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	<title>Toronto &#187; Mike Passador</title>
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		<title>Jonathan Davis and Dwight Smith Jr.: Making the Most of Limited Opportunity</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/09/26/young-outfielders-trying-to-make-the-most-of-limited-opportunity/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2018 10:49:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dwight Smith Jr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonathan Davis]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16760</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK – Even if the games have been completely meaningless from a competition standpoint, September baseball has been a breath of fresh air for the Blue Jays. The second half of the season has seen a number of encouraging debuts: from Ryan Borucki, Sean Reid-Foley and Thomas Pannone all taking turns through the rotation, to [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK – Even if the games have been completely meaningless from a competition standpoint, September baseball has been a breath of fresh air for the Blue Jays.</p>
<p>The second half of the season has seen a number of encouraging debuts: from Ryan Borucki, Sean Reid-Foley and Thomas Pannone all taking turns through the rotation, to Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire behind the plate. And, of course, there’s been the incredible hot start from Rowdy Tellez, who took the league by storm with his doubles barrage.</p>
<p>While that group has drawn the bulk of the headlines, the Blue Jays have also called up a pair of outfielders who are hoping to stake their claim to future spots with the big club: Jonathan Davis and Dwight Smith Jr. Playing time for the pair hasn’t quite been there to this point, with Smith making just one start in the seven games following the series opener in New York on September 14th, and the pair combining for six pinch-hitting or pinch-running appearances over that same timeframe.</p>
<p>Rowdy Tellez was put into the starting lineup against David Price on September 12<span style="font-size: 13.3333px">th</span>, with John Gibbons referring to the tough matchup as one of the challenges that players have to face if they’re to prove themselves as everyday options. In a manner of speaking &#8212; the direct quote was, “<a href="https://twitter.com/bnicholsonsmith/status/1039997281368461314" target="_blank">What, you think he&#8217;s a platoon player? If he&#8217;s going to be any good he&#8217;s got to play both ways</a>.” But the point stands. The same opportunities haven’t been extended to Smith and Davis just yet, as Gibbons juggles things around with a full outfield group.</p>
<p>“Well, you know what happens is we brought a lot of young kids up and you want to see them play, but you’ve still got your core group of guys that are going to be here next year themselves,&#8221; Gibbons explained. &#8220;Most of them haven’t had a full season but you still – they need to play their six months. So you can’t just sit them and play the other guys all the time, I don’t want to do that. So you know we’ve been trying to make sure they all get some kind of playing time. I think it’s going pretty good right now.”</p>
<p>The job of sorting out playing time in the outfield has been made more difficult by the solid play of Billy McKinney and Randal Grichuk, who figure to be part of the team’s long-term plans. Gibbons is hesitant to disrupt anyone’s rhythm, but is aware that those who aren’t getting consistent work deserve a chance to work into the same rhythm themselves.</p>
<p>“It can be tough if you’re a hitter, timing is everything with hitting, it can mess with that a little bit but you know what, they’ll figure it out,” Gibbons said. “You wish you could play all of them all the time but you can’t, but I do think it’s important they all get in there every so often.”</p>
<p>Neither Smith nor Davis said they had heard about how much they would play to close out the season, but that their primary focus was on showing up to work and helping the team win. If either could make a good impression over the final handful of games, it would give the Jays some additional hope in the outfield going forward. It&#8217;s a spot where the depth has been problematic for a few years running &#8212; a problem that was only exacerbated by Jose Bautista’s decline in right and the team’s revolving door of subpar defenders in the opposite corner.</p>
<p>When Steve Pearce hit the DL between games of a doubleheader on May 3<sup>rd</sup>, Smith came up in a corresponding move. He was optioned back to Triple A just one day later, with Dalton Pompey getting the call. The very next day saw Anthony Alford summoned from Buffalo. That duo would last on the roster for a full week before Pompey was returned to Buffalo on the 12<sup>th</sup>, with Alford getting sent down two days later. That brought the return of Smith, who would be sent down at the beginning of June. The next outfielder to join the Blue Jays was Darnell Sweeney, with Smith making another brief cameo before McKinney was added to the mix. It’s a crowded group without many sure things, and one that saw the addition of both Curtis Granderson and Grichuk in the preceding offseason.</p>
<p>While adding competition to the mix in Toronto didn’t have an immediate effect on the battle for playing time in the minors, it’s something that Davis couldn’t help but notice even, if it didn’t change his approach to the game.</p>
<p>“If you have a goal that you’re trying to reach and you see something or anything interfering with that of course it crosses your mind,&#8221; Davis said. &#8220;But at the end of the day you’ve got to realize that you can only do what you can do, you know what I mean? If you spend all your time worrying about what’s going on and things you can’t control, then you just miss out on getting better and miss out on progressing.”</p>
<p>Davis hasn’t missed out on any progression this year, blitzing Double A with a .302/.388/.443 line to go with five dingers and 19 steals in 78 games before getting promoted to Buffalo and then the majors, collecting his first big league hit in the process. While his numbers with the Bisons weren’t as good (.249/.308/.389 with five homers and nine steals in 46 games), the organization felt his season was strong enough to warrant a look in September – something that Davis wasn’t expecting to get.</p>
<p>“You’ve got some good players up here, man, and you’ve got some good players in the organization. Not saying that I didn’t want that to happen but I didn’t expect it because of the depth. It was an awesome feeling to get that call and to be able to contribute to this ballclub.”</p>
<p>The same can’t be said for Smith, who has had several cups of coffee with the Jays and always seems to get sent back down through no fault of his own. Entering Thursday night’s game against the Rays, Smith had hit .286/.358/.452 in 46 games at the MLB level, a continuation of his quality work with the bat throughout the minors. This season he went .268/.358/.413 in 85 games with the Bisons, with 32 of his 83 hits going for extra bases. Despite the early success, the team keeps Smith working on some select things whenever he’s demoted.</p>
<p>“They give me a couple things to work on but I just work on what I’ve been working on from the offseason. Taking it into the season, just trying to continue my good habits, working hard and just come in ready to play.”</p>
<p>Most young left-handers struggle with southpaw pitching early in their careers, and Smith was no different. He does differ, however, in that he seems to have handled the learning curve faster than most. In his first two years of pro ball, Smith collected just 20 hits in 109 ABs against left handed pitchers. He took a major step forward in 2014 with Dunedin, hitting .300 with 16 extra base hits and an OPS of .939 in 120 ABs. Things weren’t as kind in New Hampshire, as Smith hit .247 across 243 at-bats against lefties in 2015 and 2016. It certainly looks like things have clicked in Triple A, however, as Smith picked up a slash line of .321/.378/.440 in 109 ABs against southpaws in 2017 and has followed that up with .282/.364/.398 marks in 102 ABs this season. Smith says a lot of his recent success has to do with learning to be more selective in his approach.</p>
<p>“I started laying off of pitchers’ pitches and started hitting pitches that I wanted to hit and not chase as much. That helped me a lot, because my first time in Double A I feel like pitchers pitched different than I was accustomed to in the past and I just got used to it.”</p>
<p>Beyond his relative success against left-handed pitching, that patience has always manifested itself in sterling on-base and walk numbers. To this point his career-low OBP is .332, aside from a .279 mark in his very first taste of pro ball back in 2012. This year, Smith had 44 walks and 53 strikeouts with Buffalo.</p>
<p>While Smith’s numbers are hard to ignore, it’s not exactly easy to stand out in a crowded outfield mix at Buffalo that also featured Davis, Pompey, Alford and speedster Roemon Fields. That has lead to some competition for playing time, both in Buffalo and theoretically at the next level, but the fact that all of them are battling for the same spots hasn’t affected their relationship with one another.</p>
<p>“It was all good between all of us. We all got along pretty fine, we did stuff on and off the field. We became buddies throughout the minor leagues before we all landed on the same team so it was second nature. I thought it was pretty fun and seeing everybody do well is always awesome.”</p>
<p>Davis believes that the healthy competition is good for the entire group, adding, “We’re all pretty much boys. Come to the field every day to work. We enjoy going out there and competing and playing together. We all definitely want to make it to the big leagues and compete for a starting spot, but I don’t think that hinders our relationship with each other.”</p>
<p>The organization is also hoping that internal competition pushes each player to their peak. Everything seemed to click for the young Jays in Thursday night’s comeback win, as both players were called on to pinch-hit; Smith doubled and Davis was hit on the 10<sup>th</sup> pitch of his at-bat in the team’s furious ninth-inning rally. It’s too early to say definitively what next year might hold for Davis and Smith, but they’ll both go about their business and try to make the most of limited chances in the meantime.</p>
