My neighbour just left over 100 dollars of groceries and beer on my doorstep with a note I saying I know you can’t leave right now so I bought you this, and that he didn’t want any money for it. Feel rather speechless
This is why I find Wilner so hard to follow despite his love and knowledge of the Jays. His response implies things I didn’t even write, to what end, imply I’m dumb thinking there is a “cap” (which I clearly didn’t write) and he knows best.
Keith Law on the Jays International free agents and scouting " I think Toronto is the leader right now in that department. And again, it’s so impressive"
BA on Orelvis “The precocious Blue Jays prospect added two more home runs on Wednesday, turning what had been an excellent month into something truly absurd. So far this month, Martinez has hit .400/.494/1.015 with 11 home runs over 17 games.”
I would like at the Bautista ceremony that he then heads into the dugout and is announced as their new hitting coach, and grip it and rip it 2.0 begins
Reese McGuire had a phone call with former
#BlueJays
catcher Russell Martin recently. They talked about catching Hyun-Jin Ryu, who Martin was with in L.A.
Watching the Jays after the trade deadline in 2015 was just something else, I was shocked if they lost….such a weird difference watching them now even though they are in a wild card spot
BA on Orelvis Martinez “The Blue Jays infielder hits the ball hard at just 19 years old. Martinez’s max exit velocity was greater than 110 mph with a 90th percentile exit velocity in the 106 mph range.This plus-plus raw power really began to translate into in-game power”
Jeff Passan on Nate Pearson "Only the most impressive player in baseball this spring. The 23-year-old right-hander is a frightening presence (6-foot-6, 250 pounds) with a frightening fastball (his velocity sits at 96 to 98 mph and tops out at 102)and frightening"
BA's Top Ten Jays Prospects came out this morning, Moreno
#1
of course and then this:
"The Future: Some scouts believe Moreno has a chance to be a perennial all-star, a potential plus to plus-plus hitter who could hit 20-25 home runs while chipping in above-average defense..."
Fangraphs Eric Longenhagen on the Jays first round pick "I love this for Toronto. I think Hoglund’s TJ rehab presents his parent club the opportunity to rework his body and maybe coax more velo out of him, the same way the Dodgers did with Walker Buehler."
BA has updated the Jays top 30 "Toronto's farm system still ranks among the best in baseball, with a strong set of Top 100 players to go with a wave of depth particularly from its international signings at the lower levels"
BA's new top 100 prospects just dropped, Jays (7 Jays on the top 100!): 12. Moreno, 13. Manoah, 21. Martin, 55. Pearson, 58. Orelvis, 83. Groshans, 85. Kirk
From BA “Tiedemann has been one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues over the first two months of the season. He’s leading the minor leagues in xFIP, ranks third in FIP, third in strikeout rate, 14th in ERA and 16th in total strikeouts as of June 1.
The
@Indians
announcer started the game off by lying about Canada saying “socialized” medicine has led to only 10 percent of Canadians being vaccinated.
So yeah amazing core on the big club, unbelievable international scouting, a great development system, Rogers seemingly wanting to spend...just fuck you MLB and Rob Manfred
Peak Wilner, team wins are a good way for him today to evaluate a pitcher because he can try and make someone look “dumb”. He’ll tell someone else soon wins are a terrible way to evaluate a pitcher when it suits him.
From BA “Gabriel Martinez is dominating the FSL but his level of dominance may actually be understated because of how difficult it is to produce in the FSL. Martinez went 2 for 3 with two home runs and is now hitting .292/.358/.521. The league as a whole is itting .230/.324/.355”
I thought Irv Carter would be a tough sign (narrator voice) He wasn't: "Toronto picked Carter in the fifth round at No. 152, and Carter collapsed in tears.....“I’m a Blue Jay,” Carter said. “I’m signing.”
BA's new Prospect Hot Sheet is out,
#1
is Orelvis Martinez "Martinez is one of the most gifted prospects in Toronto’s system, and he showed a very loud glimpse at his potential this past week. He entered the week with eight home runs and closed it with 15.
