Farm Report: New Hampshire Fisher Cats

I felt like taking a look at some AA players that were knocking on the door to Buffalo and could play a role on the Bisons this season or next.

Marcus Stroman
2.99 ERA - 10.3 K/9 - 2.5 BB/9 - 69.1 IP (13 starts)

ESPN Insider still thinks Stroman is best suited for the bullpen due to his height, which creates a lack of "plane" not allowing Stroman to get on top of his fastball and flattens it out. He throws a good slider/cutter which project out to be above average and a change-up that flashes solid. He could be in Toronto at some point in 2014 as a starter, or any time as a reliever.

Sean Nolin
2.77 ERA - 9.6 K/9 - 2.6 BB/9 - 74.2 IP (14 starts)

Nolin is a fastball/change-up type with potential for average curveball and slider. He has slid under that radar a little the past 2 seasons with the presence of the former "big 3" of Sanchez, Syndergaard, and Nicolino. That all chaged when 2 of the 3 were dealt in the offseason and Nolin finally started getting the recognition he deserved.

A.J. Jimenez
Dunedin:
.429/.448/.643 (28 AB) - 3 2B - 1 HR - 3 SO
New Hampshire:
.314/.364/.414 (140 AB) - 11 2B - 1 HR - 24 SO

Fresh off receiving Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm, Jimenez is back at it and says his throwing has never felt better, which is pretty impressive when he has thrown out 43% of attempted runners pre-surgery. Known as a defensive-minded catcher, Jimenez has taken a step forward on offence this season and may be in line for AAA Buffalo at some point this season or next.

Ryan Schimpf
.216/.349/.438 (401 PA) - 17 2B - 3 3B - 17 HR - 61 BB - 97 SO

Schimpf is a favourite of mine (don't ask why) and has turned himself into a 3-true-outcome utility player. This season, Ryan had played 3B and 2B along with a couple games in LF. Schimpf should be up in Buffalo later in 2013 or in 2014 and could play a role as a utility guy for the Blue Jays as a Joe Inglett type (another player I adored).

Kevin Ahrens
.247/.331/.380 (179 PA) - 13 2B - 2 HR - 20 BB - 38 SO

Ahrens was the first pick of many high picks for the Blue Jays in 2007 (the year Arencibia, Cecil, Justin Jackson, and Jon Tolisano were selected), he has been a bit of a disappointment so far with his development. Now 24, Ahrens is finally getting a taste of AA after 6 minor league seasons and is having one of his best seasons. He is playing 1B to go along with his customary 3B to give him potential versatility down the road. At this point, his ceiling would have to be a replacement player utility player.

Friday Randomness

We are over a week since the All-Star game and a couple Bisons were involved. Jim Negrych was the starting 2B and went 0-3 with a strikeout. Mauro Gomez started at DH and also went 0-3.

The Bisons have completed 2 series since the break and have gone 4-4.

Here is how some of the key players have done:

Mauro Gomez:

The IL leader in HR has hit 8-30 with 4 walks to give him a .267/.353/.533 line. He has 2 doubles and 2 HR with 7 RBI. He has struck out 8 times.

Anthony Gose:

Gose has been the biggest disappointment this season. Gose is 6-25 with 3 walks for a .240/.310/.240 line since the break. He is also 1-3 in SB attempts and 7 strikeouts. Since his demotion from the Blue Jays, Gose has a .226/.274/.271 line in 170 PA and is 7-14 in SB with 55 strikeouts.

Ryan Goins:

My favourite Bison has come out swinging a nice stick after the break. Goins is 8-25 with a walk for a .320/.346/.520 line with 2 doubles and a HR. This season, he has had a decent sized platoon split. He has a .277/.338/.390 line vs RHP and just a .238/.262/.363 line vs LHP. 

Moises Sierra:

Coming off an injury and a rehab assignment for the GCL Blue Jays, Sierra only played against the Clippers. He was 6-16 with a double for a .375/.353/.438 line.This season, Sierra has actually had a reverse platoon split. He has hit .289/.331/.436 vs RHP and .225/.308/.363 vs LHP. 

