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	<title>Toronto &#187; World Baseball Classic</title>
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		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 48: A Little Bird-Calling</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/03/15/artificial-turf-wars-ep-48-a-little-bird-calling/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Mar 2017 10:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Baltimore Orioles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Devon Travis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Josh Donaldson]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[World Baseball Classic]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[We have launched a Patreon account! If you like what we do, and are able to help us out, please click the button below to become an Artificial Turf Wars Patron. Every little bit goes a long way. Episode 48 Jake English of Birds Eye View stops by to preview the Baltimore Orioles are part [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We have launched a Patreon account! If you like what we do, and are able to help us out, please click the button below to become an Artificial Turf Wars Patron. Every little bit goes a long way.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/turfpod"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-9098" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/02/patreon_logo-300x94.png" alt="patreon_logo" width="252" height="79" /></a><br />
<strong><br />
Episode 48</strong></p>
<p>Jake English of Birds Eye View stops by to preview the Baltimore Orioles are part of the 2017 AL East preview series. He discusses the continual lack of strength/depth in the rotation, Chris Tillman&#8217;s injury, the slugging offense, and some fancy roster maneuvering by Dan Duquette. Greg and Josh also discuss the recent returns to &#8220;action&#8221; for Josh Donaldson and Devon Travis, Kendrys Morales&#8217; continued spring success, Canada&#8217;s abysmal showing in the World Baseball classic, Jose Bautista and Marcus Stroman&#8217;s STRONG showings, and some approach changes for Kevin Pillar and Justin Smoak. They also give Do-Overs to the Blue Jays social media team and Peter Gammons.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/sung_minkim/status/841675988291354626" target="_blank">Here&#8217;s the massive home run</a> from Shohei Otani that Josh mentions on the podcast. </p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/9/889/show_9889479_2017_03_15_03_36_35.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/9/889/show_9889479_2017_03_15_03_36_35.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/blue-jays-plus-podcast/id705699884?mt=2"><img class="alignnone wp-image-63" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/itunes1.png" alt="itunes" width="168" height="62" /></a><a href="https://soundcloud.com/turfpod"><img class=" wp-image-9054 alignleft" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/02/soundcloud.jpg" alt="soundcloud" width="123" height="60" /></a></p>
<p>Follow the guys on twitter: <a title="@coolhead2010" href="https://twitter.com/coolhead2010" target="_blank">@coolhead2010</a> and <a title="@JoshuaHowsam" href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHowsam" target="_blank">@JoshuaHowsam</a>.</p>
<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a>.</p>
<div><strong>Podcast Email</strong>-<a href="mailto:artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com" target="_blank">artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com</a> Please drop us a line if there is a guest you&#8217;d particularly like us to interview, to submit a question to <strong>Stump the Josh</strong>, or to simply give us feedback on the podcast. We&#8217;d love to hear from you!</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Roberto Osuna’s Rough Day at the World Baseball Classic</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/03/14/roberto-osunas-rough-day-at-the-world-baseball-classic/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Mar 2017 10:12:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roberto Osuna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Baseball Classic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=9459</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Despite the tendency for people to dump on the World Baseball Classic, the tournament has served up its share of fun underdog stories and been a tremendous reprieve from the doldrums of spring training. If nothing else, it’s just great to have competitive baseball back in our lives. With the only non-specific injury updates coming [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Despite the tendency for people to dump on the World Baseball Classic, the tournament has served up its share of fun underdog stories and been a tremendous reprieve from the doldrums of spring training. If nothing else, it’s just great to have competitive baseball back in our lives. With the only non-specific injury updates coming out of Dunedin these days, the WBC has been a welcome sight for the baseball community.</p>
<p>As for the Blue Jays who are actually playing in the event, it’s been mostly positive.</p>
<p>Jose Bautista, despite some questionable defense, has looked rejuvenated at the plate and also managed to set up another<a href="https://twitter.com/simmonssteve/status/840033113623392256" target="_blank"> Steve Simmons tweet </a>that we’ll be able to laugh at until the end of days. Marcus Stroman was excellent in his start against the mighty Dominican squad and Dalton Pompey showed off his defensive acumen in center field for Team Canada before injuring himself on a headfirst slide.</p>
<p>The lone Blue Jay to struggle in the tournament, and perhaps the least-discussed to this point, is Mexico’s Roberto Osuna. Mexico is already out of the tournament and can point to their shocking loss to Italy as the main culprit. Unfortunately Osuna was a central character in that affair, surrendering five runs without recording an out.</p>
<p>Results this time of year aren’t worth fretting about, as they typically come when pitchers are ramping back up to speed and may be trying to tinker with their mechanics, repertoire or both. That being said, most of those laissez faire outings come in the Grapefruit League- not in the midst of an actual competitive affair. So I decided to go back and watch that terrible, no good, very bad inning and see what happened.</p>
