Clutchlings Notebook Mid Season Edition

Jordan Romano/Lansing Lugnuts photo

The MLB draft, Dominican Summer League action already well underway, short season rosters are taking shape the return of Jordan Romano, and some mid-season promotions head up a busy edition of the notebook.....

The Draft
   Given the gestation period of 3 to 5 years for most MLB draftees, we really can't fully evaluate this one until 2019 at the earliest.  And although the team will be limited to bonuses of no more than $300K during this year's international free agent signing period after going over cap to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr last year, you have to keep in mind that the draft is just one method of acquiring players.

  It is interesting to see the apparent change in drafting philosophy in this the first draft of the Mark Shapiro/Ross Atkins regime.  After going all in on high school arms under previous GM Alex Anthopoulos, the Jays took three college position players in the first 5 rounds of the draft, and they did not select a high school pitcher with one of their top 10 round picks since the J.P. Ricciardi era.

  It's hard to say if this apparent paradigm shift is a long term development, or just reflective of this year's draft crop.  The former regime valued projection above all else, and while the success of that strategy can be debated, one thing is certain: the trading spree that saw Anthopoulos deal almost 20 prospects in less than a year has emptied the system of much of its upper level talent, and that as much as anything may have dictated this year's draft strategy.  Any deadline dealing this year will be limited by the lack of depth in the system, and the club likely viewed this year as an opportunity to quickly re-stock.  A review of the Indians' approach over the last few years shows some flexibility from year to year.  Blue Jays director of amateur scouting Brian Parker was pleased with the haul the club landed, telling mlb.com:

"I think we got a good mix .We got some position players up high -- three of our first five picks were position players. I think [J.B.] Woodman is at a premium position in center field, Bo Bichette is an up-the-middle infielder, [Joshua] Palacios from Auburn can play all three outfield spots."

   The top pick, Pitt RHP T.J. Zeuch, had been linked to the Jays in the last few weeks heading into the draft, and other than his college background, fits that long, lean, and athletic profile the team covets in pitchers.  Baseball America is bullish on the main Zeuch's main components:

 Zeuch's best pitch is his fastball, which sits at 92-94 and sometimes touches higher. Zeuch's extra large, 6-foot-7 frame allows him to generate solid extension towards home plate, making his pitches even more difficult for hitters to pick up out of his hand. His fastball also shows both sink and arm-side run, making it an effective ground ball-inducing pitch.

  His secondaries are a different matter, rating as fringe-average among most scouts, and will determine his ultimate future.  You can bet that he will be given every opportunity to make it as a starter, and Zeuch should head west to Vancouver once he signs. Slot value for this pick is just under $2.3 million, and early reports indicate that a deal may be close at hand.

   Mississippi OF J.B. Woodman, taken with the 57th pick as compensation for failing to come to terms with Florida HS P Brady Singer last year, checks a lot of boxes as an athletic outfielder who is projected to stay in CF.  The second of the club's 2nd round picks was Florida HS SS Bo Bichette, son of former MLB OF Dante Bichette.  Atkins was ecstatic to land the toolsy Bichette, telling Sportsnet's Shi Davidi:

“You always have the outlier in the evaluation where someone is going to be lower, but with him it was unanimous that our evaluators felt like if he was still around for us at that round, we would be absolutely elated,” said Atkins. “The ability to hit, the athleticism, the pedigree, the drive, the passion, it was really our scouts’ evaluations that we really liked as an organization.”

  BA was very impressed with Bichette's hit tool:

Bichette shows a mature approach at the plate and plus power. The righthanded hitter has exceptionally fast hands, allowing him to whip the bat through the zone and drive the ball. His swing includes a deep load and an exaggerated back elbow swoop, but his bat works through the zone well and he controlled at-bats against elite competition on the showcase circuit.   

  A throwback to the projection era was the selection of 3rd rounder Zach Jackson from Arkansas, who has reportedly come to terms with the club.  Jackson misses bats and the strike zone with almost equal frequency, but the organization is apparently going to give him an opportunity to have a trial as a starter.

