

[Griever20]

On vacation for a week, play/offseason will continue next Sunday

Free Agent Signings:
Philadelphia Phillies CF Jason Heyward(26, 4.5*, .288-13-54 .926OPS 5.0WAR 88G) – 8y/$238.2M – 3x All-Star, 2x GG, 1x SS
Cincinnati Reds 2B Starlin Castro(25, 3*, .284-17-73 .746OPS 5.3WAR 151G) – 7y/$150.8M – 4x All-Star, 1x SS
Minnesota Twins 1B Freddie Freeman(26, 3.5*, .297-14-78 .830OPS 3.1WAR 143G) – 6y/$138.2M – 1x All-Star
Philadelphia Phillies 1B Miguel Cabrera(32, 4.5*, .328-31-88 .953OPS 4.8WAR 158G) – 5y/$136M – 2012 AL MvP, 10x All-Star, 6x SS
New York Yankees RHSP Johnny Cueto(29, 3*, 19-3 2.54 159K 3.3WAR 32GS) – 7y/$112M – 1x All-Star
Arizona Diamondbacks 1B Edwin Encarnacion(32, 3.5*, .275-46-115 .922OPS 6.1WAR 156G) – 5y/$83.2M – 3x All-Star, 1x SS
Boston Red Sox RHSP Matt Cain(31, 3*, 12-13 3.98 171K 2.9WAR 33GS) - 5y/$76M – 2x All-Star
Chicago White Sox 1B Ryan Zimmerman(31, 3*, .266-22-98 .791OPS 3.4WAR) – 5y/$70M – 3x All-Star, 1x GG, 2x SS
Colorado Rockies RHSP Mat Latos(28, 3/3.5*, 11-10 4.44 186K 3.1WAR 34GS) – 4y/$64M
Chicago White Sox LHCL Jake McGee(29, 5*, 3-3 16SV 3.26 51K 0.4WAR 35G) – 3y/$58.4M – 1x All-Star
Detroit Tigers RF Jose Bautista(35, 3*, .247-33-73 .823OPS 2.6WAR) – 3y/$54M – 4x All-Star, 2x SS
Boston Red Sox RHSP R.A. Dickey(41, 3*, 13-14 3.22 201K 4.0WAR 33GS) - 3y/$43.1M – 1x All-Star
Minnesota Twins 1B David Ortiz(40, 3*, .298-24-86 .875OPS 2.4WAR) – 2y/$31.2M – 8x All-Star, 6x SS


Former Toronto Blue Jays:
Detroit Tigers 2B Eduardo Escobar(27, 2.5*, .266-4-13 .717OPS 0.2WAR) – 3y/$10.56M
Texas Rangers RHRP Joakim Soria(31, 2.5*, 9-5 30SV 56K 0.9WAR 60G) – 2y/$7.6M – 2x All-Star
Los Angeles Dodgers RHRP Al Alburquerque(29, 2*, 4-1 3SV 3.61 47.1IP 0.4WAR AAA) – 1y/$610k

Thames signed a minor league contract with the Braves, Goins with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Juan Lagares with the Indians.

Contract Extensions:
March 9th – The Chicago White Sox and their star LHSP Chris Sale(26, 4/4.5*, 12-11 3.71 242K 5.2WAR) agreed to a 6y/$200M contract extension.

Trade News:
none

Transactions:
December 25th – AAA 2B Brad Finkbeiner(24, 2.5/3*, .315-18-86 .864OPS 1.6WAR), AAA 1B Ricardo Camacho(26, 2.5*, .361-21-79 .993OPS 3.4WAR), AAA CF Ian Dellaripa(22, 2.5/3*, .340-24-103 .982OPS 4.2WAR), AAA RHSP Lucas Giolito(21, 2.5*, 13-6 2.74 153K 4.5WAR), AAA RHCL Roberto Osuna(20, 2.5/4*, 2-7 18SV 4.28 48K 0.5WAR), AA LHRP Ryan Borucki(21, 2/3*, 3-3 3.86 33K 1.1WAR) and AA RHRP Miguel Castro(21, 2/3*, 5-3 3.18 67K 0.8WAR 41G) were placed on the 40-man to protect them for the Rule 5 Draft.

December 26th – The Tampa Bay Rays selected RHSP Chase de Jong(21, 2*, 5-1 3.78 36K -0.1WAR 50IP 17G) from our AAA team. We’ll live.

January 20th – We blew our whole international budget of $4.04M to sign CF Jorge Calvillo(17, 0.5/5*), rated 75/85/50/75/65 hitting potential with 80 speed, 70 stealing aggressiveness, 60 stealing ability, 65 baserunning and 60 defense in left field.

[Griever20]

Development Lab:
MLB RHSP Jeremy Komosinski(24, 3/4*) Endurance Training No Improvement
AAA RHRP Roberto Osuna(20, 2.5/4*) Improve Control SUCCESSFUL
AAA LF Jesse Winker(22, 2.5/3.5*) Quality of Contact No Improvement
AA RHSP Juan Gonzalez(19, 2.5/4.5*) Secondary Pitch Improvement OUTSTANDING
AA LHSP Victor Torres(19, 1.5/4.5*) Improve Control No Improvement
AA 1B Joe Sokolow(23, 2.5/4*) Plate Discipline OUTSTANDING

Minor Programs:
MLB SS Jim Hatfield(24, 4*) Improve Infield Defense OUTSTANDING
AA CF Steve Snyder(23, 2.5/3.5*) Improve Base Stealing Ability SUCCESSFUL
S A LF Miguel Licea(19, 1/4*) Improve Outfield Defense OUTSTANDING
R 2B Alex Rivera(17, 0.5/5*) Improve Infield Defense SUCCESSFUL

International Amateur Discovery Additions and Update:
2B Alex Rivera(16, 0.5/5*) 70/75/80/70/70, 40D 2B from the Milwaukee Brewers.

[Griever20]

Your 2016 Toronto Blue Jays:

Starting Pitching

RHSP Henderson Alvarez III(25, 2.5*) 17-9 3.69 107K 33GS 195IP 2.0WAR // 50-48 3.80 437K 140GS 843.1IP 9.1WAR (career)
And again and again, he will be called upon to hold the fort in our rotation and eat a lot of innings. Having him around for the last four years, we know that we will get a high 3’s ERA, 190-200 innings and some bullcrap in the clubhouse that we will have to manage, and all that for $5.7M.

RHSP Chris Archer(27, 2.5/3*) 11-5 3.55 186K 33GS 176.2IP 3.2WAR // 29-27 3.77 521K 96GS 529.1IP 7.7WAR (career)
It is quite clear by now that what you see is what you get. And that is a mixed bag according to our scouts as he managed to strech himself out a bit more and get the stamina up… but dropped a mile on his heater while doing so. Archer still has our trust and is only in year one of arbitration, but the arrow is pointing downwards. Acquired from TBR in 2012.

