John_Havok

I think it's the bat to ball skills that will keep his obp down. I think Vlad has a lot more strike zone aggression and will put way more balls in play than Votto, which will keep his OBP down (and by down I mean... something like .380ish). I don't envision Vlad walking upwards of 16% of the time long term.

Not sure if serious....

Actually... Votto seems like he'd be a pretty close comp to Vlad's ceiling... maybe more pop and less obp...

Or have Warmoth and Smith play SS/2b at Dunedin. No need to skip over a level for Smith

"In his apology, Votto said being asked about baseball in Canada, the Blue Jays and the Paxton no-hitter recalled his resentment for not making Team Canada or being drafted by the Blue Jays out of high school and not being picked for the Olympic team while in the minors." That statement would seem to indicate he cares a great deal about being a Canadian baseball player, and was pretty upset that he didn't get chance to rep Canada or play for the Jays when he was younger. Obviously those feelings lingered and his initial statement about not caring at all was born of that frustration. Much like Brett Hull when he was passed over for even trying out for the World Championships for Canada in 1986, but was still eligible to play for the US and did, then always played for the US in future tournaments because he felt he owed it to them for giving him that chance.

Players of the Day: Chavez Young, Samad Taylor, Christian Williams, Bradley Jones, Logan Warmoth, Cavan Biggio Honourable Mentions: Kevin Vicuna, Yeltsin Gudino, Jonathan Davis, Bo Bichette, Conor Panas, Juan Kelly,

Ardent Zwelling puts a decent article together here with video from Vlad's game last night, including the good, bad and ugly. Also has video on Bichette and Biggio https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/fisher-cats-takeaways-guerrero-jr-gives-full-vlad-experience/sn-amp/

The difference being.... Osuna had only 129 innings of injury filled minor league ball under his belt over 4 seasosn, including a TJ surgery, so his decision was probably largely based on health rather than a lack of belief in his stuff. His numbers when he pitched as a starter were always pretty good. There's 0 reason to think Pearson needs to be relegated to a pen arm after 21 innings and a freak line drive injury

I think listening to anything Blair and Barker say about prospect development is about as smart as jumping into a swimming pool filled with double edged razor blades.

Seems like a perfect opportunity for Bauer to weigh on Verlander's increased spin.

I can't speak for Hurl, but anything under 90% would absolutely shock me. And I mean the full range of PEDs, not just the obvious steroids.

Is VLad Jr ?

weird. Fixed it.

Players of the day: Kevin Vicuna, Kevin Smith, Bo Bichette, Vlad Jr, Conor Panas, Dalton Pompey, Danny Jansen Honourable Mentions: Juan Kelly, Cavan Biggio, Andrew Guillotte, Donnie Sellers

Jansen gets plenty of love around here, it's just the collective boners around Vlad cast shadows over anyone else.

Smith has to move up. I know they want Warmoth in Dunedin everyday but if they shoot John La Prise into the sun (24 year old who ... sucks) then one of Smith or Warmoth plays 2nd. I don't think stalling Smith at Lansing is a good idea.

