Mikeleelop

I agree, why wait - if the kid can play and contribute more than what the other options are play him!!

but Maddox pitched to a plate that was 6inches wider on each side.

Dalton Pompey should be the starting CF in 2015 out of spring training if the alternatives are Gose/Pillar. He already has more professional at bats and makes more solid hard contact. His defence is very close to Gose's level. Why delay the inevitable?? Gose and Pillar are AAAA players. Not first division regulars. Gose may be a bench player used for late inning defensive replacement etc. Comments???

he has according to MLBRumours and Ben Badler at Baseball America

Gose is a swinging gate

I agree, Pompey at the plate looks more professional than both Pillar and Gose. If those are the options being considered for CF, personally I'd go with pompey

The big benefit of signing the Cuban FA is that there is no draft pick compensation attached. I think this will be a big deal to AA I also like the idea of signing the other Cuban FA Thomas to play RF. Although, ive read that he may get $100million to sign somewhere. That likely prevents Toronto from being a legitimate player

another Cuban defector. this time a 2B Hector Olivera. He is turning 30 and has good power another wish list addition. Sign Melkey and add Olivera. you have your lineup set! 1. Reyes SS 2. Melkey LF 3. Bautista RF 4. Lind DH 5. EE 1B 6. Navarro C 7. Lawrie 3b 8. Olivera 2B 9. Pillar/Gose CF (Pompey by midseason) Bench Goins IF, Mayberry OF/1b/DH, Valencia 3b/1b, one of pillar/gose OF

headley and prado have not earning their 6 WAR since the trade deadline.. That is over the course of the season. I don't think they were available in April. Also, the increase is WAR is only 4, not the six the Jays are behind in the WC right now. YOu have also excluded Lawrie's numbers. I get the point of your post but obviously its over simplistic to think adding Prado and Headley would improve the Jays record to date by 6 wins

plus some follow up......... BP Comment Quick Links bhacking(65994) Given the success Aaron Sanchez is having out of the bullpen do you think the Jays would be better turning him into a setup guy next year with the goal of being the closer? Howie(71724) I'd say always try the starter route until you're sure it isn't working (such as Dellin Betances). Kyle Matte(64574) While I agree most would rather see this success coming in the rotation, I find it borderline unfathomable that you consider a pitcher who began the season as a 21 year old in Double-A with well documented control concerns who will finish the season dominating the late innings of a major league bullpen a "disappointment". I think most would applaud 2014 as a developmental win for Sanchez, and absolutely a step in the right direction in terms of fulfilling his overall potential. It's unfair to expect every young pitcher to explode into the Show and have immediate success in the rotation like Marcus Stroman has enjoyed. That should be the exception, not the standard. Nick Faleris BP staff(61157) If the projection from April to September has shifted from potential impact arm logging 175+ innings per year to potential impact arm logging 65+ innings per year it would seem to me that's a substantial hit in value. If you told me the day he was drafted that Sanchez would develop into a very good late-inning arm, I'd gladly take that as a "win". But that's not the point of reference for the piece. I'm not sure there's a good argument that the work we saw at Double A and Triple A for 100+ innings represented developmental progress, though I'm open to hearing one. Pointing to 30 innings of relief work (regardless of level) falls well short. The silver lining is Sanchez is gaining experience, adjusting to big league lineups, and learning what it takes to 1) gameplan and 2) execute at the highest level. If he builds on that and returns in 2015 with some of his control/execution issues ironed-out, that's great. If he's in the pen for good, I'm not sure how that's painted as a positive, as opposed to a satisfactory fall-back. dan22ke9(70877) I agree with Kyle about the summation of the Sanchez progress. The written piece completely ignores his MLB accomplishments. Ignores his k/w ratios (command) and seemingly was written in perhaps June and plugged into this piece. Personally, Sanchez does not belong in this article. Doom Service(25407) But without Sanchez, it would only be an "eight-pack" ... Chris Mellen BP staff(68897) I think Mark did a good job of outlining the context of his disappointment in regards to Aaron Sanchez and putting on the table the reasons behind it. It was written over the weekend as well, since I gave this topic out to the team on Friday. In the context that Mark outlined, I agree that Sanchez has been disappointing, having also seen him a handful of times this year and witnessing the same inconsistencies. From a raw stuff perspective, Sanchez's suggests a pitcher than should align with frontline potential and the ability to anchor a rotation for multiple seasons. However, the lack of command outing-to-outing and even inning-to-inning is extremely noticable. From a developmental standpoint, the success in a late inning role for Sanchez has been a positive, but this also may be the role that ultimately suits him long-term. There really weren't any signs this season when he was starting in the minors that the command was taking steps forward or growing. It was mostly stuck in neutral, which perhaps is why Toronto fast-tracked him as a reliever to see how it plays up in short bursts because from a stuff perspective all season it aligned as major-league caliber. jonjacoby(39984) A team drafts a pitcher like Sanchez in the 1st rnd in hopes that he can be a solid contributor to the starting rotation. I'm guessing they envisioned his floor being that of a #3-SP. Yes, a solid-to-excellent contributor out of the bullpen who is possible closer material is still very helpful to a contending team, the Blue Jays still have to be disappointed. I took a look at first round picks for the past 10 or so MLB drafts, and the pitchers who became closers were college guys, unlike Sanchez who is a HS player.

