By Jay Blue

Blue Jays from Away

It's that time of year that we begin our reports summarizing the season for the Blue Jays' minor league affiliates. We continue our reports with the Lansing Lugnuts.

If you're new to Blue Jays from Away, we summarize all eight of the Blue Jays' minor league teams in four parts: The Blue Jays from Away Awards, Starting Pitchers, Relief Pitchers and Position Players. Players are discussed with the team that they spent the most time with (by innings pitched for pitchers and at bats for batters).

Manager Cesar Martin got the Lansing Lugnuts to the postseason by having a tremendous first half of the season, earning a playoff spot by finishing second in the Eastern Division with a 43-27 record and they had a second place finish in the second half with a 37-33 record. The Lugnuts were swept in two games in their best-of-three series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods (who had the best overall record in the league), losing both games 4-3.

The Lugnuts trailed the Hot Rods for second place in the league for offense, scoring 5.14 runs per game (above the league average of 4.30 r/g) with an offence that was 0.2 years below the league average. On the pitching side, however, the Lugnuts had the third-worst runs-per-game in the league at 4.71 and their pitching staff was 0.3 years over the league average.

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game Champion

For those of you who followed the minor league reports here, you’ll know that I “awarded” Player of the Game (PotG) accolades on a game-by-game basis. It should comfort you to know that I’ve been keeping track of these daily awards and my rationale for the system is as follows.

The Player of the Game Awards were determined by a number of factors that included who I thought had the most impact on the game and who might have gone “above and beyond.” Many nights, there was just one Player of the Game. If there was, he earned one point. If I thought that either a) no one stood out enough to merit a single PotG, or b) two or more players were outstanding and deserved mention, I split the point up into two, three or four shares. If two players earned PotG mention, they each received 0.5 points and if three players earned mentions, they each received 0.33 points, etc. There were occasions that I felt that no one merited the award and therefore, I did not give out any points.

Here are the final leaders for Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game for the Lansing Lugnuts:

Ryan Noda 21.08

Chavez Young 12.67

Samad Taylor 11.08

Kevin Smith 8.5

Kacy Clemens 6

Maximo Castillo 5.83

Yennsy Diaz 4.5

Ryan Gold 4.25

Kevin Vicuna 4.17

Brock Lundquist 4

Congrats to Ryan Noda, our runaway Player of the Game Champion for the Lansing Lugnuts!

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Year

While there were a tremendous number of players on the Lugnuts who had excellent numbers most of them only played in a limited number of games before moving on to Dunedin. That left Ryan Noda as our Player of the Year. Not only did Noda distinguish himself with a .256/.421/.484 slash line, he hit 24 doubles, four triples and 20 home runs on the way to an outstanding .905 OPS.

Honourable mention: Chavez Young

Blue Jays from Away Pitcher of the Year

Deciding on the Pitcher of the year was tough in that the starting pitcher who spent the most time in Lansing and logged the most innings had his ups and downs. That said, I'm going to go with Graham Spraker who lost time due to injury but still made 15 starts and logged 91 innings (third most on the team) with a 3.26 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. The two best starters on the team were promoted early on with Zach Logue and Yennsy Diaz only making nine starts each.

Honourable Mention: Donnie Sellers, Yennsy Diaz, Maximo Castillo, Zach Logue, Maverik Buffo

Blue Jays from Away Reliever of the Year

The Lugnuts had a lot of solid relievers but none who were with the team for an extended period really stood out from the pack. Dany Jimenez had a rough start to the year but turned things around to earn our Reliever of the Year nod but it was close race between he and lefty Brody Rodning. Jimenez had a slightly better ERA and WHIP but it was his far better strikeout rate that earned him the award. Brayden Bouchey (White Rock, B.C.) was excellent but threw slightly more than half the inning that the other two pitchers threw.

Honourable mention: Brody Rodning, Brayden Bouchey

Starting Pitchers

We're going to start our more in-depth look at the Lansing Lugnuts by looking at starting pitchers. We're going to include anyone who made 50% of his appearances as a starter, or logged enough innings to gain consideration. If a player played for more than one team over the course of the season, he'll be grouped according to the club he played the most with.