LHSP Jeremy Komosinski(24, 3/4*) 16-8 2.68 132K 168IP 29GS 3.4WAR // 16-8 2.68 132K 168IP 29GS 3.4WAR (career)
Jeremy made an entrance last season with an All-Star Nomination and there is little left for him to do… except developing his third pitch, the splitter. This season will be crucial in order to reach his ceiling of a 70 slider, 80 sinker and 80 splitter pitcher with killer movement and decent control. Also, we love his makeup and the groundballs. 3rd overall pick in the 2013 draft.

RHSP Marcus Stroman(23, 3*) 12-10 3.18 180K 33GS 192.1IP 4.4WAR // 44-39 3.39 643K 127GS 730.1IP 10.8WAR (career)
Our extreme groundballer added to his own cause by winning a Gold Glove last season. Only 5’7’’, he throws a dominant changeup with five other good pitches and is pretty much what he is… which is an above average pitcher that is locked up until the end of 2020 with two team options for 2021 and 2022.

RHSP Noah Syndergaard(23, 2.5/4.5*) 15-6 3.59 162K 170.2IP 31GS 3.2WAR // 15-6 3.59 162K 170.2IP 31GS 3.2WAR (career)
Having not one, but two rookie pitchers making the All-Star game was stunning, and so was Syndergaard. He arrived with force and solid underlying numbers while utilizing our defense, and there is still room for growth with his movement, control and some of his pitches. The big question is, as usual in this segment… can he reach his potential, or does the ceiling drop like with Komosinski.

Relief Pitching:

RHRP Mike Bishop(25, 2.5/3.5*) 3-2 1SV 2.93 74K 73.2IP 61G 0.2WAR // 3-2 1SV 2.93 74K 73.2IP 61G 0.2WAR (career)
Coming in as a player with fringe control, his 3.3 BB/9 was an improvement over his minor league numbers and we hope he can continue where he left off. His biggest strength is his 85/85 rated fastball that can reach 99 with a curveball. 11th rounder in 2013.

RHRP Kevin Buchanan(23, 4.5*) 6-4 3 3SV 2.95 52K 61IP 68G 0.5WAR // 6-4 3 3SV 2.95 52K 61IP 68G 0.5WAR (career)
The kid really made another jump in this offseason with improved control and given that he does not only generate groundballs, but has potential strikeout stuff… our new closer. A groundballer with a 80 rated, 94-96mph heater and a strong slider, we hope he can make the next step. 10th rounder in 2012.

RHRP Carlos Bustamente(21, 2.5 *) 2-0 2.61 11K 10.1IP 6G 0.4WAR (AA) // DNP (Career)
The flyball pitcher really impressed last season by moving from short A to AA in a hurry and was described as the best option we have to replace Soria with everyone moving up. A fastball changeup pitcher with max effort, Bustamente tends to not know where the pitches go… but sometimes he hits the strikezone and that was enough.

LHRP Mike Cosens(25, 3.5*) 1-3 1SV 5.47 62K 51IP 59G -0.2WAR // 2-3 1SV 5.16 69K 59.1IP 72G -0.1WAR (career)
Last year, we thought that Cosens’ main weakness would be him being fragile. The lefty instead struggled with home runs and walks… not a good combination. Yet, he is a 97-99mph 85 rated fastball merchant with a good secondary pitch in a slider and good minor league numbers. Second chance for him. 5th rounder in 2012.

RHRP James C. Eaton(22, 4.5*) 5-0 2SV 3.69 63K 85.1IP 66G 1.0WAR // 5-0 2SV 3.69 63K 85.1IP 66G 1.0WAR (career)
Eaton is a rare control pitcher out of the pen, throwing a 91-93mph cutter and a way better slider with pinpoint control and wicked movement. Our scouts love his intangibles and think that he can be very effective in the pen, but lacks the swing and miss to become a closer. His first year was good, but we are looking for more. 11th rounder 2012.

LHRP Danny Foxhoven(25, 2.5*) 2-1 0SV 2.79 43K 61.1IP 46G 0.6WAR // 2-1 0SV 2.79 43K 61.1IP 46G 0.6WAR (career)
The 25-year old is very similar to Eaton, control, control and control while throwing with a weird sidearm delivery around 90mph. Used as a low leverage lefty last year that went multiple innings a lot, he beat out Cosens for the best lefty in our pen. 22nd rounder in 2012.

RHRP Roberto Osuna(21, 2.5/4*) 2-7 18SV 4.28 48K 48.1IP 41G (AAA) // DNP (career)
The Mexican has been growing through our minor league system and it is his time to shine. The stuff with a wide assortment of pitches is stunning as he can select from a fastball, a slider, a changeup, a sinker and a cutter. The cutter needs work, and so the delivery when it comes to control and movement. He will be more of a middle reliever with no expectations, but upside.

RHRP Joe Szczygiel(25, 3*) 3-1 3SV 1.92 60K 56.1IP 71G 0.8WAR // 5-5 4SV 3.26 97K 88.1IP 112G 0.2WAR (career)
After an abysmal 2014, the righty really came through last year, lowering his BB/9 down to an ‘acceptable” 3.7 while going for less strikeouts and more soft contact… and he was dominant. Control remains an issue, but if he can keep the magic going, he may not become a slam dunk…but a good dunk. 2013 2nd rounder.

Catcher

C Eric Fountaine(24, 2/2.5*, R) .212/.257/.333 2HR 16RBI 38G/26GS 0.1WAR // .203/.247/.290 2HR 20RBI 28H 11R 52G -0.1WAR (career)
All we wanted was to bring up a good defensive catcher, and we found one in Fountaine. The right-handed hitter can handle the pitching staff… but hitting is an issue. 16th rounder in 2012.

C Devin Mesoraco(27, 4*, R) .327/.392/.598 24HR 122RBI 120G 8.8WAR // .280/.349/.510 107HR 350RBI 565H 312R 550G 21.9WAR (career)
Mesoraco has had a career year in 2015 and was rewarded with an MvP Award. The 3x All-Star is blessed with a 70 rated power bat with good contract and may be the star catcher of this team and league for years to come. Acquired from CIN in 2012 offseason, signed until the end of 2020.

Infield

1B Adam Brzezinski(26, 2.5*, L) .230/.310/.397 18HR 74RBI 158G/156GS 1.2WAR // .226/.310/.397 46HR 168RBI 285H 172R 367G 2.5WAR (career)
Brzezinski won a Gold Glove… good for him. He also led the AL in strikeouts, which is not a good thing as a hitter and therefore… he is the new Eric Thames. Backup first baseman and lefty pinch-hitter. That’s all he got unless the guy below gets injured. 3rd rounder in 2012 draft.

1B Joe Sokolow(23, 3/4.5*, L) .328/.421/.524 21HR 97RBI 139G/137GS 5.2WAR (AA) // DNP (career) #68 prospect
Coming off a great AA season and an even better offseason regimen, Sololow got the job by not being Brzezinski and having good control. His ceiling should be a lot of walks and good contract, but he won’t be a 40 home run guy… we have other players for that. This is taking a small risk with a huge payoff if the development path continues at the same pace. 7th rounder in 2013.