<p><em>Note: the video quality I had available wasn’t exactly perfect, so I’ve used the velocities <a title="Roberto Osuna and the Cutter Holding his Slider Hostage" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/03/13/roberto-osuna-cutter-holding-slider-hostage/" target="_blank">outlined by our own Kyle Matte</a> to help differentiate between sliders and cutters. Kyle’s work is great, and gives you a much broader view of Osuna’s pitch usage than this one game sample.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>First Batter: Francisco Cervelli, Six-Pitch Double to Left Centre</h3>
<p>Interestingly, Osuna went to his hesitation delivery twice in this at bat (once on the first pitch) and missed up and in with fastballs both times. After two fastballs resulted in a 1-1 count Osuna dropped in a cutter for a strike. He missed his location on this one- you’ll hear that again soon- it was supposed to be low and away and settled belt-high. After that second hesitation fastball evened the count at two, the next pitch might have swung the entire inning, as Osuna froze when the umpire declined to call strike three on a fairly close fastball. The full count offering was not a good one- a fastball that was supposed to be down in the zone sailed middle-middle and Cervelli dropped it into left center:</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/OsunaCervelli.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-9470" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/OsunaCervelli.jpg" alt="OsunaCervelli" width="500" height="448" /></a></p>
<p>Osuna was hurt by a few things once the ball left the bat— the outfielders were playing deep and didn’t bother getting to the ball all that quickly. The No Doubles defense probably cost him an out and definitely cost him an extra base, as Cervelli hustled into second just ahead of the throw.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Second Batter: Chris Colabello; First-Pitch Double to Left</h3>
<p>Our old friend Colabello pumped a first-pitch fastball over the head of the left fielder for a double; it probably wasn&#8217;t the location that <a title="OsunaColabello" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/OsunaColabello.jpg" target="_blank">Osuna wanted to hit</a>. The runner at second held up to make sure the ball would actually drop and wound up only advancing to third.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Third Batter: Alex Liddi; Five-Pitch Double Down the Left Field Line</h3>
<p>Liddi steps in next and whiffs on a first pitch cutter. The rest of the at-bat plays out curiously, with Osuna throwing exclusively sliders. He gets another whiff on a 2-1 pitch but again misses his location pretty badly on his fifth pitch, which Liddi slaps just fair down the line.</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/OsunaLiddi.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-9468 size-full" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/OsunaLiddi.jpg" alt="OsunaLiddi" width="421" height="414" /></a></p>
<h3>Fourth Batter: Drew Butera; Four-Pitch E6</h3>
<p>Drew Butera bats fourth and is quickly in an 0-2 hole after watching a slider for strike one and whiffing on a high fastball for strike two. Osuna goes back to the high fastball on the next pitch but Butera fouls it off. Again, Osuna goes to the slider with two strikes and actually gets Butera gearing up for another fastball- he’s out in front and grounds one to short, where it’s promptly booted by Luis Cruz.</p>
<p>You could question the approach considering Butera couldn’t handle the heat, but Osuna’s plan worked here. He also used that little hitch in his delivery on the last two pitches here—it may have prevented Butera from timing him up properly, considering two of the first three batters made some solid contact. Just some bad luck and worse defense.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Fifth Batter: Drew Maggi; Ten-Pitch Walk</h3>
<p>Osuna’s final batter of the evening would be Drew Maggi, who put together a pretty strong showing against a legitimate big league pitcher. Osuna, looking for just his second first-pitch strike, calls on the same slider that earned him strike one on Butera. It doesn’t work—neither does his second pitch fastball. Osuna gets a pretty favorable call on strike one, as his slider looks to be off the plate, but at this point he’ll take it. He catches Maggi looking on a fastball for strike two. Maggi fouls off two fastballs and a slider, as Osuna finally goes back to the heat with two strikes before trying again with his breaking pitch.</p>
<p>Pitch number eight is a fastball up and out of the zone that clocks in at 92 MPH- he’s slowing now, as he’s seen his velocity drop steadily since hitting 96 against Cervelli. With that perhaps in mind, Osuna throws another slider, down at 83 MPH, that gets fouled off. Pitch ten is another slider, this time at 82 MPH, that misses the zone. Ball four and Osuna is mercifully pulled. Oliver Perez allowed those inherited runners to score, capping off the evening’s damage.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Some Bad Luck, Some Good Stuff, and a Change in Approach</h3>
<p>Osuna threw 26 pitches and recorded zero outs&#8230;though he didn’t get a ton of help. Cervelli dodged a called third strike to start the inning and his hit could’ve been an out- it definitely should’ve been a single. Colabello’s double may have been caught by a better outfielder, but it was a bad pitch in a bad spot. Liddi hugged the line and snuck a double past the third baseman, and Cruz obviously cost Osuna an out. It was certainly one of Those Days.</p>
<p>As for what he could control, Osuna looked fine. His fastball averaged out at 94 MPH which seems about right considering this is essentially spring training. His cutters were both 90 MPH while his sliders sat just under 85 MPH on average.</p>
<p>Pitch selection was a bit notable, with Osuna calling on the heater just 50% of the time. For comparison’s sake, last season fastballs comprised nearly 60% of all his pitches. Five of his first eight pitches were fastballs but it looks like he (or his catcher) got gun shy after the two doubles. From that point on, Osuna threw one cutter, seven fastballs and 11 sliders.</p>
