AL Eastbound & Down

Should The Blue Jays Trade Colby Rasmus?

tdotsports1 — Mon, 28 May 2012 23:20:21 +0000

Colby Rasmus has put together a nice little hot streak over the past week or so even as the Blue Jays have played some of their worst baseball of the season. Rasmus was expected to bounce back from a very auspicious start to his Jays career (133 ABs, 173/201/316) and give the team a solid middle to bottom of the order threat from the left side.

Well, sometimes the most well intentioned plans can go awry and Rasmus has been fairly awful to start the new campaign. Not to be a downer but even with his recent hot surge his May stats are not only below average (240/318/400 in 24 games) but his slugging percentage is actually down a few ticks compared to April.

Over his past seven games Colby has gone 10 for 30 with seven extra-base hits including a homerun in each of his past two games. His season slash line is now 227/298/411 to go along with 9 doubles and 5 homeruns. Considering his position and fairly solid defense he isn’t the worst player in the game but if the Jays are serious about taking a run at a playoff spot I have a couple recommendations.

First his trade value is probably at its absolute lowest and a panic sell is not something Alex Anthopoulos would be inclined to do (based on track record) but the Jays have a guy in Triple-A named Anthony Gose who is starting to really hold his own offensively. Is anyone confident that Gose couldn’t perform at the same level offensively (if not slightly better) than Rasmus right now?

If the offensive production is even close to similar at this stage than Gose should be in the major leagues right now. His centre field defense has the potential to be the game’s best and his dynamic speed game could make him a weapon. Gose is not a perfect hitter by any means but his improving Triple-A numbers lead me to believe he could hit at least as well as Rasmus.

Yes he is in a hyper offensive environment but he has still performed well as one of the youngest players in the league. Currently slashing 285/366/415 with a solid 10.1 BB% and a reduced K% of 22.4 (26.2 in 2011) good for a .358 wOBA. Gose has nine doubles, three triples and three homeruns to go along with 18 stolen bases.

Scouting reports are glowing when it comes to his centre field defense, of course. Considering both Rasmus and Gose would be hitting out of the eight or nine hole it would appear the move could be a wash or slightly positive (depending on Gose’s contact ability at the MLB level).

But if the Blue Jays could find a trade partner for Colby Rasmus and add a much needed veteran starting pitcher than the overall move would definitely be net positive. Again it is hard to gauge exactly what the Blue Jays think of Rasmus but if they weren’t slightly disappointed, I’d be disappointed in them.

Rasmus wouldn’t land the team a top arm at this stage (on his own) but if a team has a longer term need in centre field and still has some belief in him then I could see a potential fit. Maybe the Jays could land a Joe Blanton or Gavin Floyd type which would be a welcome sight for a rotation in need of an arm that could push the currently overmatched Drew Hutchison back to the minor leagues (for now).

If this is too knee jerk than at the very least let Colby Rasmus grind it out against right handed pitching but please enough with the “will he or won’t he be able to hit lefties” business, it is clear, he can’t. In 1177 ABs (versus righties) Rasmus has slashed 260/329/452 while in 395 ABs (versus lefties) he has slashed 213/292/359. The data supports sitting him against lefties if winning is the ultimate goal this season.

A quality I have long admired about current Toronto Raptors GM is his ability to admit a mistake a cut bait when given the opportunity (Jermaine O’Neal, Hedo Turkuglu for example) and I hope Mr. Anthopoulos isn’t overly attached to the 26-year old outfielder if things continue on their current path production wise.

What do you guys think? Continue to be patient in the hopes that Colby turns it around? Call up Anthony Gose and attempt to deal Rasmus?

Blue Jays Prospect Report – May 28, 2012

tdotsports1 — Mon, 28 May 2012 14:34:10 +0000

Well I thought a bit of positive news would be a nice Monday morning surprise after getting our tails kicked down in Texas. Big games from our top two prospects.

