Blue Jays Minor League Report: Alek Manoah had his best start of the season, Garrett Spain continues to stay hot, and more!
4 months ago
It’s been a few days since we looked at a minor league report, but we are back.
The Blue Jays affiliate teams only had three games on the docket on July 2nd, as the Buffalo Bisons game was rained out.
Let’s look at how the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Vancouver Canadians, and the Dunedin Blue Jays did.
Double-A:
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats lost 12-5 on Sunday, brining their overall record to 36-37, and their second-half record to 1-4.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Alek Manoah
This was the best Alek Manoah has looked all season.
Yes, it was against batters much worse than the former American League Cy Young is used to, but he went 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K with a hit batter.
The 25-year-old righty struggled to locate his pitches in the first two innings, but eventually settled in during the third inning, striking out five batters in a row at one point, and striking out eight of nine batters dating back to the second inning.
Boston’s affiliate also ran a lot in this game.They stole four bases against Manoah in six attempts, and also stole an additional three bases off other Fisher Cats hitters.
Still, this was a good step in the right direction for Manoah, and fellow Blue Jays Nation writer Zach Laing wrote a great post-game article here.
Players worth mentioning:
Rainer Nuñez hit a home run a few days ago that was not covered in a Minor League Report. However, he also went 2-5 with a strikeout and two singles on Sunday, so he’ll get a shout out here. For the season, the 22-year-old first baseman is slashing .212/.253/.306 with two homers in 91 plate appearances with New Hampshire.
Orelvis Martinez is a single hitter, and I don’t know how to feel about it. On Sunday, Martinez went 2-5 with two singles. For the season, the 21-year-old third baseman/shortstop is slashing .228/.333/.500 with 17 home runs in 274 plate appearances. His K% is down to 19%, while his BB% is up to 13.1%.
Steward Berroa is just a fun player. On Sunday, he hit his fourth home run of the season going 2-1 with two walks, two RBIs, and a strikeout. For the season, he’s slashing .228/.359/.370 with those four homers in 237 plate appearances. The 24-year-old centre fielder also has a 16.5 BB% and a 27 K%.
High-A:
The Vancouver Canadians finally lost a game this series, falling 8-6 to Spokane. Their season record now sits at 44-30, and their second half record is 6-3, 0.5 games behind the Everett AquaSox.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Garrett Spain
Spain has got to be one of the best performing players in the organization this season.
On Sunday, the 22-year-old outfielder went 3-5 with three singles, while also striking out twice and driving in two runs.
For the season, the left-handed batter is slashing .286/.343/.532 with seven homers in 169 plate appearances. Moreover, his BB% sits at 7.1%, while his K% is at 29.6%. Overall, he has a 128 wRC+.
Players worth mentioning:
Devereaux Harrison pitched another good game, going 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K. Overall, he did allow five runs and was a tagged with the loss, but only one counts towards the ERA. For the season, he has a 1.80 ERA and a 4.63 FIP in 50 innings pitched, along with a 24.7 K% and a 12.1 BB%.
Dasan Brown is heating up (still), but do I really have to say it at this point? On Sunday, he went 2-5 with two strikeouts and a double. For the season, he’s slashing .298/.293/.333 with five homers in 258 plate appearances, but is slashing .297/.363/.468 with four homers in 124 plate appearances since May 23rd.
Estiven Machado is another player who had a slow start to the season, but went 2-3 with a walk, a triple, and two RBIs on Sunday. For the season, the 20-year-old shortstop is slashing .224/.308/.280 with no homers in 120 plate appearances.
Single-A:
The Dunedin Blue Jays defeated the St. Lucie Mets 2-1, bringing their overall season record to 37-37, and their second-half record to 5-3, a game behind the Clearwater Threshers (who won the first half).
It’s important for Dunedin to play well over the next few weeks, as many of the drafted players this season will find their way to the Single-A team after the two-week introduction camp. Like last season, they have a good chance to push for the second-half title.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Eliander Alcalde
On Sunday, the 19-year-old had the best start of his season, finishing with a line of 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
This season has been rough for Alcalde, who has a 5.14 ERA and a 5.13 FIP in 49 innings pitched. His 14 BB% is the highest it’s ever been, while his 22 K% is solid, but not as good as the 24.1 K% he had in the DSL back in 2021.
Still, he’s an intriguing prospect to keep an eye on as he’s still young for the Single-A level.
Players worth mentioning:
Ryan McCarty has been great the past few weeks, and that continued on Sunday as he went 1-4 with a walk, a strikeout, and his 14th double. He also nabbed his sixth base of the season, and is now slashing .246/.344/.447 with six homers in 213 plate appearances this season.
Abiezel Ramirez went 1-4 with his second triple of the season, along with a strikeout. The former Rays’ prospect is slashing .216/.341/.392 with two homers in 88 plate appearances with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays.
Jeffrey Wehler has made the transition to affiliate ball quite smoothly. On Sunday, the 24-year-old infielder went 1-5 with two strikeouts and added his seventh stolen base of the season. He’s now slashing .350/.469/.525 with a homer, an 18.4 BB% and a 20.4 K% in 49 plate appearances.
Setting up for Tuesday’s Minor League Report:
The Buffalo Bisons take on the Worcester WooSox at 6:05 PM EST, with Paxton Schultz set to start that game. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats will take on the Portland Sea Dogs, and will have Luis Quiñones starting that game at 7:05 PM EST.
The Vancouver Canadians have the night off, but the Dunedin Blue Jays will take on the St. Lucie Mets with Irv Carter likely starting that game.
The DSL Jays and the FCL Jays have already played as I post this article, but we’ll worry about that for tomorrow’s report.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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