SB Nation - Adam Loewen

Ain't Gonna Work on Maggie's Farm No More: Jays' 2009 Minor League Affiliates' Season in Review, Part I

hugo — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:00:32 -0000

Hi everyone. Before we update our top prospects list, let's take a broader view at what has been going on among the Jays' minor-league affiliates this season. Part I will focus on the lower-level affiliates, Part II on the teams closer to the majors.

Gulf Coast League Blue Jays: The GCL Jays played slightly above .500 ball this season and did so with a number of 2009 draftees and other very young players. 18-year old Carlos Perez (the GCL Jays' MVP) did a great job behind the plate, batting .291/.364/.433. 17-year old shorstop Gustavo Pierre held his own at the plate with 18 extra-base hits in 48 games. Although he did make 14 errors, that's nothing unusual for a shortstop that young in his first taste of pro ball, since his defense is said to be solid overall.

On the mound, Matt Fields dominated, but he was quite old for the level so he was expected to. Ryan Shopshire, a 2009 draftee, was also old for the GCL, but pitched great in his 8 starts and was promoted straight to Lansing by season's end. Aaron Loup, the southpaw 2009 Tulane draftee (go Green Wave!), pitched only in relief for the GCL, probably to keep his innings down as he was more of a starter in college. Loup did a nice job in relief, with a 19/3 K/BB ratio in his 16 1/3 innings and a 3.86 ERA, especially finishing the season strong (he only gave up 2 runs in his last 14 innings).

Auburn Doubledays: Sean Ochinko, the 2009 draftee out of LSU (Aaron Hill and Brian Tallet's alma mater) did a tremendous job from behind the plate, batting .324/.382/.527, with 6 home runs and 20 doubles in 52 games and earning team MVP honors. Very nice. Shortstop Ryan Goins, another 2009 collegiate draftee, didn't show a lot of power but held his own at the plate, earning a promotion to Lansing by the season's end. Yan Gomes, Auburn's other primary catcher, and another 2009 draftee, also did a very fine job at the plate, batting .296/.363/.444, and left-handed hitting Ryan Schimpf, another 2009 LSU graduate (the Jays have really mined the Pelican State in their drafting made a nice debut at second base. On the less encouraging side, 2009 draftee Lance Durham struggled in his professional debut, and toolsy centrefield types Marcus Brisker and Eric Eiland showed very little and Eiland especially looks to be in big trouble as a prospect.

On the pitching side, lefties Egan Smith (a 2.56 ERA in 9 starts, 36/11 K/BB ratio over 38 innings) and Matthew Wright (73 Ks in 59 2/3 innings, with 23 walks and a 3.77 ERA in 16 appearances (12 starts)) and righty Dave Sever (3.34 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) with 57 Ks and just 15 walks over 67 innings) all had very nice seasons from Auburn's rotation. Wright pitched for Auburn (reasonably well) last season, while Smith and Sever were 2009 draftees. Smith was named a 2009 NY-Penn League all-star.

Lansing Lugnuts: Unlike some ohters, we didn't count Johermyn Chavez out after an awful 2008 campaign and he rewarded us (not to mention himself) with a fantastic season for Lansing. The 20-year old batted .283/.346/.474 with 22 doubles, 6 triples, and 21 home runs (2nd in the league) as an underaged hitter in a tough hitters' league. After a scorching start, he tapered off a bit in the late spring, but came roaring back to end the season, which was great to see. Fellow outfielder Welinton Ramirez split his season between Auburn and Lansing and played well for both. Brian Van Kirk (.278/.389/.451 for Lansing) put up solid numbers, earning promotions to Dunedin and, shortly thereafter, New Hampshire. Ty Pastornicky did a very nice job as Lansing's SS, not showing any power, but holding his own at the plate, playing excellent defense, and stealing 51 bases. He was promoted to Dunedin when Justin Jackson went down with a frayed labrum. Balbino Fuenmayor, still just 19 though in his 3rd season with the Jays' organization, had an up-and-down season for Lansing (.663 OPS), but certainly too promising to give up on considering his age. Kenneth Wilson, yet another toolsy CF type, struggled mightily, and none of Jon Talley, A.J. Jimenez, or Chris House had great seasons behind the plate for Lansing (though House was starting to look better as the season neared its end).

