Thursday, September 21, 2006
R. Howard Webster Award Winners Announced
Yesterday the Toronto Blue Jay organization announced the recipients of this years R. Howard Webster Award winners, the MVP's for each of their minor league affiliates. Syracuse SkyChiefs: First baseman Kevin Barker. The 31-year old had 18 home runs, 76 runs batted in, 39 doubles and 59 extra base hits. Was named to the International Leagues All-Star team and recorded 6 hits in a game against Ottawa.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats: It was no surprise that Adam Lind received this award for the Fisher Cats, despite being promoted to the SkyChiefs late in the season, and eventually called up to the big club. In 91 games, Lind hit .310, belted 19 home runs and driving in 71 runs. At the time of his promotion, he was challenging for the triple crown, leading the league in HR and RBI's, and third in batting average.
Dunedin Blue Jays: Ryan Patterson. Drafted in 2005 in the 4th round, Patterson had 19 home runs, 68 RBI's and a .286 AVE in 84 games before being promoted to New Hampshire.
Lansing Lugnuts: Chi-Hung Cheng. In 28 starts for the Lugnuts, Cheng posted a 11-5 record with a 2.70 ERA. In 143.1 innings, he struck out 154 batters, which led led the league.
Auburn Doubledays: Scott Campbell, a 10th round pick in 2006 MLB draft. Campbell owned a .292 AVE and a .397 OBP. He led the team in hits with 70 and runs scored with 39. Campbell had 33 walks compared to 31 strike outs.
Pulaski Blue Jays: 2006 1st round pick, Travis Snider wins the final Webster Award for Pulaski, as the team is being dropped as a Blue Jay affiliate. Snider had a .325 batting average to go along with 11 home runs and 41 runs batted in.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Two Prospects win Major Awards
Much has been made of the Jays pitching prospects over the last year or so, but not much has been said about the hitters, but that may be changing. Two Toronto Blue Jay hitting prospects were awarded the 'player of the year' and MVP, of their respective leagues. Adam Lind, formerly of the Double A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, was named the 'player of the year' for the Eastern League. Lind was drafted in the third round of the 2004 draft, and has been making a name for himself this season, which might include a September callup to the big club. In 91 games for the Fisher Cats, Lind hit .310, 19 home runs, 71 runs batted in, and a .543 slugging percentage. He was leading several hitting categories before he was promoted to the Syracuse SkyChiefs.
2006 first round draft pick, Travis Snider, was named the MVP for the Appalachian League (Rookie Advanced). Snider hit .325, with 11 home runs, 41 runs batted in, and had a slugging percentage of .567.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
3 Blue Jays Prospects Named to All-Star Team
Three members of the Double A New Hampshire Fisher Cats were named to the Eastern League All-Star team. Catcher Curtis Thigpen: Thigpen's hitting numbers may not have been tops amoungst other Double A catchers, but he's one of the best defensively. He is hitting .259, with 5 HR's and 36 RBI's. Some numbers that do stand out are his 25 doubles, 52 walks and his .370 OBP.
Outfielder Adam Lind: Lind was hitting .310/.543/.900 with the Fisher Cats before his recent promotion to the Syracuse SkyChiefs. In 348 at bats, Lind hit 19 homers and drove in 71 runs. At the time of his promotion to Triple A, Lind was challenging for the Double A triple crown.
Short Stop Manuel Mayorson: Mayorson is leading Double A short stops in fielding percentage, at .971, and commiting only 12 errors. In 454 at bats, he is hitting .280, with 2 HR's and 53 RBI's. Mayorson does have 12 stolen bases, but he's been caught 11 times.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Best ‘Tools’ in the Minors
Baseball America recently conducted a poll with league managers and scouts, to find out which minor league players had the best tools at each level. At the Triple A level, two Blue Jay prospects were named as top player in that category. Current Blue Jay, Brandon League was voted to have the 'Best Fastball' in the International League. Infielder Sergio Santos was voted to have the 'Best Infield Arm".
Two prospects were tops in categories in the Double A - Eastern League. Top Blue Jay hitting prospect Adam Lind, was voted as the 'Best Hitting Prospect' and 'Best Power Prospect'. Curtis Thigpen was voted to be the 'Best Defensive Catcher' in the Eastern League.
No Blue Jay prospects made the list for High Class A or Low Class A.
Jays Sending Seven to Fall League
The Blue Jays will be sending seven players to Arizona Fall League this year. Four pitchers, two infielders and a catcher will be a playing for the Phoenix Desert Dogs.The pitchers are Jordan De Jong, Danny Hill, Tracy Thorpe and Kyle Yates. They have all been mainly used in the bullpen this season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Yates moved to the bullpen in July after struggling as a starter with the Fisher Cats and with the Dunedin Blue Jays.
The two infielders are 24 year old first basemen Chip Channon and 24 year old short stop Ryan Klosterman. Cannon has hit 22 homeruns in 124 games with Fisher Cats, but he's only hitting .229 and has struck out a 152 times in 432 at-bats. Klosterman began the year in Dunedin before being promoted to New Hampshire where he as appeared in 35 games. In 130 games at both levels, Klosterman has hit 15 homeruns and driven in 74 runs.
Catcher, Curtis Thigpen was also named to the team. The 23 year old Thigpen had 5 homeruns and 36 RBI's in 87 games with the Fisher Cats before being promoted to the Syracuse SkyChiefs recently. He was only hitting .259 at double A in 309 at bats, but he had an on-base-percentage of .370.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Lind Promoted to Triple A
The Blues Jays top hitting prospect, outfielder Adam Lind was promoted to triple A Syracuse yesterday. Lind had been tearing up double A pitching before being promoted. He was hitting .310, and was leading the league with 19 HRs, 71 RBI's, 43 extra base hits, and a .543 slugging percentage.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Jays Minor Leaguer Suspended
Blue Jays minor league prospect, Richard Rodriguez was suspended today for 50 games for using performance enhancing drugs. Rodriguez was pitching in the Venezuelan Summer League, where he had posted a 0-5 record with a 5.61 ERA. Three other players were suspended as well, two from the Minnesota Twins organization and one from the Cincinnati Reds.