Kevin Pillar:

Pillar has hit the ground running since his promotion to Buffalo. He now has a .344/.385/.592 line in 135 PA with 13 doubles, 3 triples, and 4 HR. Since the break, he has hit 11-33 with a walk for a .333/.343/.545 line with 3 doubles and 2 triples. He has destroyed LHP this season with a .390/.427/.575 in 157 PA accross both Buffalo and New Hampshire.

Munenori Kawasaki:

Last, but certainly not least, is fan favourite Munenori Kawasaki. He has only 4 hits in 18 AB, but has 5 walks to give him a solid .391 OBP. 

The Bisons roster has taken many different shapes this season, thanks in large part to injuries that Blue Jays have suffered. Currently the Bisons have a pair of Blue Jays pitchers on rehab assignments in J.A. Happ and Sergio Santos. Happ has made a start and Santos has 4 appearances so far.

Currently on the DL for Buffalo are pitchers Chad Beck, Dave Bush, Chad Jenkins, and Michael Schwimer and fielders Jim Negrych, Ricardo Nanita, and Lance Zawadski.

The Bisons also recently released P Claudio Vargas and UTL Eugenio Velez. The Velez move was surprising given his solid .270/.372/.437 line with 21 SB while playing 2B, 3B, and LF. 

Recent additions to the active roster are Neil Wagner (back from an impressive MLB stint, but forced off the roster when Melky returned) and Jeremy Jeffress (finally healthy).

Thad Weber has been a really bright surprise for the Bisons since his claim from the Padres. He has a 2.49 ERA and 1.043 WHIP in 61.1 IP. He has made 9 starts for the Herd and 3 relief appearances. 

Justin Jackson: How Is He Doing It?

One of my favourite Minor Leaguers, for some reason, was Justin Jackson. 

I had high hopes for the 1st round pick at the time and thought the Blue Jays had just drafted Jimmy Rollins, only better. 

Sure, I was a delusional noob. I knew nothing about amateur players and I had put these completely unrealistic expectations on a kid who didn't have the raw tools to reach them. 

When the Jays decided to give up on Jackson and convert him to a pitcher after the 2012 season, I assumed it was over. 

Despite peripheral stats that are haunting, Jackson has kept a very good ERA alive in 32 innings in low A ball. 

Don't let his shiny 2.25 ERA fool you. His 6.8 BB/9 is not pretty and is higher than his K rate. He's also seen 6 unearned runs score behind him and it's tough to tell how he would do with stronger defense. 

Jackson has recently said goodbye to Lansing (which is sad as I've just recently discovered how close Lansing is London and was hoping to come see him in person) and is being promoted to Dunedin. 

Hopefully I will be able to get more of a scouting report than "mid 90s fastball" once more people get some eyes on him. 

We might have created our very own Sergio Santos. 

Either way, I'm still pulling for him and hope to see him in Toronto one day. 

The All-Star Game Is Upon Us

Some notable Triple A All-Stars

Mauro Gomez - starting DH

Jim Negrych - starting 2B

Canadian Jordan Lennerton - IL Bench 1B

Detroit Tigers Minor Leaguer

Canadian Andrew Albers - IL Pitcher

Minnesota Twins Minor Leaguer

Former Blue Jay Brad Mills - PCL Pitcher

Texas Rangers Minor Leaguer

2012 Draft Pick Michael Wacha - PCL Pitcher

St. Louis Cardinals Prospect

RailRiding Into The All-Star Break

The Bisons finish their unofficial first half 7-3 in their last 10 thank in large part to the 4 or 5 they won from the Chiefs and their 1 game win against the IronPigs.

Onto the recaps.

IronPigs game: W 4-1

Thad Weber was good again in his start, going 6 and allowing just 1 run. The bullpen threw 4 shutout innings and Joel Carreno was the pitcher of record, throwing 2 innings and striking out 4.

Multi-hit games from Kevin Pillar (2-4), Andy LaRoche (2-4), and Sean Ochinko (2-4).