On the mound, Henderson Alvarez (92/19 K/BB ratio in 23 starts (124 IP), with a 9-6 record and 3.47 ERA) was very good, but many of Lansing's other starters struggled, though not Charles Huggins, who was so good in his 7 starts (1.57 ERA, 40/11 K/BB ratio in 34 1/3 innings) that he quickly pitched himself out of the league and into Dunedin (where he also excelled). Joel Carreno made good 14 starts for Lansing. Frank Gailey did a fine job out of the bullpen.

Dunedin Jays: Moses Sierra was another guy who struggled in 2008 but had a very nice season in 2009, earning MVP honors for Dunedin and hitting .286/.360/.393 before his promotion to New Hampshire (where he continued to excel, albeit in just 34 at-bats before the season ended) and showcasing fine defense and an exceptional arm in the outfield. The Jays like Sierra, as they showed when they gave him an extended look in 2009 spring training despite him being a 20-year old outfielder who had a mediocre-at-best 2008 season for Lansing. Sierra wasn't the only quality outfielder for Lansing - in fact, his fly-shagging bretheren Darrin Mastroianni and Eric Thames (.874 OPS in 216 plate appearances) also had big seasons - in Thames' case unfortunately curtailed by injury, something that's proving to be a continued thorn in the side of his development (he could've easily been in AA this season but for his injury). Centrefielder Mastroianni (.325/.426/.390) showed a real knack for getting on base at the top of the order and also earned a promotion to New Hampshire before the season let out. Catcher Jonathan Jaspe hit well but really needs to learn to take a walk (just 17 in 279 plate appearance) while fellow catcher (and yet another LSU product) Matthew Liuzza knows how to walk but was old for the level at 25. Adam Loewen was an interesting story - not unexpectedly, he started slow - no surprise for a hitter's first taste of professional ball being at high-A. But he picked up steam each month was better than the last - until August, that is, when he, somewhat unexpectedly fell off. Overall, Loewen's season (.236/.340/.355) was still pretty encouraging for his first taste of professional ball, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him take a step forward next season.

The trio of 2008 high-school draftees and infield prospects, Kevin Ahrens, Justin Jackson, and John Tolisano, continued to move up together through the system this year, but it wasn't a great season for the three overall. Tolisano (.232/.305/.379, with 12 home runs) had his moments and was looking at an encouraging season before a putrid August dragged down his numbers. Jackson got off to an awful start that injuries robbed him of the chance to overcome and eventually needed labrum surgery, while Ahrens just didn't do anything at the plate until August, when he started to snap out of it a bit. I can't imagine any of them will be moving up to start next season, which puts the Jays in a tough spot with respect to the shortstop position, where Pastornicky outplayed Jackson this season.

On the mound, Andrew Liebel's horrible 5-13 record masks the fact that he was actually pretty good (3.63 ERA, 118/42 K/BB ratio in 156 innings) He threw a lot of quality innings this season (he also made two starts for New Hampshire, in which he pitched splendidly) so he shouldn't feel bad about the record. Kenny Rodriguez also pitched quite well in his 12 starts (2.43 ERA, 63/23 K/BB ratio), and Vincent Bongiovanni wasn't bad either (4.44 ERA with solid K/BB numbers). In relief, we know all about Tim Collins (99 Ks in 64 2/3 innings, with 28 walks and a 2.37 ERA), who hit a bump when he was promoted to New Hampshire, but Robert Bell (112 Ks and just 22 walks) in 96 innings consisting of 10 starts, 32 relief appearances) also put together a very nice season (2.43 ERA). Trystan Magnuson had a decent season out of the pen as well, while Zach Dials and Danny Farquar started at Dunedin but soon moved up due to dominating performance.

Join us next time for AA and AAA, and let us know in the comments which minor league players at these levels caught your eye, good or bad, this season.

