Jay Blue: Winter Ball report I
Rowdy Tellez had a hot start and then has cooled somewhat in Arizona Fall League play. Photo: Jay Blue.
Offseason League Report
By Jay Blue
Blue Jays from Away
With the playoffs in full swing (for the Blue Jays) until recently, we’ve been vaguely following what’s been going on for the Blue Jays’ prospects in the various offseason leagues but now that we’re into full offseason mode, we bring you our first report of the fall.
We’ll start with Major League Baseball’s offseason league for prospects, the Arizona Fall League. The Blue Jays have two hitters and four pitchers taking part. Roemon Fields has been having a rough go, hitting .176/.275/.265 with four stolen bases in seven attempts through nine games. Rowdy Tellez, started out with a bang but has since gotten cold, hitting .242/.257/.394 with two doubles and a home run in eight games. Emilio Guerrero is hitting .150/.261/.150 in six games.
On the pitching side of things, Brady Dragmire has yet to give up a run in three appearances spanning four innings with just two hits and two walks allowed while striking out six. Jeremy Gabryszwski has been hit hard over two starts, giving up 12 hits and five runs over 6 1/3 innings with three walks and just one strikeout. Chad Girodo has thrown four scoreless innings with just two hits and a walk against while striking out two. Justin Shafer has logged six innings with just one run allowed on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.
Around the world, we’ve got five Blue Jays in action in the Australian Baseball League. David Harris is on fire, hitting .563/.588/.750 with a home run in his first four games with the Canberra Cavalry. Jason Leblebijian is hitting .333/.333/.611 with two doubles and a home run and Derrick Loveless is smashing his way to a .300/.533/.800 slash line with a triple and a home run in four games. Phil Kish allowed three runs in 1 2/3 innings, giving up four hits and two walks with a strikeout and Colton Turner gave up two runs in his one inning of work, walking two and striking out one.
Closer to home, in the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM), Andy Fermin is 1/4 with two RBI, Melky Mesa is hitting .158/.360/.158 in eight games with three singles and Richard Urena is struggling in his first year of winter ball, hitting .154/.148/.269 with a double and a triple and three RBI in seven games. Bobby Korecky has been outstanding through 4 2/3 innings, giving up just one hit and one walk without any runs and striking out five while Luis Santos has given up two hits but no walks or strikeouts in his one inning of work.
In Venezuela, the Blue Jays only have pitchers with Austin Bibens-Dirkx throwing 23 innings already with a 1.57 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with just six walks and 16 strikeouts. Miguel Burgo (a rookie ball pitcher) has allowed a run in just 1/3 of an inning while Tiago da Silva has given up four runs in 8 1/3 innings, allowing nine hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Greg Infante is doing better, with just one run allowed in four innings on four hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Casey Lawrence is also racking up innings with 19 1/3 thrown in four starts. He’s 0-2 but has a 3.26 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, allowing 22 hits and four walks with nine strikeouts. Another Double-A pitcher, Mike Lee, has thrown 18 innings with a 6.00 ERA but his one walk and 12 strikeouts help the outlook there. Another pitcher who hasn’t made it out of rookie ball yet is Jonathan Torres who has allowed two runs in 2 2/3 innings with three hits and only one walk with two strikeouts.
In the Mexican Winter League, Jorge Flores is continuing to do what he did for New Hampshire, hitting .277/.370/.319 with a pair of doubles. Francisco Rios (who pitched last year for Vancouver) has allowed 10 runs in 12 1/3 innings for a 7.30 ERA and 1.70 WHIP, walking six and striking out seven.
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