Ruiz Deserves A Shot In 2010!

Among all MLB hitters with at least 100 AB in 2009, Ruiz ranked second in Slugging Percentage. Sandwiched between Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, some pretty impressive company.

Albert Pujols .658 SLG
Randy Ruiz .635 SLG
Prince Fielder .602 SLG

Just for interest sakes...

#4 - Joe Mauer .587 SLG
#5 - Derrek Lee .579 SLG
#6 - Ryan Howard .571 SLG
#7 - Kendry Morales . 569 SLG
#8 - Joey Votto . 567 SLG
#9 - Garrett Jones .567 SLG
#10 - Mark Teixeira .565 SLG

AND #11

Toronto Blue Jays' own DH Adam Lind!! (.562 SLG)

The right-handed hitting Ruiz (.635 SLG) and the left-handed hitting Lind (.562 SLG) should a lethal duo in the DH spot for the Jays' in 2010. Ruiz could DH against lefties and on days when Lind plays either LF or 1B, and Ruiz could get the odd look at 1B.

In The System: Jake Marisnick

Marisnick is awesome!!

In The System: Chad Jenkins

Jenkins was the Jays 1st pick, 20th overall in the 2009 draft.

In The System: Brett Wallace

Position: 3B/1B DOB: August 26, 1986
Bats: Left Throws: Right

Wallace was acquired in a trade with the Oakland Athletics for OF prospect Michael Taylor (who was previously acquired in the Roy Halladay trade). Ironically, but obviously not coincidentally, Wallace was previously drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 42nd round of the 2005 June Draft, but chose not to sign. Three years later he was the Cardinals first pick (13th overall) in 2008.

Wallace split 2009 between 3 teams, AA-Springfield and AAA-Memphis with the St. Louis Cardinals organization and AAA-Sacremento with the Oakland A's and combined to hit .293/.367/.455 with 20 HR and 63 RBI in 532 AB. The power numbers are still not exactly where the Jays would like them to be but they are an improvement over '08's totals of 8 HR and 36 RBI in 202 AB, with a .337/.427/.530 clip. His full minor league stats can be viewed at Baseball-Reference here.

In The System: Kyle Drabek

Position: SP DOB: December 8, 1987
Throws: Right

Drafted: Phillies #1 pick (18th overall) in 2006 June Draft

Highlights: 267.2 career minor league IP and 226 career K's to 96 BB's with a 3.70 ERA

Drabek reached AA-Reading in the Phillies minor league system in 2009 and made 14 starts going 8-2 with a 3.64 ERA over 96.1 IP with a 76/31 K/BB ratio.


Drabek was acquired by the Jays in the Roy Halladay deal.

Welcome Brandon Morrow!!

The Jays acquired the hard-throwing right-hander from Seattle on Wednesday in exchange for RP Brandon League and 20-year-old OF prospect Johermyn Chavez. The 25-year-old former 5th overall pick in the 2006 draft is expected to be developed as a starting pitcher by the Jays after splitting time both in the rotation and in the bullpen with the Mariners.

It's an exciting day to be a Jays fan! Roughly a week after losing Roy Halladay via trade to the Phillies, the Jays have added an electric young arm to their rotation. Morrow was selected 5th overall by the Mariners in the 2006 draft.

Here's the book on Morrow's stuff via prospectinsider.com's 12.19.08 Scouting Report:

Repertoire

Fastball:
In relief, Morrow often tagged 97 or 98 on the radar gun, even wowing the crowds, home and road, with a few triple-digit readings, though the stadium guns are generally 2-4 mph high.

He sat 92-96 as a starter, and his heater has always had impressive late life and good movement. With average command, Morrow's fastball would grade between a 70 and 80 on the scouting scale.

Curve Ball:
Having thrown so few of them, Morrow's curve was inconsistent, but showed good depth and late, two-plane break. It's generally clocked in the 84-86 mph range, an ideal dip in velocity from his fastball, and is often confused with a slider due to its downward spike.

At present, Morrow's curve grades out as a 50 on the scouting scale, due to the lack of consistency and command, but it's action and velocity are above-average. The pitch could max out as a 60 or 65 with more progress in 2009.