We begin with the pitchers who made the most starts and work our way downwards from there.

Big Maximo Castillo, a 6-foot-2, 256-pound righty, was just 19 years old in 2018 but he took the ball and logged starts like a veteran, leading the Lugnuts with 22 starts (in 28 appearances) and 131 1/3 innings. He had a 4.52 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, striking out 20.3% of batters and walking 7.4%. Both of those numbers are a regression from 2017 in Bluefield but in 2018, Castillo was focusing on pitching to contact despite a regression in his ground ball rate (from 51.1% in 2017 to 38.9% in 2018). While he sits in the low 90s with his sinking fastball, there are thoughts that he could gain some velocity despite his frame being quite mature already. Castillo should move up to Dunedin in 2019, though.

Matt Gunter made the second most starts on the Lugnuts and the 23-year-old lefty drafted in the 33rd round of the 2017 draft out of Hawaii Pacific University started 16 out his 17 games to toss 75 innings with the Lansing Lugnuts (and 12 2/3 with Dunedin). Gunter got into early action with the D-Jays, making three appearances. After four hitless innings in his season debut on May 12, walking one and striking out three, he gave up a run in four innings but then got his for six runs (four earned) in 4 2/3 innings in his final appearance for the Dunedin Blue Jays before heading to Lansing for his first start there May 28. Gunter had two strong starts for the Lugnuts before he started to get into trouble and finished with a 5.88 ERA and 1.69 WHIP over 75 innings with an 11.8% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate (both well off his 21.2% strikeout rate in Dunedin and 5.8% walk rate there). Gunter got a lot of fly balls at both stops but benefitted from a very (unsustainably) low line-drive rate in Dunedin while his LD rate was quite high (29.2%) in Lansing. Gunter could return to Lansing but might also see time in Dunedin in 2019.

Graham Spraker, our Pitcher of the Year for the Lugnuts, tossed 91 innings in 18 appearances (15 starts) while also making a couple of rehab outings with the GCL Blue Jays after recovering from an injury that cost him about a month and a half from mid-May to late June. Spraker had an excellent April and July but struggled more in May and August, putting together a 3.26 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, striking out 17.2% of batters and walking just 6.8%. Spraker could also see time in Dunedin next year.

Maverik Buffo spent a good chunk of his season in Dunedin after a strong opening half in Lansing where he threw 82 1/3 innings in 14 starts (and 16 appearances.). Buffo had a 4.26 ERA and 1.42 WHIP, keeping his walks down to 4.6% and strikeouts at 17.9% with the Lugnuts while he had a 6.12 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 57 1/3 innings with Dunedin, raising his strikeout rate to 18.5% while his walk rate rose to 6.2%. Buffo's FIP (4.11) and xFIP (3.86) in Dunedin are a little more comforting than his ERA as he BABIP was quite high (.362) and he wasn't able to strand a high number of runners (59.8%). Look for him to start back in Dunedin in 2019.

Donnie Sellers, 23, settled into a piggyback role with the Lugnuts, starting 13 of his 22 games and throwing 92 2/3 innings with a 3.98 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Sellers struck out 18.1% of batters while walking 6.9%, for some solid numbers. He had a fairly high line-drive rate of 26.8% but got 40.8% of balls in play on the ground. Sellers might be up against some competition to move up to Dunedin but his strong 2018 indicates that he'll be in the mix.

Turner Larkins only pitched in 16 games and started 12 of them, totalling 62 2/3 innings for the Lugnuts, missing a lot of time from mid-June to early July, making one start and then not coming back until the end of August. In his time with Lansing, he had a 3.68 ERA and 1.41 WHIP, posting a solid 21.0% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate, both of which were right in line with his work in Bluefield last year. I can see Larkins staying in Lansing for a bit before he moves up to Dunedin if things are going well for him and he's healthy.