Dominican Summer League
   
     Play in the Dominican Summer League began this week.   Founded in 1985, it houses international free agent signees at teams' minor league complexes in the Dominican Republic.  Teams play a 72-game schedule, followed by an abbreviated playoff season.  With the political unrest in Venezuela, that country's summer league has been shuttered, and teams have moved to the Dominican, resulting in a record-number (42) of teams (some MLB clubs have multiple entries) taking part in the league this season.
   This is the absolute lowest rung on the professional baseball ladder, and the average age of the league is typically just over 18.  IFA's can be signed as young as 16, make their pro debuts at 17, and many players spend at least a season in the DSL before moving onto stateside play in the Gulf Coast League.
   The 2015 DSL Jays were one of the most successful editions in club history, tying for their division lead before losing in the first round of the playoffs.  Because these players are so far away, it may be a while (if ever) before we hear the names of some of the better players on that team like Juan Meza, Lupe Chavez, or Norberto Obeso.  Many names we will never hear of - most players on any given DSL roster will not make it off the island.
   The Blue Jays had their Latin operations run during the Anthopoulos era by Ismael Cruz, who left last fall to join his former boss in Los Angeles.  Sandy Rosario took over from Cruz, and given the more active presence of the Indians when Mark Shapiro was running the organization. the Blue Jays may be a greater player in the IFA market in years to come.  This year, they are limited to offering bonuses to players of no more than $300 000 after going over their cap to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

   Information about the DSL is pretty much limited to perusing box scores and second hand accounts.  Here is a compilation of some of the players to watch on this year's edition of the DSL Blue Jays:

McGregory Contreras OF
   -termed a "Sleeper" who showed good hit and run tools when he signed last July 2nd, his tools have reportedly ticked upward since then.

Maximo Castillo  RHP
   The Venezuelan had a deal in place with the Yankees, but arm problems caused the deal to fall through.  A storied youth player in his home country, Castillo is built more like a young Roberto Osuna, but already hits 93 with room for more projection.  Command has been an issue for him.

Orlando Pascual RHP
-has hit 97 with his fastball

Ronald Concepcion SS
-projected to stay at the position
-good glove/average speed/gap power

Jesus Navarro SS
   This is easily an essay topic for another time, but one thing that can hold Dominican prospects back when compared to their Venezuelan and Mexican peers is the lack of grassroots baseball in their country.
   Sometimes, grinder/high baseball IQ players slip through the signing cracks, because their skills come out more in game situations than they do individual workouts.
  Navarro may be one of those types. Described as an offensive minded SS with a line-drive stroke and occasional gap power, he's repeating this level, but may move stateside before long.

Jordan Romano Returns
   Markham, ON native Jordan Romano came up through the excellent Ontario Blue Jays development program.  He was travelling with the club in Oklahoma several years ago, and caught the eye of Perry Keith, legendary head coach of junior college power Connors State.  Keith was already familiar with the young Canadian, having recruited his brother Chris two seasons before.
   Romano caught the eye of the Oral Roberts coaching staff while pitching for Connors State, and he joined the nearby Golden Eagles for what would be his final season of collegiate play before being taken by the Blue Jays in the 10th round of the 2014 draft after saving 12 games for ORU.
   Given the load he shouldered in the 2014 college season, the Blue Jays limited him to 11 games, all in relief, for Bluefield in his first pro season.
   Ready for his first full season, Romano was up to 95 with his fastball before tearing his UCL mid-way through spring training last year.  The tear was complete, so the club opted for surgery at the end of March over rehab, and Romano's season was over.
   Romano threw himself fully into his recovery, and two weeks after the surgery was eagerly rehabbing his right arm.  By summertime, he was working on strengthening his shoulder four times per week, and was doing cardio work six times per week.  On August 18th, he was able to throw from 45 ft off flat ground at about 80% effort for 80 pitches 3 times per week, and was throwing from 60 ft a month later.  By December, he was throwing off a mound again at max effort, but was not allowed to throw breaking balls.
   When asked what the worst and best part of his recovery was, he responded:

I had to watch gcl games when I was down there. And It really sucked seeing everyone play and know that I couldn't even throw a baseball.  The best part was kinda the healing process of my elbow. Like day by day it got better. At first It looked pretty bad and slowly my body just started to heal it. That was pretty cool.

   By March, he was facing live hitters in batting practice, and found that both his former velocity and command had returned.  Kept behind for extended spring training in Dunedin, Romano learned that the club planned to stretch him out in a starter's role.  His innings were slowly built up, and when the warm weather returned to the midwest for good, he was promoted to Lansing last week to make his full season debut.
   And what a debut it was:  in his first pro start, Romano pitched a 7-inning complete game in the first half of a doubleheader, allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out a career-high seven batters.
    During his recovery, Romano had plenty of time to think, and one thing that he spent considerable time pondering was his mindset as a starter.  He decided, "The biggest thing for me is not letting a bad or good inning effect my mindset for the next inning. Keep the same mentality going into every inning."  After the start, he admitted to some pre-game nervousness:

Before the game of course I was a bit nervous even though I told everyone I wasn't haha. Honestly I had the mindset that I was gonna go the whole game.  I waited almost 2 years to pitch so I didn't wanna go just 2-3 innings. After the game was done it felt good just to help contribute to a team win.  