Changeup:
Morrow dabbled with a true change in college, but settled in with the splitter. The Mariners wanted to eliminate the split-finger pitch to avoid elbow and forearm problems, and Morrow's change has begun to take shape.

Sitting in the 82-85 mph range with occasional fade, Morrow does throw it with good arm speed and deception.

While his breaking ball is his most critical pitch to further develop for him to become a No. 3 starter, the same improvements to his changeup could flip Morrow into near-ace status.

Command/Control:
Morrow issued 78 walks in just over 150 innings at Cal, and issued 50 more during his rookie season in 2007. But last season the right-hander showed vast progress, attacking the strike zone with confidence and a better second pitch, usually the split-change.

He's never going to possess plus command, but his overall control has improved enough for a long career in either the starting rotation or the bullpen, or both.

Happy Trails... Brandon League, and Johermyn Chavez!!

The Toronto Blue Jays' made their deal with the Seattle Marines official on Wednesday afternoon. The Jays sent hard-throwing reliever Brandon League and 20-year-old Johermyn Chavez who swatted 21 HR for Low Class A Lansing in 2009 to the Mariners for 25-year-old pitcher Brandon Morrow, who was orignally selected 5th overall back in 2006.

In The System: Darin Mastroianni

Darin Mastroianni, the little-known 24-year-old outfielder out of the University of Southern Indiana quietly tore up the basepaths in 2009. He swiped a mind-boggling 70 bases split between A-Dunedin and AA-New Hampshire, while combining for a not-too-shabby .297/.398/.364 slash line. Mastroianni, the Jays 16th round pick (505th overall) in 2007, also scored 94 runs and posted 76 BB against 83 K's.

In 294 games in the Jays' system since being drafted, Mastroianni has already swiped 120 bases. Expect the Mount Kisco, NY native to continue at AA-New Hampshire to begin the 2010 season. Here's hoping he can continue to achieve the two things he's most successful at: 1) getting on base and 2) stealing the next base and he could be on the fast track to Toronto!

In The System: J.P. Arencibia

The 23-year-old backstop out of the University of Tennessee, Arencibia has posted the following lines over his first 3 years as a pro:

2009: AAA-LV 116 Games 500 PA .236/.284/.444,
21 HR, 75 RBI, 67 Runs, 32 Doubles, 26 BB/114 K

2008: AA-NH/A+Dun 126 Games 537 PA .298/.322/.527,
27 HR, 105 RBI, 70 Runs, 36 Doubles, 18 BB/101 K

2007: A-Aub 63 Games 249 PA .254/.309/.377,
3 HR, 25 RBI, 31 Runs, 17 Doubles, 14 BB/56 K

Arencibia was the Blue Jays 1st round pick (27th) overall in the 2007 Amateur Draft. He was actually the Jays second pick in the first round, after infielder Kevin Ahrens

Good article on J.P. Arencibia here fom the Las Vegas Sun.

Here's an incredible scouting report from MILB.com prior to the 2007 Draft.

Jacob Marisnick - Baseball Factory TV - Under Armour All-America

Check out the Jays 3rd round draft pick (104th overall) Jacob Marisnick in action over at Baseball Factory.com:


Baseball Factory TV - Under Armour All-America Jacob Marisnick

O-Dog Shown The Door in LA LA Land

According to the L.A. Times, The Los Angeles Dodgers decided not to offer arbitration to potential Type-A free agent, and former Blue Jay, Orlando Hudson. Hudson was among the Dodgers' seven ranked free agents who were not offered arbitration on Tuesday, MLB's deadline day for teams to do so.

Quite the puzzling scenario obviously. As Jays fans we have all read about and understood the reasoning behind offer arbitration to ranked free agents (ie. Marco Scutaro, Rod Bajaras) and receiving potential draft pick compensation should they decide to decline arbitration and sign elsewhere.

Suddenly, Hudson appears a lot more attractive to potential suitors as a free agent who no longer would cost draft pick compensation to sign.