Drafted in the 18th round in 2017, Jordan Barrett made appearances with three teams this year, making the most appearances (and starts) with the Lansing Lugnuts. The 6-foot-4 righty got out of extended spring training by starting a game with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on May 26, starting the second half of a double header and throwing 3 1/3 innings, giving up a run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts. When the short season got under way, he made four starts with the Vancouver Canadians, throwing 20 2/3 innings with a stellar 32.9% strikeout rate, a 3.48 ERA, a 14.1% walk rate and a 1.21 WHIP. Barrett finished off his season by making 10 starts with the Lansing Lugnuts in July and August, posting a 3.18 ERA over 51 innings, posting a 1.45 WHIP with a 14.5% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate. Barrett wasn't exactly a ground ball machine but he was hard to hit a home run off of in Lansing, giving up just one round-tripper while he allowed two in his 20 2/3 innings in Vancouver. With college pitchers like the 23-year-old Barrett, it's hard to speculate where he'll start, although with his strong season, he's likely earned a spot on an Opening Day roster.

At 6-foot-7, Colton Laws, the Blue Jays' seventh-round pick in 2017, was one of the tallest Lugnuts on the mound but injuries got in the way of him pitching a full season. He started late, joining the Lugnuts at the end of April and took the ball regularly until the end of June, getting 10 starts in 12 appearances before he went down until the end of the year. Laws had a 6.19 ERA with a 1.48 WHIP, striking out 18.4% of batters while walking only 3.3% in 48 innings. Look for a healthy Laws, 22, back in Lansing or Dunedin in 2019.

Relief Pitchers

We move on to the relief pitchers for the Lansing Lugnuts, looking at pitchers who made most of their appearances out of the bullpen.

We begin with the pitchers who made the most appearances and work our way downwards from there. If a player played for more than one team over the course of the season, he'll be grouped according to the club he played the most with.

Righty Dany Jimenez, 24, led the Lansing Lugnuts with 38 appearances and 63 1/3 innings. He pitched for his first time in full-season ball and had a solid 3.84 ERA and 1.29 WHIP, striking out 29.2% of batters and walking 8.8% while getting good 43.3% ground ball rate. I can see Jimenez, who found sharpness as the season went on and was relied upon to save 13 games, moving up to Dunedin next year.

Kyle Weatherly, now 24, was second on the club with 36 appearances and started nine games while throwing 87 2/3 innings. Weatherly bounced back from a rough 2017 in Lansing (but better results in Vancouver) with a very strong 2018, posting a 3.70 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, striking out 15.5% and walking 7.9%. He could also be in Dunedin next year and has some versatility as either a starter or reliever.

22-year-old lefty Brody Rodning made 35 appearances with the Lugnuts and had a 3.89 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 69 1/3 innings. He struck out a very solid 20.4% of batters and walked 8.2% for a strong season overall. He'll likely move up to Dunedin in 2019.

While he struggled with injuries for parts of 2018, big, hard-throwing righty Matt Shannon, 23, got into 29 games and threw 48 1/3 innings for the Lugnuts. He had a 5.03 ERA and 1.78 WHIP, walking 10.3% of batters while striking out 15.0% but he got a whopping 55.4% of balls in play on the ground. Shannon could return to Lansing to work out a few things but could just as likely be in Dunedin.

23-year-old righty Andrew Deramo towered over the competition (at 6-foot-6), but had his struggles on the mound with a 6.48 ERA and 1.78 WHIP over 41 2/3 innings, striking out a healthy 20.3% of batters but walking 12.9%, worse than his 2017 total of 12.0% at the same level. Deramo had seen his ground ball rate increase over his three professional seasons, peaking (so far) at 47.2% last year. He could return to Lansing or move to Dunedin if he's able to sort his control issues.

Vancouverite Brayden Bouchey, 23, followed up his strong 2017 in his home town with an excellent 2018 in Lansing with a few games in double-A New Hampshire. Bouchey made one appearance with Lansing in April, throwing two perfect innings with four strikeouts before going back to extended spring training. He emerged in late May with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and tossed 5 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts before he was moved to Lansing where he stayed for the rest of the year. All told with the Lugnuts, Bouchey had a 2.29 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, striking out 23.6% of batters but walking 12.1%. While Bouchey struggled not to walk batters, he stranded them at a high rate and hitters hit only .196 off him. Look for Bouchey to move higher in 2019.