AAA (C) Travis d’Arnaud, 3-5, 4 RBI, .318, 2 2b (14), HR (11); one of the top games all season for a Jays prospect
AAA (CF) Anthony Gose, 2-3, .291, BB (24), 2 SB (20); is anyone convinced he couldn’t outperform Rasmus at MLB level right now?
AAA (RF) Moises Sierra, 1-5, .268
HiA (LF) Marcus Knecht, 1-4, .223

Blue Jays Series Recap – Texas Shows Who’s Boss

tdotsports1 — Sun, 27 May 2012 22:48:45 +0000

We could get all analytical and break down some of the key stats from a weekend series with the Texas Rangers but let’s just be completely honest and call it was it is, a Texas ass-whoopin. The Rangers absolutely abused the Blue Jays pitching staff all series long and the Jays are leaving with their tails between their legs.

Jays swept by the Rangers and the record now stands at 24-24.

Quick recap and boxscores:

Game 1 – Rangers 14, Blue Jays 3 – Nelson Cruz has 8 RBIs, Brandon Morrow doesn’t last through the first inning.

Game 2 – Rangers 8, Blue Jays 7 – A late inning comeback is all for not as the Jays pen coughs up an extra inning lead.

Game 3 – Rangers 12, Blue Jays 6 – Kyle Drabek gives up 9 earned runs.

NEXT UP: A three game set at home versus the Baltimore Orioles.

Blue Jays Series Recap – Just Contract Tampa Already

tdotsports1 — Fri, 25 May 2012 01:07:38 +0000

When are they planning on contracting the Tampa Bay Rays anyway?

The Toronto Blue Jays surely wouldn’t protest if the idea were proposed given their absolute abysmal performance against the Rays. The Jays can lose every which way to Tampa Bay and that was shown clearly during this latest series in which they lost two of three.

The Blue Jays have now lost 11 consecutive series against Tampa, including a ridiculous 15th straight road series loss.

Toronto’s record is now 24-21 and they trail the AL East leading Baltimore Orioles by four full games.

Here are the quick recaps and boxscores for the series:

Game 1 – Jays 6, Rays 2 – Kyle Drabek struggled with command, finds a way to win.

Game 2 – Rays 8, Jays 5 – Slumping Carlos Pena homers, Drew Hutchison routed.

Game 3 – Rays 5, Jays 4 (11) - BJ Upton double sinks Jays in extra innings after furious rally.

UP NEXT: Off day (May 24, 2012) followed by a three game series in Texas against the Rangers, who are 27-18 thus far.

Blue Jays Prospect Report – May 24, 2012

tdotsports1 — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:22:40 +0000

Syndergaard hit hard, Hechavarria keeps hitting and a John Stilson gem.

Hitters:

AAA (CF) Anthony Gose, 1-4, .263, BB (21)
AAA (SS) Adeiny Hechavarria, 3-5, .321, 2b (13), 3b (2)
AAA (RF) Moises Sierra, 1-4, 1 RBI, .271, 2b (7)
HiA (LF) Marcus Knecht, 1-4, .206; tough start
HiA (CF) Jake Marisnick, 1-4, .261
LoA (RF) Chris Hawkins, 2-5, 1 RBI, .313, SB (6)
LoA (C) Carlos Perez, 3-5, 2 RBI, .263, 2b (12), BB (15)

Pitchers:

AA (SP) Deck McGuire, 5 ip, 6 h, 4 er, 3 bb – 1 k, 6.80
HiA (SP) John Stilson, 5 ip, 1 h, 1 er, 2 bb – 6 k, 2.75; firing bullets
LoA (SP) Noah Syndergaard, 3.2 ip, 6 h, 6 er, 0 bb – 5 k, 3.34

Blue Jays Prospect Report – May 23, 2012

tdotsports1 — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:44:05 +0000

Hitters:

AAA (CF) Anthony Gose, 2-4, 1 RBI, .264, 2b (7), BB (20); Rasmus can hear his footsteps.
AAA (C) Travis D’Arnaud, 1-4, .293
AAA (SS) Adeiny Hechavarria, 1-4, 1 RBI, .314, BB (17)
AAA (RF) Moises Sierra, 1-3, 2 RBI, .271, BB (17)
HiA (CF) Jake Marisnick, 2-4, .261

Pitchers:

MAJ (SP) Drew Hutchison, 4 ip, 7 h, 6 er, 0 bb – 3 k, 5.73; will need to have better efforts to stay in rotation.

Blue Jays Prospect Report – May 22, 2012

tdotsports1 — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:27:14 +0000

I hope everyone had a great long weekend. The hitting atmosphere in Las Vegas is keeping the daily prospect report busy!

