Blue Jays Minor League Report: Damiano Palmegiani hit his ninth home run of the season, Leo Jimenez is having a great season, and more!
3 months ago
The Blue Jays affiliate teams didn’t have the greatest Thursday.
On top of the big league club losing a very, very painful game, the affiliate teams only managed to pick up two wins in seven tries.
Let’s look at each of the games.
Triple-A:
The Triple-A Buffalo Bisons defeated the Syracuse Mets 7-4, winning their first game of the series in three tries. Furthermore, their record now sits at 30-36.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Trevor Schwecke
The 25-year-old utility player had a good game on Thursday evening, hitting his first homer of the season in Triple-A, and his fourth overall in 2023. He also added a single.
With the Bisons, he’s slashing .306/.375/.417 with that homer in 41 plate appearances. His K% is on the high side at 31.7%, while his BB% sits at 7.3%.
With the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, he was slashing .256/.368/.419 with three homers in 107 plate appearances. His K% was lower there as it sat at 17.8%, while his BB% was a career high 14%.
Players worth mentioning:
Davis Schneider made his first professional start at first base, as he only played three innings there back in 2017. Not only did he hit his 13th double and added two walks, he also made a spectacular play to snag a ball. He’s slashing .268/.392/.552 with 14 homers in 237 plate appearances, along with a 16.5 K% and a 133 wRC+.
Rafael Lantigua continued his impressive season, going 3-5 with two RBIs in Thursday’s game. For the season, he’s slashing .292/.435/.453 with four homers in 246 plate appearances. He also has a higher BB% (19.9%) than a K% (16.7%), and has a132 wRC+.
Hayden Juenger had a solid game in relief, finishing with a line of 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. The earned run came on a home run, which has been his kryptonite in pro ball. For the season, he has a 6.43 ERA and a 3.99 FIP in 35 innings pitched, along with a 31.5 K% and a 9.7 BB%.
Double-A, Game 1:
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats won their first game of the evening, beating the Akron RubberDucks 9-7. This brought their record to 31-27.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Leo Jimenez
Leo Jimenez has reminded us this season why he was added to the 40-man roster at such a young age, and why he was once a top five position player prospect.
In the first game of the double-header, he went 3-4 with a strikeout and three RBIs. More impressively, he hit his fourth home run of the season. On top of six home runs with the Vancouver Canadians in 2022, it’s pretty impressive considering he had only hit his first home run in 2021 after playing pro ball since 2018.
For the season (with the second game of the double-header included), he’s slashing .294/.354/.434 with four homers in 158 plate appearances.
Players worth mentioning:
Will Robertson hit his eighth home run of the season in the first game of the double header as well as added a walk. After a tough start to his season, he’s slashing .192/.304/.410 with those eight homers in 184 plate appearances for a 92 wRC+. His career high in homers is 15 coming in 2022.
Connor Cooke had another good game, picking up the save, He finished with a line of 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K and now has a 4.50 ERA and 2.92 FIP in 12 innings with the Fisher Cats. More impressive is his 45.1 K% and 9.8 BB%, so expect the ERA to drop.
Riley Tirotta went 2 for 4 on Thursday evening, and hit his second home run of the season with the Fisher Cats. With the Double-A team, he’s slashing .267/.358/.489 in 53 plate appearances with a solid 13.2 BB% and a rather high 30.2 K%. His numbers with Vancouver are better, as he slashed .303/.411/.539 with three homers in 107 plate appearances.
Double-A, Game 2:
While the New Hampshire Water Kitties won game one of the double header, the same cannot be said for game two, as they fell to 31-28 with a 8-3 loss.
New Hampshire is now six games back of the Somerset Patriots with only nine games remaining, so their first half title chances look nearly impossible.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Damiano Palmegiani
In terms of offense, Damiano Palmegiani carried the load, hitting his ninth home run of the season and adding a double. He finished the game going 2 for 3.
For the season, he’s slashing .277/.390/.487 with nine homers in 228 plate appearances, along with a 14 BB% and a 21.5 K%. The 23-year-old first baseman/third baseman has to be in contention for a promotion to Triple-A soon, right?
Players worth mentioning:
Zac Cook actually hit two home runs on Thursday, his first coming in game one of the double header, and the second coming in game two. For the season, the 25-year-old outfielder is slashing .190/.301/.362 with five homers in 126 plate appearances. He finished with 15 homers in 394 plate appearances last season, but an elevated K% of 38.3%.
High-A:
The Vancouver Canadians lost their game to the Hillsboro Hops 4-2, bringing their record to 33-26. The good news is that they still have sole possession of first place in the Northwest League, as Spokane blew a 4-0 lead and lost 8-5.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Devonte Brown
Whenever I bring up Devonte Brown in articles, I always start off by asking how the North Carolina State University alum went undrafted.
After the Jays signed him as a non-drafted free agent, he proceeded to put up a 171 wRC+ with the Dunedin Blue Jays. For any player in the organization with over 100 plate appearances, that was the highest in the minor leagues.
This season, he hasn’t been as good, as he’s slashing .254/.323/.412 with four homers in 130 plate appearances (91 wRC+). However, he’s been heating up lately, and went 2 for 3 in Thursday’s game.
He also nearly made one of the best catches of the season.