At 22 year old, Mexican righty Dalton Rodriguez made four different stops in the Blue Jays' organization in 2018, spending the most time (by far) in Lansing. Rodriguez's season started in Lansing and he made four appearances with the Lugnuts in April, giving up four runs on 10 hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. He pitched a game in New Hampshire on May 15, walking two in a scoreless inning and then gave up three runs on two hits (including a home run) and two walks with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings on May 25 with Buffalo. When the short season started, Rodriguez joined the Vancouver Canadians, pitching five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk with five strikeouts before he went back to Lansing for the rest of the year. All in all, Rodriguez threw 35 2/3 innings with Lansing, posting a 5.80 ERA and 1.91 WHIP, striking out 14.0% of batters and walking 99%, but batters hit .336 off of him with a BABIP of .374. Rodriguez, a six-year professional, will likely spend one more year in the Jays' organization in the mid-minor leagues to show the Jays and other teams why he should get another contract beyond his initial deal.

Emerson Jimenez, 23, had a rough go of it in his second season as a pitcher. After dominating in the GCL last year, Jimenez tossed 29 2/3 innings in 16 games with the Lansing Lugnuts but posted a 7.58 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with a 17.5% strikeout rate (that was less than half of what it was last year) and a 9.1% walk rate (just slightly higher). Jimenez will probably look to polish his skills in 2019, likely back with Lansing where he'll hope to stay healthier.

22-year-old righty Orlando Pascual doesn't throw hard but he had some success in Vancouver and somewhat less in his time in Lansing. Pascual made three appearances with Lansing in April. He didn't allow an earned run but walked more batters each time out, totaling six walks and four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings with three hits and one unearned run. He went back to extended spring training and emerged with the Vancouver Canadians, making four appearances, giving up three runs in his first outing but none from then on in, allowing only three runs in six innings with four strikeouts and just one walk before he moved back up to Lansing. In Lansing, Pascual had a 4.57 ERA and 1.66 WHIP, striking out 20.4% of batters but walking 15.5%. Pascual was sent back to Vancouver, finishing the season there and he had a 3.09 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with a 22.9% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate in 11 2/3 innings with Vancouver. Look for Pascual to stay in Lansing to start the year in 2019.

Claudio Custodio, 27, took the long way back to affiliated baseball when he was pitching for Barrie in the Intercounty Baseball League in 2017. Spotted by Dante De Caria, who was interning for the Blue Jays, Custodio shone when the Blue Jays finally took a look at him and he signed with the Jays. He was sent initially to Lansing where he posted a 2.66 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, striking out 15.5% of batters and walking only 4.8% for the Lugnuts over 20 1/3 innings. Custodio was sent to Dunedin for two games in July, where he struck out four and gave up just one hit in three innings and was promoted again, this time to Buffalo where he gave up a pair of runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking three. Sent back to Dunedin for four more games, he gave up four runs in 6 1/3 innings and he pitched two more times in Buffalo (giving up three earned runs in 3 2/3 innings) before finishing the season out in Dunedin. With Buffalo, Custodio had a 4.50 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 10 innings, striking out 18.6% of batters and walking 9.3% while he had a 3.71 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 17 innings with Dunedin, striking out 15.1% and walking 6.9%. Custodio has shown a lot of promise this year and could easily start 2019 anywhere from Dunedin to Buffalo.

Hitters

We turn to the hitters of the Lansing Lugnuts to see who did what in 2018. We'll start with the catchers and go around the horn to the infield and then to the outfield.

Catchers

24-year-old Venezuelan catcher Andres Sotillo caught 37 games for the Lansing Lugnuts, leading the team in that category and he played 38 games for the Lugnuts, hitting .261/.324/.358 with seven doubles and two home runs, adding a home run among two hits in four games for the Dunedin Blue Jays. Sotillo only walked in 4.7% of his plate appearances and struck out in 22.7%, and threw out 32% of potential base stealers. Sotillo finished his seventh season with the Blue Jays and he should be eligible to be a free agent after the World Series and his return might be questionable.