2B/UT Brad Finkbeiner(25, 2.5*, R) .315/.385/.478 18HR 86RBI 133G/127GS 2.5WAR (AAA) // DNP (career)
Finkbeiner was strong in AAA last year and is a solid 60/50/50 defender at 2B/3B/SS that will be a great backup, replacing Escobar today and potentially for the next years if he does not fudge it up. 13th rounder in 2012.

2B Adeiny Hechavarria(25, 2*, R) .297/.322/.378 3HR 52RBI 8/15SB 151G/150GS 2.5WAR // .281/.304/.365 14HR 150RBI 460H 188R 521G 4.8WAR (career)
Hechavarria will get the starting gig based on solid defense and based on a year with the bat for his standards in 2015. Giving his trend, 2016 is going to be a stinker and 2017 is great… but to be honest, I trust this guy and he always has done a solid job, so until a real strong prospect comes up, he is save.

3B Anthony Rendon(25, 3*, R) .305/.373/.573 35HR 113RBI 153G/149GS 24/28SB 8.5WAR // .293/.369/.527 80HR 276RBI 518H 314R 468G 78SB 20.8WAR (career)
Talking about a MvP like season… Rendon had one in 2014 and a stronger one in 2015, just that guy behind was a tad bit better… Yet, there were some clouds on the horitzon as the scouting department thinks he lost some of his pulling power, but regardless of that, he is a 2x All-Star and a 2x Silver Slugger Award to complement his 2013 Rookie of the Year Award. Acquired via trade from WSH in 2012.

3B/DH Eugenio Suárez(24, 4*) .286/.374/.559 42HR 119RBI 162GS 26/32SB 5.6WAR // .269/.358/.532 84HR 208RBI 343H 246R 324GS 56/79SB 7.7WAR (career)
Suárez has not missed a game in the last two years, being an elite 70 rated power bat that can run and steal a base. He will once again bat third and we can’t wait to see the 2x All-Star and 2x Silver Slugger for another year. His hitting has evolved in 2015 from home run hitter to a more well-rounded bat and despite him being a lazy ****er, all we need him is to hit. Acquired from DET in 2012.

SS Jim Hatfield(24, 4*, S) .306/.380/.519 27HR 101RBI 154G 8.2WAR // .306/.380/.519 27HR 101RBI 189H 116R 154G 8.2WAR (career)
Coming in with some promise, Hatfield was sensational last season in his rookie season and collected the close to the whole package, Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger and All-Star. And to make things worse for the opponents… he is now a genuine 70 rated shortstop with 70/70/75/60 defensive ratings in the infield. Add a 60/70/65/50/55 bat with 80 gap power potential… he is around to stay. 2012 1st rounder.

Outfield

LF/RF Jesse Winker(22, 2.5/3.5*, L) .291/.386/.486 19HR 85RBI 138G 2.5WAR (AAA) // DNP (career) #85 prospect
Yep. Avsail Garcia won a Gold Glove and got rewarded with a job in AAA. Sorry bud. Winker may not be much better right now, but has some potential in the long run. That his development lab work wasn’t a success is sad, but the package should be good enough to perform at the back end of our lineup. The way from 50 current to 70 potential contact is the key. Acquired from CIN in 2012.

LF/RF Nick Castellanos(24, 3.5*, R) .330 /.378/.569 30HR 113RBI 156G 7/15SB 4.8WAR // .303/.354/.509 50HR 188RBI 349H 159R 297G 21/34SB 5.3WAR (career)
We hoped for Castellanos to bounce back from a weaker rookie season, and he did just that, winning the AL Batting Crown while holding his own in the field and winning the AL Silver Slugger in left and netting an All-Star nomination. His contact bat is elite, and we hope for more. Acquired from DET in 2012.

CF Jake Marisnick(25, 2.5*, R) .208/.281/.356 18HR 57RBI 12/18SB 151G 3.1WAR // .211/.267/.341 54HR 210RBI 410H 215R 82/105SB 606G 10.7WAR (career)
A 3x Gold Glover at center field that is putting up 2.5+WAR seasons for fun. Yes, the hitting isn’t great but he added 18 points of OBP compared to his first three years. I just want more of it, more defense, and more Gold Gloves.

OF Kevin Kiermaier(25, 2.5*, L) .231/.290/.415 4HR 19RBI 2/3SB 74G/34GS 0.9WAR // .224/.279/.342 13HR 85RBI 159H 81R 26/37SB 282G 1.2WAR (career)
Kiermaier is a great defender and solid right-handed hitter, and MAYBE can be a bit better than Marisnick as an overall player… but I just don’t trust him after his -0.9WAR first year. Acquired via trade from TBR in 2012.

[Griever20]

Preseason Prediction:
104-58, 1st in AL East, 24G in front of Baltimore Orioles

Predicted Top Players:
RHSP Marcus Stroman 15-7 3.47 168K 192IP
SS Jim Hatfield .290/.364/.560 39HR 105RBI 19SB
LF Nick Castellanos .298/.340/.538 31HR 105RBI 10SB
DH Eugenio Suárez .286/.370/.542 40HR 113HR 24SB

Well, that is not out of the question after our stellar 2015. Gotta stay healthy. Gotta hope that the rookies can produce and the sophomore’s can repeat.

The huge questions going into 2014 are:
How will the glut of rookies and sophomores fare?
Can we win a playoff series, assuming we get there?
Can Buchanan become a lockdown closer, or are we in trouble?

The Division:

The Baltimore Orioles(77-85) are predicted to be the best of a bad rest with a 80-82 record. Their rotation is virtually unchanged with uninspiring names like Nolasco, Chen or Dylan Bundy and their offense… well 3B Manny Machado(23, 3.5*, .291-24-84 .881OPS 4.8WAR) has now two 4+WAR seasons at age 23 but 1B Chris Davis(30, 2.5*, .203-19-75 .643OPS -1.8WAR) has crashed after leading the AL in homers(43) and RBI(117) in 2014. There IS some excitement over 21-year old LHRP Josh Hader(21, 2.5/5*, 12-9 4.11 132K 2.6WAR AAA) making his debut, the #31 prospect in baseball.

The New York Yankees(81-81) faltered after a strong April last season and are expected to finish with 79-83 bang around .500. With Alex Rodriguez(retired), Derek Jeter(retired), Mariano Rivera(LAD, then retired) and Andy Pettitte(retired) out and CC Sabathia(PHI) and Hiroki Kuroda(WSH) in the NL, this team is a shell of his former self. 2B Robinson Cano(33, 2.5*, .287-25-115 0.9WAR) has become a $29.2M defensive liability with a contract for four more years and LF Brett Gardner(32, 2.5*, .274-8-51 .736OPS 2.6WAR) may be on his way out as he is in the final year of his contract. Free agent signees RF Carlos Gonzalez(30, 3.5*, .304-25-96 .888OPS 4.7WAR) and C/1B/OF Jayson Werth(36, .265-21-74 .797OPS 3.5WAR) have performed… but there are simply too many well paid holes in this team.