The Toronto Blue Jays should take a page out of the Red Sox book, and consider switching Aaron Hill back to his natural position of SS and bringing Hudson back to man 2B.

Oh wait, I forgot for a sec that we already solved our SS problem.

Oh wait, I thought for a sec we were a contender... well never mind, sorry A.A. it seemed like a good idea.

Way To Go Matty!!!

Read an awesome article on the achievements of Fredericton, New Brunswick's own Matt Stairs!

Stairs, 41, played 230 games for the Toronto Blue Jays over 2 seasons before he was eventually dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies where he would capture his first World Series ring. Stairs compiled 32 HR and 108 RBI for the Jays in 677 AB, which is just more than a hypothetical full season.

Well done Matty, from one proud Canuck to another!

Bleacher Report shares our faith!

Read an interesting article over at Bleacher Report and it sounds like the writer (Mark Dewdney) shares some of my optimism for the future of our team.

The general concept of the article is that with Bud Selig's pending retirement (before the 2012 season), Baseball will appoint a new commissioner to "fix" the little things wrong with our sport, such as the absence of a meaningful salary cap. Couple that with the idea that the Jays package of prospects received in an inevitable Roy Halladay deal will blossom around the same time (2012) and the Jays will be right in the mix for contention.

A couple things I don't necessarily agree with in the article:

1. "Players came here because of Pat Gillick, and they will come because of Alex Anthopoulous."

- Any kind of evidence to support this statement??

2. "Would you have signed with the Blue Jays in the last decade? You'd have to have been blind, which, incidentally, is what Halladay, Wells, and others are thinking when they look in the mirror."

- I guess A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, Frank Thomas and everyone else were just blinded by the money J.P. threw at them. Last time I checked, the Blue Jays were a promising contender in 2006/2007 and if things broke the right way, they would have enjoyed a lot more success (thanks TJ surgery!).

- What the hell does Vernon Wells care?? He's getting paid to the tune of $126 million over 7 years. With the way he's been playing lately, he's lucky to be a starting CF on any major league team, let alone making the kind of money he's making. If he had signed that deal with the Yanks as a free agent and was putting up the kind of performance he is now, the Yanks wouldn't stand for it. He'd be DFA'd and released (only the Yanks have the ability to eat a contract THAT BAD).

3. "Roy Halladay is going to either the Yankees or Red Sox"

- As much as I HOPE this isn't true, Dewdney might eventually be right about this one, but for what it's worth it's like predicting Team Canada to win gold in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Real tough call there bud.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Like I said yesterday, let's make this damn Halladay deal already and start getting excited about the future.

J.P.... meet Mats.. we actually like him!

I was searching the internet for a good picture of J.P. Ricciardi to adorn with devil horns for my Yahoo Fantasy Team's Avatar. With a team name of "Somebody KILL J.P." it's quite obvious how I feel about our lame duck G.M. It took me a few minutes to figure out who the "Jays" player was in this photo until I noticed the caption.

Here's an interesting article by SI.com's Joe Posnanski that shares a similar sentiment on Ricciardi. I think I found the perfect photo.

'Ricky the Rookie' continues R.O.Y. chase against Angels

Ricky Romero will toe the rubber for the Jays this afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim). The enigmatic lefty has been a stalwart in the Jays makeshift rotation this year, posting a season line of 10-5 with a 3.95 ERA and 97/50 K/BB ratio over 125.1 IP in 20 starts.

These numbers appear strikingly similar to a young Tampa Bay hurler who is also in the running for the 2009 American League R.O.Y., Jeff Niemann:

11-5 with a 3.71 ERA and 86/44 K/BB ratio over 133.1 IP in 23 games (22 of those starts).

However, it's even more interesting to compare Romero's overall stats to a one of the players he's helped replace in the Jays rotation. Former Jay and current Yankee, Allan James Burnett:

10-7 with a 4.08 ERA and 141/77 K/BB ratio over 158.2 IP in 25 starts.

Comparing all three, Niemann appears to have the slight edge with an extra win and a slightly lower ERA, but all three pitchers have very similar K/BB ratios, roughly 2-to-1.