  At 6'4/200, Romano checks all the physical boxes for the prototypical Blue Jays pitching prospect. At 23, he's also not necessarily a kid, despite his lack of pro experience.  Romano has much lost development time to make up for, and he bears watching closely.  He could move quickly.

Short Season Rosters
   Next to Opening Day, this is one of my favourite times on the baseball calendar.  Play will begin for the Blue Jays in three short season leagues next week, featuring several of some of the more promising prospects in the organization.

Vancouver
   The Canadians are a runaway success story, one of the top franchises in all of minor league baseball.
The C's won the Northwest League title in their first three seasons as a Blue Jays affiliate, made it to the final in their fourth, and while they failed to make the post-season last year, smashed gate records in leading the NWL in attendance, averaging just under 6 000 fans per game.
   After fielding a team that was thin on top prospects last year, this year's edition promises to be more competitive, led by RHP Justin Maese, a 3rd round Texas high schooler who put together an impressive pro debut season in the GCL.  Maese featured an advanced three pitch mix that overmatched GCL hitters, and earned him a skip of the Appy League this year.
   C Javier Hernandez is a 19 year old Venezuelan whose hit tool has yet to really materialize, but has already earned rave reviews for his handling the GCL Jays pitching staff last year.
   6'8" 2012 comp pick Matt Smoral is returning to Vancouver to try to resurrect his career.  The southpaw suffered through back issues last year before being shut down in late August after taking a line drive off of his left forehead.  Reliever Gabe Noyalis, who gave up the game after this sophomore college season, was signed by the Jays in the off season after rediscovering his love for the game and some new velo on his fastball, will also start the season with the C's.
   Just-signed 2nd rounder OF J.B. Woodman should find his way to Vancouver shortly, as should Zeuch, Palacios, and Jackson, which should give the C's a tremendous boost.
Bluefield
   The Appy League is the first level where travel and "under the lights" play is involved, so prospects there tend to be more advanced.  Bluefield's roster will not be made official until early next week, but the persistent rumour since March has been that 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr will begin his pro career there.
  Even if Vlad Jr doesn't begin the season with the B-Jays, they should still inherit a fairly talented roster from last season's GCL Jays, which was the most successful entry in the Blue Jays' Gulf Coast history.  The GCL Jays were a more veteran outfit than the Blue Jays have fielded there in the past, but youngsters like OF Reggie Pruitt, and P's Jose Espada, Juan Meza, triple-digit reliever Kelyn Jose, and Lupe Chavez should all start the season with Bluefield.

GCL Jays
   Their games are played at noon under the scorching Florida sun, usually in front of a smattering of family, girlfriends, and scouts.  The Gulf Coast League is truly the lowest rung on the stateside baseball ladder. 2016 HS draftees like Bichette should start the season with the GCL Jays, as well as late-round choices from small colleges, and some members from the strong 2015 DSL Jays roster like OF Noberto Obeso,  SS Kevin Vicuna, and P Jonathan Torres.

Minor League Notebook Vol.4 Ed.1

Phil Kish/ABL.com photo

   The crummy April weather that has had most Southern Ontarians (especially the ones in my household) grumbling this past week also wreaked havoc on the minor league baseball in much of the northeastern section of the U.S.

   Buffalo, New Hampshire, and Lansing all had their season openers postponed by weather more conducive to cross country skiing than baseball.

Notes from Dunedin

   Dunedin did get their season underway, of course, and there was news to report right from the hop on Opening Day.  Conner Greene, who has popped up on the Toronto media's radar, started for the D-Jays, and while he struggled with his command through the early innings, he pitched well over 5 innings.  

Conner Greene 94-96 T97 in the 2nd. Gave up an oppo HR & 2B to RC. Started mixing in secondaries well. Nasty CH at 84 #BlueJays

— Chris King (@StatsKing) April 7, 2016

  He did catch too much of the strike zone on a 2nd inning Home Run, but overall impressed:

Conner Greene works around an Alford E8 to get through 5. Velo holding steady 93-95. Sequencing has gotten better #BlueJays

— Chris King (@StatsKing) April 7, 2016

   I did utter a curse when my good internet friend @BaseballBetsy DM'd me to say that Anthony Alford was taken out of the game after a home plate collision, but later we learned that he was only spiked, but was placed on the 7-day DL on Sunday. Word is that the injury is not that serious, but Alford will need a little time to recover.

   Chris King also had some nice things to say about C Danny Jansen, who I've lauded for his defensive skills for some time now:

Danny Jansen looking very solid behind the plate. Drop & blocking with control. Nice catch on pop up against the backstop nets #BlueJays

— Chris King (@StatsKing) April 7, 2016

   For a big kid (6'2", 230), Jansen moves well behind the plate, and can set up a nice target low in the strike zone.  He's already a good pitch framer, and his handling of pitchers has been praised since rookie ball.