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		<title>Luke Maile Hoping to Finish Career Year on Strong Note</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/09/23/luke-maile-hoping-to-finish-career-year-on-strong-note/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 23 Sep 2018 15:18:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Luke Maile]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16756</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK – The Blue Jays haven’t given fans much to get excited about this season. Entering the year needing a ton of breaks to stay in the playoff hunt, pretty much everything went wrong. The team has received precious little from its four or five supposed “best” players, with J.A. Happ being the lone [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK – The Blue Jays haven’t given fans much to get excited about this season. Entering the year needing a ton of breaks to stay in the playoff hunt, pretty much everything went wrong. The team has received precious little from its four or five supposed “best” players, with J.A. Happ being the lone standout of that group before his trade to the Yankees.</p>
<p>One other exception is Luke Maile, who has very quietly put together a career season. Though most fans will remember his clutch hits and hot start, Maile sits with a slash line of .249/.336/.371 through September 20. Those are all career-highs by comfortable margins, as are his games played (62), plate appearances (226), RBI (27) and walk rate (11.1%). Maile’s next home run will represent a new career-high and this is also the first season where he hasn’t spent any time below the Major League level. Among catchers with at least 100 plate appearances Maile ranks 22<sup>nd</sup> in TAv, 17<sup>th</sup> in wRC+ and 13<sup>th</sup> in WARP, which makes him one of the best backup catchers in the game this season pretty much any way you slice it.</p>
<p>His emergence has been a pleasant surprise and he has potentially played his way into the team’s future with Russell Martin’s deal set to expire at the conclusion of next season. As for the present, Maile is sharing time behind the dish with Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire as the season comes to a close. Despite Maile’s fine season, much of the talk is about Jansen emerging as Toronto’s catcher of the future (ignoring all the gloom that the term has portended in the past). With the playing time scales  have tilted toward the younger options at this point in the year, Maile is taking more of a hands-off approach than you might expect.</p>
<p>“First and foremost, man, I’m not a giant believer in, like, ‘<em>you have to have a veteran in order to succeed at this level.</em>’ I think that – I try and stay out of the way as much as possible. I think that these guys are obviously established as guys that are going to be good players in the big leagues someday. So to me it’s just letting them create their own niche, have their own feel out there. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes is the best thing for a pitching staff anyway.”</p>
<p>It’s a different take on the situation with so much talk about what young players can take from their older counterparts, but Maile isn’t letting Jansen and McGuire fend for themselves entirely.</p>
<p>“Certainly there’s opportunities where there’s situations in games where maybe they have a question about when a good time for the other team to run is going to be, just little things like that that may come up where maybe I have seen just a little bit more games at this level than they have so maybe it helps. But aside from that as far as their own games I just try and stay out of the way.”</p>
<p>The expectation has always been for Jansen, and to a lesser extent McGuire, to do the heavy lifting in September with Martin getting extended time off. For Maile, he&#8217;s staying realistic about the situation and not letting his playing time affect his attitude. He hasn’t heard anything specific in terms of how much he’ll play the rest of the way, saying, “No, and I haven’t asked for it either. I mean I don’t expect it and this is the highest level, right? You show up, you do your job, if you’re in the lineup you play and if not you be a good teammate and try and get better that day. No expectation for that, just trying to finish strong.”</p>
<blockquote><p>“I’m not a giant believer in, like, ‘you have to have a veteran in order to succeed at this level.’ I think that – I try and stay out of the way as much as possible.” &#8211; Luke Maile</p></blockquote>
<p>He also believes that it’ll be good for the younger players to play in some “cool environments” as they embark on their big league careers, even as it comes at the expense of his own playing time. Maile has played in just two of six games since sitting down with BP Toronto, but regardless of how often he’s in the lineup his goals for the rest of the way are simple and unchanged.</p>
<p>“Just continue to be aggressive, man. I’ve had a decent year with the bat and I think it’s mainly because I’ve been driving the ball a bit more and trying to do some more damage. The playing time isn’t quite there right now so it’s a little more difficult to get timing and consistent reps and all that but for me it’s just get on time for the fastball and try to make something happen.”</p>
<p>More damage indeed. This season, among 382 players with at least 100 batted ball events (BBE), Maile ranks 61<sup>st</sup> in MLB with 43.6% of his BBEs leaving the bat at an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. In 2017 that occurred just 20.8% of the time. Moreover, Maile is hitting more line drives (20.3%) and making more hard contact (34.6%) than ever before. The fastball approach seems to be working, as although Maile has seen his strikeouts increase against the pitch, he’s also seeing better results when he connects.</p>
<p>Against fastballs, Maile has an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph, easily eclipsing last season’s 85.1 mph and just shy of the career-high he set back in 2015 (91.4 mph), though that came in just 15 games. He’s blown past previous career-bests with a .434 slugging mark and a .356 WOBA on fastballs as well.</p>
<p>He figures to lose some steam over the season’s last handful of games as his playing time grows sporadic, but he’ll be trying to keep himself mentally sharp even as his regular at-bats dwindle. The fact that the results have validated his approach has certainly allowed Maile to approach the game with added confidence.</p>
<p>“Honestly I think it’s just trying to maintain a humble arrogance a little bit, you know? You’re not going to be feeling good up there when you go hit once a week but if you step up to the plate expecting to do something well in your mind then you’ve got a better chance of doing that. Just trying to stay relaxed. There’s no pressure here. I’ve already proven that I can hit at this level. Now it’s just about trying to win a few games and trying to disrupt the AL races right now, so if I can have some fun doing that it’s all good.”</p>
<p>And while he will put in some work during the offseason to take his game up another notch, that’s still a little too far off to dive into. Fresh off the paternity list, you can’t blame Maile for wanting to spend some time away from baseball for a bit.</p>
<p>“As soon as this season gets over with I’m going to go home and be a dad and play some golf. I’m not too worried about adjustments yet. Next year is a long way away.”</p>
<p>Lead Photo &#8211; John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports</p>
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		<title>Sean Reid-Foley Will Keep Competing</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/08/23/sean-reid-foley-will-keep-competing/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Aug 2018 10:26:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Reid-Foley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16602</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK – Sean Reid-Foley is part of the youth movement that’s giving Blue Jays fans a reason to tune in down the stretch of a disappointing season. He&#8217;s one of the team’s best pitching prospects, and he has arrived appropriately adorned with a blue jay tattoo on his right forearm. (There’s also a cardinal, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK – Sean Reid-Foley is part of the youth movement that’s giving Blue Jays fans a reason to tune in down the stretch of a disappointing season. He&#8217;s one of the team’s best pitching prospects, and he has arrived appropriately adorned with a blue jay tattoo on his right forearm. (There’s also a cardinal, as those are his grandmother’s two favorite birds that she spots outside her house.)</p>
<p>Coming off a successful major league debut against the Royals with a line that read five innings, six hits, three runs, three walks and three strikeouts, Reid-Foley was kind enough to sit down for a quick chat with BP Toronto a day before his Saturday start against the Yankees.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>When asked to describe himself as a pitcher, Reid-Foley opts for a meat and potatoes answer.</p>
<p>“I just want to go out every day and compete and give the team a chance to win and be a fun guy in the clubhouse, be a good teammate, have everyone’s back.”</p>
<p>It’s a respectable description, if a modest one. Reid-Foley’s repertoire is headlined by his fastball. He used it to good effect against the Royals and was <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=FF%7CFT%7CFC%7CSI%7C&amp;hfAB=&amp;hfBBT=&amp;hfPR=&amp;hfZ=&amp;stadium=&amp;hfBBL=&amp;hfNewZones=&amp;hfGT=R%7C&amp;hfC=&amp;hfSea=2018%7C&amp;hfSit=&amp;player_type=pitcher&amp;hfOuts=&amp;opponent=&amp;pitcher_throws=&amp;batter_stands=&amp;hfSA=&amp;game_date_gt=2018-08-13&amp;game_date_lt=&amp;hfInfield=&amp;team=TOR&amp;position=&amp;hfOutfield=&amp;hfRO=&amp;home_road=&amp;hfFlag=&amp;hfPull=&amp;metric_1=&amp;hfInn=&amp;min_pitches=0&amp;min_results=0&amp;group_by=name&amp;sort_col=pitches&amp;player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&amp;sort_order=desc&amp;min_pas=0#results_pitchChart_name_656887_" target="_blank">willing to climb the ladder to challenge hitters</a>. The pitch topped out at a shade under 96 miles per hour and was responsible for seven of his 12 whiffs on the night. He also used it 57 times on that muggy Monday, combining to throw his curveball, slider and changeup 40 times.</p>
<p>While that’s his greatest strength by most accounts, Reid-Foley declined to put his arsenal in such stark terms.</p>
<p>“It’s night to night. You’ve got to adjust, it’s a game of adjustments. Whatever the night may be.”</p>
