This is my second Minor League report, and I hope it will keep you updated on all the latest that is going on with the very best Toronto Blue Jay prospects.
Las Vegas 51's (AAA)- (33-44, last in PCL Pacific South Division)
Things have not been going well for the 51's in their first year of being affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays as they have the second worst winning percentage in the entire league. There have been only a few positives on this team so far.
One of them has been recent signing David Dellucci. Although he has only had 52 at-bats, Dellucci is hitting .288 with three home runs and six RBI's.
Another pleasant suprise has been Russ Adams, who was just recently called up by the Toronto Blue Jays. He has hit .319 in 72 at-bats, with just one home run and nine RBI's. If Adams does not produce at the MLB level, expect Dellucci to be called up in his place.
Meanwhile, there has been plenty of huge disappointments in Las Vegas. After being sent down, top prospect Travis Snider has only hit .258 in 31 at-bats and has been on the disabled list since May 31st.
In the last minor league report I reported that JP Arencibia was starting to turn the corner, but he has been hitting poorly for most of June. Overall this season his batting average is at .236 and he has hit eight home runs to go with 40 RBI's.
Things appear to be going even worse for the pitchers on the team. After his extremely good start, Fabio Castro has finally fell back down to earth. He has a 4.31 ERA in his last ten starts and has actually walked (24) more batters then he has struck out (23) during that span.
David Purcey is still struggling with his control as well, the reason why he was sent down is because of his lack of control. He is 0-2 with a 4.08 ERA in the minors this season and has walked 36 batters in only 64 innings.
The recently sent down Brad Mills was still struggling at the time the Jays called him up, he was only called up because the Jays had no one else to turn to. Mills is 1-8 on the season with a dismal 4.48 ERA and he finished with a 14.09 ERA in two starts at the MLB level.
Brett Cecil is lucky that he is still pitching for the Jays after his last start. He has fared no better in the Minors this year as the promising lefty has gone just 1-5 with an ugly ERA at 5.69.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA)- (32-43, Fifth in EAS Northern Division)
The Fisher Cats have gone from first place to second last since my last Minor League report, definitely not a good sign.
The best player for the Fisher Cats has been 25-year old Brian Dopirak. He has hit .311 with an amazing 18 home runs and 57 RBI's. He doesn't project to be a major leaguer though, as indicated by the fact that he is already 25.
Meanwhile, Brian Jeroloman, another catcher that the Jays are high on, has hit a disappointing .252 with only four home runs and 16 RBI's.
Top prospect David Cooper has also disappointed with a minuscule .243 average and just three home runs to go along with only 19 RBI's.
Fortunately, there has been two pitchers that have been great for the Fisher Cats this year since Fabio Castro has been promoted to AAA Las Vegas.
The best has been Reidier Gonzalez, who has gone 3-5 with an amazing 3.18 ERA in 79 and one-third innings. He only has 55 strike outs, but opposing batters are hitting only .238 off of him.
Another good pitcher for the Fisher Cats has been Luis Perez. Perez is 4-6 on the year with a nifty 3.41 ERA and a team leading 89 and two-thirds innings. Hitters are hitting only .220 against him and he has struck out 72 batters.
Unfortunately, World Baseball Classic sensation Leon Boyd has been awful since being promoted from Dunedin. In 14 appearances he has a 9.88 ERA in 13 and two-third innings and has walked 14 batters.
Dunedin Blue Jays (A)- (36-35, Fourth in FSL South Division)
Things have improved for the Dunedin Blue Jays since my last report as they are now above 500 and have climbed out of last place for the time being.
They have been led by three players offensively, with Darin Mastroianni leading the way. He has hit .325 this season with 26 RBI's and has just recently been called up by AA New Hampshire.
Eric Thames has also been a pleasant surprise down in Dunedin. He has hit .308 with two home runs and 30 RBI's. Moises Sierra has been another good hitter for Dunedin as he has a .311 batting average with four home runs and 36 RBI's.
It hasn't been all good though as a couple of top prospects have been struggling all year. Justin Jackson is hitting just .237 with no home runs and just 15 RBI's. Meanwhile, Kevin Ahrens is hitting just .233 with two home runs and 22 RBI's.
A couple of players are standing out on the pitching side of things, especially Kenny Rodriguez. Rodriguez has a 6-2 record with a tiny 1.97 ERA and 52 strikeouts in just 59 and one-third innings.
Tim Collins is still going strong as he has struck out 63 batters in just 42 innings and he has a 6-3 record to go along with a 2.57 ERA.
As you can see, there are a lot of good things to go along with the bad things. Lets hope the struggling prospects can turn things around and that the players currently playing well can keep it up.
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