    Many eyebrows were raised when both Greene and Alford were sent to High A; both had impressed at big league camp, and while Greene had finished at AA, Alford was outstanding in half a season at High A.  But last year was their first in full season ball, as Blue Jays MiLB field co-ordinator Doug Davis pointed out in the link above, and the pair still need reps.  Just the same, unless they take drastic steps backward in their development, the pair should be in New Hampshire by June.

Jon Harris: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
   The Blue Jays 1st round pick in 2015 is the only 1st rounder in Lansing's lineup at the moment.
He struggled at times last year with Vancouver in his pro debut, although there were some shining moments.  Harris was fatigued after a lengthy college season, and all indications were that he was good to go this spring.

The Good
   Harris did not make it out of the first inning on this cold, windy April day in Midland, MI.  The Lugnuts had their home opener postponed by rain and snow, as well as the game the next day, so this proved to be their first game of the season.
   So, it might not be easy to find anything good to say about his 37-pitch, 2/3 of an inning performance, but there were some positives.  Harris hit 94 with his fastball on a day that would have been tough to get loose, and his breaking ball showed considerable depth.  He struck out the first batter on a breaking ball that dove sharply for the outer part of the plate, and struck out another batter later in the inning with a similar pitch.

The Bad
  Harris lasted 8 batters before having hit his pitch limit.  He walked the last four batters he faced before being pulled.

The Ugly
   Harris, at 6'6", has a lot of moving parts to his delivery, and can lose the strike zone when he rushes his windup, which he did often in this outing.  When he did so, he tended to land on his front foot too early, and did a bit of a stutter step fall off to the 1st Base side of the mound.  He had considerable difficulty repeating the delivery that featured a longer step, as the walks and 18 strikes he threw on the day demonstrated, but when he did, he was more successful in keeping the ball down and hitting his spots.

   Despite not getting out of the first inning, there's not a great deal to be concerned about Harris just yet.  He was squeezed a bit on two of the walks, and a bloop opposite-field double on what looked like it was about to be a lovely outside corner strike three changed the complexion of the inning. There was only one ball hit hard off of Harris, and the cold weather no doubt made things difficult for him, and made it difficult for him to make adjustments.
   Surprisingly, these were not the chilliest conditions he had ever pitched in:

@Clutchlings77 played in 18 with snow on championship Sunday when I was 14 back home

— Jonathan Harris (@J_Harris_29) April 10, 2016

Three Returning Arms
   Three Blue Jays minor league pitchers made their return to action with Dunedin over the past few days.
   Adonys Cardona signed for a $2.8 million bonus as an international free agent in 2010, but has had difficulties both staying healthy and finding the strike zone.  Promoted to Lansing in 2014, Cardona felt something snap in a game, and was diagnosed afterward to have broken the olecranon bone, which is the bony point on the elbow.
   Fully recovered, reports from Florida this spring said that Cardona was throwing an "easy 95, with the heaviest fastball you'll see."  100 weeks after his injury, he was back in action, throwing a scoreless inning for Dunedin on Friday.

   After allowing only an unearned run on 4 hits over 6 innings to the Pirates GCL entry on August 13th, 2013, Chris Rowley got into a trainer's car and headed to the airport, off to fulfill his commitment to the US Military. The undrafted free agent spent the next couple of years serving his country, which included a deployment to Eastern Europe.  He did not give up on his baseball dreams, however, even keeping up a regular throwing program with the company medic.  Rowley applied for an exemption to the remainder of his five-year obligation last May, and received it in October.
   Rowley returned to baseball action with Dunedin this weekend as well, 32 months since his last professional pitch.  He's had a pair of scoreless outings for the D-Jays, the most recent being a 2.1 inning stint.  He's yet to give up a run.

 LHP Ryan Borucki was taken in the 15th round of the 2012 draft.  He was one of those rolls of the dice by Toronto, overlooked because of concerns about his pitching arm.
   He pitched in the GCL in his draft year, but underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2013.  A year later, he pitched very well in short season ball, ranking as the Appalachian League's 12th Top Prospect in Baseball America's ratings despite spending only half a season there:

Borucki’s fastball was 90-94 early in the season and sat 88-92, touching 94 later in the season. He relies on his two-seamer that has at least average sink and arm-side run. Borucki demonstrates advanced feel for a changeup with plus potential. His curveball is a below-average to fringe-average offering, and Borucki could begin throwing a slider this offseason. He has a starter’s build at a lanky 6-foot-4 with a high waist and significant projection remaining.