Baseball America on Moreno this morning “He's lashed balls from line to line against both velocity and spin, and enters the fifth week of the AFL hitting .373/.469/.588 with eight doubles, a home run and more walks (11) than strikeouts (eight). “
Extreme Wilner lecturing voice, this is just one you Berrios’s starts (you know like along with an third of his entire season) where he’s abjectly horrible. And if you take out this one start (and you know a third or more of his season) he’s amazing. It’s just sabermetrics.
Moreno is now hitting .313/.476/.406 in the Venezuelan winter league, with 9 walks and 4 k’s in 42 plate appearances. He also may have the longest Instagram story ever posted celebrating his home run last night.
“How hard Orelvis impacts the ball and his ability to consistently find the barrel in A-ball, we don't want to put challenging comparisons on him, but it reminds us of the wow factor that we had watching guys like Vladdy and Bo,”
I am struggling so badly to have interest in baseball this year, no minors, messed up 60 game season and Vlad looking nothing like the hitter I watched coming through the minors has killed it for me
BA on Moreno 👀: "The game's biggest breakout prospect was at it again on Wednesday, this time collecting two hits, including a double and two RBIs. He also cut down a pair of runners trying to steal.
Orelvis Martinez has the tools and potential to be the next Juan Soto and the
#BlueJays
have 6 years of control over him. Frankly, anyone saying to send him in a package for Soto who comes with a 400+ million dollar tag is wrong.
From Shi, Manoah's spin rate is "at around 2,500 revolutions per minute, which would rank within MLB’s top-30 fastball ". Sitting 95-96 with that spin rate is an excellent fastball.
Venezuela consistently produces top international catcher signings.
⚾️ Gabriel Moreno
⚾️ Diego Cartaya
⚾️ Francisco Alvarez
The Blue Jays are linked to one of Venezuela's top catching prospects this winter, too.
Details:
This point has been brought up before, but it was hit home on today's ATL, the Jays have been forced to spend 20 million dollars on a 4th starter due to their overall abject failure to develop pitchers outside of Manoah.
From Baseball Prospectus this morning on Vlad "At this point Guerrerro might be closer to the best hitter in the big leagues than the second best hitter in Triple-A. He’s an absolute treat for baseball fans and he’ll probably put on a show for the next decade or two."
From BA today: “The Scoop: Moreno has gotten better each season since signing with the Blue Jays out of Venezuela in 2016. He had a breakout year in Low-A in 2019, showed signs that more was coming last year, and now he has ascended into one of the game's best catchers,
Vlad's first at bat in Buffalo was a 7 pitch walk, vicious swings on 3 pitches in the zone, all fouled off and almost zero movement on the 4 pitches out of the zone, a thing of beauty
Kevin Smith is now slashing .288/.396/.601, a 158 wRC+, 14.7 BB% and a 23.4 K%, playing a solid shortstop, some 3rd and lately some LF also. It would take a 40 man move, but I'd sure like to see him at 3rd prior to the trade deadline.
Shulman on Semien and Ray "My guess is neither one of them will back", he thinks Semien wants to be on the west coast. He does add, that he thinks if they don't get Semien they will try for Jose Ramirez. (And just like that HockeyJohn will be in my mentions).
Podcast
@Kurkjian_ESPN
talks about the Braves/Dodgers, the pitching choices by Dave Roberts, the emerging Austin Riley, Freeman's struggles, the NYY managerial situation;
@DShulman_ESPN
talks BOS-HOU, HOU's injury issue -- and will TOR keep Semien, Ray?
"at a premium position. He should be ready to contribute in Toronto at some point in 2022 and eventually become an impact player in their lineup.
Scouting Grades:
Hit: 70. Power: 50. Speed: 40. Fielding: 55. Arm: 60"
Groshans was removed from the Fisher Cats game, seems a little too early in July for a blockbuster trade therefore I will absolutely not speculate on whatever else the reasons may be.