<p>He went to the slider more frequently than usual, particularly with two strikes. He threw five two-strike sliders and seven fastballs, which doesn’t jive with what we know about his work in Toronto. Working with Russell Martin last season, his most common two-strike offering is the fastball- particularly in deep counts like he saw with Liddi and Maggi. The 0-2 slider he gave to Butera fits with his profile but it seemed like Osuna was really relying on his breaking stuff to get him out of lengthy at-bats after getting burned on heaters early.</p>
<p>Osuna only generated three whiffs on his 26 pitches, with only one for each pitch type. If doing away with the cutter can help his slider substantially, as Kyle noted above, maybe it’s time to rethink that pitch a little bit. While location was the main culprit against Italy, the slider didn&#8217;t look to be fooling anybody.</p>
<p>So in summary, it was a really rough day. It’s not worth worrying about, even if he was punched around by two (let’s be generous) major league caliber hitters. His velocity wasn&#8217;t quite there and his pitch usage was a bit abnormal, but those should correct themselves with time and Russell Martin calling the shots.</p>
<p><em>Screenshots via <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2017_03_01_wasmlb_detmlb_1&amp;mode=classic" target="_blank">MLB Gameday</a></em></p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: © Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Takeaways from Team Canada vs. Toronto Blue Jays</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/03/08/takeaways-from-team-canada-vs-toronto-blue-jays/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Mar 2017 14:57:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ewan Ross]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[George Kottaras]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roster Changes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Team Canada]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[World Baseball Classic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=9296</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I just have a few thoughts after watching Team Canada’s exhibition vs. the Blue Jays Tuesday afternoon, as well as the first few days of action in the Tokyo and Seoul. Canada Roster Changes Canada has officially announced three changes to their roster. First, Blue Jays farmhand Mike Reeves has replaced Rangers prospect Kellin Deglan [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I just have a few thoughts after watching Team Canada’s exhibition vs. the Blue Jays Tuesday afternoon, as well as the first few days of action in the Tokyo and Seoul.</p>
<h3><strong><b>Canada Roster Changes</b></strong></h3>
<p>Canada has officially announced three changes to their roster.</p>
<p>First, Blue Jays farmhand Mike Reeves <a href="http://www.baseball.ca/reeves-added-to-wbc-roster" target="_blank">has replaced Rangers prospect Kellin Deglan</a> as the backup catcher. Reeves is a 25 year old career minor leaguer who has never played above the Single-A level. I’m disappointed that Baseball Canada didn’t turn to 2016 52<sup>nd</sup> overall pick Andy Yerzy to fill that role. With Greatest Living Canadian George Kottaras entrenched as the team’s starting catcher, I really think it makes more sense to give the exposure to the youngster over the steady veteran.</p>
<p>Secondly, Cubs prospect southpaw <a href="http://www.baseball.ca/kellogg-added-to-world-baseball-classic-roster" target="_blank">Ryan Kellogg has been added to the team</a>, replacing the withdrawing Adam Loewen. Kellogg, a 5<sup>th</sup> round draft pick back in 2015, is someone I thought should’ve been on this team all along. At just 22, Kellogg made an impressive debut in full-season ball in 2016, posting an ERA a shade over 3.00 in his 24 appearances in the Mid-West league. Control appears to be his primary asset, walking just 26 batters in his 130 innings last season, and he looked quite good in the clean inning he posted on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The loss of Loewen is disappointing, as it removes the possibility of Loewen being used both ways in this tournament. With the Canadian roster only featuring four outfielders, including starting a player the calibre of Rene Tosoni vs. the Blue Jays, I thought there was at least a possibility of Loewen seeing some time as a corner outfielder, especially late in games. With this news, that option obviously goes out the window.</p>
<p>Lastly, Athletics reliever, and Team Canada closer John Axford withdrew from the tournament, and <a href="http://www.baseball.ca/therrien-added-to-wbc-roster" target="_blank">has been replaced by Phillies relief prospect Jesen Therrien</a>. Therrien made a serious jump last season, reaching Double-A and nearly doubling his strikeout rate to more than 12 per 9 innings. Along with Kellogg, Therrien is a player I’d have liked to have seen on the roster from day one and an intriguing arm that I hope we get a chance to see during the tournament.</p>
<h3><strong><b>Canada is Shorthanded</b></strong></h3>
<p>Unless there are more last minute additions to the roster, Canada will be going into the World Baseball Classic with open slots remaining on their roster.</p>
<p>In the World Baseball Classic, teams are permitted a 28-man roster, and from the announcements Canada has made thus far there are only 26 players currently on the team.</p>
<p>I can’t for the life of me explain why Canada wouldn’t want a full roster of players. There are numerous roles on the club that could be filled by additional players. As things stand right now, Canada only has four outfielders and three middle infielders, an issue that could constrain key tactical moves late in ball games. Also, purely as a fan, knowing that there are open slots makes me even further question why Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn’t sitting on the Canadian bench. Even if you didn’t think he could help the team on the field, Guerrero would provide an interesting talking point, and a point towards excitement in the future for Canadian baseball fans.</p>
<p>Things get really confusing when you <a href="https://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/teams/can" target="_blank">turn to the World Baseball Classic site</a> to try to further investigate the Canadian roster.</p>
<p>When you scroll down to the roster section of that page, you see three new pitchers added to the roster in Dominican born Jose Fernandez, Texan born John Stilson, &amp; Florida born Justin Shafer. Two of these pitchers (Fernandez and Stilson) pitched for Team Canada in their exhibition game vs. the Jays on Tuesday, and it wasn’t clarified on the broadcast so I just assumed those players had been loaned to Canada for the game by Toronto. After seeing them on Team Canada’s roster, I’m now questioning myself. As someone who’s been covering Blue Jays prospects for a long time, I can say with a good degree of certainty that John Stilson is not Canadian.</p>