Two guys make a disappointing list by BP Prospect Staff Alberto Tirado, RHP, Blue Jays (Short-season Vancouver) Tirado entered 2014 the no. 3 prospect in Toronto's system and no. 76 on our Top 101, fueled by strong reports on his stuff. It was noted, though that his command needed work and the delivery was inconsistent. Fast forward to the end of this season and those highlighted areas are exactly what came to the surface. We need to remember Tirado is only 19 and developmental paths are often jagged when isolating short-term sections. I’m labeling Tirado's 2014 a “disappointment” more because his present weaknesses were too much for the strengths to overcome than due to a long-term decline in forecast. Still, some of the initial shine has diminished and warts were exposed. We now have concrete areas of focus when evaluating Tirado next season. –Chris Mellen Aaron Sanchez, RHP, Blue Jays (MLB) I knew what I was getting into when I saw Aaron Sanchez on the Double-A New Hampshire roster to start the 2014 season. I had seen him plenty in the Midwest League in 2012, and I had heard about all the wonderful strides he made throughout 2013 in High-A. Maybe that was part of the problem; my expectations for Sanchez may have been too high. I expected to bear witness to a budding front-of-the-rotation horse who would spend the majority of the season dominating the competition. Instead, I spent the summer watching seven games from one of the most enigmatic starters I have seen at Double-A in the last few years. Sanchez battled his delivery from game to game, inning to inning, and even pitch to pitch. As he struggled with consistency in advance of release, his results were all over the map. Sanchez would demolish one hitter with premium velocity and a ridiculous curveball and then look like a Rookie Leaguer against the next batter. At any given moment in his starts, Sanchez’s raw potential was clearly on display, but that potential showed with maddening infrequency. I like the mid-90s heat and the hammer breaking ball, but the firmness of his changeup and lack of feel for his craft left me wanting more. It is obvious Sanchez can get big-league hitters out, and he will be able to accomplish that over the long haul, but after scouting nearly 50 innings from him this summer, I remain far from convinced that the former first-round pick can be an impact starting pitcher, a conclusion I could not envision when the season began. –Mark Anderson

Tank job again this year please. Just like the last two

Wow. That may be ft 3b next year?

Was not an error technically

Watch the whole play. Saki made a horrible throw to start the turn. The throw was at Reyes knees. Lost the split second that made the difference Yes Reyes throw was off but looked like ellsbury was going to be safe anyway

Walk off E3

so in the keith law chat today he stated that AA was permitted to trade but not to add ANY ADDITIONAL salary during the season. This, if true, is utter ********. Rogers should catch a whole lot of s*** from fans everywhere. To be so close and not add any salary is cruel and unusual punishment.

you are in control here - use the Ignore function

I'm saying MLB is inconsistent with their "punishments" and are unable to determine intent. They can believe what they think Stroman intended, just like they believe Flier did not intend to hit two consecutive batters. I'm just saying MLB (and apparently most on this message board) think they know what Stroman intended, which is contradicted by what Stroman has said. But MLB and those on this message board believe Flier did not intentionally hit Stanton and Johnson.... stroman by responding showed that he is a competitive 23 year old. Not that he intended to hit joseph in the head. he was not "head hunting". if MLB believe he was head hunting and only suspended him 6 games then they are dumber then anyone could ever perceive

that is true, however I hate the precedent of the BlueJay kid getting disciplined when it is not consistent with MLB decisions Flier - fined

he did not run his mouth at Showalter. he responded to their dugout. Baltimore pegs bautista intentionally. everyone knows it, where is discipline for O'day??? am I a homer, ya - but come on. no warning b4 stroman's errant pitch. now we all know what is going on in his head is sanchez going to get suspended too? the guy had two HR's yesterday. we know he was sending him a message. wtf people players are diving into the ball really hard. pitchers have to pitch inside. sometimes people get hit. move on. Baltimore over reacted big time. They have a player who swings his bat at catchers heads then flings the bat at 3b, and they whine about a few pitches inside. do we really think stroman tried to hit joseph in the head? come on, hes not stupid - that wasn't his intent anymore than Flier hitting Stanton in the face or Headley getting plunked in the chin

f*** show alter Leave in the RH

Francisco siting

And the catcher didn't get hit by stroman. But he still got suspended and Baltimore reacted like whiny little bitches

He's been in the system 5 years hasn't he? He was acquired 2010 Not sure what they've worked on with him. He can't bunt. Can't put the ball in play. He doesn't hit for power