    The organization has long been a fan of his makeup and advanced feel for pitching.  Coming into 2015, he seemed destined for full season ball, but tendinitis in his throwing arm caused him to be shut down, He was limited to an early July inning in the GCL last year, and 5 in the Northwest League before his season ended in late July.
   The Blue Jays opted to keep Borucki in Florida and assigned him to Dunedin so that the medical staff could closely monitor him.  In his first competition in almost 9 months, Borucki was hammered by Clearwater on Saturday, surrendering 8 runs on 9 hits before reaching his pitch limit with one out in the 5th.  An observer at the game said that he was hit hard.  A silver lining would have to be the 7 groundouts Borucki recorded.
     It's only one start, but the road ahead for Borucki is long.

Saying Good-bye
   Phil Kish played mostly short stop in high school for New Smyrna Beach (FL) High, and headed off to play for Daytona State College as a pitcher.  After a year, he transferred to West Florida, but saw limited action due to inflammation in his throwing arm.  Kish then got in touch with the coach at Southeastern University, an NAIA school in Lakeland, who had recruited him in high school.  The coach told Kish that his starting rotation was full, but he did have need of bullpen arms.  Kish went on to set the NAIA all-time saves record with 44 in his four years with Southeastern, and graduated with a finance and accounting degree.
   Because he was from an NAIA school, Kish was lightly scouted, and wasn't drafted when he graduated in 2013; his age (24) deterred scouts as well.  The Blue Jays have proven adept over the last number of years at unearthing that kind of hidden talent, and signed Kish after the draft, and sent him to the GCL, where the younger hitters were no match for him.
   Kish skipped the rest of the short season levels and was assigned to Lansing to start 2014.  He pitched well in the back end of the bullpen on a young Lugnuts team that didn't provide a lot of save opportunities.  Kish was shipped to Vancouver in August of that year to help the C's in their pursuit of a fourth consecutive NWL title, and saved 9 games in as many opportunities as Vancouver's title dreams just fell short.
   Kish's 2015 did not go as well as he had hoped.  Opening the season with Lansing, he spent some time in Dunedin before finishing the season with the Lugnuts.  A pair of stints on the 7-Day minor league DL, as well as some inconsistency with his mechanics caused Kish to be hit fairly hard in 2015.  By October, he was ready to put the season behind him and resume his internship with the accounting firm Ernst and Young, where he started in the auditing department the previous off season. "They have been working with me by being flexible with my start date," he said last fall. Much to Kish's surprise, he received a call from the Blue Jays, inviting him to spend a winter with Canberra of the Australian Baseball League.
   Kish jumped at the chance, and after a few rough outings at the start of his Aussie career, pitched well over the rest of the season, which concluded at the end of January.  Reporting to the Jays minor league camp at the beginning of March, the clock was ticking loudly for Kish, who will turn 27 in August.  The Blue Jays gave him his unconditional release at the end of the month, which is not surprising - top draft picks, who the organization lavished huge signing bonuses upon, tend to get far more chances and time to prove themselves than non-drafted free agents.
   Picking a highlight of his time in the Jays organization was tough, but Kish listed playoff runs and spending some time living in Vancouver as times he'll always remember.
   Phil likely considered giving independent ball a try after his release, but with an offer waiting for him from Ernst and Young, he decided to hang up his cleats.  Unlike a lot of other minor league ball players who reach the end of the line, Kish had a good backup plan, and had already started laying the groundwork for his life beyond baseball during his playing days.
   We wish him all the best with his new career.

Random Scouting Reports
   When you scan your Tweetdeck timeline as regularly as I do, you come across some good scouting nuggets.  CJ Wittman, who has filed scouting reports for Baseball Prospectus and 2080baseball.com, tweeted some notes from spring training:

#bluejays 3B Bryan Lizardo projectable physical body; plus bat speed from both sides. Feel for barrel w/ leverage; avg. raw power. Like him.

— CJ Wittmann (@CJWittJr) March 22, 2016

   Lizardo had received positive reviews in 2014, but struggled in his first season of stateside ball last year.  Wittman also praised Lizardo's baseball IQ and approach at the plate. He will start in Vancouver or Bluefield, but is worth keeping tabs on. Only 19, there's plenty of development time ahead of him.

#bluejays Jose Espada projectable frame. FB 88-92; downhill w life. CB 75-77; 11/5 shape w sharp break, shows feel. CH 82-83; fade. Solid.

— CJ Wittmann (@CJWittJr) March 22, 2016

  A 6th round pick from Puerto Rico last year, Espada pitched well in the GCL, and should reach Vancouver this year.

#bluejays Kellen Jose live arm. Loose, wiry frame. 3/4 slot FB 93-95; life. SL 81-83; sharp break, some tilt. Raw feel but live pen arm.

— CJ Wittmann (@CJWittJr) March 22, 2016

  In the "if he ever finds the plate" department, you will find reliever Jose.  The July, 2013 IFA has hit triple digits with his fastball in the past.  He has struck out over a batter per inning so far in his young career.  Bluefield should be where he starts, Vancouver where he finishes.