<p>That night called for fastballs. His changeup looked good in its limited usage, but on a night where Reid-Foley’s slider and curveball command were a little off, he primarily used his heater to get through the Royals lineup.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>On Saturday, the Yankees were much less kind to the rookie, ambushing him for eight runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. It wasn&#8217;t the start that anyone was hoping to see from him, but Reid-Foley is all about competing and overcoming previous failures. That&#8217;s been the case <a href="https://soundcloud.com/jesse-goldberg-strassler-1/lugnuts-pitcher-sean-reid-foley-june-2nd" target="_blank">since his early years in pro ball</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>Looking at his minor league track record, a promising trend emerges: At every level where Reid-Foley has pitched in more than one season, his numbers the second time around are better by a comfortable margin.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/08/SRF_Minors.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-16603 " src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/08/SRF_Minors.jpg" alt="SRF_Minors" width="599" height="196" /></a></p>
<p>When asked about some of the lessons he took from one year to the next in order to improve himself, Reid-Foley said that he’d solicit help from others to make sure he was on the right path.</p>
<p>“Just really learning about myself, learning more routines that will help me, really learning from other teammates, other starters, even bullpen guys and how they go about their business. Really just knowing how to go out and compete every day and be ready to take the ball every five days.”</p>
<p style="text-align: center"> *****</p>
<p>Competition was on the menu for most of the afternoon on Saturday, with the tone set in the first inning. The game began with a leadoff walk where Brett Gardner eventually won an eight-pitch battle that saw Reid-Foley working up and away. After striking out the menacing Giancarlo Stanton with a picture-perfect slider and retiring Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius strode to the plate. With his first pitch Reid-Foley dropped the shortstop to his knees with a 94 mph fastball that would’ve clipped his shin if not for some fancy footwork.</p>
<p>In the moment, it felt like Reid-Foley was going on the attack, forcing Gregorius to think about not getting so close to the plate, setting up more pitches high and away. Pitch two was a low fastball on the outside corner of the strike zone, while pitch three whizzed up and out of the zone off the plate, before Reid-Foley induced a swinging strike on a great changeup on pitch four. Pitch five was a fastball at the very top outer corner of the strike zone, decent pitch placement in a vacuum. But Danny Jansen had set up low and inside. Gregorius sent it over the wall in right center.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>While the penchant for fighting back and overcoming lies mostly with Reid-Foley, he also noted some consistent themes imparted by the organization in his work through the various minor league levels.</p>
<p>“They definitely want you to be able to take care of yourself and always be putting yourself in the best situation whether it’s on the field or off the field – carry yourself as a professional. Number one obviously is be on time for everything, just little stuff like that that they really cement with you and you kind of live your life by it as you get older and you get around it a lot more.</p>
<p>“On the pitching side I’d say the fastball command – whenever you’re getting ahead of guys put them away or try to get three outs with your last pitches type of stuff – just little things. I mean obviously if it’s not your A-game that day it’s going to be a little tougher. Those are the days where you really have to trust what you’ve learned and be consistent. And especially have fun out there.”</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>Nobody other than the man himself can say whether he was trusting what he’d learned on Saturday, but it was not a day for Reid-Foley&#8217;s A-game, and he almost certainly wasn’t having fun. At least not until John Gibbons somehow elicited a chuckle on the mound before giving him the hook on a tough afternoon.</p>
<p>In the fourth inning, Giancarlo Stanton watched the same slider that struck him out in the first sail out of the zone for ball one. The second pitch, a fastball, fared no better. Reid-Foley tried to sneak a heater over the inside of the plate and paid dearly, as Stanton did what Stanton does. Miguel Andujar would later tag him on a changeup that started middle-middle, stayed there, and finished deep in the left field seats.</p>
<p>Beyond the hits he uncorked a pair of wild pitches, one of which would’ve been ticketed for the fifth row if not for the protective netting behind home plate. He was also undone by some poor play from his teammates, making him an true member of the 2018 Jays rotation. Danny Jansen airmailed a throw to second, allowing the runner to move to third and score on a sacrifice fly. Teoscar Hernandez got a poor read on a loping Stanton fly ball, dinging his pitcher with a single and a run allowed when Stanton would later come around to score. A Devon Travis throwing error would lead to another run later in the inning as well.</p>
<p>There was still some good to take away from the outing. Reid-Foley induced 10 swinging strikes and had some success in the game’s individual battles. He struck Gregorius out his second time up with a fastball that ran up and away. He had decent success working the top of the strike zone against lefties, aside from that one notable exception. The three batters who worked walks – Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Neil Walker – would be retired with ease in their subsequent trips to the plate, including strikeouts for Hicks and Walker. Reid-Foley, for all that might have gone wrong on Saturday, competed.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>As for the rest of the season, Reid-Foley isn’t losing sight of the bigger picture. He’s got goals that go beyond fixing one crappy afternoon in New York.</p>
<p>“Just try to get better every day. I mean you can always learn up here, there’s so much more info that you have that you’re able to use. Don’t lose sight of what the actual dream is, of being a long-term big leaguer. And put myself and this organization in the best position coming into next year, finish out this year strong.”</p>
<p>Although it might have been cool for a rookie to see the various legends trotted out in Saturday’s pregame ceremony, it was otherwise a day to forget for the young pitcher. There are going to be better days ahead, where the games are fun and that long-term goal seems to be at his fingertips, if not within his grasp entirely. But there will also be more failures to learn from and struggles to overcome, as baseball tends to dole those out indiscriminately. If history suggests anything, though, it’s that Reid-Foley will keep competing &#8212; that he&#8217;ll find a way to learn from the present and come back stronger.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Devon Travis Staying Healthy Amidst Ups and Downs</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/08/21/devon-travis-staying-healthy-amidst-ups-and-downs/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Aug 2018 15:12:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Devon Travis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16639</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#8212; Not much has gone right for the Blue Jays this season. They’ve gotten precious little from their supposed best players which is a real twisting of the knife given that the team spent its offseason putting together some quality depth. As good as those depth players may be, they just can’t replace top-level [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK &#8212; Not much has gone right for the Blue Jays this season. They’ve gotten precious little from their supposed best players which is a real twisting of the knife given that the team spent its offseason putting together some quality depth. As good as those depth players may be, they just can’t replace top-level talent and tend to falter when they’re overexposed. And when almost all of your depth is overexposed, you end up out of the wild card race by the middle of July.</p>
<p>Surprisingly Devon Travis, the oft-injured second baseman, has been the healthiest he’s ever been this deep into an MLB season. The fact that he’s remained on the field in the one year that the Blue Jays have added reserve players that are capable of being more than black holes at second base has a twinge of irony to it, but both Travis and the team are happy that he’s still out on the field regularly.</p>
<p>BP Toronto caught up with Travis last weekend in New York to discuss his season, his health, and some of the year’s ups and downs.</p>
<p>The story on Travis is well told. He’s accrued a 3.6 WARP in his three-plus seasons in the league but has only played in 295 games. That’s out of 611 possible through Monday, August 20 which means Travis has only been on the field for 48 percent of Toronto’s regular season games since making his debut. He’s already played in 82 games this season, good for the second-most ever and he’s on track to beat his personal best of 101 barring another injury.</p>
<p>That said, it hasn’t been a breakthrough year. Travis has racked up -0.1 WARP so far this season and is posting the worst numbers of his career. Through 82 games he owns a slash line of .237/.284/.381 – all career-lows. There’s some poor BABIP at play but Travis has also seen some changes to his batted-ball profile. He’s hitting more ground balls than ever (51.2%) and fewer fly balls than ever (27.1%), meaning that he can’t really take advantage of a 14.8% HR/FB rate. Despite the down season portrayed by most metrics, Travis remains pleased with his recent work while acknowledging that it hasn’t been the smoothest of rides.</p>
<p><em>“It’s been a good year. Obviously off to a slow start but I’ve been able to rebound a little bit and kind of gather myself and get a nice little system of work back down and have something to build off of. It’s been nice. Yeah, not the start I was looking for but it’s been alright.”</em></p>
<p>Travis is right in that sense, as he has been a .259/.302/.404 hitter since June began and has managed to drive in 13 runs in 16 August games despite hitting just .235 for the month. Although they aren’t the numbers from his earlier seasons, he’s been getting better. He’s been getting some good luck with his batted-balls over that time, but he’s definitely going in the right direction.</p>