John Sickels Updates On Blue Jays' Top 20 Prospects

hugo — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:13:13 -0000

Earlier this season, Minor League Ball's John Sickels took a look at the Jays' farm system and set forth a list of the Jays' top 20 prospects. Now, with just a few weeks left in the minor-league season, Sickels brings us an update on how each has progressed, giving us the good and bad news. He's still quite high on Travis Snider and Brett Cecil. Some other high/low points:

David Cooper, 1B, Grade B: Hitting .255/.333/.372 for Double-A New Hampshire. Very disappointing, no power, mediocre batting average and OBP, looks like I overrated him. BB/K ratio is decent, so he still has a chance to improve but needs to make progress quickly in '10.
J.P. Arencibia, C, Grade B-: Hitting .224/.272/.409 for Triple-A Las Vegas. Poor strike zone judgment is holding production back. Good with the glove but has needs big adjustments with the bat.
Ricky Romero, LHP, Grade C+: 10-5, 3.66 with 90/44 K/BB in 116 major league innings. One of the best rookie pitchers in baseball, somewhat surprising after a mediocre minor league career. The talent was always there, but he lacked consistency before.
Mark Rzepczynski, LHP, Grade C+: 2.86 ERA with 104/40 K/BB in 88 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, 4.38 ERA with 37/19 K/BB in 37 innings in the majors. Looks good so far.

Generally, things aren't looking great on the hitting side, though I do think Cooper seems to be improving and you have to give him credit for starting his first full professional season at AA, a tough test for any minor-league hitter. In addition, there are some hitters Sickels' didn't rank that have shown substantial improvement this season - Moises Sierra, Johermyn Chavez, Adam Loewen, and a couple of others. On the pitching side, the system itself looks a bit thin but only because Romero, Cecil, Ray, Mills, and Rzepczynski all made their major-league debuts this year. In particular the trio of Romeo, Cecil, and Rzepczynski look like an excellent threesome on the left-handed pitching side - but Rzepczynski has a lot more still to prove and Romero and Cecil have to avoid the dread injury bug as they start to shoulder big league workloads. Also, the system will get an infusion of pitching if the Jays can sign their 2009 draftees - Jenkins, Paxton, Eliopolous - which is much needed.

The truth is, the Jays system is really interesting in that it never gets very highly ranked by people who rank prospects systems, but it has been extremely consistent in developing major-league players for the Jays. It's not flashy, but it has been an effective source of cheap, quality major-league players. Halladay, Romero, Cecil, Rzepczynski, Hill, Lind, League, Wells (a week ago we could have added Rios to the list) - all are Jays draftees, and of course don't forget Marcum, Janssen, Litsch, and McGowan. Many other current Jays have spent significant development time in the Jays' minor-league system.

Of course, once the minor-league season rounds up, Bluebird Banter will take a look at the system's season in review and review and update our own top 30 prospects list. Lots of changes, I think we'll find.

I'm Standing on a Bridge In a Town Where I Lived As a Kid: Blue Jays System Minor League Report

hugo — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:27:03 -0000

Hi everyone. It's been a little while, I figured we should use the off-day to take a look at how the minor-league affiliates, and, more importantly, the young Jay-to-be hopefuls, are doing.

Las Vegas:

Travis Snider is still out of action with a shoulder injury and isn't set to start swinging a bat again until July. David Dellucci has been quiet for the 51s, hitting just .250/.242/.344, with three doubles over 33 plate appearances. Michael Barrett recently returned to AAA (he's only played 2 games there). J.P. Arencibia has been ice-cold recently -- after a hot May, he is hitting only .200/.235/.262 in June. He does have 19 doubles and 8 home runs on the season but things aren't going well at the moment at all. Randy Ruiz has always put up big minor-league numbers and this season is no exception - he has 41 extra base hits (including 15 home runs) already this season and a .972 OPS.

On the mound, the 51s rotation has taken a hit with Brad Mills and Brett Cecil both up at the big club. Fabio Castro has slowed down after a hot start at AAA - he's now sporting just a 30/26 K/BB ratio over 63 2/3 innings, though he still has a nice 3.11 ERA and a winning record. David Purcey has two successful starts in a row and his walk rate continues to recede to respectable levels. Bryan Bullington is putting up pretty good numbers in the bullpen, with over a strikeout per inning and a 35/6 K/BB ratio.