Improving by 7 wins compared to 2014, the Boston Red Sox(77-85) fans shall not expect a lot of improvement as Las Vegas has their over-under at 75 wins. There is some upside in them tho as the cheeky signing of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey(41, 3*, 13-14 3.22 201K 4.3WAR) and the first full season of #84 prospect SP Dan Royce(21, 2.5/4*, 3-3 4.95 31K 0.7WAR) could solidify their pitching. As for hitting, their lineup is the boulevard of broken dreams with players like Xander Bogaerts(23, 2.5*, .282-6-24 .762OPS 1.1WAR), once a top prospect, OF Jacoby Ellsbury(32, 2.5*, .239-15-57 .657OPS 0.5WAR) and his $21M salary, C Miguel Montero(32, 2.5*, .249-13-54 .718OPS 2.5WAR, $13.5M till 2019) and 1B Kevin Youkilis(37, 2*. .238-13-64 .721OPS 0.2WAR, $16.8M). The lone bright spot? OF/2B/SS Mookie Betts(23, 4/5*, .278-17-70 .789OPS 27/33SB, 5.6WAR).

Tampa Bay(76-86) had playoff window from 2010-2014, but that one is now closed shut with David Price(CLE) and Edwin Encarnacion(ARI) out of the door, and especially that they didn’t flip Edwin for prospects last deadline… rubbed many fans the wrong way. They still have SP Alex Cobb(28, 2.5/3*, 10-8 3.60 150K 1.9WAR) as ace and potential trade bait, and technically, 3B Evan Longoria(30, 3.5*, .276-33-11 .847OPS 5.1WAR, $28.4M till 2018) and LF Desmond Jennings(29, 3*, .258-9-56 .712OPS 1.1WAR) should be in the mix of trade candidates this sommer.

Top Pitcher

Top Position Player

Baseball America announced their Top 100 prospect list:
#1 2B Jose Lopez(5*), 20, Houston Astros(S A)(NEW) (13th overall 2015)
#2 1 Victor Adan(5*), 19, New York Mets(R)(+-0) (IFA signing)
#3 2B Jaylin Harris(5*), 23, Colorado Rockies(A)(NEW) (6th overall 2015)
#4 CF Ryan McDonald(5*), 19, Detroit Tigers(R)(NEW) (1st overall 2015)
#5 RHSP Kadidku Letipilia(5*), 22, St. Louis Cardinals(A)(NEW) (8th overall 2015)
#6 LHSP Joe Peterson(5*), 22, New York Mets(MLB)(NEW) (14th overall 2015)
#7 RHSP Elijah Jones(5*), 18, Pittsburgh Pirates(A)(NEW) (3rd overall 2015)
#8 SS Neil Toms(4*), 23, Oakland Athletics(A)(NEW) (21st overall 2015)
#9 RHSP Dane Tyler(5*), 22, New York Yankees(AA)(NEW) (9th overall 2015)
#10 3B Chris Unger(3*), 20, Detroit Tigers(R)(NEW) (3rd overall 2014)

Notable Toronto Blue Jays on the list:
#18 RHSP Juan Gonzalez(5*), 20, AAA, Scouting Discovery NYM 2012 (NEW)
#20 RHSP Victor Torres(4.5*), 21, AA ,IFA signing 2013 (-9)
#39 2B Alex Rivera(5*), 17, R, Scouting Discovery MIL 2015 (NEW)
#46 CF Steve Snyder(3.5*), 23, AAA, 1st round 2014 (-24)
#54 C Peter Kilgore(5*), 19, R, 3rd round 2015 (NEW)
#57 C Bobby Cary(4*), 20, AAA, Scouting Discovery DET 2012 (+190)
#65 IF Guillermo Cervantes(4.5*), 20, AA, Scouting Discovery HOU 2012 (NEW)
#68 1B Joe Sokolow(4.5*), 23, MLB, 7th round 2013 (+124)
#85 LF Jesse Winker(3.5*), 22, MLB, Trade CIN (-14)
#98 LF Jorge Calvillo(4.5*), 17, R, IFA signing 2016 (NEW)
#150 1B George Benton(3.5*), 20, A, 3rd round 2014 (+47)
#115 CF Jake Harris(3*), 22, AA, 4th round 2012 (-23)
#119 RHSP Julio Acosta(3.5*), 22, AA, 2nd round 2014 (-24)
#121 RHSP Tommy Erikson(4*), 23, AAA, 5th round 2014 (+34)
#139 LF Miguel Licea(4*), 19, A, Scouting Discovery TEX 2012 (+110)
#146 RHRP Mike Smith(5*), 19, AA, 4th rounder 2014 (+151)
#164 CF Ian Dellaripa(3,5*), 22, AAA, 6th rounder 2012 (NEW)
#167 RHSP Greg Toomey(4*), 22, AA, 6th rounder 2015 (NEW)
#183 RHRP Jorge Diaz(5*), 20, AAA, Scouting Discovery CWS 2012(+93)
#185 LHSP John Hall(4*), 22, AA, 5th rounder 2015 (NEW)
#201 RHSP Melvin Baiza(4*), 19, S A, Scouting Discovery BOS 2013 (NEW)
#202 RHSP Mat Rose(3.5*), 19, A, 2nd rounder 2015 (NEW)
#204 RHSP Ricky Paniagua(3,5*), 20, Scouting Discovery PHI 2012 (NEW)
#221 LHSP bobby Olenick(4*), 23, A, 7th Round 2014 (+47)
#222 RHRP Roberto Osuna(4*), 21, MLB (-110)
#227 RHSP Javier Guzman(3.5*), 19, A, Scouting Discovery KCR 2013 (+31)
#229 RHRP Emilio Farentino(5*), 17, A, IFA signing 2015 (NEW)

Depth for days. We are set up perfectly and you wanna now the next big thing? Juan Gonzalez is already 3/5* and only 20. The kid could be a superstar veery soon.