<blockquote><p>“Sometimes this game can give you things that sometimes there’s no explanation for – good and bad. Unfortunately for me the last couple of years it’s been bad.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Travis’ year began with an ugly slump as he hit just .148 over his first 18 games of the season, thanks in large part to a .190 BABIP. It resulted in him being demoted to Triple-A Buffalo. While it was expected that the team sent Travis down a level to find his game again, he says that wasn’t quite the case. There were no specific requests and no specific timeframe.</p>
<p><em>“They just said they wanted me to play more. That was really the bulk of it. Obviously I had gotten off to a slow start but, yeah, that’s all they said.”</em></p>
<p>Travis had appeared in 18 of the team’s 27 games when he was sent down on April 29, with Yangervis Solarte and Lourdes Gurriel impinging on his playing time with their strong play. The at-bats with the Bisons were regular but Travis didn’t have a great stint at AAA, hitting just .210/.234/.274 with only two extra-base hits in 62 plate appearances across 14 games. Did it help him get into some sort of rhythm or work out any kinks at the plate?</p>
<p><em>“I don’t think it hurt. Gave me a little bit of extra fire, that’s for sure. But I don’t think it hurt.”</em></p>
<p>So while his campaign still contained the usual speed bump, Travis has been able to stay off the DL (so far) for the first time in his Blue Jays career. His injury history is long for a player with fewer than four seasons of work.</p>
<p>A strong rookie season was derailed by a left shoulder injury that eventually required exploratory surgery in September. That November, Travis went under the knife again to correct Os acromiale, a condition where lack of ossification essentially left him with an accessory bone in his shoulder. The recovery process pushed his 2016 debut until the end of May. While he made it into the postseason that year he would sustain a right knee bone bruise in Game 1 of the ALDS and aggravate the injury in the first game of the ALCS. He underwent knee surgery to remove a small flap of cartilage in November. Travis was off to a nice start in 2017 but would be felled by another bone bruise in his right knee in early June which led to yet another surgery. It’s been rough.</p>
<p>He’s taken some time off because of a root canal, a sore knee, a sore foot and some rumored back discomfort around the trade deadline but has managed to avoid the DL so far in 2018. It’s something he attributes more to good fortune than any changes in his routine.</p>
<p><em>“Honestly man it’s luck. Sometimes this game can give you things that sometimes there’s no explanation for – good and bad. Unfortunately for me the last couple of years it’s been bad. Just staying on top of my work and having a little bit of good luck on my side.”</em></p>
<p>If that’s the case then those around the Blue Jays have to be pleased with his luck even as he tries to re-find his footing as a quality second baseman. After years of waiting for Travis to get out of the infirmary while Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney soaked up at-bats, this year it’s been the extras who have pushed Travis for work. Even with Solarte and Gurriel nursing their own injuries, the Blue Jays appeared to put the pressure on with their acquisition of Brandon Drury at the trade deadline. The glut of capable middle-infielders had many wondering whether or not another transaction to clear the logjam was on the way, and the fact that Travis did have to sit out a few games in the run up to July 31 didn’t slow the speculation. Currently it’s Richard Ureña who is picking up time at second base when Travis needs the day off.</p>
<p>With the addition of Drury, that made for four players capable of playing second that made their Blue Jays debut this season with Solarte, Gurriel, and Gift Ngoepe as the others. Although it might seem like those sorts of moves can leave one looking over their shoulder or affect the relationship between people battling for the same spot, Travis doesn’t see it that way.</p>
<p><em>“I don’t even think it’s really something that you think about too in depth, you know? Whenever your name is in that lineup you’ve got to go out there and make the most of your opportunity. Obviously it’s heightened a bit more when there are other guys that can play the same position as you but we’re all in this as a team and we all push each other to be as great as we can be, understanding that our goal every day is just to win ball games.”</em></p>
<p>The winning has been infrequent but Travis has been able to stay available while his main competitors are saddled with various injuries. For three seasons the story was that Travis would be a serious producer as long as he could stay on the field, only for him to struggle while dealing with minor ailments this time around. If Travis has turned the corner with his injury luck and can recapture his form, the Blue Jays will be able to boast one of the better second basemen in league. But that appears to be happening in piecemeal for the time being. As for the rest of the way, Travis’ top goal is one you might expect.</p>
<p><em>“Just stay healthy. That’s it. Just finish the season, put together a nice little streak with the boys, win some games and have a little fun.”</em></p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Peter G. Aiken</em></p>
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		<title>Billy McKinney is Looking Forward to The Next Chapter of his Career</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/08/20/billy-mckinney-is-looking-forward-to-his-next-chapter/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Aug 2018 14:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Billy McKinney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New York Yankees]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16599</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#8211; Billy McKinney made his MLB debut on March 30, 2018 at the Rogers Centre. On March 31, he crashed into the left field wall and sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder. It would be his last taste of the big leagues until Saturday afternoon. Fittingly, McKinney made his Blue Jays [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK &#8211; Billy McKinney made his MLB debut on March 30, 2018 at the Rogers Centre. On March 31, he crashed into the left field wall and sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder. It would be his last taste of the big leagues until Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>Fittingly, McKinney made his Blue Jays debut in New York, batting leadoff against his former team on a sunny Saturday where the Yankees honored their 1998 championship team. His placement atop the lineup card that day surprised him “a little bit” but he was thankful for the opportunity.</p>
<p>It’s been a winding road for the outfielder, a former first-round selection who had now been traded three times with just two major league games under his belt. While it means he hasn’t yet found a team that is willing to rule him untouchable, it also means that multiple teams have deemed him a player worth pinning hopes on in the future. That non-traditional path is something that McKinney recognizes, and his take was in keeping with his appreciative tone throughout the pregame media scrum.</p>
<p><em>“I guess I’ve kinda had a different path through my career, being traded a few times, but it’s been an honour to be a part of it and it’s really nice being a part of organizations that value me. So I’m really appreciative, especially to the Blue Jays for this opportunity, being here. Just looking forward to the new journey and the next chapter of my life.”</em></p>
<p>This trade did feel more unique than the previous two, when he was a prospect who would one day impact the big club’s plans. This time McKinney had earned a spot on the Opening Day roster. But after initial word of the deal it was old hat for a player who knows what it’s like to get dealt. When asked if things felt different this time with him having made his debut and been on the cusp of making the big leagues full-time, McKinney concurred.</p>
<p><em>“A little bit. Being so close to the big leagues makes it a little different because you can kind of taste it, so it’s pretty cool to be in that scenario but it’s the same aspect of packing up your stuff, meeting a new team, meeting the new guys and just getting to know your teammates. It’s all the same once it gets to that part.”</em></p>
<p>Given the Yankees’ heavy involvement in numerous trade deadline rumors it eventually dawned on McKinney that he could be part of a package going the other way, though it took some time for that feeling to settle in.</p>
<p><em>“I wasn’t thinking so but when I got scratched from one of our games in July I kind of had a feeling that day that it was going to happen and I got a text from (Brandon) Drury to ask if I’d heard anything, so that’s when I kind of had a feeling that it was going to happen.”</em></p>
<p>The Blue Jays are thought to have one long-term player currently in the outfield with Randal Grichuk, but there are question marks about the two remaining spots down the line. While Dwight Smith Jr., Anthony Alford and Dalton Pompey have all risen the ranks to suit up for the Jays in the past, it was the newcomer who got the call when Luke Maile was placed on the paternity list.</p>
<blockquote><p>“I guess I’ve kinda had a different path through my career, being traded a few times, but it’s been an honour to be a part of it and it’s really nice being a part of organizations that value me.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Although McKinney was the new kid on the block as he strolled into the clubhouse before Friday night’s game, Bisons bag in tow, it wasn’t all new. Sean Reid-Foley, Danny Jansen, and Tim Mayza were among the Jays to extend a welcome and greet a player that they’ve shared the field with over the last month. Having some semblance of continuity should help McKinney adjust to his new team.</p>
<p><em>“It makes it a little easier. They’ve helped me. I don’t want to be the new guy getting in the way so I just try to stay behind the scenes and get to know all the new guys. But yeah, having Danny and Sean here is really nice and they’re great players but also great people so it’s really been a joy getting to know them, being in the organization, and I’m looking forward to playing with them in the future.”</em></p>
