Blue Jays Minor League Report: Otto López hit his first home run of the season, Alan Roden had a 4-4 game, and more!
1 year ago
A new week, a new Minor League Report!
Today we’re looking at Sunday and Monday’s games combined, as I missed yesterday’s report. However, that just means that I get to use more fancy pants stats for the FCL and DSL guys.
Like always, we’ll start with the Buffalo Bisons in Triple-A, working our way down to the Dominican Summer League.
Triple-A:
The Buffalo Bisons beat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 2-0, finishing the first half with a 34-41 record. They split the series with the Yankees affiliate.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Otto López
Otto López doesn’t hit many home runs, but he has some power tucked away,
The 24-year-old utility player hit his first home run of the season and went 1-4 with two RBIs. This was only his 18th professional home run since his career started in 2017.
For the season, he’s slashing .244/.301/.303 with nine extra-base hits in 259 plate appearances for a 53 wRC+. He also has a 6.6 BB% (down from 10.5% last season), and a 17.4 K% (up from 15.6% last season).
Since May started, he slashing .281/.341/.331 with a 6.8 BB% and a 16.5 K% in 176 plate appearances. It’s worth noting that he started the 2022 season off cold, before picking it up and finishing with a .297/.378/.415 slash line in 391 plate appearances.
Players worth mentioning:
Karl Ellison has played at three levels this season in the Blue Jays minor league system. With the Bisons, he’s slashed .571/.571/.857 in his seven plate appearances and went 2-4 on Sunday afternoon.
Paxton Schultz may be a prospect that you have never heard of. He was acquired as the Player to be Named Later in the Derek Fisher trade, and he has a 3.50 ERA and a 5.83 FIP in 18 innings pitched with the Bisons this season. On Sunday, the 25-year-old righty finished with a line of 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 B, 4 K.
Davis Schneider had another extra-base hit on Sunday, going 1-4 with two strikeouts and a double. For the season, the 24-year-old utility player is slashing .262/.385/.529 with 15 homers in 270 plate appearances, along with a 16.3 BB% and a 24.1 K%.
Double-A:
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats defeated the Somerset Patriots 8-7, finishing with a record of 35-33 in the first half.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Leo Jimenez
Leo Jimenez is playing so well, that he finds himself on the report again.
On Sunday, he went 2-4 with two doubles, two RBIs, and two strikeouts.
On the season, the 22-year-old middle infielder is slashing .291/.359/.436 with four home runs and 13 doubles in 192 plate appearances. Moreover, he has a rather low 14.6 K%, while owning an 8.9 BB%.
Both of his doubles were off Carlos Rodón.
Players worth mentioning:
T.J. Brock pitched well in relief, finishing with a line of 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. On the season in New Hampshire, Bake as he’s known, has a 5.87 ERA and a 3.96 FIP in 7.2 innings pitched. If you remove his first game where he was hit around, he has a 1.23 ERA and 0.03 FIP in 7.1 innings pitched, along with a 44.4 K% and a 0 BB%.
Mason Fluharty picked up the save on Sunday, finishing with a line of 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. Shake, as he’s known, has a 3.46 ERA and a 3.61 FIP in 13 innings pitched with the Fisher Cats this season. The 21-year-old left-hander has a 30.9 K% and a 7.3 BB%.
Rainer Nuñez is starting to play better, as he went 2-5 with a double off Carlos Rodón. For the season in Double-A, the 22-year-old first baseman has a .188/.240/.261 slash line with a homer in 75 plate appearances.
High-A:
The Vancouver Canadians fell 6-4 to the Eugene Emeralds, preventing the organization sweep. Their second-half record sits at 1-2, while their overall record is 29-39. They split the season series with the San Francisco Giants’ affiliate.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Alan Roden
This is Roden’s second straight Player of the Game, but this one is even more deserved than in Saturday’s game.
The 23-year-old outfielder went 4-4 with a walk and two doubles on Sunday evening. This was after his 2-4 performance with a walk in Saturday’s game.
On the season, the 2022 draftee is slashing .295/.412/.433 with three homers in 260 plate appearances and has a higher BB% (12.7%) than K% (9.6%).
Is it soon time for a promotion to Double-A?
Players worth mentioning:
Alex De Jesus is another player who has been incredibly hot as of late. On Sunday, he went 2-4 with a strikeout and two RBIs. The 21-year-old third baseman/shortstop’s numbers continue to rise, as he has a .250/.333/.476 slash line now, with nine homers in 237 plate appearances.
Dasan Brown also continues to stay hot, as he went 2-4 with a double and a single Sunday. For the season, the 21-year-old outfielder is slashing .232/.293/.327 with four homers in 234 plate appearances. He has been much better as of late.