<p>Weird stuff’s going on. I just don’t know what.</p>
<h3><strong><b>Old Timers</b></strong></h3>
<p>Eric Gagne gave up a hit and a walk while pitching a scoreless third inning. To my untrained eye he looked like a fairly credible pitcher with a fastball in the low 90s, and a bevy of junk ranging from a slow looping curveball and his typical circle change, to a slider that I do not remember him throwing during his heyday. I’m certainly intrigued to see him pitch more during the tournament, but where are the goggles?!</p>
<h3><strong><b>Youngsters getting a chance</b></strong></h3>
<p>Dalton Pompey looked good. Pompey reached base in each of his four plate appearances (once by an error), stole a base, and <a href="http://m.mlb.com/video/v1232345383/cantor-pompey-lays-out-for-diving-catch/?game_pk=510000" target="_blank">made a highlight reel catch</a> in center field. He is going to get an opportunity to star in this tournament and I continue to believe he’s the Blue Jays best option in left field.</p>
<p>I like that Ernie Whitt slotted Tyler O’Neill into the third slot in the lineup, but O’Neill struggled. After walking in his first at bat, O’Neill saw just nine pitches in his remaining three at bats, striking out on three pitches each time. The strikeouts will be there with O’Neill, I just really hope he gets a hold of one of the pitches he swings very hard at over the course of the tournament. He’s gonna make a baseball go a long way.</p>
<p>Padres prospect Josh Naylor replaced Freddie Freeman at first base in the fourth inning, and ripped a double to center field in one of his two at bats. Naylor also impressed defensively, snagging a line drive down the line. Naylor is obviously blocked on the roster by Morneau and Freeman, but it appears he should be the first bat off the Canadian bench.</p>
<h3><strong><b>Canada got screwed by the draw</b></strong></h3>
<p>After seeing the calibre of play being shown in the first two days of action in Asia, I’m becoming increasingly bitter that Canada was put into a group where they have practically no chance of advancing.</p>
<p>Even a Canadian team in its depleted state is a stronger team on paper than the upstart Israeli team advanced out of Pool A last night. Meanwhile in Pool B, it does appear that this version of the Cuban National Team is a weaker version than we’ve seen in the past, which is hardly surprising given the recent spate of defections. Were Canada in Pool B in place of Australia, their chances of advancing would likely ride on a single game against the Cubans, and I’d take that dice roll.</p>
<p>All those hopes and dreams feel completely dashed due to Canada’s situation of being paired with the Americans and the Dominicans, who are the two most talented teams in the tournament. It’s a shame.</p>
<h3><strong><b>George Kottaras Played!</b></strong></h3>
<p>He got a walk and a hit. He’s awesome.</p>
<p>Lead Photo: © Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</p>
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		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 44: A Canadian Classic</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/17/atw-episode-44-canadian-training/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2017 11:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Greg Hamilton, coach and director of national teams for Baseball Canada, stops by to discuss Canada&#8217;s World Baseball Classic team. He details the selection process for the roster, the need for a blend of youth and experience, and how the team reacted to the absence of so many top players. Greg and Josh also break [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Greg Hamilton, coach and director of national teams for Baseball Canada, stops by to discuss Canada&#8217;s World Baseball Classic team. He details the selection process for the roster, the need for a blend of youth and experience, and how the team reacted to the absence of so many top players. Greg and Josh also break down the last couple weeks of Blue Jays news with a look at the Joe Smith and Mat Latos signings, Aaron Sanchez&#8217; being let loose, and the loss of the latest &#8220;Catcher of the Future.&#8221; Finally, they answer listener questions and give a Do-Over to their good buddy, Rob Manfred.</p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/9/826/show_9826433_2017_02_17_05_11_20.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/9/826/show_9826433_2017_02_17_05_11_20.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
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<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a>.</p>
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		<title>WBC Preview: Team Canada Hitters</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/15/wbc-preview-team-canada-hitters/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2017 15:51:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ewan Ross]]></dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[Hitters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Team Canada]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8993</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Now that I fully depressed every reader with yesterday&#8217;s piece on the direction Canada chose to take with this roster, here is a preview of the position players who actually made the team. Some of them might even be exciting! Catcher – George Kottaras – 34 – Free Agent 2017 PECOTA &#8211; .200/.327/.365 &#8211; .251 TAv [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Now that I fully depressed every reader with <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/14/wbc-preview-team-canada-a-club-without-a-purpose/" title="WBC Preview: Team Canada – A Club Without a Purpose" target="_blank">yesterday&#8217;s piece on the direction Canada chose</a> to take with this roster, here is a preview of the position players who actually made the team. Some of them might even be exciting!</p>
<p><b>Catcher – George Kottaras – 34 – Free Agent<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; .200/.327/.365 &#8211; .251 TAv &#8211; -0.4 WARP</b></p>