#bluejays SS Kevin Vicuna solid app. Projectable frame and avg bat speed. Clean swing path. Needs strength. Solid reads/reactions at SS.

— CJ Wittmann (@CJWittJr) March 22, 2016

   The 18-year-old Venezuelan was the 30th-ranked IFA by BA two years ago.  He played in the DSL this year, and will most likely start in the GCL once short season play begins.

#bluejays Juan Meza live arm, projectable frame. 88-90; downhill. CH 85; fade and good arm speed. Front side can open early. Raw feel.

— CJ Wittmann (@CJWittJr) March 22, 2016

   Meza was the 10th-ranked IFA in 2014.  He pitched in the DSL last summer, and made a brief appearance at the end of the GCL season.  Will likely repeat the GCL to start, but could move quickly.  The velocity may seem to be a bit low, but Wittmann pointed out in a subsequent tweet that it was still relatively early in spring training.


The Gabe Noyalis Story Continues
  I wrote about Noyalis last fall.  He walked away from college ball several years ago, but found an outlet in weightlifting.  The lifting resulted in new life on his fastball, which he discovered when he was asked to pitch batting practice for his former high school team before an upcoming playoff game.
  Encouraged by the uptick in velo, Noyalis began throwing in his gym's basement. He was scouted by the Braves and Phillies before being signed by Blue Jays scout Matt Anderson, his 7th Grade basketball coach.  Noyalis was up to 95 last fall.
  I caught up to him this spring, and he reported that he was working on his change and slider.  I asked him if the club had given him any indication where he would start the season, and he responded:

Not too sure yet, they haven't really said anything besides I have to make a club and they just started working on me on tweaks and things like that after watching me for a while and seeing what I have so I think it'll depend on how fast I can progress with the tweaks and everything they make with my.. Also I'd like to get my arm stretched out more I was 90-93 first outing 92-95 2nd outing and today 90-93 again I'd like to see those numbers creep up a little more and sit around 94 eventually.. Definitely feeling confident in the change up and slider at the moment and as a 1 inning guy I'll only need those 3 pitches and just bag the curve

   A week later, he reported that he would be kept in Florida for extended spring training:  "Yeah I'm not upset about it I figured they'd keep me in extended since I haven't played since 2012 so it makes sense and I just want to get better."   When asked what he was working on, he said, " mechanical things, throwing a slider, only going from the stretch.. Things like that, plus just getting my body adjusted to the grind of playing everyday."

   Noyalis should start in the GCL this year.

*********************************************************************************

  This is a labour of love for me, reflective of my long involvement in the grassroots level of the game.  As I stood behind the backstop of one of the minor league fields at the Phillies spring training complex last month, watching as they played the Jays High A and AA teams, I was taken back to my youth.  Growing up in Midland, Ontario, a small town on Georgian Bay 90 minutes north of Toronto, I spent many a summer night in the same position as our town's local senior men's team, the Indians, took to the field.  On game nights, the crowd would slowly file in. Seniors with lawn chairs would occupy spots behind the home plate screen along the 1st base (Home) side, and the bleachers behind would slowly fill up with fans.  The 3rd base stands behind the Visitor's bench would be sparsely populated.  The sportscaster for the local radio station, 1230 CKMP, would set up his equipment on a little swing-up shelf on the screen directly behind home plate. The smell of hand cut french fries from a little kiosk behind the backstop run by John Deakos, who operated a larger chip stand in nearby Little Lake Park, wafted through the pre-game warmups.  I would stand with my friends somewhere between there and the radio man, watching the game, and dreaming of the day I could patrol center field for my hometown nine one day.
   The team, unfortunately, folded the year I graduated from Midland's minor baseball system, because the field was left unplayable when our ancient arena beside it burned to the ground one summer night.
   Because this is a labour of love, if you were to follow me on Twitter (@Clutchlings77), like my Facebook page, or click on some ads when you read this blog, that would help, in small part, fund my writing and research efforts.

