Jay Blue: Toronto Blue Jays 2019/20 Fall/Winter Ball Report

Toronto Blue Jays 2017 first-round pick Logan Warmoth batted .295 in Arizona Fall League action. Photo: Jay Blue

October 28, 2019

By Jay Blue

Blue Jays from Away

Now that we've wrapped up the Jays' minor league seasons we'll start looking into what the Blue Jays minor leaguers are doing in their Fall and Winter ball assignments this offseason.

Arizona Fall League

The highest-profile of the fall/winter leagues is the Arizona Fall League to which the Blue Jays ultimately sent eight players.

On the hitters' side, we had Cullen Large who hit .230/.324/.328 for a .652 OPS as he hit three doubles and a home run with seven walks and 12 strikeouts in 61 at bats.

Kevin Smith had a rough fall, trying to figure out his swing. He hit .095/.149/.159 with just six hits in 63 at bats, striking out 38 times and walking only three times while hitting two doubles and a triple. Smith's struggles have been well documented and we hope that an offseason will help him reset.

Former first round draft pick Logan Warmoth had the best AFL of any of the Jays' hitters, hitting .295/.394/.443 with six doubles and a home run. While he started strong in 2019 in Dunedin, Warmoth struggled in New Hampshire so it's nice to see him having some success. That said, his 22 strikeouts in 61 at bats is somewhat high while he did walk nine times, a very solid amount.

Maverik Buffo got 9 1/3 innings in for Scottsdale in the AFL, and was hit hard, giving up 15 runs on 16 hits and 10 walks with only nine strikeouts for a 14.46 ERA and 2.79 WHIP.

Mike Ellenbest, on the other hand, had a strong fall with a 1.59 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 11 1/3 innings, walking six and striking out nine.

Injured righty Julian Merryweather got into some action, getting in six innings with a 4.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, striking out eight with two walks.

Jackson Rees was the only Blue Jay representative in the Fall Stars Game and had a 3.24 ERA, allowing three runs on nine hits with just one walk while striking out 13 in 8 1/3 innings.

Graham Spraker struck out over a batter an inning, but had a 5.68 ERA and 1.74 WHIP, walking six and allowing 16 hits in 12 2/3 innings, racking up 13 strikeouts.

Dominican Winter League Hitters

So far, we've seen Socrates Brito in action in LIDOM and he's hitting very well with a .333/.397/.373 slash line, hitting a pair of doubles while walking five times and striking out 12 times in 51 at bats.

Michael De La Cruz has a .154/.421/.231 slash line in 13 at bats, walking six times and striking out five times with a double to his credit.

Being a younger player, Rafael Lantigua has just played in one game, likely as a pinch runner.

Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) is getting a lot of time in the winter league, hitting .289/.360/.311 with a double in 45 at bats so far, walking five times and striking out nine times.

Richard Urena has also gotten some Dominican League time, going 5/18 (.278) for Gigantes, hitting a home run, walking twice and striking out four times.

Dominican Winter League Pitchers

Elvis Luciano has thrown twice so far, tossing six innings and posting a 1.50 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, giving up one earned run on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Hector Perez had also made four appearances out of the bullpen in LIDOM action, allowing two runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.

Mexican Winter League

In the Mexican Winter League, we've seen Norberto Obeso posting a .273/.390/.394 slash line with a double and a home run, walking six times and striking out six times and stealing two bases.

Jose Zepeda has gotten three at bats over two games, striking out once without getting a hit.

Juan Acosta has made on appearance, striking out one and giving up a hit in a scoreless inning.

Pitcher Felipe Castaneda has pitched a scoreless inning in Mexico.

Francisco Rios has thrown 17 innings as a starter in the Mexican League, with a 1.06 ERA and 1.12 WHIP, striking out 10 and walking six.

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The 2019 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook is available now! Visit the Handbook page for more information!