Blue Jays Minor League Report: Alex De Jesus had his second multi-home run game in two weeks, a tale of two Jimmy’s, and more!
1 year ago
The Mitch White deal may not be so bad after all.
All six Blue Jays affiliates were in action on Thursday, finishing with a record of 2-4. Let’s start with Triple-A and work our way down to the Dominican Summer League.
Triple-A:
The Buffalo Bisons defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 2-1 in extra innings. This brings their record to 32-40 with only three games remaining in the second half.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Jimmy Burnette
Up until Thursday’s game, Burnette had been struggling after a promotion to the Buffalo Bisons. However, the left-handed pitcher finished with a line of 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, pitching from the eighth inning onward, until Jay Jackson recorded the final out.
The 24-year-old’s stats in Buffalo aren’t great, as he has a 9.53 ERA and a 5.67 FIP in 11.1 innings pitched, along with a 33.9 K% and a 22 BB%.
However, he was great in New Hampshire, rocking a 2.63 ERA and a 2.12 FIP in 13.2 iinnings pitched, along with a 41.3 K% and a 14.3 BB%. Once he adjusts to International League hitters, watch out.
Players worth mentioning:
Karl Ellison was promoted to Buffalo after Rob Brantly suffered an injury. In his first game on Thursday, he went 2-3 with a double and a single. So far this season, he has 82 plate appearances between High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A.
Nathan Lukes hasn’t played much this season, but he’s back in Buffalo making an impact. On Thursday, he went 1-3 with two walks, but his hit also tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. With the Bisons, he’s slashing .343/.465/.543 with a homer in 43 plate appearances.
Brandon Eisert finished with a line of 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K on Thursday. The 25-year-old lefty now has a 5.24 ERA and a 4.89 FIP in 34.1 innings, along with a 26.7 K% and a 10 BB%. Last season, he had a 3.41 ERA and a 3.57 FIP in 60.2 innings pitched, along with a 31 K% and 6 BB%.
Double-A:
This game was fucking brutal to watch after being up since 4 AM. The Fisher Cats fell 4-3 to the Somerset Patriots in 14 innings on a walk-off balk-off. The game lasted just under four hours, the longest game in MiLB baseball in terms of both time and innings. New Hampshire’s record now sits at 34-31.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Jimmy Robbins
There were definitely some positives from this game, as left-handed starter Jimmy Robbins had a great game.
The 25-year-old finished with a line of 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, with one of those walks being due to the ump not being very smart (it was a theme in this game). After allowing seven runs in 4 innings on June 10th, he has pitched to a combined line of 11 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 BB, 11 K in his past two games.
For the season, he has a 5.25 ERA and a 5.04 FIP in 58.1 innings pitched, along with a 21.9 K% and a 14.5 BB%. Prior to his last two games, he had a 6.27 ERA and a 5.19 FIP, so it’s definitely dropping.
Players worth mentioning:
Troy Watson had a good game, despite his final line of 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K says. MiLB”s box scores count intentional walks as legitimate walks, so in reality, he had a line of 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. For the season, he has a 3.42 ERA and a 4.39 FIP, along with 18.1 K% and a 12.9 BB%. However, if we remove the intentional walks, he has a 11.2 BB%, and his FIP would be slightly lower as well.
Steward Berroa accounted for 40% of the Fisher Cats hits on Thrusday, as he went 2-5 with a strikeout. The 24-year-old outfielder is slashing .228/.355/.365 with three homers in 207 plate appearances this season. He has also stolen 27 bases in 34 attempts.
High-A:
The Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians on Wednesday, so Vancouver took that personally and demolished Eugene 13-2. This was the final game of the first half, so their first half record sat at 38-27.
With a blow out, we’ll look at some more honourable mentions that didn’t make it on. Michael Turconi went 0-3, but had three walks and three runs scored. Garret Spain went 2-6 with two double, but struck out three times. Josh Kasevich went 2-6 with two RBIs. Estiven Machado went 2-5, and Lyle Line went 2-4 with a hit by pitch, and two strikeouts.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Alex De Jesus
This is the best I’ve ever seen Alex De Jesus play.
On Thursday, he went 3-6 for six with a single and two homers. One homer was a three-run shot, while his second homer was a grand slam, giving him an impressive seven RBI on the night (through four innings!)
Since May 16th, the 21-year-old is salshing .320/.302/.620 with six homers, six doubles, and three triples in 117 plate appearances. Moreover, he’s made huge strides in dropping his K%, as it sits at 23.1% in this period, while his BB% is at 12.8%.
He seems like he’s adjusted to the new organization.
Players worth mentioning:
Gabriel Martinez was a triple away from the cycle, finishing 3-6 on the night with two RBIs. The 20-year-old outfielder also hit his fifth home run of the season. He’s slashing .245/.305/.370 in 221 plate appearances for a 78 wRC+.
Andres Sosa is loved dearly by the fans. The 25-year-old catcher went 3-5 with a strikeout, a hit by pitch, and two RBIs. For the season, he’s salshing .288/.422/.364 with a homer in 83 plate appearances, and should be tested in Double-A soon.
