Daniel Norris: One of a Kind

[Laika]

I do this once a month or so just because I like to.

 

Hutch

Stro

Sanch

Norris

Hoffman

Osuna

Castro

Foley

Smoral

Labourt

Boyd

Boruki

 

If they don't get 3-4 Above average starters, 4-5 above average pen arms, out of that list, they should seriously consider some player development moves.

 

And there's more, too.

 

Clinton Hollon, Taylor Cole, Alberto Tirado, Angel Perdomo.... some other pure RP prospects.

 

so many arms

[GD]

And there's more, too.

 

Clinton Hollon, Taylor Cole, Alberto Tirado, Angel Perdomo.... some other pure RP prospects.

 

so many arms

 

Hollon TJS, Tirado Romero syndrome

[Laika]

Hollon TJS, Tirado Romero syndrome

 

TJS is like a Bar Mitzvah for pitchers. A rite of passage.

 

Tirado is very likely not even a AAA caliber arm but scouts like his s*** so he's worth mentioning still. maybe.

[TwistedLogic]

I do this once a month or so just because I like to.

 

Hutch

Stro

Sanch

Norris

Hoffman

Osuna

Castro

Foley

Smoral

Labourt

Boyd

Boruki

 

If they don't get 3-4 Above average starters, 4-5 above average pen arms, out of that list, they should seriously consider some player development moves.

 

3-4 starters AND 4-5 pen arms? I really hope you don't expect 7-9 above average major leaguers out of a group of 12 pitching prospects.

 

Also, are Stilson and Cardona no longer worth a mention? Didn't follow the minors as much as I would have liked this past year, always thought Stilson would at least develop into a decent reliever.

[Jimcanuck]

I do this once a month or so just because I like to.

 

Hutch

Stro

Sanch

Norris

Hoffman

Osuna

Castro

Foley

Smoral

Labourt

Boyd

Boruki

 

If they don't get 3-4 Above average starters, 4-5 above average pen arms, out of that list, they should seriously consider some player development moves.

 

that's rather ambitious, most will wash out of baseball

[ElNik2013]

Hutchison Osuna and Castro dumnie

 

 

 

 

Hutchison, Osuna, TJS.

[Laika]

3-4 starters AND 4-5 pen arms? I really hope you don't expect 7-9 above average major leaguers out of a group of 12 pitching prospects.

 

Also, are Stilson and Cardona no longer worth a mention? Didn't follow the minors as much as I would have liked this past year, always thought Stilson would at least develop into a decent reliever.

 

Well to be fair he listed non-prospects Hutch and Stroman who are already above average SP. That only leaves 1-2 more from the entire list... so not unreasonable.

 

Cardona is a complete write off at this point.

[King]

3-4 starters AND 4-5 pen arms? I really hope you don't expect 7-9 above average major leaguers out of a group of 12 pitching prospects.

 

Also, are Stilson and Cardona no longer worth a mention? Didn't follow the minors as much as I would have liked this past year, always thought Stilson would at least develop into a decent reliever.

 

Stilsons arm is dead, I think he's expected to miss most of 2015.

 

Cardona - Broken elbow, can't throw strikes, future reliever

[ElNik2013]

3-4 starters AND 4-5 pen arms? I really hope you don't expect 7-9 above average major leaguers out of a group of 12 pitching prospects.

 

Also, are Stilson and Cardona no longer worth a mention? Didn't follow the minors as much as I would have liked this past year, always thought Stilson would at least develop into a decent reliever.

 

 

 

Stilson was always an injury concern and unfortunately, the shoulder injury he suffered in college flared up last year. I think he underwent surgery, but hopefully he's able to help the bullpen.

[GD]

3-4 starters AND 4-5 pen arms? I really hope you don't expect 7-9 above average major leaguers out of a group of 12 pitching prospects.

 

Also, are Stilson and Cardona no longer worth a mention? Didn't follow the minors as much as I would have liked this past year, always thought Stilson would at least develop into a decent reliever.

 

Stilson arm explosion, Cardona Romero syndrome

[ElNik2013]

I do this once a month or so just because I like to.

 

Hutch

Stro

Sanch

Norris

Hoffman

Osuna

Castro

Foley

Smoral

Labourt

Boyd

Boruki

 

If they don't get 3-4 Above average starters, 4-5 above average pen arms, out of that list, they should seriously consider some player development moves.

 

 

 

They should always be looking to improve the organization, including PD, but so far, the Pitcher Development under this F/O has been pretty decent.

 

Consider the cases of Stroman, Syndergaard, Norris, Graveman, Nolin, Sanchez, Nicolino and I think you should feel more at ease than you do.

 

 

There's also good stuff being shown by guys in the lower minors, specifically, the strides made by Smoral this past season which could be comparable to Norris's 2nd half in 2013.

[Boxcar]

Anyone got a gif of a Norris fastball missing the spot by a foot right over the plate but getting the guy to take it for a called strike anyway? What a beauty.

[TwistedLogic]

There's also good stuff being shown by guys in the lower minors, specifically, the strides made by Smoral this past season which could be comparable to Norris's 2nd half in 2013.

 

I seriously hope so. He's really the only high-profile pitcher that the Jays have drafted over the past few years that hasn't gotten it together yet. At the time, I remember everyone feeling that he should have gone a lot higher if he hadn't injured his foot, and he's in the same list as Norris and Hoffman as guys that I was/am really optimistic about. Would be great if he ultimately pans out as well.

 

On the other end though, I've really s*** the bed with my pitching prospect predictions. Over the past few years, I've probably been most excited about Dean, Anderson and Tellez, and I know it's still incredibly early for Tellez, but the first two guys haven't done anything.

