By Jay Blue

Blue Jays From Away

On a day that was overshadowed by both a big win and the first night of the MLB draft, one of the Blue Jays’ minor league team saw an historic day from one of its young prospects.

Buffalo Bisons 1, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2
Game suspended due to fog. To be completed on Tuesday, June 9.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Scheduled Off Day

Dunedin Blue Jays 8, Charlotte Stone Crabs 3
It was a very good day for the Dunedin Blue Jays who got a great start from Jairo Labourt and big games from a couple of players looking to break out. Labourt went six innings and allowed just one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out six. Matthew Smoral allowed two runs in his inning while Carlos Ramirez walked two in 2/3 of an inning. Chad Girodo struck out all four batters he faced to finish the game.

On the offense, Roemon Fields went 2/4 with a home run and four RBI while Mitch Nay was 2/3 with a sacrifice fly, a home run and two RBI. Christian Lopes was 1/2 with two walks and an RBI.

Roster Notes: Brady Dragmire came back from extended spring training while Justin Shafer was placed on the DL.

Player of the Game: Labourt and Fields

Lansing Lugnuts 12, Peoria Chiefs 4
The Lugnuts made a winner of starter Shane Dawson for the eighth time this year but D. J. Davis stole the show. Davis, with eight RBI on the night, tied a Lansing record. He was 4/5 with two doubles, a home run and a single and scored twice. Jason Leblebijian continues to hit, launching his second home run in as many games, going 1/3 with a walk and two RBI. Richard Urena remained red hot, going 2/5 with a triple and two runs scored.

On the mound, Dawson was his usual solid self, throwing five innings of three-run (two earned), five-hit, three-walk ball with six strikeouts. Tim Mayza allowed a run on two hits and a walk in two innings while Dusty Isaacs pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game.

Roster Notes: Mark Biggs was activated off the DL.

Player of the Game: Davis

DSL Blue Jays 8, DSL Padres 1
In a rain-shortened (eight innings) game, the DSL Blue Jays won again, this time getting some great pitching. Wilfri Aleton got the start and surrendered one run on two hits and a walk over three innings while Jose Dominguez was awarded teh win, striking out three batters in three scoreless innings. Joel Espinal pitched the final two frames, striking out three without allowing a hit.

Jesus Navarro was 2/4 with an RBI and two runs scored playing second base while catcher Manuel Herazo was also two for four, driving in a run but allowing the Padres to steal four bases (without catching anyone). Center fielder Victor Figuero hit a home run, driving in a pair and Kevin Vicuna was 1/4 with a walk but made two errors in the field.

Player of the Game: Navarro and Figuero

 
Four D-Jays Relievers Land All-Star Status: The Blue Jays managed to place four players in the Florida State League All-Star Game but the underachieving squad couldn’t find a spot for any of its position players or starting pitchers.

The first name on the list is 24-year-old sidearming lefty Chad Girodo. Girodo has been stellar this year with Dunedin, with a 1.38 ERA, a 2.58 FIP, a 0.92 WHIP and a 27.5% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. For Girodo, it’s his second year in Dunedin and while his numbers are outstanding, his FIP was actually better last year when he threw 76 2/3 innings for the D-Jays.

Alberto Tirado makes the cut in his first year as a reliever, jumping to Dunedin after struggling in Lansing and recovering a bit after a demotion to Vancouver in 2014. This year, in 35 2/3 innings with Dunedin, Tirado has improved his walk rate tremendously (down to 10.6%) while bringing his strikeout rate up to 22.5%. While Girodo is 24 and has already spent a year at this level, Tirado is just 20 and has a 1.77 ERA (but a 3.56 FIP) and 1.21 WHIP.

Two pitchers who were first-team selections for the All-Star Game on the Blue Jays will be unable to play because they’ve been promoted to New Hampshire already. Jimmy Cordero, 23, had a 2.49 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 25 1/3 innings with Dunedin, striking out 22.9% of batters and walking just 5.7% and Wil Browning, 26, only threw 15 2/3 innings before his promotion with a 0.57 ERA and 0.57 WHIP, striking out 19 with just one walk.

In other Florida State League news, starting pitcher Murphy Smith was named the Pitcher of the Week after his complete game shutout, falling four outs short of a no-hitter. He added another seven scoreless innings earlier in the week and totaled 18 strikeouts and only three walks in 14 innings over the course of the week.

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