By the way, some balancing soon? If we win a world series, we will receive another ‘punishment’ in order to make this more challenging.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
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Series:
3-0 vs BOS (LF Nick Castellanos 2-3 R RBI BB DB HR(1), DH Eugenio Suárez 2-3 R RBI BB HR(2), SP Noah Syndergaard 6IP 3H 1ER 1BB 9K ND)
1-2 @ TBR (SP Chris Archer 6IP 3H 0ER 1BB 7K W(1-0 0.00))
3-0 vs OAK (SP Jeremy Komosinski 7.1IP 4H 1ER 0BB 6K W(1-0 1.50), LF Nick Castellanos 3-5 R 4RBI TP HR(3), 1B Joe Sokolow 3-5 R 2RBI DB)
2-1 @ KCR (SP Henderson Alvarez III 7.1IP 5H 2ER 1BB 5KL W(1-0 9.00), SP Marcus Stroman 6.2IP 8H 1ER 0BB 2K W(2-1 1.96))
2-1 vs BAL (SP Noah Syndergaard 5.1IP 4H 1ER 2BB 5K W(1-0 4.08), CF Jake Marisnick 2-4 3R 3RBI 2HR(4))
2-1 @ NYY (3B Anthony Rendon 2-4 2R RBI BB HR(2))
1-2 vs SFG (C Devin Mesoraco 3-4 2R 4RBI DB 2HR(4))
1-2 vs MIN (SS Jim Hatfield 2-2 2R RBI 2BB HR(4))
2-0 @ DET (SP Henderson Alvarez III 7.2IP 4H 1ER 1BB 7K ND, CF Jake Marisnick 3-4 R 2RBI 2DB)

Record: 17-9, 1st in AL East, 3G lead
April: 17-9
Runs Scored: 117(8th)
Batting AVG: .261(4th)
OBP: .332(6th)
Home Runs: 39(2nd)
Stolen Bases: 17(6th)
Runs Against: 101(2nd)
Starters ERA: 4.81(13)
Bullpen ERA: 1.86(1st)
Defensive Eff.: .680(8th)
Zone Rating: +9.0(1st)

Toronto Pitcher of the Month: LHSP Jeremy Komosinski 2-1 3.07 26K 29.1IP 0.8WAR 5GS
Toronto Position Player of the Month: C Devin Mesoraco .289/.379/.530 5HR 17RBI 11R +1.0ZR 1.1WAR 23G

On paper, we are looking good with a 17-win April, but our Pythagorean record would’ve been more up to 15-11 and the main problem was the starting pitching. Only Komosinski had a good start to the season, and even then, there would’ve been a case for Kevin Buchanan(1-0 9SV 1.42) to be our Pitcher of the Month over him. Buchanan allowed two earned runs on opening day… and none since, and even with the two earnies, no blown save.

On the hitting side, we scored 117 runs, but looking and the individual performances, that seems on the low end. Yes, Jesse Winker has been a bang average 100OPS+ hitter, but Joe Sokolow is a BIG improvement over last year’s 1B Adam Brzezinski, but the truth is, every regular apart from Jake Marisnick performed worse than his 2015 full season numbers… so… im optimistic we can turn things around! Hey, me optimistic! It is possible!

Speaking of optimistic people, the fans of the Twins finally have a reason to be optimistic! They lead the AL Central after five straight 85+ loss seasons and while I still don’t trust their tailored together pitching staff, 1B Hanley Ramirez(32, 3.5*, .301-1-26 .810OPS 0.8WAR), 3B Justin Rimmerle(25, 4.5*, .394-5-30 1.083OPS 2.2WAR) and April Player of the Month Freddie Freeman(see below) are very legit… but can they keep it up? Oh, their catcher Matt Wieters(.338-7-21 1.097OPS 1.5WAR) is leading the AL in OPS…

In the NL, the San Francisco Giants and superstar C Buster Posey(29, 5*, .364-6-18 1.086OPS 1.9WAR) have indeed rebounded and Posey already leads the NL in WAR… no surprise. It will be a fight till the end with the Dodgers.

Minor League Report and Awards:
Nobody won Monthly Awards

Nobody… NOBODY… We are looking at a good start for our AAA team as they are hitting the cover off the ball and we may have an option down there in OF Ian Dellaripa(22, 3/3.5*, .371-7-29 1.136OPS 1.1WAR) who may just be a backup outfielder next year… or earlier. We are a bit heavy on left-handed bats on the bench. Our top prospect in Juan Gonzalez is 2-1 4.18 22K 0.8WAR 122ERA+, so he is doing ok-isch, but we will take out time with him.

The low point in our farm is once again one of the single A teams, this time Dunedin in the Florida State League… 5-13. They are the weaker single A team and the only prospect of note is LF Miguel Licea(19, 1.5/4*, .296-4-17 .925OPS 0.4WAR). Maybe we can grab some help via the draft, but college players have been a waste lately…

International Amateur Discovery Additions and Update:
None.

In Other News:

April 3rd – Dodgers LHSP Clayton Kershaw(28, 5*) showed some opening day magic, a 15 strikeout game in a 11-1 rout of the Pirates, going 9IP 3H 1ER 1BB 15K in the win. The 4x Cy Young Winner is coming off a 18-7 2.11 238K 7.2WAR year in 325 starts.

April 9th – Marlins LF Logan Morrison(28, 2.5*) lasered 3 home runs today in a wild 12-9 win over the Pirates, going 4-5 3R 5RBI 3HR. The 28-year old is batting .429-4-9 1.395OPS 0.5WAR in 7 games.

April 11th – Red Sox 3B David Wright(33, 2.5*) showed up himself with a 5-5 4R 2RBI TP HR performance in a 9-2 win over the Tigers. The 2013 NL MvP is performing well with his new team, batting .303-1-7 .876OPS 0.2WAR in 8 games.

April 14th – Rangers CF Leonys Martin(28, 2.5*) collected a big 5-5 2R 2RBI DB day in a 11-2 win over the Angels. The Cuban import is batting .312-1-6 .761OPS 2/2SB 0.4WAR in 11 games.

April 16th – Dodgers RF Matt Kemp(31, 3.5*) had a fun night in a 11-2 win over the Padres, going 3-4 4R 4RBI BB with 3 home runs. The 3x All-Star is batting .235-6-12 .943OPS 0.5WAR in 13 games.

April 16th – Cubs LF Alex Gordon(32, 3*) is the first player this season to hit for the CYCLE, 4-5 2R 3RBI DB TP HR in a 6-4 win in Colorado. The 2x All-Star is batting .367-1-8 1.059OPS 0.5WAR in 13 games.

April 16th – Athletics LF Coco Crisp(36, 2*) showed flashes of his former self today, going 5-5 R RBI DB in a 12-5 loss to the Tigers. The 2012 AL All-Star is batting .229-1-4 .627OPS -0.2WAR in 13 games.

April 16th – Twins CF Ben Revere(27, 2.5*) took part in a unheard of 33-3 win over the Royals, going 5-7 5R 4RBI SB. The 2015 stolen base king(35) is batting .286-0-13 .639OPS 0.1WAR in 14 games.

April 19th – Cardinals LF Matt Holliday(36, 3*) collected career hit #2000 today. The 6x All-Star and 4x Silver Slugger is a career .303/.380/.515 291HR 1103RBI 2000H 1097R 117/166SB 53.4WAR hitter in 1781 games.

April 27th – Twins CF Ben Revere(27, 2.5*) added a second 5-hit game to his month of April, going 5-5 R 2RBI in a 10-7 win in
Toronto. 5th in the AL in batting average right now, he is batting .348-0-19 .736OPS 0.6WAR in 22 games.