<p>George Kottaras is my favourite baseball player, so I’m thrilled to get one another opportunity to see him in anything resembling the spotlight. There isn’t a player over the past decade with a more defined set of skills and weaknesses. He is a poor defensive catcher, and he makes next to no contact, however he combines those massive black marks with an elite walk rate and isolated power. For near a decade now I’ve thought his left handed skill set made the perfect prototype for a backup catcher, but even during his prime he just was never able to stick in that role.</p>
<p>By 2017, Kottaras is now far from his prime. He hasn’t even gotten a cup of coffee in the major leagues since 2014, and he spent the 2016 bouncing between the Giants and the Braves AAA squads. He heads into the World Baseball Classic unsigned for the 2017 season and it’s conceivable he could be looking to turn heads and earn himself a minor league deal for the upcoming season.</p>
<p>As a catcher, especially one who’s left handed, Kottaras can essentially continue playing baseball as along as he wants to, and honestly, look at that PECOTA projection. You can’t tell me that’s any worse production than the Blue Jays have gotten from Josh Thole these past couple seasons. And from the left side no less! I still think George can play, and given the lifespan of catchers he’ll essentially have a career as a minor league catcher as long as he wants one.</p>
<p>George is great, everyone should appreciate him more.</p>
<p><b>Catcher – Kellin Deglan – 25 – Texas Rangers (Double A)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; .196/.249/.353 &#8211; .207 TAv &#8211; -1.1 WARP</b></p>
<p>Deglan was selected in the first round of the 2010 draft, though for a well under slot contract. As a high school catcher (out of the Langley Blaze program) it’s unsurprising that he has moved slowly through the minor leagues, moving roughly a level every two years. However, what is more disappointing is how his bat has failed to developed.</p>
<p>Deglan struggles to make contact on a consistent enough basis to allow his power to play through; 2016 was his first full season at the Double A level and he struggled mightily, hitting below the Mendoza line and striking out more than 100 times in less than 300 plate appearances.</p>
<p>Deglan still has a very strong defensive reputation, and that paired with his ability to hit from the left side makes him seem like an ideal backup catcher. However after seven seasons in the minor leagues it seems very doubtful that Deglan’s bat will ever develop enough for that to happen. He will likely be ticketed back to Double A Frisco</p>
<p><b>First Baseman &#8211; Freddie Freeman – 27 – Atlanta Braves<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; .282/.374/.481 – 3.5 WARP</b></p>
<p>Freddie Freeman! Holy crap! He’s not actually Canadian &#8211; he was born born and raised in Orange County, California &#8211; but both his parents were Canadian, so he qualifies! Not only does he qualify, he passionately wants to play for Canada. I legitimately teared up reading <a href="https://twitter.com/FreddieFreeman5/status/829502282060414977" target="_blank">the story that he shared via Twitter</a> after being named to the team last week.</p>
<p>If you are reading this website, you know who Freddie Freeman is. Simply put, he is a superstar. Had he not spent last season toiling away on the basement dwelling Braves, he would’ve had a strong case to make for the National League MVP award.</p>
<p>When Canadian baseball fans heard that Joey Votto was going to be taking a pass on this year’s World Baseball Classic, it looked like it would be a massive blow. With Freeman now emerging, Baseball Canada has managed to replace Votto with one of the five people on earth who could conceivably be an upgrade at first base. Given the weakness of the Canadian roster, Freeman will be leaned on as heavily as probably any other player in the tournament.</p>
<p>He is the only hitter on the Canadian roster that I expect to be in the major leagues on opening day, so Baseball Canada welcomes you with open arms, Mr. Freeman.</p>
<p><b>First Baseman – Justin Morneau – 36 – Free Agent<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; .260/.319/.415 &#8211; .255 TAv – 0.3 WARP</b></p>
<p>As a youngster growing up in New Westminster, British Columbia, I played baseball as a youth at the Moody Park baseball diamond. It’s no longer possible to play baseball at “the Moody Park baseball diamond” because that park is now rightfully “Justin Morneau Field.” Although Morneau has not announced his retirement, there is a strong possibility that the 2017 World Baseball Classic is the last opportunity that Canadian baseball fans will have to pay homage to the player that I believe to be the fourth best Canadian baseball player of all time, after Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins, deserved Hall of Famer Larry Walker, and future Hall of Famer (?) Joey Votto.</p>
<p>Justin Morneau arrived as a meaningful big leaguer in his age 25 season, when he won the American League MVP (at a time when three of the four major sports MVPs were Canadian), and for a five year span he was as good as any first baseman not named Albert Pujols.</p>
<p>Unfortunately in my mind, Morneau’s career will always have a twinge of sadness to it. He remains a tremendous “What-If” because as many of us remember, his career was derailed by chronic concussions stemming from an incident at second base with former Blue Jay John MacDonald in 2010. Up to that point, Morneau had been on his way to the best season of his career at age 29 and unfortunately since that injury he has never really been the same.</p>
<p>Happily he has been able to return and has managed to have a somewhat successful second act of his career, albeit as a journeyman. Morneau struggled last season as a part time player on a poor White Sox team and has not signed a contract with any team for even an invitation to spring training thus far. While it’s still a possibility that Morneau could catch on, I’m somewhat doubtful.</p>
<p>While it is incredibly unfortunate that Joey Votto is taking a pass on the tournament, I think a silver lining can be seen in the situation. Had Votto been on the team, the first base and designated hitter positions certainly would’ve been occupied by himself and Freddie Freeman, which would’ve relegated Morneau into a pinch hitting role. As it stands now, Morneau should be the team’s starting designated hitter and likely bat cleanup. This will afford Canadian fans ample opportunities to show our appreciation for Morneau’s spectacular career, but also hopefully give Morneau enough plate appearances to have a memorable final moment at the plate.</p>