21-year-old Ryan Gold made it to Lansing in his third professional season, getting into 56 games and hitting .264/.308/.346 with nine doubles, a triple and two home runs. Gold's walk rate took a dive to 4.8% this year, down from 9.6% last year while his strikeout rate hovered at the same level at 20.3%. Gold struggled a bit with throwing out runners, only gunning down 21%. Gold will likely return to Lansing in 2019.

Matt Morgan had a strong season defensively, throwing out 33% of batters but the 22-year-old catcher couldn't forestall getting cut after he hit .150/.265/.204 with three doubles and a home run, striking out 33.1% of the time and walking 12.8%. Morgan was released on June 28 after playing 35 games.

Venezuelan Javier Hernandez, a 22-year-old catcher played in 14 games for the Lugnuts, hitting .093/.241/.093, going 4/43 with six walks and 10 strikeouts in 54 plate appearances. Hernandez was great at throwing out runners, though, shutting down 39% of the runners trying to steal.

Canadian Owen Spiwak (Mississauga, Ont.) played most of his games for the Lansing Lugnuts, getting into 14 games for the Lugs, hitting .150/.227/.225 and hitting three doubles. He threw out 58% of potential base stealers with the Lugnuts and went 1/13 in five games combined with the Vancouver Canadians and Dunedin Blue Jays.

Ridge Smith, in his Age-23 season played four games, going 4/14 with a home run and three RBI but retired on June 23.

Infield

Ryan Noda played 60 of his 124 games at first base, posting a stellar .421 OBP with a .256 batting average and a .484 slugging percentage, hitting 24 doubles, four triples and 20 doubles while stealing 14 bases in 18 attempts. Noda's incredible 20.7% walk rate made him one of the most valuable players on the club and his strikeout rate, at 25.6%, was almost 4% higher than last year. Adding 56 games in the outfield, Noda will take his versatility to Dunedin next year.

Samad Taylor made his full-season debut at just 19 years old (he's 20 now), playing 121 games for the Lugnuts including 114 at second base and hitting .228/.319/.387 with 32 doubles, seven triples and nine home runs and adding 44 stolen bases in 60 attempts. For such a young player, Taylor had a strong walk rate (10.8%) with a solid strikeout rate at 18.7%, which was just 0.2% higher than in his 28 games at short-season-A ball in Cleveland's organization last year. Like many young players, Taylor was streaky at times, but posted his best OPS in August at .805, getting 10 doubles, a triple and two home runs in 25 games. Look for Taylor to be in Dunedin next year, moving a rung up the ladder.

Brandon Grudzielanek, 23, didn't get his season with the Lansing Lugnuts started until the beginning of May, playing one game on the fifth and then waiting until the 19th before getting back into action. Still, he led the club with 42 games at third base among his 88 games total and he hit .245/.322/.354 with 12 doubles, four triples and five home runs, adding nine stolen bases in 11 attempts. Grudzielanek had some good patience, walking in 9.6% of his plate appearances and struck out in 23.0%. Look for him in Lansing or Dunedin next year.

Kevin Vicuna, 20, jumped to Lansing in his fourth professional season, getting into 89 games with the Lugnuts (68 at shortstop, 12 at second, two at third and seven at DH), impressing a lot of people with his bat-to-ball skills. He hit .266/.307/.358 with 16 doubles, six triples and two home runs, stealing 10 bases in 18 tries. Vicuna walking in just 4.6% of his plate appearances but had a very low strikeout rate at 14.2%. He also hit a lot of ground balls (53.8%) and could return to Lansing to start next year or move up to Dunedin depending on where a spot opens up.

Another 20-year-old, Jesus Navarro, played 54 games with the Lansing Lugnuts, hitting .288/.355/.359 with 10 doubles and a home run with a 9.5% walk rate and a 15.6% strikeout rate. Navarro is another slight, young infielder who probably needs to get the ball in the air more (46.4% ground ball rate) but will also need to add strength. Look for Navarro back in Lansing next year.