April 28th – The Los Angeles Dodgers and their star RF Yasiel Puig(24, 4.5*) agreed to a 8y/$211.8M contract extension that will keep the 2014 NL MvP around till 2024, his age 33 season. The 2x All-Star is batting .348-5-14 1.060OPS 1.1WAR in 24 games.

May 1st – Twins 1B Freddie Freeman(26, 3.5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .333 with 7 home runs, 21RBIs and 40 runs scored for the month.

May 1st – Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton(26, 3.5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .350 with 8 home runs, 32RBIs and 18 runs scored for the month.

May 1st – Angels RHRP Luis Echevarria(27, 4*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-1 3SV 3.06 15K in 17.2IP in 16 games for the month.

May 1st – Dodgers LHSP Clayton Kershaw(28, 5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-1 1.85 46K in 43.2IP and 6 starts for the month.

May 1st – Angels RHRP Luis Echevarria(27, 4*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after going 5-1 3SV 3.06 15K in 17.2IP in 16 games for the month.

May 1st – Pittsburgh RHSP Adrian Sampson(24, 2.5*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after going 4-1 3.26 24K in 30.1IP in 5 starts for the month.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
May 30th – 1B Joe Sokolow(24, 3/4.5*, .312-7-27 .858OPS 1.0WAR 54G) was placed on the 15-day IL with a fractured rib 6 weeks. 1B Ricardo Camacho(26, 2.5*, .372-5-29 .939OPS 1.0WAR AAA) was recalled.

Series:
1-0 @ DET (SS Jim Hatfield 4-4 3R 4RBI DB 2HR(6))
2-1 vs HOU (SP Noah Syndergaard 6IP 2H 0ER 1BB 10K W(2-1 4.68))
1-2 @ SEA (SS Jim Hatfield 4-4 2R 3RBI DB HR(8))
2-1 vs TEX (SP Chris Archer 6.1IP 1H 0ER 2BB 6K ND, C Devin Mesoraco 3-4 2R RBI 2TP)
2-1 @ CWS (SP Noah Syndergaard 7IP 3H 0ER 2BB 7K W(3-2 4.26), LF Jesse Winker 3-4 2R 4RBI BB DB 2HR(7))
3-0 vs LAA (SP Henderson Alvarez III 5IP 3H 2ER 2BB 4K W(3-3 5.05), SP Jeremy Komosinski 5.1IP 3H 3ER 3BB 6K W(5-1 3.60))
1-2 vs CLE (SP Noah Syndergaard 6.2IP 5H 2ER 1BB 6K W(4-2 4.06))
1-2 @ BOS
2-1 vs TBR
2-1 @ OAK (DH Eugenio Suárez 1-1 R 2RBI 3BB HR(13), SS Jim Hatfield 2-4 2R RBI BB HR(12))
0-1 vs KCR

Record: 34-21, 1st in AL East, 3.5G lead over BAL
May: 17-12
Runs Scored: 257(7th)
Batting AVG: .262(4th)
OBP: .329(5th)
Home Runs: 75(2nd)
Stolen Bases: 36(4th)
Runs Against: 207(1st)
Starters ERA: 4.42(8th)
Bullpen ERA: 2.08(1st)
Defensive Eff.: .713(1st)
Zone Rating: +22.9(1st)

Toronto Pitcher of the Month: RHSP Noah Syndergaard 3-1 2.68 34K 37IP 1.1WAR 6GS
Toronto Position Player of the Month: DH Eugenio Suárez .309/.397/.545 6HR 14RBI 21R +0.0ZR 1.5WAR 29G

The defense has come back, the starting pitching has improved, the offense has bounced back a bit, yet the Baltimore Orioles are hanging in there, 3.5 games behind us.

Now, we are concerned about some guys still. Marcus Stroman needs to bounce back hard. Yes, he is struggling with .333 BABIP, but the FIP is 4.73. In other words, he sucked. Henderson Alvarez III is not better, a 5.55 FIP… he is only saved by our defense. Juan Gonzalez is starting to make a case 4-2 3.94 47K 1.9WAR in AAA… There may be someone losing his job soon.

Offensively, Devin Mesoraco is also in a slump… .754OPS is not good enough. That means… he will get dropped to hitting 5th and Castellanos/ Rendon will move up to the cleanup spot. Oh, and just for the record. Camacho got the first base job for now. He went 2-3 in the first game.

About Baltimore Orioles… Chris Davis(30, 2.5*, .230-13-34 .792OPS 0.4WAR) found some power, 2B Jonathan Schoop(24, 2.5*. .247-14-32 .772OPS 1.6WAR) is hitting bombs out of their leadoff spot and the rest of the lineup is doing just fine to keep them in touching distance with us.

Right now, the biggest danger in the AL are the Cleveland Guardians. Transforming Joe Nathan(41, 3*, 6-2 3.20 62K 0.8WAR 11GS 59IP) into a starter is a move I would’ve never made, but they are getting 5-6 solid innings out of him in every start… Can they keep it going? Not so sure, there is some above average talent but… when 1B Jason Kipnis(29, 2.5*, .287-9-25 .846OPS 1.7WAR) is your best hitter…

Oh, and something else. Minnesota 2B/3B/SS Justin Rimmele(25, 4*) has become a rival to Mike Trout.

Rimmele: .368/.446/.603 10HR 50RBI 3.6WAR
Trout: .282/.456/.616 15HR 48RBI 10/12SB 3.5WAR

None of our guys are close to that, but it’s a team effort this year it seems…

Minor League Report and Awards:
AAA RHSP Tommy Erikson(23, 2/4.5*) 4-0 2.41 27K 36GS 3.32 0.5WAR
R LHRP Jose Lamas(17, 1/2.5*) 1-0 8SV 4.00 5K 10G 9IP 0.1WAR
won Monthly Awards

We still struggle with consistently winning games in the minors with a lot of teams, but our AAA team is winning with 32-21, yet there are some concerns in that team. Daniel Norris(23, 2/3.5*, 3-6 5.64 54K 0.9WAR) is frozen in time and not developing, and Tommy Erikson(23, 2/4.5*, 4-1 4.19 41K 0.5WAR) is also a bit slow to fill out… despite is ceiling rising last offseason…

International Amateur Discovery Additions and Update:
CF Javier Medrano(16, 3*) 65/75/55/45/70 65D at LF, 60/60/50 Speed/Stealing Agr./Stealing Abil., our discovery.

In Other News:

May 6th – Pirates 2B Neil Walker(30, 3*) collected a strong 5-hit game today, going 5-5 3R 4RBI 3DB HR in a 10-6 win over the Reds. The 2013 NL Silver Slugger is batting .407-6-29 1.135OPS 1.9WAR in 31 games.

May 8th – Marlins LHSP Andrew Heaney(24, 2.5*) was two hits shy of a no-hitter today, going 9IP 2H 0ER 0BB 2K in a 11-0 win over the Giants. The fourth year pro is 4-1 2.25 31K 0.7WAR in 7 starts.