<p>Here’s to you, Justin Morneau. You were great.</p>
<p><b>First Baseman – Josh Naylor – 20 – San Diego Padres (High A)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; .233/.263/.379 &#8211; .221 TAv – -1.1 WARP</b></p>
<p>When Josh Naylor was selected with the 12th overall pick of the 2015 MLB Draft, he became the highest Canadian hitter ever selected and the third highest picked ever (now fourth after Cal Quantrill). However, even at the time his selection was seen as somewhat of an overdraft, especially given his lack of flexibility as an offense only first baseman. Unfortunately for Naylor, his time as a professional has done his prospect status no favours.</p>
<p>While he has shown some promise on the field featuring emerging raw power and a surprising 11 stolen bases, off the field he was in a <a href="https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/740277673658855424" target="_blank">fairly ugly off field “prank”</a> which involved his unwilling teammate being cut by a knife, and requiring surgery.</p>
<p>It was then incredibly unsurprising when the Marlins seemingly sold low on Naylor, and traded him in a deadline deal with the Padres for injured starter Andrew Cashner.</p>
<p>I think the hope with Naylor is that in a new organization he will be given a fresh start, and with the prodigious power that could emerge from his bat that he is still a legitimate prospect. However, and to speak frankly, I’m not especially pleased that a player with a chequered off-field history has been given what seems to be one of the few developmental slots on the roster.</p>
<p>With Freeman &amp; Morneau ahead of Naylor on the roster it seems doubtful that he has a path to playing time, so I would much rather have seen this roster spot be given to either one of Canada’s young raw outfielders in Demi Orimoloye, or Gareth Morgan, or carried a third catcher in last year’s first round pick Andy Yerzy. That being said, I think we can look forward to Naylor’s getting a few pinch hit opportunities late in games, and who knows, he might run into a fastball.</p>
<p><b> Second Baseman – Pete Orr – 36 – Free Agent<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; . /./. &#8211; . TAv – . WARP</b></p>
<p>Over the course of his 16 year career, Pete Orr managed to play over 700 major league games. In his prime he topped out as a replacement level backup second baseman you would’ve had no problem going into a season as the number three second baseman on your depth chart. Even then, he was never even a very good hitter at the Triple A level, topping out at around a .750 OPS in the minor leagues.</p>
<p>That was a decade ago. Orr hasn’t played a major league game since getting into 15 with the Phillies back in 2013, and last season he didn’t play baseball at any level, and I had assumed he had retired. If Orr’s role on this team projected to be anything more than veteran leader and backup, I don’t think I’d have a major issue with his presence. He is a veteran of the program, who is deserving of that role. However, due to the retirement of Taylor Green prior to 2016 and Brett Lawrie missing the tournament, it currently appears that Pete Orr will enter the tournament as the starting second baseman.</p>
<p>No offense to Orr, but I’d severely hoped that Baseball Canada could do better than this.</p>
<p><b> Shortstop – Daniel Pinero – 23 – Detroit Tigers (Low A)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; .210/.279/.338 &#8211; .215 TAv – -0.3 WARP</b></p>
<p>While most will focus on the loss of Joey Votto or Russell Martin from the Canadian roster, it’s quite possible that the biggest loss the Canadian roster suffered from what one would’ve projected over the offseason is that of Sean Jamieson, a shortstop in Triple A and on the Diamondbacks 40 man roster.</p>
<p>Jamieson doesn’t have tremendous upside, but he is campaigning to become just the second Canadian shortstop to play in the big leagues since Dave McKay retired in the early 1980s. Unfortunately for Baseball Canada, offseason shoulder surgery has rendered Jamieson unable to compete, so as a result the job will likely be turned over to 23 year old, 2016 ninth round draft pick Daniel Pinero.</p>
<p>Pinero is actually quite an exciting prospect, coming off an incredibly distinguished at the University of Virginia and winning a National Championship as a sophomore in 2015. He gargantuan for the position, officially listed at 6’5” 210 lbs, which immediately leads me to believe he will not be a shortstop long term. He would be the tallest shortstop in major league history were he to make it.</p>
<p>That being said, by the low bar generally set by Canadian shortstops, and frankly by the rest of this roster, Pinero is someone that I’m actually quite excited to get a chance to see. In his half season debut after being drafted last season he held his own in the Low-A New York Penn league, posting a .371 on base percentage and walking almost as much as he struck out.</p>
<p>On a Canadian team that will probably struggle to win games, these are the type of players that I want to be seeing getting an opportunity.</p>
<p><b>Shortstop – Jonathan Malo – 33 – Les Capitales de Quebec (Can Am League)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; . /./.- . TAv – . WARP</b></p>
<p>¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p>
<p><b> Third Baseman – Eric Wood – 24 – Pittsburgh Pirates (Double A)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; .228/.297/.371 &#8211; .231 TAv – -0.3 WARP</b></p>
<p>After being a sixth round draft pick in 2012, Eric Wood has steadily marched through the Pirates system as a relatively low upside third base prospect. Last season, his second in Double A, the doubles power which he’d always possessed in his bat turned into home runs, as he doubled his career total with a total of 16 on the season.</p>
<p>With only the troubled Jung-Ho Kang and David Freese ahead of him on the Pirates depth chart, I think it is quite possible that Wood has a path to big league playing time should he produce in Triple-A.</p>
<p>On this Canadian team, Wood’s right handed bat will help provide balance to a lineup which will lean to the left as it always does.</p>
<p><b>Right Field – Tyler O’Neil – 22 – Seattle Mariners (Double A)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; .235/.299/.461 &#8211; .262 TAv – 0</b>.4 WARP</p>