An ugly 10th inning pitching performance from the Pigs led to the Bisons win. The inning went like this:

Pillar singled and was bunted to 2nd by Goins. Lawrie walked and Velez grounded out. LaRoche was intentionally walked and then shit got real. Negrych was walked to bring in the go-ahead run, followed by a McCoy walk to make it 3-1. A wild pitch brought in run 4 before Gose lined out.

RailRiders Series:

Game 1: L 2-1

Chien-Ming Wang started and game up 2 in 6 innings for the hard luck loss.

The Bisons run came in on a Sean Ochinko HR.

The Herd only managed 4 hits.

Game 2: L 5-0

Dave Bush gave up 4 in 4.1 IP on 9 hits and 2 walks. Jeremy Jeffress made his return with a shutout inning in relief.

Mike McCoy was 2-2 with a walk and a stolen base as the lone offensive stand out.

Game 3: W 7-1

Ricky Romero was in ace-mode with 8 innings of 4 hit/1 walk baseball giving up just 1 run.

The offense was not sharp, but capitalized on some mistakes. They scored on a 2nd inning wild pitch and 3 runs came in to score on a Dan Johnson error in the 5th.

Muninori Kawasaki came back to Buffalo and made an immediate impact. He walked in the 1st inning and stole 2nd before scoring on a Negrych single.

Sean Ochinko added a 7th inning HR, which was his 2nd of the series.

Bison Stampede The Chiefs

Needing victories badly after going through a tough stretch, the Bisons beat up on the Chiefs and won 4 of 5. Beat up might be a tad incorrect, as all games were pretty close. Still, 4 of 5 is a great outcome and brought the Herd back above .500 and back into the heat of the race.

Game 1: L 4-3

Will Rhymes

Thad Weber started and threw 7 innings of 4 run ball. 2 of the runs were driven in by former Tiger Will Rhymes on 2 separate hits. Mickey Storey pitched 2 innings of shutout ball in relief.

Multi-hit games from Mike McCoy (2-4) and Sean Ochinko (2-4). Andy LaRoche hit his 9th HR of the season.

For the Chiefs, 2B Danny Espinosa was 3-4 with a triple, bringing his average to .181 since being demoted.

Game 2: W 6-2

The winning began with game 1 of a double header with both games being 7 innings in length. Dave Bush pitched all 7 innings and gave up his 2 runs on a Will Rhymes HR. Bush struck out 8.

Multi-hit games from Kevin Pillar (2-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI) and Andy LaRoche (3-3).

We had a Brian Jeroloman sighting for the Chiefs. He was 0-2 with a patented walk and he scored on the Rhymes HR.

Game 3: W 4-1

Chien-Ming Wang got the nod in the night game of the double header. He followed up with a 7 inning complete game allowing just 1 run on 3 hits.

Ryan Goins had the only multi-hit game, going 2-3 with a double. Sean Ochinko hit a 3-run HR.

Game 4: W 6-2

Ricky Romero started and was good. He went 7 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 7. John Stilson threw 2 perfect innings to close it out.

Multi-hit games from Kevin Pillar (3-4, 3B) and the rehabbing Brett Lawrie, who played 2B ICYMI (2-4, HR, 3 RBI).

For the Chiefs, Will Rhymes hit another HR. Both his HR this season have been off the Bisons.

Game 5: W 4-3

Justin Germano got the start and gave up 3 in 6.2 innings. Brad Lincoln got the win with 2 innings of shutout relief.

Multi-hit games from Andy LaRoche (2-4, HR) and Anthony Gose (2-4). Mauro Gomez hit his 25th HR of the season.

Brett Lawrie was 0-4 with 2 K in his 2nd rehab game.

The Slide Continues

The Bisons are on some roll lately. Unfortunately, that roll is straight downhill.

After the mini 2 game series against the RailRaiders, the Herd has lost 4 of 5 this month.

They have a 5-game series against the Chiefs next, so hopefully the Bisons can get their act together and start turning this back around.

In the 2 game set, the Bisons only managed to score 4 runs, 2 in each game.

In the first game, Mike McCoy drove in 2 with his 2nd HR of the season. In the second game, Jim Negrych hit a 2-run double to drive in the only runs.

