Baseball America Hot Sheet
7. Daniel Norris, lhp, Blue Jays
Daniel Norris (Photo by Cliff Welch).Team: Triple-A Buffalo (International)
Age: 21
Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO
The Scoop: After a surprise bump to Triple-A following just eight starts with the Double-A New Hampshire, Norris showed he needed no adjustment to the new level. At Durham, he promptly punched out 10 in six dominant innings, his third time hitting that number this season. Armed with three plus pitches, including a fastball with some of the best late life around, Norris seems poised to be in Toronto as the Blue Jays battle down the stretch for one of the two wild card spots.
13. Franklin Barreto, ss, Blue Jays
Franklin Barreto (Photo by Mike Janes).
Team: Short-season Vancouver (Northwest)
Age: 18
Why He’s Here: .345/.441/.586 (10-for-29), 8 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBIs, 3 BB, 8 SO, 4-for-4 SB
The Scoop: Barreto has done everything to justify the Jays’ faith in him when they gave him a $1.45 million bonus in 2012 out of Venezuela. He was 10-for-29 this week, but that’s just a microcosm of a great season (.324/.402/.511) in which he’s flashed extra-base power. Barreto’s natural strength leads evaluators to peg him at a double-digit home run producer and his plus speed makes him an efficient stolen base threat.
In The Team Photo
Jairo Labourt, lhp, Blue Jays. The 20-year-old lefty, signed out of the Dominican for $350,000 in 2011, has regained his footing after a stumble in his first interaction with full-season ball. Since reaching short-season Vancouver, Labourt is 3-3, 2.15, averaging 10.44 SO/9. In the past week, he’s struck out 14 over 10 2/3 innings with just one run allowed. Labourt has a quick arm and sits 90-93 mph with his fastball, touching 95, but needs to polish up his command (5.13 BB/9 at Vancouver).
Not So Hot
Dawel Lugo, ss, Blue Jays: It’s hard to hold a bad August against a hitter playing in his first full pro season. Lugo, 19, has had a solid season, but he’s running out of gas. He has hit .156/.152/.178 this month at low Class A Lansing of the Midwest League. Lugo’s grounded into as many double plays (three) as he’s scored runs (three) this month.