Clutchlings Notebook: Happy New Year Edition

MiLB.com photo

The days are getting longer (about a minute- split between sunrise and sunset- per day), and while in some ways these are truly the doldrums of the baseball off season, spring training, and all the promise of a new season, is not far off.
   Here are some of the developments that have taken place in the Blue Jays farm system over the past several weeks:

Boomer Collins Cricket Update
   Almost a month ago, I wrote about the former Jays farmhand who was trying to make a go of things in T20 Cricket, a fast-paced and condensed version of the sport, after being released by Toronto after three years in their organization.
   Collins is training under internationally renowned cricket coach Julien Fountain.  The two first met about a year ago, and Collins' committed full-time to the sport after being released in November. Collins received a crash course in cricket fundamentals in his home state of Texas before travelling to India in early December, in the hopes of catching on with a pro T20 side there.
   Collins, as one might expect, had a little trouble adjusting to hitting balls that bounced or were aimed at his head, but all in all, he had a positive experience.  He was ranked as a "silver" prospect (mid-tier) in a recent draft of prospects by the Pakistani Super League, but wasn't selected.
   He headed home for Christmas, which was part of the plan all along, and is hoping to catch on with a local team to further his cricket education.  He's also had at least one invitation from an English side to join them.  Whatever the case, Fountain has invested some of his own money in training Collins as part of a project to lure other former baseball players to the sport, called SwitchHit20.  Both Fountain and Collins are in this for the long run - the latter is hoping for a breakthrough, while the former has staked his reputation on this project.
   T20 is wildly popular outside of North America.  Players can make a considerable sum of money playing the game - seasons last only several weeks, but are held at different times in different countries, and players can hop from one country to another.
  Collins enjoyed the experience, despite the culture shock of moving from a Dallas suburb to the busy city of Bangalore:  "The most difficult part (of the experience) was getting across the street." He enjoyed the chance to train every day, and feels he just needs playing time to refine his skills and understanding of the game.
   Fountain posted a video to YouTube of Collins' progress while he was in India:

Gabe Noyalis

   He faces long odds to make it much past A ball, and his signing underscores the lack of pitching depth in the organization after all of Alex Anthopoulos' wheeling and dealing dating back to November 2014, but you have to have a heart of granite not to be pulling for the Jays most recent free agent signing.

   The native of Williamsport, PA, pitched for Bucknell as a freshman, and despite appearing only 7 games that year, was slated to be their closer the following season before an ankle injury cost him all of his sophomore year.

Williamsport Sun Gazette Photo

  Noyalis transferred to Misericordia, a Division III powerhouse near Wilkes-Barre PA the following year, but walked away from the game after only one season with the Cougars. Soon after, he began hitting the weight room regularly, and fell in love with lifting.  Then, he told me in a Twitter conversation this week, his old high school team needed someone to throw batting practice to them before a state playoff game last June, and "I hit 91 a few times," despite not having picked up a ball in a couple of years.  Intrigued, he threw a few more times after that, and was up to 93-94, which led to a tryout with the Phillies, but no contract offer. Noyalis threw himself into his comeback full after that, throwing every day.  His velo was up to 97, and the Braves decided to give him a look. 

  At this point, Noyalis realized how much he missed the game, and gave his 7th grade basketball coach a call to update him on things.  His coach just happened to be Blue Jays pro scout Matt Anderson:

He was a scout for the Marlins at the time and had a World Series ring with them and I remember all of us were entranced by it. But yeah I've known Matt since then, he followed my high school and college career but once he moved to Texas and I stopped playing I wasn't in contact with him until this year when I told him how things were going.

   Anderson invited Noyalis to come and throw for him in early December.  The grey, wet late fall/early winter Central Pennsylvania weather, coupled with a lack of a partner to catch him meant that he was limited to throwing sand-filled balls against a wall in his gym's basement.   Nonetheless, Noyalis flew down to Anderson's baseball camp in Texas, and threw between 95-98, and was offered a contract.

   Noyalis will be in Dunedin when training camp opens, and while it's not likely that he breaks camp with a full season team, if his velocity and command hold up, he could see time in Lansing before season's end.  After not having pitched for three and a half years, he will likely need some time to regain feel for his secondary pitches.

   Noyalis' story is somewhat reminiscent of Steve Delabar, who was out of baseball for two years after elbow problems, and after implementing an arm-strengthening program for a high school team he was helping to coach while working as a supply teacher, found his own velocity had improved.  After a successful tryout with the Mariners, Delabar made his MLB debut in 2011, and was dealt to Toronto in 2012, and while he has scuffled the last two years, Delabar represented the Jays at the 2013 All Star game.

Phil Kish Pitches on Down Under

   One of the more enjoyable things about being a minor league blogger is that you can get fairly good and consistent access to the players.  Before he was dealt, Matt Boyd was a frequent correspondent and friend of this blog.  Anthony Alford has always responded to questions, as well.

   Phil Kish is proving to be just as accessible and insightful.  Labelled undersized (at 5"10") and undrafted in 2013 after graduating from Southern University (where he obtained a finance and accounting degree), righthander  Kish had a decent first two pro seasons pitching in relief, but he struggled this year, reaching as far as High A Dunedin.