Hitters:

AAA (1B) David Cooper, 2-3, 2 RBI, .308, HR (6), 2 BB (19)
AAA (C) Travis D’Arnaud, 1-5, 1 RBI, .294
AAA (CF) Anthony Gose, 2-4, .258, BB (19), 2 SB (16)
AAA (SS) Adeiny Hechavarria, 1-3, .315, BB (16), SB (6)
AAA (LF) Moises Sierra, 1-4, .270, BB (16)
HiA (LF) Marcus Knecht, 2-3, 4 RBI, .210, HR (7)
HiA (CF) Jake Marisnick, 2-3, .256, 2b (13), 2 BB (15)
LoA (RF) Chris Hawkins, 2-4, 1 RBI, .310

Pitchers:

HiA (SP) Asher Wojciechowski, 6 ip, 5 h, 0 er, 1 bb – 4 k, 5.53; bounces back from tough outing

A Quick Blurb On Vlad Guerrero

tdotsports1 — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:16:29 +0000

I really wasn’t planning on doing a full post on Vladimir Guerrero as I didn’t anticipate he would make that necessary. Given that everyone is speculating Adam Lind’s demotion means fast tracking Vladdy to the Blue Jays I thought I would add my two cents.

My initial thought was why? Does anyone think Vladdy is actually a worthy designated hitter? He was awful last season, you don’t need to go further than his awful 0.0 WAR and 95 wRC+. Yeah, that’s right a guy who was only used for his bat was actually 5% worse than league average.

Basically he shouldn’t have even been in the big leagues – last year. His slash line was 290/317/416 in a whopping 590 PAs, he had 13 HRs, a pathetic 2.9 BB%, .126 ISO, .318 woBA and again a 0.0 WAR. The Orioles are sure struggling without him right?

They can’t get better production from almost anyone else in their system? Keep Yan Gomes, call up David Cooper, hell bring back Brad Fullmer, any of them would probably out produce a well past his prime Vlad Guerrero. ZIPS projects 284/316/429, which I feel is generous after seeing his hacks down in the minor leagues today (via television).

I don’t see how Vladimir Guerrero is better than any of our current DH options, because he isn’t.

Blue Jays Prospect Report – May 21, 2012

tdotsports1 — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:46:07 +0000

A ton of updates, including Dylan Bundy and Jurickson Profar.

Hitters:

AAA (DH) David Cooper, 1-3, .301, BB (17)
AAA (C) Travis D’Arnaud, 2-4, 1 RBI, .297, 2b (11)
AAA (CF) Anthony Gose, 1-3, .253, 2b (6)
AAA (SS) Adeiny Hechavarria, 2-4, 1 RBI, .315
HiA (CF) Jake Marisnick, 2-5, 1 RBI, .249
LoA (LF) Chris Hawkins, 2-4, .305
LoA (C) Carlos Perez, 1-3, 1 RBI, .250, HR (2), BB (14)

Pitchers:

LoA (SP) Justin Nicolino, 4 ip, 2 h, 0 er, 0 bb – 3 k, 1.16
LoA (SP) Aaron Sanchez, 4 ip, 1 h, 0 er, 1 bb – 5 k, 0.58; what a season

Bonus:

AA (TEX) Jurickson Profar, 0-3, .291, BB (16); saw 29-game hit streak end

LoA (BAL) Dylan Bundy, 5 ip, 1 h, 0 er, 0 bb – 4 k, 0.00.

Bundy now has 30 ip, 5 h, 0 er, 2 bb – 40 k

Blue Jays Series Recap – Two Game Sweep Of Yankees

tdotsports1 — Sun, 20 May 2012 18:29:19 +0000

The Blue Jays didn’t let a tough two-game sweep at the hands of Tampa Bay get them down and they cruised to a two-game midweek sweep of the New York Yankees. Back-to-back solid pitching performances by Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison helped the Jays take it to the Bronx bombers.

Here are the boxscores and quick recaps:

Game 1 – Blue Jays 8, Yankees 1 – Blue Jays hit 4 homeruns, Drabek solid.

Game 2 – Blue Jays 4, Yankees 1 – Bautista and Arencibia hit homeruns, Hutchison pitches a solid game.