Blue Jays Minor League Report: Tucker Toman hit his third home run in four days, Davis Schneider hit his 15th home run, and more!
2 months ago
Only one affiliate team won on Saturday.
Despite a record of 1-5 in the minors (and a win in the big leagues), there were definitely some positives on Saturday. Let’s dig in.
Triple-A:
The Buffalo Bisons fell 7-3 to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders to bring their record to 33-41. The first half concludes on Sunday.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Davis Schneider
He did it again.
On Saturday, the 24-year-old utility player hit his 15th home run of the season, second in the minor leagues for the Blue Jays. Overall, he went 1-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
Schneider’s 15 home runs rank him tied for seventh, and he’s slashing .263/.387/.530 with a 16.5 BB% and a 23.7 K% in 266 plate appearances for a 128 wRC+.
It may be time to add him to the 40-man roster, because there’s not much else to prove in Triple-A.
Players worth mentioning:
Spencer Horwitz went 3-4 with a walk on Saturday, all three hits were singles. For the season, the 25-year-old is slashing .302/.321/.401 with a 16.1 BB% and a 17.2 K%, along with two homers in 273 plate appearances.
Wynton Bernard had a multi-hit game as well, going 2-4 with two singles, a strikeout, and an RBI. For the season, he’s slashing .270/.358/.394 with three homers in 260 plate appearances.
Nathan Lukes continues to hit well in Triple-A, as he went 1-5 with a double. For the season, he is slashing .311/.415/.556 with two homers in 53 plate appearances with Buffalo.
Double-A:
The New Hampshire Cats fell 3-1 to the Somerset Patriots, brining their record to 34-33. Like Buffalo, their first half concludes on Sunday.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Adam Kloffenstein
The 2018 third-rounder is a different beast this season.
Still only 22 years old, the right-handed pitcher pitched a line of 5.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. That hit and subsequent earned run came after he was hit in the hand with a comebacker that removed him from the game. It probably should have been called an error.
For the season, he has a 2.91 ERA and a 3.68 FIP in 68 innings. His 26.6 K% is the highest of his career with more than three innings pitched, and his BB% has dropped to 9.7%, down from 11.3% in Double-A last season.
There hasn’t been an update on his health, but the ball hit his glove hand and he was already at 84 pitches, so it may have been precautionary.
Players worth mentioning:
Rainer Nuñez went 2-4 with an RBI on Saturday. For the season, the 22-year-old first baseman is slashing .172/.229/.234 with a homer in his 70 plate appearances in Double-A. In High-A, he slashed .309/.390/.446 with three homers in 159 plate appearances.
Damiano Palmegiani would have been the player of the game had Kloffenstein not carried a no-hitter into the sixth.The 23-year-old first baseman/third baseman went 2-4 with two doubles and a strikeout. For the season, he’s slashing .258/.365/.455 with nine homers in 252 plate appearances.
High-A:
The Vancouver Canadians were the only Blue Jays affiliate team to win on Saturday, as they beat the Eugene Emeralds 4-1. This brings their second-half record to 1-1, while their season record sits at 39-28.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Alan Roden
The Creighton Blue Jay turned Toronto Blue Jay continued to be one of the best performing 2022 draftees.
On Saturday, he went 2-4 with his 19th double of the season and added a walk for good measure. So far this season, the 23-year-old outfielder is slashing .282/.400/.413 with three homers in 255 plate appearances.
He also has a higher BB% (12.5%) than K% (9.8%), but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who looked at his college statistics, as he literally had a K% under 4% in his junior year (29 walks, eight strikeouts in 242 plate appearances).
Players worth mentioning:
Alex De Jesus had another good game, surprise, surprise. He went 1-3 with a single and two walks while also striking out twice. The 21-year-old third baseman/shortstop is slashing .245/.330/.475 on the season with nine homers in 233 plate appearances.
Dahian Santos continues to be one of the best Blue Jays pitching prospect. Only 20 years old in High-A, he finished with a line of 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Saturday. For the season, he has a 3.95 ERA and a 5.26 FIP in 43.1 innings pitched, along with a 27.6 K% and a 14.6 BB%.