Devereaux Harrison has broken out in a big way in 2023. He almost exclusively pitched as a reliever in college, as well as his first season in the organization. However, he was moved to the rotation and has excelled in that role. Sunday was no different, as he finished with a line of 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. For the season, the 22-year-old righty has a 1.83 ERA and a 4.48 FIP in 44.1 innings pitched.
Single-A:
The Dunedin Blue Jays defeated the Clearwater Threshers 3-2, bringing their second-half record to 1-2, and their overall record to 33-36. They lost four of six to the Phillies affiliate.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Jeffrey Wehler
The 24-year-old second baseman signed as a non-drafted free agent in early June from the Staten Island Ferry Hawks in independent ball.
On Sunday, he hit his first home run in affiliate ball to walk the game off in the bottom of the ninth.
With the Dunedin Blue Jays, he’s slashing .273/.467/.409 with one extra-base hit in 30 plate appearances, as well as a 26.7 BB% and a 13.3 K%. With the Ferry Hawks, he has a .282/.318/.427 slash line with three homers in 132 plate appearances.
Players worth mentioning:
Manuel Beltre continues to rise his stock, as he went 2-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch on Sunday. For the season, the 19-year-old shortstop is slashing .254/.369/.385 with three homers in 204 plate appearances.
Irv Carter had his fourth straight good outing on Sunday, finishing with a line of 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. For the season, the 20-year-old righty has a 5.24 ERA and a 7.10 FIP in 22.1 innings pitched with a 13.5 K% and a 14.4 BB%. Over his last four appearances, he has a 1.84 ERA and a 5.35 FIP in 14.2 innings pitched.
Florida Complex League:
On Monday, the FCL Jays fell 9-4 to the FCL Tigers, bringing their record to 5-10.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Luis Garcia
On Monday, the 19-year-old shortstop went 2-3 with two RBIs and two walks, therefore, he has earned the Player of the Game award.
For the season, he’s slashing .268/.344/.411 with a homer in 64 plate appearances with the FCL Jays, along with a 9.4 BB% and a 25 K%.
He’s also had some plate appearances with the Dunedin, where he is slashing .294/.368/.294 in 19 plate appearances.
Players worth mentioning:
Marcos De La Rosa is on a rehab assignment and went 2-3 with a walk in his four plate appearances. With the Dunedin Blue Jays this season, the 21-year-old is slashing .114/.204/.159 with no homers in 49 plate appearances, along with a 10.2 BB% and a 40.8 K%. He hit six homers in the FCL last season.
Yhoangel Aponte went 2-5 with a strikeout and an RBI. One of those hits was a double, which was his second of the year. For the season, the 19-year-old outfielder is slashing .269/.377/.423 with a homer in 61 plate appearances. Like most young players in the FCL, he has a high K% at 34.4%.
Carlos Vasquez is a catcher/second baseman/left fielder who hasn’t played much with the FCL Jays this season. On Monday, he went 1-2 with a walk and a double. Last season in the DSL, the then 17-year-old had a .284/.403/.330 slash line with no homers in 134 plate appearances, and was one of the best-performing players on that team.
Dominican Summer League:
The DSL Jays fell to the FCL Guardians Red 8-1, bringing their season record to 7-8.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Railin Tejada
Railin Tejada has been mentioned in these reports a few times, and he had a great game on Monday.
The 18-year-old outfielder went 2-4 with his first triple of the season.
For the year, he’s slashing .308/.362/.385 with no homers in 58 plate appearances, along with an 8.6 BB% and a 24.1 K%.
Last season, he had a .127/.314/.236 slash line with two homers in 70 plate appearances, along with an 18.6 BB% and a 41.4 K%, so he’s definitely improved this season.
Players worth mentioning:
Enmanuel Bonilla has reached base in all 15 games he played in, as he had a single and walk Monday, going 1-3. Over his last 12 games, he’s had a hit in 11 of them, and is now slashing .264/.391/.321 on the season in 64 plate appearances.
Setting up for Wednesday’s Minor League Report:
There are only three teams in action on Tuesday.
Vancouver takes on Spokane, with the game starting at 10:05 PM EST with Michael Dominguez starting.
The FCL Blue Jays take on the FCL Yankees, with Nolan Perry likely to start at 12:00 PM EST. As for the DSL Jays who kick off underway at 11:00 AM EST against the DSL Orioles Orange, Rodolfo Toledano started last week’s game on Tuesday, so I’d expect him to start tonight.
The second half for the Buffalo Bisons and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats starts on Wednesday. Moreover, the Dunedin Blue Jays will take on the St. Lucie Mets in St. Lucie, so their games will be on MiLB.tv.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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