Consider that Burnett signed a whopping 5-year, $82.5 million deal with the Evil Empire after opting out of his Jays' pact after the first 3 years. Romero on the other hand is making an estimated $400,000 this year for the Jays.

Sounds like a bargain to me. The Jays biggest surprise this season goes for win #11 today against the Angels at 1pm.

HALLADAY'S CAREER NIGHT LIFTS JAYS OVER HALOS

The Doctor was certainly in tonight!

Outside of a 4-run debacle in the 7th, Halladay pitched a gem to lead the Jays to a 6-4 win on Tuesday night. Along the way he piled up a career-high 14 K's in his second complete game of the season to improve his record to 9-1 on the season.

The Jays offense pounded out 9 hits and 6 runs on Angels' starter Joe Saunders over his 5.1 IP. After the bullpen blew a disasterous 5 run lead in Halladay's last start vs. Baltimore, Cito Gaston wasn't taking any chances tonight and let the Doctor go the distance, throwing a total of 133 pitches, 88 for strikes.

Next up: Casey Janssen (1-1, 4.15) takes the hill for the Jays' in the second of a three game set. The Angels will counter with Jered Weaver (4-2, 2.36 ERA) who is off to an impressive start to the 2009 season. The Jays will have their work cut out for them as Weaver has posted a 4-1 record against the Jays in 5 career starts.

Time to shuffle the deck!!

Less than 24 hours after being swept away by the Red Sox, the Blue Jays have made a flurry of roster moves. Optioned to AAA-Las Vegas were promising young sluggar Travis Snider, and rotation fill ins, LHP Brett Cecil and RHP Ricky Ray.


Snider was hitting .242 with 3 HR and 12 RBI in 99 AB's over 32 games, primarily in the outfield. With interleague play beginning tonight in Atlanta, and covering most of June, Snider was set to lose a lot of playing time in NL parks as regular DH Adam Lind will be shifted to LF to keep his bat in the heart of the Jays' lineup. The timing could not be better for the Jays as Snider had been scuffling of late hitting at just a .216/.237/.243 clip in May. The move will allow Snider to play everyday in AAA and refine his game after being exposed by major league pitching. One of the biggest things Snider has to work on, like most hitters is his plate patience and pitch recognition as he was often the victim of nasty breaking pitches, swinging at balls nowhere near the plate. It will also allow Snider to play every day again after spending the first month and a half of the season riding the pine vs. lefties.

If all goes well in the minors I wouldn't be surprised to see the young outfielder resurface sometime in late June as the Jays last visit to a National League park is a three game set at Nationals Park in Washington from June 19th-21st. In the meantime, I'd expect 1B Kevin Millar to receive the majority of at bats when the DH is required, although Jose Bautista might garner the extra start or two as well.

Cecil had been very impressive in his short stint with the Jays until his start Wednesday night at Fenway when he served up 5 (yes FIVE!!) home runs to the Red Sox. His ERA over his first three starts was a flashy 1.80 but skyrocketed to 4.38 after allowing 8 ER over just 4.2 innings @ the Red Sox. Cecil also surrendered 2 home runs in his previous start vs. the White Sox so the Jays brass probably felt it was best for the organization's top pitching prospect to go back down to AAA to continue to develop.

Ray, called up to plug a hole in the rotation in early May experienced some success in his 4 starts in the bigs, the best being his 8 shutout innings against the White Sox in which he allowed just 3 hits. His other 3 starts were not as pretty however as he allowed at least 3 ER in each of them. Ray likely would have been sent down earlier if the Jays had any better rotation options but now with some pitchers coming off the DL, Ray head to Las Vegas where he will get his first taste of AAA action after being called up straight from AA earlier in the month.

To replace these players on the roster, Toronto recalled IF Joe Inglett, LHP Ricky Romero and RHP Casey Janssen.

Inglett performed admirably for the Jays last season filling in for the injured Aaron Hill but with both him and SS Marco Scutaro playing so well, Inglett will have a tough time finding AB's. He hit .297/.355/.407 in 344 AB in 2008, his first full season with the Jays.