   As the 2015 season was drawing to a close, Kish had heard rumours that he might be part of the Blue Jays contingent of prospects making their way to Canberra to play in the Australian Baseball League this winter, but he didn't hear anything definite, so he was preparing to resume his internship with Ernst and Young as he worked toward an accounting designation. When he did finally get the word that he was going, Kish was, in his words, "ecstatic":

This past season I had mixed results of struggle and positive and getting this opportunity to come down here to improve my craft was a blessing. Usually after a bad year this was the last opportunity I was expecting. The Blue Jays giving me this opportunity is awesome and I can't be more appreciative. To make the most out of this experience I have to just pitch and learn my mechanics. Pitching is all about making adjustments. I am beyond excited to be representing the Blue Jays and I hope that I can compete at this level and improve my game so I can pitch in Toronto in the near future.

 In his first few outings, Kish admits that he didn't pitch as well as he would've liked, but the hits he gave up were of the groundball variety, which he says, "I'm perfectly okay with since I'm keeping the ball in the park."
   When he's on, Kish pounds the bottom of the strike zone.  I made this gif of a nasty slider he threw to an Aussie League hitter, and it got considerable attention on Twitter:

  When asked how he was adjusting to the ABL a few weeks ago, Kish responded:

You pitch how you know how to pitch if that makes sense. My game is keep the ball down and get ahead of hitters. All it is for me is to execute each pitch with authority. I'm always going to give up more hits than innings because I'm a sinker ball pitcher. Ground ball needs to be a double play for the next hitter. Real adjustments is throwing more change ups ahead and behind in the count.

   Being far from home during the winter was an adjustment in itself for Kish, as was living in a foreign country, with different currency and driving rules.  I have long maintained this is a great arrangement for Blue Jays prospects - even though Canberra is much farther away from home than Toronto is for most of them, the experience of living in a country that's similar, but different from their own gives prospects a taste of what living in Canada might be like.  At Thanksgiving the Canberra players and staff had a turkey dinner down the 3rd Base line, and when I checked in with him in mid-December as Christmas approached, he admitted, "I'm not sure if I am a fan of the Australian Christmas. I need actual cold weather to make it feel like Christmas."   He did acknowledge, however,  that his arm felt great, and he was pleased was how he was pitching.  And the results are backing that up - he had a run of four scoreless outings around Christmas, before giving up a run against Perth, but came back the next day to pitch 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
  At 26, the clock is ticking very loudly on Kish's time in the Blue Jays organization.  Just the same, the fact that they kept him after releasing some of his fellow relievers like Griffin Murphy and Arik Sikula suggests that the club still believes in the sinkerballer.

Jordan Romano Update

   I also have a soft spot for Canadian prospects.  The game has grown so much at the grassroots level in this country, thanks mainly to the efforts of Baseball Canada and National Team coach Greg Hamilton.  

independentsportsnews.com photo

   Romano is from the Toronto suburb of Markham, about a 40-minute drive away from the CN Tower.  He pitched collegiately at Oral Roberts, and the Blue Jays took the hometown boy in the 10th round of 2014. The former Ontario Blue Jay had an excellent pro debut, striking out 33 in 26 innings for Bluefield.

  As spring training opened last year, Romano had a shot at earning a spot on Lansing's roster, but a torn UCL ended his season before it began, and he underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of March.  

   I've talked to him numerous times since the surgery, and he has been consistently upbeat with every check-in.  He began rehabbing the arm just a few weeks after the operation, but throwing would have to wait until the five month mark.  

   By July, he was really sounding positive.  He rehabbed his shoulder 3-4 hours per day, 4 times per week, as well as working on conditioning 6 times weekly.  This is key for Tommy John patients - the return of velocity is often attributed to the surgery, but it's the focused attention on mechanics, nutrition, and conditioning that allows pitchers to return to their pre-op form.

   By late August, Romano was finally throwing again, and by late September he was throwing 80 pitches from a distance of 45 feet three times per week, at 80% effort (although he admits he let loose with the odd throw, and it felt great).  Just this past week, he said he'll finally be throwing off of a mound by the weekend.

   If all goes well, he should be throwing breaking balls and facing live hitters by spring training, with a return to competition sometime after the end of March.  The most likely scenario would be to keep him in the warm weather at the Dunedin complex for at least the month of April, in order to see how his arm responds at extended spring training.  

    Like Kish and Noyalis, Romano has to be considered a long shot to reach the majors.  Still, for those of us who follow the minors as closely as they do MLB, they represent the heart and soul of MiLB.  None had much in the way of negotiating leverage when it came to signing their first contract; Kish and Noyalis likely received no bonus, and college senior Romano accepted a $25 000 bonus, which was almost $140 000 below slot.  Despite working for wages that are lower than a fast food worker's, even though they're among the top at their trade in North America, the dedication these players have never fails to impress.  The one thing all three have in common is their love of the game.

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