Ryan Boyer is a relief prospect you may have never heard of, but you should definitely keep an eye on. The 26-year-old finished with a line of 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Saturday. He has a 0 ERA and a 2.61 FIP in 7 innings pitched on a rehab assignment in Vancouiver, along with a 36 K%. He had a 36.3 K% between Single-A, High-A, and Double-A last season.
Single-A:
The Dunedin Blue Jays fell 5-2 to the Clearwater Threshers, bringing their second half record to 0-2, and their full season record to 32-36.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Tucker Toman
Tucky T is heating up.
On Saturday, he went 1-4, but hit his fifth home run of the season, and his third in the last four games.
The 19-year-old third baseman/shortstop was selected 77th overall in 2022, and is slashing .237/.346/.373 with five homers in 269 plate appearances. He’s shown an ability to walk with a 13 K%, but has also struggled with the swing and miss with a 29 K%.
Still, he’s very young for the level, and the swing decisions could definitely improve as he gains more experience in professional ball.
Players worth mentioning:
Manuel Beltre continues to have a good season, as he went 2-4 with a strikeout and a double Saturday. For the season, the shortstop who turned 19 at the start of the month is slashing .246/.357/.371 with three homers in 200 plate appearances for a 107 wRC+.
Abiezel Ramirez signed as a free agent about a month ago. The infielder went 1-2 with a walk and a strikeout Saturday. In Single-A, he’s slashing .212/.350/.348 with two homers in 80 plate appearances.
Florida Complex League:
The FCL Jays fell 9-6 to the FCL Tigers, bringing their record to 5-9.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Victor Arias
The 19-year-old outfielder may not be hitting for much of an average this season, but he’s smacking the ball.
On Saturday, he went 2-3 with a walk, a strikeout and four RBI. Moreover, he hit his third home run of the season and added a triple for good measure.
He’s now slashing .182/.333/.545 with three homers in 42 plate appearances for a 114 wRC+. He has the highest walk rate of his career (19 BB%), but his strikeouts have increased to 35.7 K%.
Players worth mentioning:
Jiorgeny Casimiri has yet to give up a run this season, as he finished with a line of 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. The 21-year-old Dutchman has a 0 ERA and a 1.28 FIP in the 6 innings he’s pitched, along with a 55 K% and a 10 BB%. It won’t be too long before he’s in Dunedin, where he spent parts of 2021 (17.2 innings) and 2022 (8.1 innings).
Dominican Summer League:
The DSL Jays fell 3-1 to the DSL Arizona Red, brining their season record to 7-7.
The Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Enmanuel Bonilla
I hinted at this in the last Minor League Report, but Enmanuel Bonilla has reached base in all of his professional games.
On Saturday, the 17-year-old outfielder who signed for a franchise-high $4,100,000, went 1-3 with a hit by pitch. For the season, he’s slashing .269/.387/.346 with three extra base hits, and an 11.3 BB% and 24.2 K%.
In all 14 games he’s played, he’s reached base in all of them. Furthermore, in his last 11 games, he’s reached base in 10 of them. Bonilla also has four multi-hit games in his last five games.
Players worth mentioning:
Dariel Ramon recently signed with the Blue Jays organization. On Saturday, he went 2-3 with an RBI and a double. It’s very early in his career, even more so than other DSL players, but the 17-year-old already has three doubles and six hits in just 13 plate appearances.
Carlos Meza pitched in relief and finished with a line of 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. In 9.1 innings pitched, the 18-year-old right-handed pitcher has a 1.93 ERA and a 5.21 FIP.
Setting up for Monday’s Minor League Report:
The Buffalo Bisons take on Scranton at 1:05 PM EST, with Paxton Schultz toeing the rubber. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats take on the Somerset Patriots, with Sem Robberse getting the ball. This will be the final game of the first-half for both leagues.
Vancouver resumes their series against Eugene at 7:05 PM EST, with Devereaux Harrison getting the start. Irv Carter is set to pitch at 12:00 PM EST when the Dunedin Blue Jays get underway.
Both rookie league teams are off for the day.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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