May 9th – Marlins 1B Logan Morrison(28, 2.5*) wielded a big stick today, going 5-5 3R 3RBI DB HR in a 12-3 win over the Giants. The 28-year old is batting .331-13-33 1.058OPS 1.8WAR in 35 games.

May 10th – White Sox LF J.D. Martinez(28, 2.5*) lost a strong 22-game hitting streak today. The waiver claim in April from HOU is batting .286-7-23 .836OPS 0.7WAR in 36 games.

May 26th – Colorado RHSP John Lackey(37, 2.5*) pitched a strong 4-hit shutout today, beating the Brewers with a 9IP 4H 0ER 0BB 6K performance that ended with a stunning walkoff single by veteran Carl Crawford. Lackey, a 2007 AL All-Star, is 3-4 6.37 46K 0.5WAR in 10 starts.

June 1st – White Sox 3B Mikey Clements(24, 3.5/4*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .370 with 10 home runs, 25RBIs and 27 runs scored for the month. The 3rd rounder in 2013 is batting .345-14-38 1.041OPS 2.4WAR in 52 games.

June 1st – Reds CF Chris Cunningham(24, 3.5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .398 with 7 home runs, 19RBIs and 26 runs scored for the month. The reigning Rookie of the Year is batting .358-12-35 1.091OPS in 2.2WAR, leading the NL in batting average, runs(46), OPS, OBP and SLUG.

June 1st – Guardians RHCL Cody Allen(27, 4*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 8SV 2.40 23K in 15IP in 15 games for the month. The star reliever is 4-0 14SV 2.74 35K 0.7WAR in 24 games.

June 1st – Pirates RHSP Gerrit Cole(25, 4.5/5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-1 2.95 47K in 42.2IP and 6 starts for the month. The 2x All-Star is 7-2 3.24 76K 1.4WAR in 11 starts.

June 1st – Rangers RHSP Eric Noakes(23, 2.5/4*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after going 3-0 2.63 29K in 37.2IP in 6 starts for the month. The 2014 2nd rounder is 5-0 2SV 2.56 37K 1.3WAR in 52.2IP and 11G/8GS for the year.

June 1st – Padres RHSP Tyler Griffin(22, 2.5/3*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after going 4-0 2.88 23K in 34.1IP in 6 starts for the month. A 13th rounder in 2012, he is 6-1 3.49 40K 0.4WAR in 11 starts.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
June 2nd – RF Nick Castellanos(24, 3.5*, .264-12-34 .840OPS 1.4WAR) was placed on the 15-day IL with a latissimus dorsi (back) strain 2 weeks. RF Avsail Garcia(24, 2.5*, .319-7-37 .876OPS 1.0WAR AAA) was recalled.

June 7th – RHRP James C. Eaton(22, 4.5*, 4-1 2SV 1.72 23K 0.8WAR) was placed on the 15-day IL with an oblique strain 1 weeks. RHRP Arodys Vizcaino(25, 2*, 0-0 1.21 18K 0.5WAR 22.1IP AAA) was recalled.

June 15th – A major blow to the Toronto Blue Jays rotation as RHSP Chris Archer(27, 2.5/3*, 3-3 4.02 68K 1.0WAR) was placed on the 60-day IL with a torn UCL 12 months, requiring Tommy John surgery. In a surprising move, the front office then decided to buy the contract of #18 prospect RHSP Juan Gonzalez(20, 3.5/5*, 6-2 3.67 66K 2.8WAR AAA) from AAA Las Vegas.

June 18th – RF Avsail Garcia(25, 2.5*, .271-2-7 .787OPS 0.3WAR) was demoted back to AAA as RF Nick Castellanos(24, 3.5*, .264-12-34 .840OPS 1.4WAR) came off the IL.

June 23rd – RHRP Arodys Vizcaino(25, 2*, 0-0 12.71 1K 5.2IP) was demoted to AAA as RHRP James C. Eaton(22, 4.5*, 4-1 2SV 1.72 23K 0.8WAR) returned off the IL.

Series:
2-0 vs KCR (SP Marcus Stroman 7IP 4H 0ER 0BB 7K W(4-4 4.66), LF Jesse Winker 3-5 2R 2RBI DB HR(11))
3-0 @ BAL (LF Jesse Winker 2-5 2R 4RBI HR(12), OF Kevin Kiermaier 2-3 R 4RBI BB HR(2), SP Henderson Alvarez III 8IP 4H 2ER 0BB 4K W(4-5 5.04))
1-2 vs NYY (SP Jeremy Komosinski 6.1IP 6H 2ER 1BB 5K W(7-1 3.30))
2-1 vs SFG (SP Marcus Stroman 8IP 3H 2ER 3BB 6K W(5-4 4.14))
1-2 @ MIN (DH Eugenio Suárez 3-5 2R 3RBI 2HR(19))
2-1 vs DET (SP Henderson Alvarez III 5.2IP 4H 0ER 0BB 6K W(5-5 4.44), OF Kevin Kiermaier 2-3 R 2RBI DB)
2-1 @ HOU (1B Ricardo Camacho 3-4 3R 2RBI 2HR(5), RF Nick Castellanos 2-5 2R 4RBI DB HR(13))
3-0 vs SEA (3B Anthony Rendon 3-4 2R 2RBI HR(6), SP Jeremy Komosinski 6.2IP 4H
2ER 2BB 4K ND(7-2 3.45), SP Noah Syndergaard 5IP 3H 1ER 2BB 4K W(8-3 3.96))
2-1 @ TEX (SP Henderson Alvarez III 6.1IP 5H 1ER 1BB 4K W(7-5 4.08), DH Eugenio Suárez 3-5 2R 4RBI 2HR(24))
2-0 vs CWS (1B Adam Brzezinski 3-4 R 3RBI DB TP, 1B Ricardo Camacho 2-4 2R RBI DB HR(6))

Record: 54-29 , 1st in AL East, 11G lead over NYY
June: 20-8
Runs Scored: 428(3rd)
Batting AVG: .268(3rd)
OBP: .335(3rd)
Home Runs: 123(1st)
Stolen Bases: 56(5th)
Runs Against: 327(1st)
Starters ERA: 3.93(3th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.11(1st)
Defensive Eff.: .707(1st)
Zone Rating: +31.1(1st)

Toronto Pitcher of the Month: see below 😊
Toronto Position Player of the Month: see below 😊

We are cruising. A 10-18 month for the Orioles made the hardest opposition for the division crown go away for now and our offense and starting pitching got hot at the same time to give us a 20-8 month.

That being said, we suffered some injuries… that may just make us stronger if we are honest. Juan Gonzalez may just be the next superstar ace. Rated 70/60/60 potential with a 80 rated curveball, a 92-94 fastball with a lot of sink and a changeup that is still in development, as well as 70 rated stamina, Gonzalez looks like a future workhorse… and is already better rated than poor Chris Archer.

