Toronto Blue Jays Prospect Hot Sheet Part II: July 16 – July 22
As we move on to Part II of the Toronto Blue Jays Prospect Hot Sheet, you’ll notice that the farm system has thinned out a little bit over the past week. With Asher Wojciechowski moving on to Houston, Dunedin is left without any high-profile pitching prospects. Don’t let Jesse Hernandez hear you say that, though, as the right-handed pitcher spun a dandy for Dunedin this past week, coming within just one strike of a no-hitter. The Lansing roster also lost some depth with lefty David Rollins and catcher Carlos Perez also headed to Houston in the J.A. Happ deal. However, if you’re talking Lansing, those two are not the first players that come to mind. With the exception of Aaron Sanchez, the Lansing ‘Big 3′ had yet another phenomenal week. We’ll start by taking a look at the solid starts put forth by Noah Syndergaard and Justin Nicolino.
LANSING LUGNUTS
Justin Nicolino – LHP – 11.1 IP, 13 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 15 K
Noah Syndergaard – RHP – 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Tyler Ybarra – LHP – 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
My take: Nicolino’s line might not look impressive at first glance, but it is indicative of the type of pitcher that he is right now. As I reported in Prospect Power two weeks back, Nicolino tends to hang around the strike zone a bit too much for his own good. With that comes very few walks, but also too many hits. Keep in mind that he’s only just beginning to work through a professional lineup multiple times, and with experience, he’ll begin to approach batters differently with each successive at-bat. The 15 strikeouts grant Nicolino a place here. His stuff is better than most give him credit for.
Noah Syndergaard shows no signs of slowing down with another stellar performance. If he continues to turn lineups over with success, he could be the first of the Big 3 to get a promotion to Dunedin. This continued success could be a sign that his slider is coming along faster than anticipated.
Tyler Ybarra continues to serve as a reliable bullpen arm in Lansing; he is also making his case for a call-up.
It was not a great week for the Lansing hitters. Michael Crouse began his reassignment to Lansing with 4 hits in his first 7 at-bats, but has yet to record a hit since his second game back with the club.
DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS
Jesse Hernandez – RHP – 8.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Kevin Pillar – OF – 8/20, 2 2B, 3B, 0 BB, 0 K, SB
Kevin Ahrens – 3B – 5/14, 2 BB, 0 K
Ryan Schimpf – 2B – 7/21, 2 2B, HR, 1 BB, 2 K
My take: Jesse Hernandez almost pitched a no-hitter. Does this mean he’s a legitimate prospect? No. Not at all.
Kevin Pillar has been fantastic since his call-up. It was recently suggested by a poster over at ProSportsDaily.com that he looks a bit like a young Reed Johnson, perhaps with a bit more speed. That would be outstanding value for a late-round draft pick. He has outstanding contact skills, evidenced by the zero – yes, zero – strikeouts over the past week.
I said Kevin Ahrens would be unlikely to make this hot sheet again, but here we are, another week of J.P. Ricciardi’s reason for never taking high school players in the draft. He’s hitting for a solid average of late, but still no power. Don’t get your hopes up that the former first rounder finally turns it around. It’s not gonna happen.
NEW HAMPSHIRE FISHER CATS
Chad Jenkins – RHP – 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Sam Dyson – RHP – 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Jake Marisnick – CF – 10/32, 2B, HR
Sean Ochinko – C – 5/19, 2B, HR
My take: Chad Jenkins had an OK start. He still gave up a home run. He’s got a long ways to go before he’s even in the discussion for a call-up. Quite a drop for a guy who was in the discussion to be the fifth starter on the Blue Jays coming out of spring training.
Sam Dyson did allow two unearned runs, giving him the loss in his first appearance after returning to the Fisher Cats after a brief and unsuccessful stint with the Blue Jays. Dyson needs to strike out more batters in order to be a legitimate candidate to return to the Blue Jays. 3 Ks in 4 innings is a welcomed sight.
Jake Marisnick has taken kindly to Eastern League pitching. After a relatively slow start following his promotion, Marisnick has caught fire and looks every bit like the Blue Jays‘ top position player prospect. In addition to his outstanding bat, Marisnick has been playing stellar defense in center field.
LAS VEGAS 51s
David Carpenter – RHP – 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Moises Sierra – RF – 8/24, 2 HR, 2 BB, 6 K, SB
David Cooper – 1B – 15/33, 7 2B, HR, 3 BB, 5 K
My take: David Carpenter did well to impress his new teammates in his Blue Jays’ debut.
Moises Sierra (pictured above) has been trying to show Alex Anthopoulos that he made a mistake in calling up Anthony Gose instead. Moises, I agree with you!
David Cooper is en fuego! Cooper knows how to find the gaps, but finding the gaps is even easier in a big park where the ball flies. It just so happens that Cooper’s home park in Las Vegas fits that definition, and all of Cooper’s games this week came at Cashman Field in Vegas. Nevertheless, Cooper had a hit in all of his games this week, and we should give him credit for that.
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Stats never tell the whole story – if you want to talk Jays’ prospects or have any questions about the tools that these players possess, tweet me and I’ll be ready to answer any questions that you throw at me.
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Charles Davis is a baseball writer for www.RantSports.com with a specific focus on the Toronto Blue Jays, their farm system, and prospects league-wide. Read his articles here and follow him on Twitter @CPDavis90.
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