New Hampshire:

Scott Campbell is back from injury and working his way up the minors - In 25 plate appearances at AA, he's hitting a Campbell-esque .300/.440/.400 with as many walks (5) as strikeouts and has yet to make an error, playing 2nd and 3rd. I imagine he'll be back with Las Vegas soon. Brian Dopirak continues to rake -- he's hitting .307/.369/.580 on the season and is even better than that so far in June (1.020 OPS) with 39 extra-base hits (16 HRs) already. He could be ready to move up, but Randy Ruiz and Brett Harper are entrenched at AAA at the 1st base and DH spots. Other than those two, there's not much offense to speak of - catcher Brian Jeroloman's bat (.706 OPS) remains cold, and second baseman Brad Emaus, who looked so good for the Jays in spring training, has really fallen off, hitting just .127/.182/.197 in June.

On the mound, Marc Rzepczynski has been good all season, but has really turned it up in June, where he's 1-0 with a 0.45 ERA over his 3 starts and, still better, a 21/7 K/BB ratio over 20 innings. His season totals are similarly excellent (2.93 ERA, 88/36 K/BB ratio over 76 2/3 innings and an excellent groundball ratio) despite being extremely hit-unlucky. It's been a very successful half-season for Zep. Reidier Gonzalez and Luis Perez have also done a nice job out of New Hampshire's rotation.

Dunedin:

Dunedin's outfield has been excellent all season, and all three: centrefielder Darrin Mastroianni, leftfielder Eric Thames, and rightfielder Moises Sierra, were all named to the Florida State League North Division all star team. Mastroianni has a .325/.390/.426 line, with 32 steals, while Thames and Sierra have similar overall lines - both showing good power for young hitters and hitting well recently. The trio of early 2007 draftee infielders -- John Tolisano, Justin Jackson, and Kevin Ahrens, have done less well. That said, Tolisano is having a nice June (.311/.328/.475) with an extra-base hit every 10 at-bats so far. Jackson has also been better this month -- not as good as he was in May upon returning from his injury, but OPSing a respectable .726 in June and striking out much less (just 11 times in 56 plate appearances this month). Ahrens, though, has been just as cold (.588 OPS in June v. .576 over the season). Adam Loewen is still waiting for things to click (.584 OPS this season) and is still waiting for his first home run.

On the pitching side - 2008 draftee Andy Liebel's 2-8 record is misleading - Liebel has a very nice 65/20 K/BB ratio over his 77 1/3 innings and a steady 1.33 WHIP. He's been especially strong in June and is having a fine first full pro season. Kenny Rodriguez (5-2, 1.99 ERA, 48/21 K/BB ratio over 54 1/3 IP, 1.12 Whip) is also having a fine season in the rotation, while Trystan Magnuson, Daniel Farquar, and Tim Collins are pitching very well out of the bullpen -- Collins has a ridiculous 57 Ks in 37 1/3 innings, and isn't walking many (14) to do it. Farquar (23/11 K/BB ratio over 17 relief innings for a 0.53 ERA) and Collins joined the aforementioned trio of outfielders and infielder Raul Barron on the all-star team.

Lansing:

Outfielder Johermyn Chavez had a bit of a May dropoff after a very hot April, but has picked things up a bit in June - with 5 home runs already this month. On the season, he has 12 home runs, 11 doubles, and 5 triples, serious power for a 20-year old hitter in the tough-on-hitters Midwest League. His overall line is .266/.331/.500. He's learning how to take a walk too - he has 21 walks in 265 plate appearances this season after drawing just 25 in 427 plate appearances last season. Shortstop Ty Pastornicky hasn't figured out Midwest League pitching yet (.261/.339/.312) but he can draw a walk and he's been all over the bases (31/40 in steal attempts).

On the mound, Charles Huggins was so good (1.57 ERA) he was called up to Dunedin. Chase Lirette, who recovered from shoulder surgery about halfway through the season last year, is old for the level but off to a very good start (1.87 ERA, 24/8 K/BB ratio) so he could move up soon as well.

