Blue Jays minor league notes from August 17th: A ball gets stuck in the wall, Barger’s homer leaves the stadium, and more!
1 year ago
I’ll set the stage for you.
Prior to watching these two minor games, I had been out camping since Saturday, and had been in the car for about five and a half hours prior to returning home. These were my first two games back and I was returning to my usual duties of clipping minor league games and posting them on Twitter Having been up since 8:00 AM, I wanted to go to bed.
Starting with the weirder of the two incidents, it’s all but guaranteed that the Buffalo Bisons are going to lose the game, as it is current 15-3 for the other team, Moreno steps up to the plate for an at-bat in the bottom of the ninth.
Since breaking his thumb last season, Moreno has only hit two homers in the 219 plate appearances since his injury occurred. So while there’s a -100% chance that the Bisons come back, it’s still important to watch what Gabriel Moreno can do. Maybe he hits a homer, maybe the defender makes a cool play, maybe something weird happens.
On a 2-0 count with an out and a man on first, Gabriel Moreno hit a line drive with an exit velocity of 111 mph, smacking it right into the wall. Now usually, the ball bounces off of the wall and the fielder plays it.
However, in a 15-3 game, things usually get weird. Instead of doing the usual, the ball ripped through the padding and got lodged there. In fact, it looked as if the silhouette of the fan caught the ball on the fly.
The call on the field had originally been ruled a homer, which would’ve been Moreno’s third, but it was eventually ruled a ground-rule double. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before, and it may be the only time we ever see it.
The other incident that came in the Fisher Cats game was a lot less weird, but still rather impressive. Addison Barger has recently been added to MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Jays list. Since his first Double A game on July 12th, Barger has played 28 games and has been held hitless in only 7 games.
In fact, in two of those games he came in as a pinch hitter, so realistically, it’s only five games he’s been held hitless. He has 11 multi-hit games, including last night. One of these hits included Barger hitting an absolute nuke which left the stadium.
How did the 22-year-old shortstop/third baseman miss out on all the Blue Jays top prospects lists? I have no idea. But the left-handed batting Barger could become an impact MLB player in a few seasons, as he already has 19 homers in 407 plate appearances.
Other minor league notes:
I have a weird theory about Vancouver’s Rainer Nunez. Last season, he had 20 walks in 146 plate appearances in the Florida Complex league for a BB% of 13. In Low A this season, he only walked 14 times in 384 plate appearances for a BB% of 3.6. That doesn’t sound too weird when you factor in the jump of the level.
However, the 21-year-old first baseman already has six walks in just 39 plate appearances since his promotion to High A. Here’s my theory: They sent him to Low A and told him not to walk and just hit as many balls as possible.
Out of any Dunedin Blue Jays hitter this season, Nunez had by far the most exit velocities over 100 mph, as he had 73 in 266 batted balls. It’s a theory, but an interesting one.
Speaking of the Dunedin Blue Jays, Ryan McCarty walked off the game in the bottom of the 10th last night. This was their second straight come-from-behind win, as they had trailed 4-0 at one point before tying the game in the bottom of the eight. Very fun team to watch.
Orelvis Martinez also walked three times in Wednesday’s game, only the second time in his pro career that he has done that.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D. The first prospect ranking will be out later today, so stay tuned!
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