<p>Because his time in Buffalo has coincided with the arrival of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., you can be sure the subject came up in conversation. McKinney says he’s been extremely impressed by watching Vlad but is equally impressed by how mature he is off the field, calling him “a great player and a great person” as well as a “guy you really want to root for.”</p>
<p>As for his own work, one thing that McKinney’s shown at the Triple-A level this year is increased power. In 2017 he’s hit 16 home runs in 306 plate appearances between Scranton and Buffalo after hitting double digits only twice in his other minor league stops: 10 in 276 plate appearances in Triple-A in 2017 and 10 in A+ as a member of the Athletics organization back in 2014. This year the power has been obvious, but it’s also come as his on-base numbers slide. Showcasing that pop is not something that McKinney has put more emphasis on, however.</p>
<p><em>“No. Me getting hurt early in the year it kind of felt like I lost my whole spring training that I worked for all offseason. In that aspect I felt like I was getting back to myself throughout the year and trying to get back to the player that I still am. I’ve had a few balls go out for me and that’s nice, I’ve also had some get caught so it’s all part of the game and I just try to hit the ball hard every day. If it goes out, great, if not it’s just part of it.”</em></p>
<p>McKinney is right to feel that way, as his walk and strikeout numbers have remained fairly consistent – it’s a batting average that’s coming in lower than ever before as a function of poor luck on batted balls which is driving the OBP dip. McKinney posted a .245 BABIP with the RailRiders in 2018 and is just at .222 in his brief stint with the Bisons after never posting a BABIP below .277 in any stop at the minor league level.</p>
<p>While the injuries and a bit of bad luck have slowed his momentum, McKinney has also used the opportunity to soak things in as an observer and get a sense of what it’s like for players to ply their craft at the highest level as he prepares to launch his own career as a professional at the highest level.</p>
<p><em>“You know, I sat around and watched for the last few years, just watching these guys, how they go about their business, how they work, and just how a true big leaguer goes about their business and I just try to emulate that as much as possible. I try to play my game obviously but going about things the right way is my goal.”</em></p>
<p>And for the record, McKinney has no ill will towards the Rogers Centre wall that put him on the DL and eventually landed him with the Jays.</p>
<p>“No, no, nah,” McKinney says through a light chuckle. “Like I said it holds a special place in my heart. Unfortunately I got hurt but thankfully I’m healthy now and I’m ready to roll and looking forward to the future.”</p>
<p>McKinney’s first day in a Blue Jays uniform was a mixed bag. He drew a walk but was picked off of first. He drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single but was thrown out at third trying to capitalize on an error in right field, though the misplay did allow a third run to score. It ended with a single in the ninth and more good than bad. His former standing as a top-flight prospect plus the potential for him to get significant playing time in September and beyond is something for Blue Jays fans to watch as they too look forward to the next chapter.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Aaron Loup Probably Deserved Better</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/08/17/aaron-loup-mightve-deserved-better/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Aug 2018 10:30:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aaron Loup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16582</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On July 31, the Blue Jays traded Aaron Loup to the Phillies for Jacob Waguespack. A simple breakdown of the deal would tell you that Waguespack is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher with impressive strikeout numbers in the minors. He was originally drafted in the 37th round out of high school by the Pirates back in [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On July 31, the Blue Jays traded Aaron Loup to the Phillies for Jacob Waguespack.</p>
<p>A simple breakdown of the deal would tell you that Waguespack is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher with impressive strikeout numbers in the minors. He was originally drafted in the 37<sup>th</sup> round out of high school by the Pirates back in 2012. He didn’t sign, opting instead to play college ball at Ole Miss before latching on with the Phillies as a free agent after his junior season. He was a nondescript prospect until ratcheting up his fastball velocity in 2017 and moving into the starting rotation. There are command issues (3.53 BB/9 in his minor league career), but Waguespack has racked up 312 strikeouts and surrendered just 12 home runs in 303 1/3 innings over four years in the minors. Baseball America put him at No. 29 in their ranking of Philadelphia’s top prospects after 2017.</p>
<p>It would also tell you that Loup was the longest-tenured Blue Jay at the time of his departure, and that he left the organization with a 3.47 ERA, 297 strikeouts and 98 walks in 318 2/3 innings, while currently posting the best strikeout rate of his career. Loup also leaves the Blue Jays with the third-most innings pitched in team history among those who have never started a game. He accumulated 0.4 WARP over the course of his Blue Jays career, with two good seasons, one bad, and three that were essentially replacement level. Those wild swings feel about right, but that final line doesn’t tell the story of Aaron Loup. For a player whose body of work looks alright, Loup’s always held a strange place in the hearts and minds of fans.</p>
<p>Loup&#8217;s time with the team would grade out somewhere on the spectrum between average and good. That&#8217;s probably not the evaluation that anyone would give you off the top of their head when prompted. Over time, he more or less faded into the background when he wasn’t drawing barbs from the peanut gallery. Despite the overall quality of his work, he still managed to create a lot of hand-wringing among the fanbase. No matter how well he was pitching – how many scoreless innings he had strung together, how many runners he stranded – Loup’s presence inspired a lot of collar-tugging and had a way of injecting nervous energy into the game even when none was needed. And yes, the hit batters, the four-pitch walks and the declining effectiveness against lefties can&#8217;t be ignored. There were plenty of times where he was catching bad breaks or just being flat out ineffective &#8212; that&#8217;s true of any baseball player. For Loup, though, they seemed to stick to him longer than anyone else.</p>
<p>Scrolling through Twitter mentions isn’t the best judge of overall sentiment, but it always seemed that people were quicker to go negative when Loup was in the game. Looking at his mentions from May was particularly revealing. Loup surrendered two runs on May 2, his first game of the month. Those would be the only runs he’d give up until the calendar turned to June. Even as the number of clean innings mounted, though, most tweets that featured his name either discounted his work as low-leverage, or framed them as an indictment of the team overall – the “When Aaron Loup is your third-best pitcher something’s gone wrong” type of take. He closed the month with nine straight hitless outings, yet didn’t seem to get any slack until the final week of May: the thankless life of a middle reliever.</p>
<p>The same Twitter exercise repeated for Ryan Tepera, who blew two saves and posted a 4.73 ERA in May, yielded far more forgiving results. Again, there’s plenty of selection bias in that exercise, but it’s illustrative of Loup’s perception. Once he was bad for a bit, he could never seem to shake the reputation.</p>
<p>Think of the main characters on the 2015 team that rejuvenated baseball in Toronto. Bautista, Donaldson, Encarnacion, Estrada, Price, Tulowitzki, Martin. Keep going. Dip into the lower tier guys like Goins, Colabello, Revere, Lowe. Think about how many are gone. Think about how far down the roster you’ll need to go before you remember that Loup was on that team. It didn’t help that it was his worst year ever at that point, as he posted a 4.46 ERA while surrendering six home runs in only 42 1/3 innings. He posted a BABIP of .339, an insane HR/FB rate of 20.7% and surrendered an Infield Hit rate of 13.0%. Among the 370 pitchers who logged more than 40 innings that season, Loup ranked 340<sup>th</sup>, 365<sup>th</sup> and 363<sup>rd</sup> in those categories, respectively. After three solid campaigns, the wheels seemed to have fallen off, though not nearly to the extent that he might’ve deserved.</p>
<p>Things changed dramatically when Loup needed to leave the team in the middle of both the ALDS and ALCS when his wife Leighann’s water broke 26 weeks into term. Suddenly, the guy many dreaded to see on the mound was in high demand. Loup was needed to combat Kansas City’s left-handed hitters as the only southpaw remaining in the bullpen after Brett Cecil tore his calf picking off Mike Napoli in the ALDS. That’s the speed demon Mike Napoli who stole 39 bases in 1,392 career games. Of course it would be a fluke injury on a fluke sequence that pressed Loup into the spotlight, and of course it happened in the instant when personal matters rendered baseball absolutely irrelevant.</p>
<p>It’s been pretty well established that Loup had some rotten outcomes over these last few years, as most of his stat profile suggested that he was getting roughed up on some bad luck and happenstance. It was death by a thousand dinks and dunks. Loup’s BABIPs over the last four years read like a series of pitcher’s nightmares: .339, .342, .340 and somehow .389 this season. That puts him 388<sup>th</sup> out of 392 pitchers who have logged 30 or more innings in 2018. When he checked in, you knew that if a ground ball could squeak through the infield or a pop fly could sink <em>just</em> fast enough, it would be bound to happen. Even as metrics improve and we’ve been able to parse out the substantial takeaways from the noise, Loup and his obvious set of bad-luck numbers could never quite escape their specter.</p>