Auburn:

The season has only just started for the Doubledays. Some players on the team who have already seen action with whom you might be familiar are 2008 draftee Marcus Brisker (OF), 2007 draftee Eric Eiland (CF), and 2009 draftees Lance Durham (son of Leon, also a first baseman) and Jonathan Fernandez (son of Tony, also a shorstop)

Bring on the Major Leagues: Jays Minor League Update

hugo — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:13:26 -0000

Las Vegas

J.P. Arencibia has begun to pick up a bit, with 2 home runs thusfar in May, but he is still not getting on base (.245 OBP). Scott Campbell, on the other hand, is slowly getting his bat where it needs to be - but slowly. He was 1-3 with a triple and a walk yesterday, and the fact that he was walked (10) more times than struck out (7) even during a slump is a pretty good sign going forward.

Fabio Castro has been quite good after quickly pitching his way up from New Hamphsire - over his 2 starts for Las Vegas, he's got a 2.19 ERA and went 7 strong innings (no runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, 3 Ks) in his last start. He could see the majors soon. Out of the recently exiled, Brian Burres surprisingly put up the better start than David Purcey in their first go around. Purcey was tough to hit in his 6 1/3 innings but he walked 5 batters (striking out 6) so still has some more work to do. Burres went seven strong yesterday and gave up just one run, walking 6 and striking out 1. I point this out because I'm a little afraid of him pitching for the Jays again. Jonah Bayliss had his perfect start ruined with a disastrous outing (1/3 of an inning, 6 earned runs). Dirk Hayhurst seems to struggle whenever he's starting (9.49 ERA, 7/5 K/BB ratio) but do well when pitching out of the bullpen (1.59 ERA, 4/0 K/BB, .090 batting average against).

New Hampshire

Brian Dopirak continues to hit well - he's batting .297/.357/.515 with 5 home runs and 7 doubles but has slowed down very recently after a torrid end to April. A callup could be in order. Catcher Brian Jeroloman has cooled off considerably, though he has started to show his trademark plate discipline. David Cooper continues to hold his own (.345 OBP) which is very good, but he hasn't shown much in the way of power yet (.375 slg, .104 Iso-P). Brad Emaus has picked it up a bit and is now hitting .294/.360/.441/.801 with 10 extra-base hits.

Even with Castro gone, New Hampshire's pitching has continued to be stellar. Marc Rzepczynski is leading the way with 41 Ks in 32 1/3 innings over his 6 starts, for a 3.06 ERA. Reidier Gonzalez, Luis Perez, and Randy Boone have also done very nice jobs. Brandon Magee was promoted from Dunedin and will make some starts for New Hampshire now that Castro is gone.

Dunedin

Eric Thames and Moses Sierra continue to swing very hot bats. Thames is hitting .333 with 3 extra-base hits, 10 RBI, and 8 walks to just 4 Ks over his last 10 games. He's looking like a draft-day steal for the Jays. As for Sierra, the rifle-armed right-fielder is batting .305/.394/.500 and you have to love that power. Another guy who is really hitting well is John Tolisano - he has been red hot recently with 4 home runs, a .300 average, and 7 walks over his last 10 games. Over the season, he is hitting an impressive .262/.366/.541. Tolisano is outpacing his more-heralded fellow draftees - Justin Jackson and Kevin Ahrens. Both have dealt with some nagging injuries (Ahrens just returned) and are really struggling.
Adam Loewen has 12 games under his belt but hasn't done much yet.

On the pitching side, as we mentioned, Magee earned his promotion. Trystan Magnuson could be close behind - the big righty has done a nice job for Dunedin with a 2.95 ERA and 2/1 K/BB ratio over his 18 1/3 innings. Tim Collins has been even more dominant, with almost twice as many strikeouts (31) as innings pitched (16 1/3) and a miniscule .67 Whip. Andy Liebel has also pitched okay in his first full season, with a nice strikeout to walk ratio.