<p>Finally, at long last we get to a player who, without reservations, we can get legitimately excited about getting the opportunity to see. Baseball Prospectus just named O’Neill as the Mariners #1 prospect and the #53 prospect in all of baseball, and I believe he has a very real chance to be the next great Canadian player.</p>
<p>O’Neill has prodigious power; his 56 home runs the past two seasons have been among the leaders in all the minor leagues. However along with all those tantalizing home runs has come a penchant to swing and miss.</p>
<p>There are very few major leaguers who were ever able to have success while striking out more than a quarter of the time like O’Neill has been doing in the minor leagues. O’Neill is either one of those incredibly rare players, or more likely he will have to improve his contact rate in order to achieve success at the major league level.</p>
<p>I hope to write more about O’Neill in the leadup to the tournament, but I believe that the 2017 World Baseball Classic is a massive opportunity for the young man to put his name on the map across this country. If I was drawing up this lineup, he would play every game in right field and ideally bat right behind Freeman and Morneau.</p>
<p>It is still possible this could be too early for O’Neill. He’s just 23 years old and likely headed to Triple A to start the season. I’m hoping a hot WBC can help carry O’Neill onto the fast track to Seattle before the All-Star break. With Shohei Otani now pulled out of the tournament, personally there isn’t a player I’m more excited to see than Tyler O’Neill.</p>
<p><b> Center Field – Dalton Pompey – 23 – Toronto Blue Jays (Triple A)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; .262/.336/.404 &#8211; .258 TAv – 0.5 WARP</b></p>
<p>I believe that the strange path his career has taken has done significant damage to people’s perception of where Dalton Pompey is as a baseball player. Had he not broken camp with the Blue Jays in 2015 and proceed to flop and be demoted after a poor April, Pompey would still be perceived much more as the 23 year old, toolsy, high upside center fielder he is, rather than the busted prospect how many are now viewing him.</p>
<p>There’s no doubt that the past two seasons have been rough ones for Pompey, both due to performance on the field and various injuries which have kept him from playing at full strength. I still believe that if given the opportunity Pompey could be a starting calibre center fielder (or potentially in left as well). Given how reluctant the Blue Jays appear to be to add any competition to their left field mix, Pompey’s path to playing time is fairly easy to see and I still have hope.</p>
<p>On this Canadian team, Pompey will be in a featured role. He will start every game in center and presumably lead off as well. Pompey is one of the more interesting Canadian players to watch, especially for Blue Jays fans.</p>
<p><b>Outfield – Jamie Romak – 31 – San Diego Padres (Triple A)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; ././. &#8211; . TAv – . WARP</b></p>
<p>Jamie Romak returns Stateside after a short-lived stay with the Yokohama Bay Stars in 2016. He only managed to get into 30 games with the Bay Stars last season, which was very surprising given that Romak was coming off multiple seasons as a superstar slugger at the Triple A level; in 2015 Romak led the entire Pacific Coast League in home runs with 27 while playing at altitude in Reno. Over the course of his career, Romak has played more than 100 games at both corner infield spots, and left and right field. While he is probably a fringe major league talent, Romak has landed in an organization which might need just that, the Padres.</p>
<p>For team Canada, Romak’s defensive versatility gives the team a good amount of flexibility. He could start games at third base over Eric Wood, but I expect him to get the starting nod in left field. His best skill is hitting lefthanded pitching, so ideally he would fall into a platoon. On this team, given their lack of talent, Romak will likely have to face right handed pitching as well.</p>
<p><b> Outfield – Michael Crouse – 25 – New Britain Bees (Atlantic League)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; ././. &#8211; . TAv – . WARP</b></p>
<p>Once upon a time, Michael Crouse was a Blue Jays minor leaguer who I hesitate to ever say was a legitimate prospect. Crouse was drafted out of high school in the 16th round of 2008 draft and through the seven years he spent in the Blue Jays system, he had all of one promising offensive season (2011 in Lansing).</p>
<p>Crouse was released by the Blue Jays after a disappointing 2014 season in Double A New Hampshire, and after taking the 2015 season off, he returned to the independent leagues in 2016. I haven’t seen any news over the offseason that Crouse has signed, so in all likelihood he will return to the independent leagues after this tournament.</p>
<p><b> Outfield – Rene Tosoni – 30 – Sugar Land Skeeters (Atlantic League)<br />
2017 PECOTA &#8211; ././. &#8211; . TAv – . WARP</b></p>
<p>Do you remember Rene Tosoni? He played 60 games of well-below replacement outfield for the Minnesota Twins all the way back in 2011, and hasn’t played affiliated baseball since 2013. I really didn’t think I’d need to type Rene Tosoni’s name again, but this is where we are.</p>
<p>That brings us to the end of the 13 position players that have been named to Canada’s roster. It does stand out that unlike the other nations involved in the tournament, who have all named a roster of more than 30 players, Canada has only named a 28 player roster, so it is still possible that more players could still be added before the tournament begins.</p>
<p>One can only hope.</p>
<p><i>Check back in later in the week when Ewan will preview the Team Canada pitching staff. </p>
<p>Lead Photo: © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