<p>The trade wasn’t surprising given Toronto’s place in the standings and Loup’s status as a pending free agent. Still, it felt a bit odd to look at the roster on August 1<sup>st</sup> and not see Loup’s name &#8212; even though he’s the guy that nobody seemed to remember until he was already jogging to the mound. He was around for the days when Brett Lawrie, JP Arencibia and Colby Rasmus had the makings of a core, with Henderson Alvarez, Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek in the rotation. He was around for the excitement and subsequent letdowns of 2013 and 2014, and of course the playoff runs of the two seasons that followed. He ended up just one year short of being the bridge from Brett Lawrie to the Vlad Jr. Era. And he was a constant part of perhaps the most compelling little run in franchise history, even if it wasn’t the most decorated. Loup was always just sort of <em>there</em>, never really standing out aside from when he was catching flak.</p>
<p>There are many roads to the same destination. The fact that Loup ended up posting numbers that were so ordinary in the aggregate belies his unique standing with the fanbase and his role in one of the most significant stretches in the team’s existence. Loup was a fascinating case of the “what have you done for me lately” attitude that dominates public perception in sports, and stretched the limits of what “lately” meant when fan frustration needed an easy target. His story beckoned for a redemption that never came. Time is likely to forget Loup’s tenure with the Jays, as his run was neither the most compelling nor the most satisfying, but he’ll always be a player that riles up some emotions among the die-hards. As for whether those memories will be good or bad or somewhere in between – baseball can be unforgiving when it comes to what’s “deserved.”</p>
<p><i>Lead Photo © Dan Hamilton &#8211; USA Today Sports</i></p>
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		<title>TRADE: Blue Jays Trade RP Seunghwan Oh to Rockies for Prospects</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/07/25/trade-blue-jays-trade-seunghwan-oh-to-rockies-for-1b-prospects-chad-spanberger-and-sean-bouchard/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jul 2018 01:52:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chad Spanberger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Bouchard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seunghwan Oh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trades]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays made a trade during the ninth inning of Tuesday&#8217;s game against the Twins, sending reliever Seunghwan Oh to the Rockies for first base prospect Chad Spanberger, Outfielder Forrest Wall, and a Player to be Named Later. Not included, despite earlier reports is first base prospect Sean Bouchard. Oh deal to rox is [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays made a trade during the ninth inning of Tuesday&#8217;s game against the Twins, sending reliever Seunghwan Oh to the Rockies for first base prospect Chad Spanberger, Outfielder Forrest Wall, and a Player to be Named Later. Not included, despite <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2018/07/25/rockies-seunghwan-oh-trade/" target="_blank">earlier reports</a> is first base prospect Sean Bouchard.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Oh deal to rox is Forrest wall , spanberger and ptbnl</p>
<p>&mdash; Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1022481238093914112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Oh, a 36-year-old right-hander, pitched to a 2.68 ERA in 47.0 innings with the Blue Jays, posting a 10.53 K/9 and just a 1.91 BB/9 in a resurgent campaign. The veteran notched a 4.2 WAR in his rookie campaign before falling back to essentially replacement level last season thanks to a large spike in his home run rate that his since come back to earth. Oh&#8217;s rebound has also coincided with a return to form for his slider, which lost a significant amount of horizontal movement from 2016 to 2017 before bouncing back this year. His current fly ball rate of 50.4% represents a career-high and might be cause for alarm in Colorado, however. The Blue Jays signed Oh this offseason after a reported deal with the Rangers fell through as a result of some concern over his right elbow.</p>
<p>He has around $500,000 owed to him for the remainder of this season and a club option for next year worth $2.5 million that will vest if he pitches in 70 games this year, giving the Rockies a relatively cheap reliever to add to their cadre of expensive bullpen arms for 2019.</p>
<p>In return, the Blue Jays reportedly add and outfielder/second baseman and a first basemen to their farm system in Forrest Wall and Chad Spanberger.</p>
<p><strong>Wall</strong>, a 22-year-old who was drafted as a second baseman but has shifted to the left field after an injury limited his arm, was actually a former first round pick of the Rockies in 2014 (35th overall) and after a strong enough start to his pro career, ranked 90th on MLB Pipeline&#8217;s top 100 and 101st on BP&#8217;s top 101 entering the 2016 season, but has has stalled out a bit since then. Despite the strong hitting conditions at Lancaster in high-A, Wall failed to hit much in 2016 and was sent back to the level for 2017. After a decent .299/.361/.471 line to start there in 2017, Wall tore his shoulder on a dive and played only 22 games on the year. All healed, and after a decent start at Lancaster this year, Wall was promoted to double-A Hartford and has gotten off to a slow start, with a line of .206/.289/.359. He&#8217;ll be interesting to watch as shoulder injuries, even once healed, can sap production for a short while after. He must be added to the 40-man roster this season or be exposed to the Rule Five Draft.</p>
<p>MLB Pipeline still ranks Wall as the 13th best Rockies prospect, citing his consistent, contact-driven line drive stroke that could produce double-digit home runs in the future and his plus to double plus speed. They give him grades of 55 on the hit and 60 speed with 50 fielding, but only 45 power, 40 arm. It&#8217;ll be interesting to see how he pans out. Fangraphs was a bit more bullish, ranking Wall #7 in the Rockies system entering the season, though giving out similar tool grades (and a 45 future value).</p>
<p><strong>Spanberger</strong> is a left-handed batter who was selected in the 6th round of the 2017 draft out of Arkansas. He broke out in his junior season (2016) with the Razorbacks, finishing ninth in the nation with 20 homers while getting on base at a .389 clip. Spanberger&#8217;s legend grew with a monstrous showing in the SEC tournament where he hit five dingers and drove in 10 runs en route to MVP honors. In 2017 with the Grand Junction Rockies (Rookie ball), Spanberger slashed .294/.368/.617 with 19 home runs but has taken another step forward this season, delivering a line of .316/.364/.580, 22 home runs and 16 steals for the Asheville Tourists. He also won the home run derby at the South Atlantic League&#8217;s all-star weekend this year. 113 of his 349 at-bats as a Tourist have come against southpaws, against whom he&#8217;s hit just three of his homers while posting an OPS of .712.</p>
<p>The 22-year-old has seen his walk rate cut in half (10.0 to 5.3) and his ISO dip from .323 to .264 while his BABIP is sitting pretty at .356, but he&#8217;s also cut down on his strikeouts with a K-rate dropping from 26.4% to a more palatable 21.6%. That should quell some concerns about his propensity for the swing-and-miss at least a little bit, and despite definite pull tendencies Spanberger has also gone to the opposite field a little more (26.9%) this season. He has done most of his work in hitters&#8217; parks, however, so take his numbers with a sizable grain of salt.</p>
<p>MLB Pipeline has Spanberger ranked as the Rockies&#8217; No. 24 prospect while Baseball America ranked him as Colorado&#8217;s 17th-best prospect after the 2017 season, though their draft report indicated that power is his only &#8220;plus&#8221; tool. Spanberger has worked exclusively as a first baseman or designated hitter at the pro level but did play a little bit of right field in college after working as a catcher in high school. He&#8217;s committed 18 errors in 123 games in the field so far as a professional.</p>
<p>The Player to be Named Later may end up being someone from this year&#8217;s draft, just cash considerations, or even potentially the aforementioned Bouchard. We&#8217;ll have to wait on that. Regardless, this is a solid return for a player that was supposed to be playing with Texas all year. The Blue Jays get two useful, if flawed, prospects who could provide some value down the road. Oh was never going to be part of a winner in Toronto, so taking advantage of his cheap option to get a better return is a win for the club.</p>
<p>There will likely be a lot more Blue Jays news coming down the pipe in the coming ays as Toronto figures to be a prominent player on the trade market, with J.A. Happ, Curtis Granderson, John Axford and Tyler Clippard among the names appearing in the rumor mill of late.</p>
<p><em>This space initially had a report on Bouchard, but that has since been removed. </em></p>
<p>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton &#8211; USA TODAY SPORTS</p>
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		<title>MLB Draft: Rounds 3-5 Recap</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/06/05/mlb-draft-rounds-3-5-recap/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/06/05/mlb-draft-rounds-3-5-recap/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Jun 2018 19:16:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adam Kloffenstein]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MLB Draft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Wymer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16052</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays entered the second day of the 2018 MLB draft after taking a hard-hitting third baseman and the son of a former big-leaguer on Monday night. The early portions of Tuesday saw the team focused on pitching before pivoting to a catching prospect that has flown under the radar. The team has already gone [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays entered the second day of the 2018 MLB draft after taking a hard-hitting third baseman and the son of a former big-leaguer on Monday night. The early portions of Tuesday saw the team focused on pitching before pivoting to a catching prospect that has flown under the radar. The team has already gone over slot to ensure that one of their picks, a highly rated but potentially difficult-to-sign player, will be a member of the organization.<br />