Lansing

Johermyn Chavez continues to hit everything in sight. The toolsy Venezuelan outfielder is now hitting .333/.371/.678/1.049 with 15 extra-base hits (half of his total hit output), including 6 home runs and 4 triples. 2008 draftee third baseman Mark Sobelewski is doing a decent job, hitting .286/.364/.388 and nice walk (about 10% of plate appearances) and strikeout numbers (less than 20% of PAs). Most of the other Lansing hitters aren't doing much yet, though shorstop Ty Pastornicky is picking it up a bit at the plate.

As for rehabbing Jays, Casey Janssen (shoulder) is scheduled to pitch for Dunedin today, with Ricky Romero (oblique) going tomorrow. B.J. Ryan is also beginning his rehab stint with Dunedin. Oh, and thanks to Pavement for today's title.

A Few Sent Down

Tom Dakers — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:31:29 -0000

The Jays pared things down a bit today, sending Brett Cecil, Ken Takahashi, Adam Loewen, Brian Dopirak and Mike Maroth to their Minor League camp. Maroth has to decide if he wants to go down or if he wants his release. If I'm him I go down because no one is going to offer him a role off of what he has done this spring. Maybe he'll do well in Triple A and impress enough to get a job somewhere.

I'm a bit surprised by Cecil going down already, I thought he would get a couple more chances before being sent down. He's has looked really good this spring. I think we've got something in the future. Right now it looks like Doc, Litsch, David Purcey, Casey Janssen and Scott Richmond will be the rotation, though Matt Clement and Brad Mills are still in camp. Clements apparently can 'opt out' of his contract June 1 if he isn't with the Jays.

Doc starts for us tomorrow and is to pitch 5 innings. 21 days till the season starts.

Lord Knows I've Paid Some Dues Getting Through, Tangled Up in Blue: Spring Training Week 2 Report, the Hitters

hugo — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:56:10 -0000

The plot thickens and things get more tangled as spring training continues and guys keep competing against one another to get through to the major league roster - made me think of the line from the Dylan song.

I Was Meant for the Stage: Spring Training Week 1 in Review, Position Players Version

hugo — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:17:33 -0000

So yesterday we took a look at the hurlers that the Jays invited to Spring Training and their competition for spots on the Jays and their various minor-league affiliates. Today, we'll focus on the position players and their progress thusfar. Again, I didn't include every single spring invitee, but I included most of them.

Game Recap, Jays Lose to Team Canada

Tom Dakers — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:09:28 -0000

In a game that made it hard to figure out who to cheer for Team Canada beat the Jays 6-4. Maybe let's talk about the two teams separately.

Team Canada:

It looks like the Canadian team will have a really good offense, maybe leaning a little too much on the lefty batters. Is it a Canadian thing that most of our best batters swing left-handed. I know that there are far more lefty golfers in Canada than there is in the US. In Canada about 25% of us swing lefty while in the states it is less than 5%. The explanation I agree with is it is a hockey thing, most of us on this side of the border swing a hockey stick long before we swing a golf club and many (half?) hockey players are left-handed shots. So it is natural for us to pick up a golf club the same way. Maybe the same is true with a baseball bat.

Anyway the Team Canada bats looked good today, get 8 hits and taking 7 walks. Of note, Corey Koskie looked good at the plate, he was 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, a hit by pitch and 3 runs. Leadoff hitter and shortstop Chris Barnwell was 1 for 3 with 2 walks. Justin Morneau was 2 for 3 with an RBI and Pete Orr was 1 for 3 with 2 RBI. Back-up catcher Luke Carlin hit a 2 run double.

The defense for Canada might be a problem. In the outfield we had Joey Votto in left, Jason Bay in center and Matt Stairs in RF. I'd like to think Adam Stern will play center in the tournament games, moving Stairs to DH and maybe Kosie (who DHed today) to 3B.

Pitching looks to be the weak link for the Canadian team, but it was pretty good today. Scott Richmond went 2.2, gave up 4 hits, a walk, a strikeout and 2 runs. Chris Begg followed him with a good 2.1 innings, striking out 4 while giving up just a run. First round draft pick Phillippe Aumont, Jesse Crain, Steve Green and David Davidson (what were his parents thinking) each pitched an scoreless inning except for Green. Green gave up a homer to Aaron Matthews (who?) but got lucky on a call where Mark Teahen, playing RF, trapped a ball against the RF fence but got credited with a catch.