Players worth mentioning:
Rafael Sánchez continues to put up strong starts in High-A after a rough few games. On Thursday, he finished with a line of 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
Andres Sosa can’t be held in High-A for much longer. The 25-year-old went 2-3 with a strikeout, and is now slashing .265/.403/.347 with a homers in 62 plate appearances. Last season, he slashed .226/.397/.404 with five homers in 273 plate appearances for a 132 wRC+. He’s been excellent in the Jays organization.
Ryan Boyer has a fantastic fastball, despite only sitting 93-94 mph and touching 96 mph. The reason his fastball is elite boils down to his delivery, and is reflected by his combined 35.14 whiff% last season in the organization. Keep an eye on him!
Single-A:
The Dunedin Blue Jays fell to the Lakeland Tigers 4-3, brining their record to an even 30-30.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Harry Rutkowski
The 24-year-old left-handed pitcher finished with a line of 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. He finished with a Dunedin-high six swings and misses, and touched 91.9 mph with the sinker. He also threw a changeup, a slider, and a four-seam fastball.
For the season, he has a 3.13 ERA and a 3.93 FIP in 23 innings pitched. His 17 BB% is rather high, but he’s rocking a 25.5 K%, the highest since Single-A ball in 2021.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds himself in Vancouver in a few weeks.
Players worth mentioning:
Addison Barger is still on a rehab assignment with the team, and he went 1-3 with a walk. He was sent on his rehab assignment on June 8th, so he mayin Buffalo soon.
Jaden Rudd continues to have strong games after strong games. He narrowly missed making it on to yesterday’s minor league report, but he went 1-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch in Thursday’s game. He’s slashing .241/400/.361 with a 15.9 BB% and a 24.4 K% in 201 plate appearances. He has two homers, and has a 124 wRC+.
Florida Complex League:
The FCL Blue Jays lost 7-6 in extra innings to the FCL Phillies, bringing their record to 6-2.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Victor Arias
On the surface level, his .158/.304/.526 slash line doesn’t look great, but he’s already tied his career high in home runs with two in just 23 plate appearances. His K% has jumped up significantly in the small sample size (39.1%), but he had a 29.9 K% in 2022, and a 23.9 K% in 2021, so expect it to drop.
Moreover, he has a pretty high BB% of 17.4%, which he has maintained throughout his career. He also has a 110 wRC+, which is above average.
On Thursday afternoon, he went1-2 with two walks and a strikeout with his second homer.
Players worth mentioning:
Yhoangel Aponte hit his first home run of the season, and finished the game going 1-3 with two RBIs and two walks. Early in the season, he’s slashing .312/355/.346 in 31 plate appearances. Like Arias, he has a high 38.7 K%.
Cristian Feliz has had a strong start to his season, which continued on Thursday afternoon. He went 2-4 with two singles. Standing at 6’4”, 190 lb, he’s slashing .286/.375/.619 with two homers in 24 plate appearances in the FCL this season. He’s also seen a reduction in his K%, as it sits at 25% compared to 36.2% last season.
Gage Stanifer made his second professional start on Thursday, finishing with a line of 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. He has a 28.6K% in the early part of the season, but has struggled with command through his first two games.
Dominican Summer League:
The DSL Jays lost 5-4 to the DSL Oroles Black, bringing their record to 3-5.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Adrian Meza
The 2023 international free agent signee went 2-3 with a walk.
Early in the season, the switch-hitting infielder is slashing .192/.400/.231 with no homers in 35 plate appearances. An encouraging sign for his game is that he has a much higher BB% (25.7%) than K% (8.6%).
Players worth mentioning:
Maykel Minoso has been mentioned a lot the past few weeks in these reports, but he continues to have strong games. On Thursday afternoon, he went 2-5 with a walk. The 17-year-old catcher is salshing .286/.333/.286 with no homers in 30 plate apeparances. His K% is down from 33.3% to 10% in nine-less plate appearances compared to 2022.
Enmanuel Bonilla hit his first professional extra base hit on Thursday, going 1-4 with a double and two strikeouts. Like Luis Meza the season before, the big international free agent signing of his class has struggled in the DSL, as he’s slashing .154/.353/.192 with a 17.6 BB% and a 26.5 K% in 34 plate appearances. He’s still incredibly young and has plenty of time to figure it out. The raw talent is definitely there.
Daniel Pérez won’t be in the Dominican Summer League for long. On Thursday, he went 2 for 4 with two singles. Early in the season, the 21-year-old Cuban first baseman is slashing .333/.529/.417 with no homers, and a 22.2 BB% and 5.6 K% in 18 plate appearances. He’s rather old for the level, and should be tested in Single-A as soon as possible.
Setting up for Saturday’s Minor League Report:
Buffalo’s game starts at 7:05 PM EST, and will have Zach Thompson on the mound.
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats take on Akron at 7:05 PM EST, and will have left-handed pitcher Jimmy Robbins on the mound.
The Vancouver Canadians have a Nooner at the Nat (their Friday promotion), and will have Dahian Santos on the mound for that game.
The Dunedin Blue Jays take on Lakeland, with Kendry Rojas likely pitching in that game. Last Friday, C.J. Van Eyk started the game on a rehab assignment, so he may do the same on Friday evening.
The DSL Jays will take on the DSL Orioles Black at 11:00 AM EST, while the FCL Jays will take on the FCL Tigers at 12:00 PM EST. Last Friday for the DSL Jays, Eminen Flores was the starter, while Fernando Perez started for the FCL Jays last Friday. That’s my best guess as to who will start these two games.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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