Adam Macko pitched his first quality start on Thursday, finishing with a line of 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. For the season, the 22-year-old left-handed pitcher has a 5.91 ERA and a 4.50 FIP in 42.2 innings pitched, along with a 25.3 K% and a 9.5 BB%. His 42.2 innings pitched is a career-high in a season.
Single-A:
The Dunedin Blue Jays fell 1-0 to the Clearwater Threshers, finishing with a first half record of 32-34. The second half resumes Friday.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Pat Gallagher
The 22-year-old right-handed pitcher selected in the 11th-round of the 2022 draft had a good game on Thursday.
He finished with a line of 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K for his first professional quality start. For the season, he has a 4.67 ERA and a 4.25 FIP in 27 innings pitched, along with a 25.7 K% and a 7.6 BB%.
Gallagher’s fastball averaged about 89 mph, touching 90.9 mph. He also throws a sinker, changeup, and curveball.
Players worth mentioning:
Felipe Bello pitched in relief and had a good game, finishing with a line of 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. The 23-year-old righty has a 1.26 ERA and a 4.02 FIP in 14 innings pitched, but has a low 14.3 K% and a 3.6 BB% with Dunedin this season. Bello was signed as an international free agent in August 2022.
Ryan McCraty registered one of two hits the Dunedin Blue Jays had on Thursday, going 1-3 with a walk and a strikeout. For the season, he’s slashing .261/.351/.465 with six homers in 186 plate appearances for a 122 wRC+. He’s been great the past few weeks.
Victor Mesia had a late start to his season, but went 1-3 with two strikeouts on Thursday evening. The sample size is small, but the 20-year-old catcher is slashing .267/.421/.267 with no homers in 19 plate appearances. He has a 42.1 K% and a 15.8 BB%.
Florida Complex League:
The FCL Jays were blown out 14-5 by the FCL Phillies, bringing their record to 5-8.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Endri Garcia
The 20-year-old outfielder went 2-4 with his first home run of the season on Thursday afternoon.
For the season, he’s slashing .118/.318/.294 with a homer in 22 plate appearances, along with an even K% and BB% of 18.2%.
There are some positive signs though, as he slashed .292/.358/.427 with a homer in 106 plate appearances in the FCL last season for a 120 wRC+, but did have a high K%.
He was even better in the 2021 season with the DSL Blue Jays, slashing .315/.419/.444 with two homers in 148 plate appearances, with a 10.1 BB5 and a 19.6 K% for a 145 wRC+. Interestingly, Luis Garcia was also really good that season in the DSL.
Players worth mentioning:
Gage Stanifer made his third start on Thursday, finishing with a line of 3.1 IP, 4 H , 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. On the season, the 19-year-old 19th round pick has a 5.56 ERA and a 4.37 FIP in 11.1 innings pitched. He also has a 28.3 K% and 11.3 BB%.
Juanmi Vasquez has been one of the more interesting pitchers coming from the rookie leagues this season. The left-handed pitcher pitched seven innings in the DSL this season with a 50 K% and a 0 BB%. That continued when he made his first FCL appearance, going 2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. In his professional career, he has yet to allow an earned run in his 12.2 innings pitched.
Yeuni Munoz hit two of the five doubles the the FCL Jays had on Thursday afternoon, going 2-4 with a strikeout and two RBI. For the season, he’s slashing .286/.359/.429 with no homers in 39 late appearances.
Dominican Summer League:
The DSL Jays fell 15-8 to the DSL Astros Orange, brining their record to 6-6.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Maykel Minoso
The relative to the Hall of Famer Minnie Minoso is having a fantastic season with the DSL Jays this season.
The 17-year-old catcher is slashing .333/.391/.405 with no homers in 46 plate appearances, with a 8.7 BB% and K% for a 110 wRC+.
Last season season as a 16/17-year-old, he slashed .161/.333/.161 with a 20.5 BB% and a 33.3 K% in 39 innings pitched with no extra base hits. This season, he already has three doubles.
Definitely a catcher to keep an eye on.
Players worth mentioning:
Aneudi Escanio hit his first professional home run on Thursday, going 1-3 with two strikeouts and three RBIs. For the season, he’s slashing .33/.409/.611 with a homer and two doubles in 22 plate appearances. Last season in the DSL, he slashed .188/.270/.219 in 74 plate appearances.
Dariel Ramon is the newest Blue Jay,. and had a great game on Thursday. The 17-year-old shortstop went 2-2 with an RBI.
Jose Fernandez is a middle infielder in his second season with the DSL Jays, and he went 2-4 with a strikeout and an RBI on Thursday.
Setting up for Saturday’s Minor League Report:
The Buffalo Bisons take on Scranton at 6:35 PM EST, with Zach Thompson toeing the rubber. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats take on Somerset, who have a chance to clinch the first half title, at 7:05 PM EST. Luis Quiñones toes the rubber for the Water Kitties.
Vancouver’s second half starts at 9:35 PM EST, with Rafael Sánchez getting the ball. Like Vancouver, Dunedin’s second half starts as well, with left-handed pitcher Kendry Rojas starting the game at 6:30 PM EST.
The DSL Blue Jays are currently in a game, but we’ll have more on that later. The FCL Blue Jays were rained out, and will have a makeup game on June 30th.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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