Blue Jays:

Mike Maroth didn't impress, he walked 3, hit one batter but only gave up 2 runs in 2 innings. Fabio Castro didn't have a great showing either giving up 2 hits and 2 walks in 2 innings. Bill Murphy also gave up 2 runs in 2 innings. Rick Bauer gave up 1 run in his 1 inning of work. But TJ Beam and Robert Ray looked good, pitching a scoreless inning each. Ray in particular has looked good this spring.

Batting wise Scott Campbell went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Johnny Mac, Inglett, Jason Lane and Adam Loewen each went 1 for 3. Russ Adams was 1 for 2 with a walk and run, but he didn't look good in the field, playing second base.

Doing less well were Michael Barrett (0 for 3 with 2 strikouts), Buck Coats (0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts), Ryan Patterson (0 for 2), Brad Emaus (0 for 2) and Kevin Ahrens (0 for 2).

Tomorrow the Jays play Team USA. Brad Mills is to start for the Jays and Casey Janssen and Lyle Overbay will get their first game action this spring.

Game Recap for Spring Game 3, Jays and Tigers

Tom Dakers — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:17:48 -0000

We win 2 in a row thanks to Dontrelle Willis who gave up 4 runs in an inning an a bit. Final score was 6-4. Guys that did well? Jason Lane! ( yay) hit a his second home run in two days. Adam Loewen hit a single. Kevin Millar was 1 for 2 with a double and a run and RBI. And Scott Rolen went 1 for 2 in his first action of the spring.

On the pitching side, Matt Clement started, gave up a hit, two walks, a run while striking out one. Not the best showing but just his first time out. Brad Mills pitched two good innings giving up just one hit. Jeremy Accardo pitched two shutout innings as well but gave up three hits. Another favorite around here Dirk Hayhurst pitched a good inning and struck out 2.

Brian Wolfe didn't show as well, allowing 4 hits and a homer, to give up 3 earned runs in his inning of work. On the Tiger side, former Jay Garth Iorg's son Cale made three errors. As noted Willis had a rough time and their starter Armando Galarraga gave up a hit, 2 walks and a run in his two innings.

Players that helped their case: Lane, Mills, Loewen and Hayhurst. Wolfe has hurt his chances a little but it was his first action.

Tomorrow Doc gets his first game action and BJ Ryan is to pitch an inning against Atlanta. The game is on Gameday Audio using the FAN feed.

Game Recap, Jays Beat Phillies

Tom Dakers — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:38:14 -0000

One of the things baseball people say about spring training when the pitchers do well is that early on pitchers are ahead of the batters. When the batters do well they say early on the batters are ahead of the pitchers. Today we hit some and pitched well.

Scott Richmond pitched 2 innings of no hit ball with 3 strikeouts. A nice start of the spring for Richmond who will be going off to pitch for Team Canada now. Bryan Bullington and Fabio Castro each gave up a run in the two innings they each pitched, Bullington struck out 4 but gave up 2 hits and 2 walks. Bill Murphy got the win with a perfect inning and Luis Perez and Reid Santos each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game.

Offensively Moonraker (Travis Snider) and Jason Lane went back-to-back in the 5th and Scott Campbell hit a 3 run double in the 8th. Adam Loewen singled and drove in a run in his 1 at bat. So the offense looked better than yesterday, though the starters didn't do too much. Scutaro and Inglett were 0 for 3. Barrett and David Cooper were 0 for 2 and JP Arencibia was 0 for 4 as DH.

I'm glad Lane hit one out, I'd rather he made the team than the ancient Kevin Millar not that either of them will be of great help to the team. Lane is 32, Millar 37. I guess that isn't that big of a difference, I just see Lane as more useful defensively and figure them to be wash offensively.

Tomorrow the Jays play the Tigers, a game that again will only be on Gameday audio. Matt Clement will make the start for the Jays.

Poll

Would you rather see Kevin Millar or Jason Lane make the team out of spring training?

Kevin Millar

26 votes

Jason Lane

20 votes

Neither, they are both useless

17 votes

63 votes | Poll has closed