Vlad Jr is Baseball America's #1 prospect on this week's Hot Sheet 1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, Blue Jays Team: Double-A New Hampshire (Eastern) Age: 19 Why He’s Here: .393/.414/.714 (11-for-28), 7 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0-for-1 SB. The Scoop: Guerrero’s week in some ways looks almost ordinary. He hit .393, but that’s actually four points below his average for the season, an absurd .397. He has 12 hits since he last struck out. But just because Guerrero does the inexplicable on a regular basis shouldn’t allow us to get jaded about just how impressive Guerrero’s season is. He’s a 19-year-old who is more advanced than all the 23 and 24-year-old pitchers he’s facing. Guerrero leads the Eastern League in batting, hits, RBIs and is among the league’s top five in nearly every other offensive category. He’s also the second-toughest player in the league to strike out. He’s simply unlike any hitter we’ve seen in the minors in years. (JJ) Sean Reid Foley checks in at number 6 6. Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Blue Jays Team: Double-A New Hampshire (Eastern) Age: 22 Why He’s Here: 1-0, 3.00, 9 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 7 BB, 15 SO The Scoop: Repeating Double-A after registering a 5.09 ERA in a full season there last year, Reid-Foley has shown crisper, more consistent stuff this season. Working off a 92-96 mph fastball, Reid-Foley mixes in a slider that flashes plus to get swings and misses to both lefties and righties. He changed his changeup grip in spring training and the pitch had the best action yet in his start last week against Portland. Fastball command remains a focal point for him to improve, but Reid-Foley’s stuff has come together this year to help him hold down a 1.88 ERA in 38.1 innings with 46 strikeouts and 17 walks. (BB) And Biggio at 14 14. Cavan Biggio, 2B, Blue Jays Team: Double-A New Hampshire (Eastern) Age: 23 Why He’s Here: .261/.250/.783 (6-for-23), 5 R, 4 HR, 10 RBIs, 0 BB, 8 SO. The Scoop: Biggio is the third of the triumvirate of sons of famous big leaguers at New Hampshire. He’s not Guerrero or Bichette, but if he can keep this up, he is a prospect in his own right. At Notre Dame and in the early part of his career, Biggio was best at slapping the ball around the field and taking plenty of walks. This year he’s tapped into some major power and gone from having a sub-.100 isolated slugging percentage to a a nearly .400 ISO. He’ll likely have some regression as the season wears on, but his newfound power makes him a much more interesting prospect. (JJ) Kevin Smith at 16 16. Kevin Smith, SS, Blue Jays Team: low Class A Lansing (Midwest) Age: 21 Why He’s Here: .500/.480/.792 (12-for-24), 6 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBIs, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2-for-2 SB The Scoop: The Blue Jays drafted college shortstops in the first and fourth rounds last year, nabbing North Carolina’s Logan Warmoth at No. 22 overall and then Smith out of Maryland at No. 129. Warmoth has started slowly at high Class A Dunedin, but Smith has excelled one level lower in the Midwest League, which he leads in hits (50), RBIs (31), doubles (19) and slugging (.639). While Smith doesn’t necessarily have a plus tool on his report, his well-rounded game is making the case for a second-half bump to the Florida State League. (ME)

Couple of Jays kids with MILB Hitter of the Week honors for their respective leagues from May 7-13 Florida State Eduard Pinto Dunedin .476/.542/.714, 6 G, 10-for-21, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 SB Midwest Kevin Smith Lansing .500/.480/.792, 5 G, 12-for-24, 5 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 SB And before anyone asks, Pinto is a nobody 23 year old repeating High A and has no power so ... no... not a prospect. Smith needs a promotion it's now comically overdue.

In his favour... it is his 1st shot at AA so it's not like he's a 23 year old repeating a 2nd or 3rd year there, and he is younger than league average age. He's just not younger than average age for what's normally expected to be a prospect at AA.

Yeah likely. One of the Oakland A's players can't enter Canada either right now because of a legal issue and will miss their series here. He pulled a gun on a food delivery worker and gets sentenced June 4th.

Looks like quite the pushoff.... 7 feet of extension from a sub 6 footer is pretty unusual.

I understand your point, but just because I can see 2 jet crashes, it doesn't make me feel better about watching a train wreck.

The thing i like the most about Gibby is the info he gave in some interview at the start of the year where he admitted that he wasn't a big student of the analytics previously but has been making the effort to learn about it and use it with his management of games.

I have a few minor nitpicky things like him still waiting too long to yank the starters...after they've given up the lead rather than 1 or batters prior when it's clear the starter is just serving it up... but that might be because the starters have been so s*** that he's really limited in his options. He always has been very loyal to his starters in that way and i'm not sure if the results would be any better now given the pen is already overworked ... and getting more work probably won't do it any favours.

Actually I think the gap would be closer to 3 WAR or better, but those wins would be given back by the train wreck of a pitching staff right now.