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		<title>WBC Preview: Team Canada &#8211; A Club Without a Purpose</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/14/wbc-preview-team-canada-a-club-without-a-purpose/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/14/wbc-preview-team-canada-a-club-without-a-purpose/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2017 15:08:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ewan Ross]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Team Canada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WBC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Baseball Classic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8990</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I love Baseball Canada. I believe I am one of Baseball Canada’s biggest fans. If you slap a Canadian jersey on a team, I will root as hard for those clubs to win as one can imagine. I also try to follow Canadian baseball players very closely; for the past five years I’ve had a [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I love Baseball Canada. I believe I am one of Baseball Canada’s biggest fans. If you slap a Canadian jersey on a team, I will root as hard for those clubs to win as one can imagine. I also try to follow Canadian baseball players very closely; for the past five years I’ve had a running spreadsheet of all the Canadians playing in affiliated baseball, which has gotten more and more challenging as Canadian baseball has continued to grow.</p>
<p>The past two drafts have shown the strength of Canadian baseball not only by having elite talent taken in the top 15 (<strong>Cal Quantrill</strong> in 2016, and <strong>Josh Naylor</strong> in 2015), but also having the depth to have nine players selected in the top ten rounds of each of the 2015 and 2016 drafts. As such, I want to be clear that the criticism that is to come is in no way an indictment of the talent in Canadian baseball, but rather solely aimed at the composition of this year’s World Baseball Classic team.</p>
<p>The first question that I think needs to be asked before analyzing the roster is to ask “What is the objective of the <strong>World Baseball Classic</strong>?”</p>
<p>In Canada, I’d argue that the World Baseball Classic could provide many different purposes.</p>
<p>• <b>Objective 1 </b>– Canada could put their absolute best foot forward, really put an emphasis on representing their country, and put together a team that looks something like the best 25 Canadian baseball players.</p>
<p>If Canada could actually do this, I think they would be a very live underdog in this tournament, and there are scenarios where I could see them even winning the tournament, which would be amazing.</p>
<p>For various reasons this largely wasn’t going to be possible in 2017. Catcher <strong>Russell Martin</strong> is unavailable due to insurance concerns, first baseman <strong>Joey Votto</strong> was taking a pass to focus on the season, shortstop <strong>Sean Jamieson</strong> was out with shoulder surgery, <strong>Michael Saunders</strong> was a free agent &#8211; and probably shouldn’t risk injury anyway, and <strong>Brett Lawrie</strong> isn’t playing because, well, I’m totally not sure why Brett Lawrie isn’t playing.</p>
<p>Since this option wasn’t a realistic possibility, I believe that Baseball Canada should’ve shifted fully towards&#8230;</p>
<p>• <b>Objective 2</b> – Canada should put an emphasis on youth development. Take the five or six major league calibre players available to this team, and fill around with nothing but young, recently drafted players or high ceiling prospects.</p>
<p>From a player and program development standpoint, you give a young player a platform to be seen across the country and work against the World&#8217;s best. From an entertainment aspect, the viewer gets to watch a young, exciting team and hopefully dream towards the future.</p>
<p>The offensive half of this roster fails to do that spectacularly.</p>
<p>While the team does have some youth in Mariners top prospect outfielder <strong>Tyler O’Neill</strong> &amp; Padres first baseman <strong>Josh Naylor</strong>, in my opinion it is sorely missing Blue Jays third base wunderkind <strong>Vladimir Guerrero Jr,</strong> and Diamondbacks first round catcher <strong>Andrew Yerzy</strong>.</p>
<p>This doesn’t just apply to the top prospects listed above; there have been a total of 26 Canadians taken in the first ten rounds of the past four MLB drafts, and there are only three represented on this year’s squad.</p>
<p>Instead what we have been given is a roster that includes three players (<strong>Michael Crouse</strong>, <strong>Jonathan Malo</strong>, &amp; <strong>Rene Tosoni</strong>) who last played baseball in the independent leagues, one player who seemingly retired last year (<strong>Pete Orr</strong>), and two current free agents whose careers could be at an end (<strong>George Kottaras</strong> and <strong>Justin Morneau</strong>).</p>
<p>If one wasn’t paying close attention, you could hear that the team was missing their starting shortstop (Jamieson) and second baseman (Lawrie), and think they had no other options but to turn to minor league veteran Jonathan Malo at short and Pete Orr at second base.</p>
<p>However, in this case Canada should be looking to a player like <strong>Charles LeBlanc</strong>, who the Tigers drafted in the fourth round last year, and who put up at least somewhat respectable numbers in his professional debut. I ask you the reader, who would you rather watch, 20 year old Charles LeBlanc, or 36 year old retired Pete Orr?</p>
<p>Had that choice been made only once or twice on the roster, it would be understandable, but when you turn to the outfield, you are met with a pair of indy leaguers again in Crouse and veteran Tosoni. Both of those players have been away from affiliated baseball long enough that it is impossible for me to get PECOTA projections for them to accompany the full hitter preview coming tomorrow. On the other hand, there are six Canadian outfielders who were drafted in the past three drafts, and I refuse to believe that one of <strong>Gareth Morgan,</strong> <strong>Demi Orimoloye</strong>, or <strong>Miles Gordon</strong> isn’t a better use of everyone’s time on the roster than a 31 year old Tosoni. Call me crazy.</p>
<p>In the case of many of the pitchers (who will be broken down at the end of the week), I understand why they might decline to participate in an event like the World Baseball Classic for fear of injury due to unusual workloads, however unless reported otherwise, I can’t understand position players having the same outlook. Thus, I have to assume that this is what Baseball Canada thinks is the best they can put forward and frankly, that’s incredibly disappointing.</p>
<p><em>Look for a full break down of Team Canada&#8217;s hitters on Wednesday, with the pitcher preview coming later in the week. </em></p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: © Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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