 

What's Matt Boyd's stock like right now?

[King]

I seriously hope so. He's really the only high-profile pitcher that the Jays have drafted over the past few years that hasn't gotten it together yet. At the time, I remember everyone feeling that he should have gone a lot higher if he hadn't injured his foot, and he's in the same list as Norris and Hoffman as guys that I was/am really optimistic about. Would be great if he ultimately pans out as well.

 

On the other end though, I've really s*** the bed with my pitching prospect predictions. Over the past few years, I've probably been most excited about Dean, Anderson and Tellez, and I know it's still incredibly early for Tellez, but the first two guys haven't done anything.

 

What's Matt Boyd's stock like right now?

 

Matt Boyd could be a #4 or #5 starter, LHP w/ 89-91 MPH fastball

Deceptive guy, herky jerky delivery

[TwistedLogic]

Haven't seen that one. On the topic of Norris GIFs though...

 

Norris striking out Myers:

 

http://www.bluejaysplus.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/NorrisMyers.gif

 

Norris striking out Triple-A:

 

http://gifs.houseofthebluebird.com/wp-content/uploads/Norris13K.gif

 

And the full-scale version of the Papi one that NJH hates

 

http://giant.gfycat.com/SillyBlankFox.gif

[TwistedLogic]

Matt Boyd could be a #4 or #5 starter, LHP w/ 89-91 MPH fastball

Deceptive guy, herky jerky delivery

 

Nice! That was an excellent draft pick as well. A lot of people thought that with the new draft system, the Jays would have trouble continuing to draft like they had been doing throughout AA's tenure, but with a couple of years having passed since then, the Jays drafting and development teams don't seem to have missed a step. The top tier guys are looking good, and they're getting legitimate value out of late-rounders (like Pillar and Pompey) and cheap punt-style picks (like Graveman and possibly Boyd). There's plenty of intriguing low-cost guys from 2014 as well, like Isaacs and Heidt, and all the guys we've yet to get a serious look at, like Brentz and Tellez from 2013.

[aselvana]

reminds me of a movie starring emile hirsch, Into the wild.

 

dat beard doe. what a beaut

[Orgfiller]

I feel like that loopy curve is just a show-me pitch to change the hitter's eye level and effectively allow him to change speeds later in the AB. MLB hitters will crush it if he consistently hangs it near the zone like he did to Ortiz.

[StroShow]

It reads 71 there but I remember Kiley McDaniel mention that Norris' CB sits around 74-76. I doubt it's at the level of his FB and slider but his curve and change so far seem to be getting mixed reviews from scouts and so I don't really know what to believe. Some say plus, others say fringy.

[Brownie19]

That obviously wasn't Norris's best curve ball.

 

I never noticed it before, but in the AAA .gifs above, you can see Norris lands on the first base side quite a bit, causing him to throw across his body. This is something they really tried to correct on Hutch...just an observation. Stop surfin', start fixing that man!

[Angrioter]

Norris and Travis

[jays76]

Yeah he's definitely a free spirit with his just keep livin comment (a la Matthew McConaughey who's also an rv enthusiast) and his appreciation for Jack Johnson along with the wanderlust Chris McCandless vibe.

 

He could just be a hipster going through a phase but he's a breath of fresh air imo from your typical testerone filled jocks (I'm looking at you Brett Lawrie). I just hope he comes through on the field or else we'll be seeing all the weirdo, flakey, misfit articles about him.

[Brownie19]

That crossfire motion interests (and worries) me more than his beard, cooking habits and musical tastes. Does anyone have anymore info on it? Was it perhaps the root of his control problems prior to last year? Have the Jays worked to eliminate it?

[Laika]

...but it finally tore late last year and had the scary labrum surgery. I remember them saying 8 month rehab...

 

Man, probably closer to 18 months. Pineda tore his labrum in March/April 2012 and didn't get back into a game until June 2013 (14 months or so). But even then, hiccups are common - the Yanks shut Pineda down for shoulder soreness in early August of 2013. It basically took Pineda 24 months to get sort of healthy.... and you could argue that he's still not right since he missed 3 months / 87 games last year with a shoulder strain.

 

I think you can basically forget about Stilson ever being a big leaguer.

[Laika]

Andrew Stoeten and 1 other retweeted

Shi Davidi ‏@ShiDavidi Aug 15 Chicago, IL

#BlueJays RHP prospect John Stilson underwent surgery to repair labrum in shoulder. Recovery is 6-8 months.

 

lol @ 6 months for a torn labrum.

[Laika]

Sounds more like the recovery for a person who doesn't pitch with the shoulder.

 

Yeah I think that was Pentecost's estimate, was it not?

[flafson]

Oops

[flafson]

Haha, oops.

[jays76]

I've never been a huge Jack Johnson fan but I have to admit that Breakdown song always makes me feel like whipping up a daiquiri and lighting a fattie.

 

[Spanky99]

Had a frayed labrum at time of draft...optioned for rehab...and that worked for a while...but it finally tore late last year and had the scary labrum surgery. I remember them saying 8 month rehab...so he may be back at some time next summer, but what he looks like when he gets back is anyone's guess. Labrum surgery does not have near the success rate that TJ has. Janssen had shoulder labrum surgery as well...his velocity dipped (I remember when he first got called up as a starter, he could relatively hit 94). I think McGowan had labrum surgery too...but he was able to regain his velocity for the most part.

 

It'll be interesting to see if he can get it back.

 

Yeah, Labrum surgery's the scariest bar none, he had the surgery mid-August, rehab estimated 6-8 months, I doubt we see him at all this year, maybe after the all-star break at the earliest. I was pumped to see him this year in a 8th/9th inning role, there went that, keep your fingers and toes crossed...