&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Round 3, Pick No. 88 &#8211; Adam Kloffenstein, RHP, Magnolia (TX) HS</h2>
<p><strong>MLB Pipeline Scouting Grades</strong></p>
<p>Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50</p>
<p><strong>Reports</strong></p>
<p>Measuring 6&#8217;5&#8243; and weighing 220 lbs, Kloffenstein is the current teammate of Blue Jays first-rounder Jordan Groshans and is committed to Texas Christian University. He&#8217;s one of the younger players in the draft class at 17 years old, and the commitment to TCU appeared to be the only real &#8220;knock&#8221; in his scouting reports &#8212; both FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline made note of the fact that he might be very tough to sign. There was some speculation that he might get taken in the first round in the run-up to yesterday, but that obviously wasn&#8217;t the case.</p>
<p>This looks like a nice pick for Toronto at 88. <a href="http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2018/?list=draft" target="_blank">MLB Pipeline had him ranked at 43</a>, with praise for his &#8220;advanced feel for a breaking ball, showing the ability to morph his sharp slider into a bigger-breaking curveball or a harder cutter.&#8221; Kloffenstein also features a four-seam fastball that can touch 96 and a hard-sinking two-seamer that settles in the low 90s. <a href="https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/98686/adam-kloffenstein/" target="_blank">Baseball America was even more bullish</a> on Kloffenstein, putting him at 35th and saying, &#8220;[t]his past year, Kloffenstien has shown a lot of progression, as he was always a big, physical presence but has now taken steps mentally and physically. He has cleaned up his body and holds his velocity deeper into starts, while also flashing a changeup in the mid-80s that induced several swings and misses over the summer.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/updated-2018-mlb-draft-rankings/" target="_blank">FanGraphs ranked Kloffenstein 50th</a> while <a href="http://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/23583441/updated-top-100-draft-prospects" target="_blank">Keith Law&#8217;s ranking was the lowest at 61</a>, though the young righty was one of Law&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/1004053472264663040" target="_blank">top-10 players on the board heading into today</a>. While his fastball and variety of breaking balls are the main attractions, most of the reports also mention the strength of his changeup. Described as a prototypical Texas Prep arm, from the looks of it Kloffenstein projects well as a starter thanks to his durable frame.</p>
<p>Shortly after the pick was announced, <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/college/big-12/texas-christian-university/article212580294.html#storylink=rss" target="_blank">the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported</a> that the Blue Jays would indeed sign Kloffenstein, and go well over the usual bonus slot to do so. Toronto is reportedly offering up a bonus around $2.5 million, while the slotted amount for the No. 88 is about $650,000.</p>
<p><strong>Scouting Videos</strong></p>
<p><em>Via MLB Pipeline:</em></p>
<iframe src="https://www.mlb.com/video/share/2018-draft-kloffenstein-rhp/c-1974572683?tid=262722544" width="540" height="304" scrolling="no" ></iframe>
<p><em>Via Baseball America:</em></p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H-xUbx70EwA" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" ></iframe>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Round 4, Pick 116 &#8211; Sean Wymer, RHP, TCU</h2>
<p><strong>MLB Pipeline Scouting Grades</strong></p>
<p>Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45</p>
<p><strong>Reports</strong></p>
<p>The Jays keep their Texas connections going in round four with the selection of the versatile Wymer. At 6&#8217;1&#8243; and 190 lbs, Wymer has filled a number of roles in his time with the Horned Frogs. The 21-year-old has been starting this year in his junior season but seemed to be most effective as an ace reliever for TCU, coming in and performing masterfully in a multi-inning relief role. He was limited by back injuries earlier this season but has drawn excellent reviews for his command.</p>
<p>Wymer features a four-pitch arsenal, with MLB Pipeline, <a href="http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2018/?list=draft" target="_blank">who ranked him 85th</a>, saying that, &#8220;He&#8217;ll flash a well-above-average curveball at times, though there are other times when his hard slider is his superior breaking ball. He doesn&#8217;t worry about radar guns, working at 89-92 mph with a quality sinker, though he can reach back for 95-96-mph heat when he needs to.&#8221; <a href="https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2018-top-500-mlb-draft-prospects/" target="_blank">Baseball America has him ranked 89th</a>, with nods to his &#8220;above-average control of his big breaking ball and an above-average fastball&#8221; as the things that will make him an effective pitcher at the next level. Neither FanGraphs nor Law had Wymer ranked, but overall he&#8217;s shown a great ability to command the strike zone and work in all four of his pitches effectively.</p>
<p>The consensus seems to be that Wymer will be a bullpen arm at the next level, as his stuff has played up in a relief role to this point in his college career. In 2017, his sophomore season, Wymer made 30 appearances out of the bullpen and worked to a 2.10 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings pitched. He really turned it up for TCU&#8217;s postseason run, retiring 35 of the 39 batters he faced. That season he was also named a member of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and First-Team Academic All-Big 12. As a junior, he&#8217;s started in 10 of his 15 appearances and is working with a 3.64 ERA in 74 innings. Impressively, Wymer has 69 strikeouts and just 14 walks.</p>
<p><strong>Scouting Videos</strong></p>
<p>Via MLB Pipeline:</p>
<iframe src="https://www.mlb.com/video/share/2018-draft-sean-wymer-rhp/c-1869110183?tid=262722544" width="540" height="304" scrolling="no" ></iframe>
<p>Via FanGraphs:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jNNjJFDJ0y0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" ></iframe><br />
&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Round 5, Pick 146 &#8211; Christopher Bec, C, Maine</h2>
<p>Bec&#8217;s selection comes out of nowhere, as he wasn&#8217;t a member of Baseball America&#8217;s top 500. After attending Miami Dade Community College, Bec headed north to Orono, where he&#8217;s settled in as the Black Bears&#8217; starting catcher and occasional DH. He&#8217;s started all 99 games of his Maine career, slashing .340/.426/.465 with 30 walks and just 17 strikeouts in 200 at-bats as a junior, and is following that up with .315/.379/.539 with eight home runs, 18 walks and 26 strikeouts through 45 games and 178 at bats in 2018.</p>
<p>In his first season with Maine, he led the team in batting average, OBP, slugging, doubles (20), walks (30) and steals (21). He again led the Black Bears in steals this season with 16, and the jump in home runs from just one as a junior to eight as a senior is notable. Bec was placed on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List prior to the season and ended up earning a spot on the America East First Team as well as the America East All-Tournament Team.</p>
<p>While the four-year senior didn&#8217;t earn a mention from any of the main scouting sources, he&#8217;s showcased some excellent work with the bat and joins the Jays&#8217; catching pipeline.</p>
<div class="modal-image-setImageMetadata">
<p class="ng-binding"><em>Lead Photo &#8211; © Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Kendrys Morales: An All-Time Unlikely Base Stealer</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/05/24/kendrys-morales-an-all-time-unlikely-base-stealer/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/05/24/kendrys-morales-an-all-time-unlikely-base-stealer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2018 10:22:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kendrys Morales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=15930</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[No matter how poorly a season goes, there’s always something fun to take away. It could take the form of a memorable play, a guy coming out of nowhere to play his way into the future plans or the arrival of some promising young talent, among other things. The point being, there’s a whole lot [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>No matter how poorly a season goes, there’s always something fun to take away. It could take the form <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3BDn2K6sgo" target="_blank">of a memorable play</a>, a guy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OuPI38AMS0" target="_blank">coming out of nowhere</a> to play his way into the future plans or <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/images/0/5/8/269783058/032618_gif_vlad_headshake_mid.gif" target="_blank">the arrival of some promising young talent</a>, among other things. The point being, there’s a whole lot that can happen over 162 games of baseball – even when things feel at their worst, there’s always something unique or entertaining to file away in the memory bank.</p>
<p>Even if this slog of a season (the Blue Jays are somehow within striking distance of the postseason despite everything that’s gone wrong, and we <em>are</em> only 45 games deep) were to end tomorrow, we’ve probably seen one of the most unlikely occurrences in franchise history. It’s far from a milestone, but Kendrys Morales&#8217; recent steal of second was stunning enough to get me wondering: Could this be the most unlikely stolen base in Blue Jays history?</p>
<p>“Unlikely” is a bit of a nebulous term that can be defined in a number of ways. There’s a few different angles we’ll take once we get down to the cream of the crop but for starters, I went to find all the players in league history who had played over 1,000 games with fewer than 10 stolen bases. There were 82 such names, with 19 of them having spent time with the Blue Jays.</p>