A scouting discovery from the Mets in 2012, his first year in the minors in 2013 was a short one as he mainly pitched out of the bullpen in rookie ball, but in 2014 he quickly moved up through Short A(1.31ERA) to single A (4-10 3.88) to dominate AA in 2015 with a 15-4 2.54 170K year. And, he is only 20.

Now, other injuries. Joe Sokolow will be back in a week and will get some AAA swings in before returning to the majors from his fractured rib, but we are surely excited to see him back here… and so is the ownership group as he filled their expectations for an upgrade at first base! That means, when he is back, one guy has to go down… and that will be Adam Brzezinski.

One reason, his name is hard to type. Second reason, he has never hit well and performed to par. Third reason, Ricardo Camacho has hit the cover off the ball through his first 28 games.

And, we nailed the closer’s role with Kevin Buchanan. Sweet.

Around the league, Justin Rimmele leads everybody on the planet with a 1.082OPS and 5.7 batting WAR, and leading the way for the best offense in baseball… 503 runs scored with a team .810OPS and a team .284 batting average…

Minor League Report and Awards:
S A LHSP Bill Bernal(21, 1.5/2.5*) 2-0 1.48 49K 1.2WAR 37IP 17G/6GS
S A 1B David Medina(18, 1/2.5*) .381-2-12 .974OPS 14R 1.4WAR 27G
R LHSP Tony Nava(16, 1/3.5*) 3-0 1.62 25K 0.5WAR 27.2IP 6GS
won Monthly Awards

With Gonzalez, we shot our biggest AAA bullet. Tommy Erikson did put in some development and still struggles at 4-3 5.31 and I still have questions about one time MLB starter Daniel Norris who is now 4-9 5.46… DEVELOP YOU MUGS!

Also developing is our cheeky 3rd rounder R C Peter Kilgore as the 19-year old is batting .342-14-42 1.061OPS in R Lincoln and another big news item: RHSP Alejandro Melendez()19, 1.5/4.5*), our 7th rounder in 2015, developed a sinker and therefore moved more towards a groundball pitcher… instant making him a top 100 prospect.

International Amateur Discovery Additions and Update:
none

In Other News:

June 13th – In a 16-3 victory over the Red Sox, two Los Angeles Angels hitters had themselves quite a night. 3B Yunel Escobar(33, 2*, .228-5-16 .607OPS -0.3WAR) went 5-5 3R RBI and LF B.J. Upton(31, 2.5*, .207-11-33 .673OPS 0.4WAR) joined him with a 5-5 3R 5RBI TP BB 2HR night.

June 16th – Angels 3B Yunel Escobar(33, 2*) did not stop the hitting as he went 5-5 2RBI three days later in a 6-4 loss to the Rays. The veteran from Cuba is now batting .248-5-18 .644OPS 0.0WAR in 64 games.

June 21st – Another memorable high scoring game took place today as the Orioles beat the Rangers 16-2 with the help of 2x All-Star SS J.J. Hardy(33, 2.5*, .303-12-39 .845OPS 0.9WAR) going 5-5 3R RBI DB HR and rookie RF Gary Million(25, 2.5*, .311-4-15 1.004OPS 0.5WAR) going 4-6 4R 6RBI 3HR.

June 24th – Rays C Tucker Barnhart(25, 2.5*) collected his own 5-hit game, going 5-5 3R DB TP in a 13-4 win over the Red Sox. The 3rd year pro is batting .268-9-27 .756OPS 0.9WAR in 77 games.

June 26th – Cardinals LF Matt Holliday(36, 3*) collected career home run #300 today. The 6x All-Star and 4x Silver Slugger is a career .303/.380/.515 301HR 1142RBI 1128R 2062H 55.1WAR hitter in 1840 games between COL, OAK and STL.

June 26th – San Francisco C Buster Posey(29, 5*) also had a big 5-hit day, going 5-5 R 3RBI HR in a 7-3 win over the Marlins. The 2012 NL MvP is batting .341-9-52 .942OPS 3.9WAR in 70 games.

June 28th – Phillies CF Jason Heyward(26, 4*) added his own 5-hit game to the fun, going 5-5 2R 2RBI SB in a 7-4 win over the Cardinals. The 3x All-Star is batting .337-13-43 .946OPS 4.9WAR in 79 games.

June 28th – Rays RF Melky Cabrera(31, 2.5*) joined the fun, going 5-5 3R RBI DB HR in a 8-7 loss to the Padres. The switch-hitter is batting .284-10-43 .757OPS -0.1WAR in 77 games.

June 29th – San Francisco 1B Lance Berkman(40, 2.5*) had a rare start today and made the most of it, going 5-6 2R 3RBI HR in a 13-7 win over the Pirates. The 6x All-Star is batting .298-1-8 .734OPS 0.3WAR in 31G/9GS.

June 29th – Red Sox 3B David Wright(33, 2.5*) collected career hit #2000 today in a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. The 2013 NL MvP, 2x Gold Glover, 3x Silver Slugger and 5x All-Star is a career .292/.369/.487 268HR 1092RBI 1086R 2001H 222/292SB 60.8WAR hitter in 1809G between NYM and BOS.

July 1st – Minnesota SS Justin Rimmele(25, 4*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .410 with 4 home runs, 13RBIs and 23 runs scored for the month. The 2nd overall pick in 2012 is batting .382-14-63 1.082OPS 5.7WAR in 80 games.

July 1st – Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt(28, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .327 with 10 home runs, 21RBIs and 25 runs scored for the month. The 3x All-Star is batting .315-19-54 .982OPS 3.2WAR in 81 games.

July 1st – Toronto RHSP Henderson Alvarez III(26, 2.5*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 1.45 18K in 31 in 5 starts for the month. The 2014 AL All-Star is 7-5 4.08 58K 0.4WAR in 16 starts.

July 1st – Rockies RHSP Jason Behrendt(21, 3/4*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 1.82 28K in 34.2IP and 6 starts for the month. The 9th overall pick in 2013 is 11-2 2.63 77K 2.1WAR in 16 games in his first full season.

July 1st – Toronto LF Jesse Winker(22, 2.5/3.5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .286 with 7 home runs, 25 RBIs amd 17 runs scored for the month. The #85 prospect prior to the season is batting .243-15-49 .835OPS 1.0WAR in 80 games.

July 1st – Reds LHSP Pedro Castellano(23, 2.5*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after going 4-0 0.64 17K in 28.1IP in 4 starts for the month. A 3rd rounder in 2013, he is 5-0 2.35 28K 1.0WAR in 7 starts.

[Griever20]

LAA 1B Albert Pujols(36, 2.5*) – 11th selection
PHI 1B Miguel Cabrera(33, 4*) – 11th selection
TBR 3B Evan Longoria(30, 3*) – 7th selection
LAD SP Clayton Kershaw(28, 5*) – 6th selection
ATL RHCL Craig Kimbrel(28, 5*) – 6th selection
NYY RHCL Jonathan Papelbon(35, 3*) – 6th selection
COL SS Troy Tulowitzki(31, 3.5*) – 6th selection