Romero, the 6th overall pick in the 2005 draft, pitched very well in his first 3 Major League starts after making the team out of spring training. After posting a 2-0 record and 1.71 ERA over his first 21 IP, Romero hit the disabled list with a strained oblique, suffered while sneezing. Luckily for the Jays, their rotation fill ins have performed quite well in Romero's absence and it will be interesting to see if he can pick up where he left off when he returns to the hill Tuesday night in Baltimore.

Janssen missed all of the 2008 season after after undergoing shoulder surgery in spring training last year. He made his big league debut back in 2006, appearing in 19 games (17 of which were starts) and compiling a 6-10 record with a 5.07 ERA. It wasn't until he was moved to the bullpen for the 2007 season that Janssen really thrived. Upon earning a late inning set up role, he posted a 2.35 ERA over 72.2 IP and racked up 6 saves and 24 holds.

Janssen was lights out during his minor league rehab stint posting a microscopic 0.76 ERA over 23.2 IP between Class A-Dunedin and AA-New Hampshire. He will bring a nice veteran presence to the Jays rotation, something much needed with only ace Roy Halladay having made more than 15 career starts. Although it appears to be Richmond's turn in the order, it has been reported by both Rotoworld.com and on the the Blue Jay's website that Janssen is set to follow the Doc in the 2nd of a 3 game set in Atlanta this weekend.

The Jays rotation now appears to be set up as follows: RHP Roy Halladay, RHP Casey Janssen, LHP Brian Tallet, RHP Scott Richmond, LHP Ricky Romero.

"Wolverine" up to the task??

Brian Tallet has a chance to help the '09 Jays make a statement tonight when he faces off against the Yankees "other" prized free agent acquisition in hefty lefty C.C. Sabathia. The Jays put the boots to former teammate A.J. Burnett on Tuesday night before dropping last night's contest 8-2.


Tallet will have to be on his game tonight to give the Jays a fighting chance against Sabathia, one of the top pitchers in the league over the last 5 years. In 5 starts this season, Tallet has surrendered 15 ER in 29 IP but 10 of those runs came in a rout in Kansas City. In his other 4 starts (OAK, @CHW, CLE, @OAK) Tallet has posted a 1.80 ERA over 25 IP with a 2-0 record and an 18/9 K/BB ratio.

Just like last nights starter (Canadian Scott Richmond), Tallet will face his toughest opponent thus far when he faces the Yankees tonight. Richmond, previously 4-1, was absolutely rocked by the Yankees last night. He surrendered 5 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks while retiring just 5 hitters before exiting in the second inning. That left 7.1 innings for the Blue Jays bullpen, and forced Cito Gaston to use RHP Brian Wolfe (2 IP and 32 pitches), LHP Bill Murphy (2 IP and 42 pitches), RHP Brandon League (1 IP and 17 pitches), RHP Jason Frasor (1 IP and 14 pitches) and RHP Shawn Camp (1 IP and ONLY 7 pitches). Luckily for the Jays, all 5 relievers were fairly efficient with their pitch counts and Ace Roy Halladay pitched a complete gam the night before, leaving the bullpen fairly rested for tonight's series finale.

If all goes well for Tallet, the bullpen won't need to do much work. In each of his last two starts, Tallet has thrown 7 strong innings, and both were quality starts. But this is the Yankees, not the lowly A's or Indians, and they've got one of the best pitchers in baseball on the hill. C.C. Sabathia, by far the biggest free agent (both in size and notoriety) during the offseason, is just 2-3 through his first 7 starts but has posted respectable numbers with a 3.94 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, pretty close to his career numbers. His K's are down a bit and his ERA a bit high, but in 10 career starts vs. the Jays (all while pitching for the Indians), Sabathia is 7-3 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, while Jays hitters have hit just .215 against him.

No matter the superhero nickname, it appears as if Tallet is truly overmatched tonight, but if there's one thing we've learned thus far.. it's too never count these Jays out.

Tonight's Prediction: Yankees 6 - Jays 3

Note: Jays 2B Aaron Hill, who left Wednesday's game after fouling a ball off his left shin, is expected to play Thursday.