<p>Among those luminaries, seven are removed from contention as none of their career steals came with Toronto. Cliff Johnson, Mike Matheny, Kevin Millar, John Buck, Miguel Montero, Cecil Fielder, and Greg Myers get off at this stop of the journey. Most of those players only played one year or less with the team, cutting down their chances considerably. One omission in particular was great news for the remaining contenders however (assuming this is recognition that people might actually want), as Fielder is probably the king of the category with only two steals on eight attempts in 1,470 career games. Myers is also up there with three steals in 18 years of MLB play, all of which came in one season with the then-California Angels, though he only appeared in 1,108 games.</p>
<p>That leaves us with the following: Roy Howell, Alan Ashby, Darrin Fletcher, Buck Martinez, Rick Cerone, Pat Borders, Ed Sprague, Rod Barajas, Adam Lind, Bengie Molina, Justin Smoak, and Kendrys Morales. A whole lot of catchers, unsurprisingly.</p>
<p>A brief sweep of their career stats didn’t do much, but it did eliminate Howell from the race. Multi-steal seasons aren’t backbreakers by any means, but four steals in just 96 games in 1977 are probably a bit too much to hang with the rest even if he ended up stealing only five in 516 outings with the Jays. We bid goodbye to Howell and his nine steals in 1,112 career games.</p>
<p>It’s at this point where we can really start to think about what “unlikely” means. Should a stolen base from a high-OBP player be considered more improbable than one from a low-OBP player? Is it more unlikely to see a steal from a player who gets lots of chances but never goes or one from a player who spends less time on the basepaths, period? Taking that to the next level, what about successful steals versus mere attempts? You get thrown out on 100 percent of the shots you don’t take – but does attempting more steals take some luster off the rare feats of the fleet or does a poor success rate actually help a player’s case here? And how should we treat players who only made a brief stop in Toronto whose games played totals and inactivity on the basepaths stacked up in other organizations? Should we lean towards players who spent more time with the Blue Jays or those whose brief stints led to some true “shooting star” moments?</p>
<p>There’s no right answer to those questions. You can mix and match those arguments to something that feels right for you, knowing that the following players are all incredibly slow. I was rooting for Bengie Molina, personally, as he waved to a 12-year-old me from the bullpen before a game once. Each steal on the list below should be treasured as something special, something only people insane enough to sit through mostly-mediocre baseball seasons from start to finish can share. They’re all winners in a way.</p>
<p>Let’s look at everyone’s career totals. I’ve created a loose approximation of the amount of times each player reached base by multiplying their OBP by their plate appearances. Some rounding issues pop up but nothing that should change the shape of our highly scientific study.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/CareerSteals.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-15931" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/CareerSteals.jpg" alt="CareerSteals" width="700" height="260" /></a></p>
<p>Going off this list, we can pretty much erase Ashby, Borders, Lind, Sprague and the silver fox himself, Buck Martinez, on the basis of rate stats. Rick Cerone earns points for sheer ineptitude (shoutout to the coaches who kept sending him) but doesn’t make through the second round of cuts. The standouts look to be Rod Barajas, Darrin Fletcher, and Bengie Molina. Smoak and Morales are undoubtedly hurt but being active players in this regard, as both are likely to see major “improvement” here as they continue to age, play, and not run.</p>
<p>Although Morales does have some surprisingly not-rock-bottom rate stats, he earns points for time off between his steals. Before his first of the year on May 1, his last stolen base came all the way back on October 2, 2009. That’s the largest gap between steals for any of our contenders. While the multiple steals this year hurt his candidacy somewhat, it’s remarkable that he’s stolen two in just over two weeks after taking it easy for eight and a half seasons.</p>
<p>Despite the lengthy layoff between swipes, Morales loses a little shine as both steals came with a runner on third. The same goes for Barajas, whose lone steal as a Blue Jay came with a runner on third in extra innings against the Angels in 2009. Fletcher stole second as the sole runner in 2000 against the Rangers while Molina somehow accomplished the same on a botched hit-and-run against the Angels back in 2009. There was something about Anaheim in 2009, clearly. Funnily enough, Morales was in the lineup to witness Barajas race down to second. He was just Kendry back then but it still counts.</p>
<p>He’s certainly part of the conversation in terms of Blue Jays in Major League history, but what about when we restrict that to Jays-only numbers? We’ll set the cutoff at a minimum of 175 games and three steals or less to keep Morales on the board for comparison’s sake.</p>
<p>Those restrictions produced a 19-player list that includes contemporary names like Dioner Navarro (3 steals, 209 games), Troy Tulowitzki (2 in 238), Smoak (1 in 457), Matt Stairs (3 in 238), and J.P. Arencibia (2 in 380). Cutting the non-contenders out of that bunch yielded the following group, with Morales in there for kicks. There’s some carry over from the last list as well.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/BlueJaysSteals.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-15932" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/BlueJaysSteals.jpg" alt="BlueJaysSteals" width="700" height="323" /></a></p>
<p>Darrin Fletcher again emerges as a top contender, while Ed Sprague and John Olerud are definitely in the running as well. The fact that Olerud posted a .395 OBP over eight seasons with the Blue Jays is absolutely nuts, as is the fact that he only stole three bags despite being on base so often. Sprague shines here after his numbers in our first run through were tanked by his three steals in 1999 as a member of the Pirates. As for our subject, Morales is the only player on this list to have a multi-steal season with Toronto. Given his full body of work, that seems pretty unlikely even if it hurts him from a numbers perspective.</p>
<p>A tip of the hat goes to Carlos Delgado, who swiped nine bases in 1,423 games with the Blue Jays.</p>
<p>As for more modern metrics, Morales’ sits as the 13<sup>th</sup> slowest player in the Majors via Statcast’s Sprint Speed numbers at a glacial 23.7 feet per second. Surprisingly, both the slowest and second-slowest players (Nelson Cruz and Jesus Sucre) each have steals this season while the ninth-slowest, Yadier Molina, has two. That said, Morales is up from 23.5 feet per second last season. It’s no wonder he’s racking up the steals this time around.</p>
<p>And while he’s not the star of the show, Dioner Navarro was the slowest player in baseball for 2015 and the sixth-slowest in 2016. You can also find Justin Smoak’s name on those lists without scrolling all that far.</p>
<p>So Morales might not have the least-likely steal in Blue Jays history to his name, but he almost certainly has the most improbable pair. Baseball&#8217;s history books are filled with frivolities if you take the time to look. There are countless oddities and random happenings that aren&#8217;t often appreciated until the passage of time puts them in the proper context. Consider his output in the month of May like a slow, lumbering comet that dawdles across the sky. You never know when you’ll see something like it again and chances are we’ve seen it for the last time in a Blue Jays uniform. Either way, he’s now technically in the company of guys like Ed Sprague and John Olerud in franchise lore. Any time you can try to spin some positives for a DH hitting .163 in mid-late May, you’ve got to give it a shot.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Blue Jays Acquire Giovanny Urshela for cash considerations/PTBNL</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/05/09/blue-jays-acquire-giovanny-urshela-for-cash-considerationsptbnl/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2018 20:26:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Giovanny Urshela]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=15851</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays made a seemingly minor move on Wednesday afternoon, acquiring third baseman Giovanny Urshela from Cleveland in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. Just the third baseman that fans have been pining for, no doubt. Urshela was activated from the DL and designated for assignment on May 4, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays made a seemingly minor move on Wednesday afternoon, acquiring third baseman Giovanny Urshela from Cleveland in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. Just the third baseman that fans have been pining for, no doubt.</p>
<p>Urshela was activated from the DL and designated for assignment on May 4, ultimately settling in as the 41st player on Cleveland&#8217;s 40-man roster. Mostly known for his glove work, <a href="https://twitter.com/ShiDavidi/status/994307136191524865" target="_blank">Urshela will reportedly join the Blue Jays</a> once he sorts out his work visa.</p>
<p>The newest Blue Jays spent time in the bigs with Cleveland in 2015 and 2017, logging 148 games with a line of .225/.273/.314 across 453 plate appearances and a TAv of .209.  He owns a 17.7% career strikeout rate, though that&#8217;s dragged up considerably by an outlying 20.1% mark in his rookie campaign. At no point in his career, even in the minors besides his limited action (11 games) this season, had Urshela struck out more than 16.3% of the time. Unfortunately, he also walks just 5.7% of the time, though the team probably won&#8217;t be counting on Urshela to contribute much with the bat either way.</p>
<p>Urshela has also seen spot duty at both short and second base (43.2 innings combined), though he&#8217;ll do the majority of his work at the hot corner. He&#8217;s another defensive specialist to help shore up the team&#8217;s infield depth, though at first glance it appeared as though he&#8217;d be destined for the minors while Richard Urena and Lourdes Gurriel are up with the Blue Jays. Urshela figures to occupy the same role that Gift Ngoepe did in his time with the Jays this season, albeit with marginally better performance at the plate. There&#8217;s been no word on the corresponding roster move yet, though the visa issues will buy the Blue Jays a little bit of time on that front.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © David Richard-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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