Cullen Large, 22, was just getting into a groove over 27 games when his season was cut short due to injury. With a short, compact, but powerful stroke who hits from both sides of the plate, Large was putting up some stellar numbers, hitting .316/.411/.568 with nine doubles and five home runs in just 112 plate appearances, walking in 11.6% of them and striking out in only 16.1%. Judging from the small sample size, Large will need to address his hitting from the right side as he hit just .143/.333/.190 against lefties with just one extra-base hit but he hit .365/.435/.676 from the left side of the plate with all five of his home runs. Hopefully Large will return and resume hit torrid start with the Lugnuts.

Christian Williams, 23, was off to a strong start to his season, hitting .285/.341/.463 in 32 games, going down to injury and missing the rest of the season after his May 17 game. He hit 10 doubles and four home runs and walked in 7.4% and struck out in 25.2% of plate appearances. Williams will look to recover and get in a groove to start out 2019.

Outfield

Left-handed hitting left fielder Norberto Obeso graduated to Lansing in his fourth season with the Blue Jays but struggled to reclaim the shine that he had while playing in Rookie ball. He hit .227/.318/.296 with 11 doubles, two triples and three home runs over 98 games but showed off his arm, picking up nine assists from left field. Obeso maintained a high walk rate, taking a free pass in 11.2% of his plate appearances and struck out in only 13.7%, bettering his rate from 2017 in Vancouver. Still, Obeso is now 23 and will need to hit the ball with more authority and in the air more (with a 50.5% ground ball rate).

Reggie Pruitt, coming off a strong finish in Vancouver in 2017, made the jump to Lansing in 2018, his Age-21 season. Pruitt, a speedy defensive whiz had some time injured and hit .211/.300/.304 with 13 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 37 stolen bases in 46 attempts, with nine outfield assists from center field. Pruitt's speed and defensive ability are without question but his bat will need to start playing at an age-appropriate level for him to continue to move up the organization's depth charts. He did see an increase in power, hitting all three home runs in August, but his 29.8% strikeout rate overall was four percent worse than 2017 while his 9.5% walk rate was a career high.

The everyday right fielder (and occasional center fielder) was Bahamian Chavez Young, now 21. Young continued to hit as he has throughout his minor league career, putting up OPSs within 30 points of each other year after year. In 2018 in his first full season, Young hit .285/.363/.445 with 33 doubles, nine triples and eight home runs, stealing 44 bases in 57 attempts and showing off some tremendous defense. Young showed maturity at the plate, walking in 10.8% of his plate appearances (a career high, leading to a career-high .363 OBP) while improving his strikeout rate to 18.6%. Young has been mentioned by the team's brass as an unheralded minor leaguer who should move up to Dunedin next year.

22-year-old Brock Lundquist made an impression in his first full year of professional baseball after being drafted in the 6th round in 2017. Lundquist's season ended early in 2017 with a wrist injury but he found his groove in Lansing, posting an .817 OPS in 70 games, hitting .249/.356/.461 with 11 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs before moving up to Dunedin where he caught fire, hitting .337/.401/.483 with 11 doubles and five home runs, giving him 18 dingers on the season. Lundquist didn't hit for as much power in Dunedin (a .146 ISO compared to a .212 ISO in Lansing) but he did reduce his strikeout rate by six percent (17.3% in Dunedin and 23.3% in Lansing) while his walk rate dropped from 11.3% in Lansing to 7.9% in Dunedin, possibly because he was making such good contact, he was possibly more aggressive at the plate. I can see Lundquist, who already has the strength and and swing path to hit mammoth home runs, back in Dunedin to start 2019 before a promotion to New Hampshire at some point.

Freddy Rodriguez, after four years with the Blue Jays' minor league system, finally broke out of short-season ball in his Age-21 year. The Venezuelan outfielder hit .205/.273/.252 with the Lugnuts, hitting four doubles and a triple posting a solid 23.0% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate. He also hit .107/.107/.107 in eight games in Vancouver. Rodriguez will likely come back to Lansing in 2018 to work on getting some more reps.

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The 2018 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook is now available!