Game 1 was started by Ricky Romero, throwing 6 innings of 5 run ball (only 3 runs were earned). John Stilson threw 2 shutout innings in relief.

Game 2 Had a good start from Justin Germano, who went 7 innings giving up just 2 runs and striking out 7 to 0 walks. He deserved better. Joel Carreno took the loss as an error allowed his baserunner to advance to 3rd and a sacrifice fly gave the Raiders the walk off win.

There Wasn't A Game Last Night

The Bisons had a much needed off day Wednesday as the majority of the team didn't show up. 

Kevin Pillar managed to smack his 3rd HR of the season on an off day. Impressive. 

They needed the break before traveling to take on the RailRaiders for a 4 game set. 

Ricky Romero will be on the bump tonight in the opener. 

The Dark Knights Rise

Yeah. That's an awful title.

Before I recap the series, there is some housekeeping to take care of.

After Tuesday's game, Todd Redmond was recalled to Toronto to take the place of recently DFA Chien-Ming Wang. Wang will have the option to accept his assignment and come to Buffalo if he chooses. Todd Redmond is 3-1 with a 5.06 ERA in 26.2 IP in AAA.

Ryan Langerhans was released by the Herd June 21. He had a .220/.338/.435 slash with 9 HR. We was replaced on the roster with Kevin Pillar, who came up from New Hampshire with a .313/.361/.441 slash.

Chad Jenkins, Andy LaRoche, and Ricardo Nanita were placed on the DL. They join pitchers Jeremy Jeffress, Michael Schwimer, and Chad Beck and IF Lance Zawadzki.

Veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez, recently released by the Dodgers, signed a minor league contract with the Jays and was assigned to Buffalo for depth.

To the recap!

Game 1: L 5-4

Ricky Romero was the starter and threw 6 innings allowing 3 runs and did not factor into the decision. He only walked 1 batter and struck out 7. Joel Carreno threw 1.1 IP and gave up a run. Brad Lincoln blew his 3rd save and took the loss as he allowed 4 hits and a run in 1 IP.

The only mulit-hit effort for the Bisons was Mauro Gomez (2-4), but Ryan Goins, Kevin Pillar, and Luis Jimenez hit HR.

Former Jays minor leaguer Mike McDade was 1-4 for the Knights with an RBI.

Game 2: W 11-3

Kevin Pillar was the offensive stand-out for the Herd. He was 4-6 with a double, a SB, and a HR, driving in 3 runs. Other multi-hit games came from Ryan Goins (2-4, RBI), Jim Negrych (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI), Eugenio Velez (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, SB), and Mike McCoy (2-3, SB).

Justin Germano started and gave up 3 runs in 5.1 IP. Tommy Hottovy, Buddy Carlyle, and Claudio Vargas threw 3.1 IP of no-hit relief work.

Off-season Blue Jay Lars Anderson was 1-3 with a double for the Knights.

Game 3: L 3-0

Thad Weber started and continued his great pitching, going 7 IP allowing just 2 runs. He took the hard luck loss as the offense didn't help out. John Stilson allowed a run in his inning of work.

The offense had just 3 hits and 1 walk on the day. Kevin Pillar was 1-3 with a walk, while Velez and McCoy both doubled.

Lars Anderson and Mike McDade combined to go 0-7 with a walk for the Knights.

Game 4: W 3-1

Dave Bush was great in his start, going 6 IP and allowing just 1 run while striking out 9. Mickey Storey, Tommy Hottovy, and Joel Carreno combined for 3 shutout innings to bridge to Brad Lincoln who threw a clean 10th inning for the save.

Just 7 hits for the Bisons and no multi-hit efforts. Sean Ochinko drove in the eventual winning run on a single in the 10th.

Mike McDade was 1-4 and Lars Anderson was 0-2 with 2 walks for the Knights.


Quick Hits:

Kevin Pillar was excellent in the series, going 7-18 with 2 HR, a double, and a SB.

Mauro Gomez now has 17 K in 44 AB against the Knights on the season. That comes out to over 190 over a full AAA season.

Moises Sierra is now just 5-35 with 12 K against the Knights.