Blue Jays Discussion: Luke Maile: Ace Reliever edition

[The Nemesis]

Taillon was planning on pitching for Canada at the last WBC before he got injured I am pretty sure. Vlad I would be pretty surprised but where a player was raised doesn't always seem to matter in baseball anyways.

I do remember that for Taillon.

IIRC I swear I remember Vlad saying he wanted to do something internationally for Canada at some point. I imagine it was just sort of a diplomatic answer and he'd be stupid to turn down the highly probable opportunity to represent the Dominican Republic internationally, but who knows.

 

[The Nemesis]

Report: Blue Jays to try trading Stroman, Sanchez, Smoak - Sportsnet.ca

This isn't really surprising. Smoak is on borrowed time given that the team has Rowdy and baseball in general now values the DH being a flexible half-rest spot for guys rather than a hidey hole for incompetent fielders. Sanchez is likely setting up to get paid stupid money on account of Boras regardless of his actual production. And Stroman just might be a valuable trade chip on account of the combo of his soon-to-be-expiring contract, impending FA payday, and that he's pitching stupid good right now, making him a strong "sell high" candidate (on the surface he's having a career year. Drill down a bit and a slightly low BABIP, weird inversion of his usual GB/FB tendencies, and some red flags in his xFIP and SIERA suggest this is probably not a new normal for him and that he's going to regress back closer to what he's always been: a good top-half-of-the-rotation starter, but not a team-carrying ace. Unfortunately, a strong season at the right time might also push to have him paid like that.)

Pitching always seems like the thing you can buy on the FA market and supplement with a shotgun approach to prospect arms. It might be the smart move to see if some team is willing to overpay for a high end starter in order to better sync up the rotation with the Vlad/Bo/Biggio/others window.

Or it might work out to keep one or two of them if you can get a fair contract on the table. The Jays are in an enviable position in that regard. There's probably not a wrong answer to be had other than sinking all the team's FA money into the pair of them and them getting hurt/ineffective.

 

[jetsforever]

Report: Blue Jays to try trading Stroman, Sanchez, Smoak - Sportsnet.ca

I'm kind of done with all this blowing up - Pillar was a good call and Smoak at least makes sense, but I won't be happy if they get rid of Stroman. Sure it might be nice to have younger players but chances are they won't be as good as our mid-age top guys. I also wouldn't mind if the team didn't completely suck for the next season or two.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I'm kind of done with all this blowing up - Pillar was a good call and Smoak at least makes sense, but I won't be happy if they get rid of Stroman. Sure it might be nice to have younger players but chances are they won't be as good as our mid-age top guys. I also wouldn't mind if the team didn't completely suck for the next season or two.

The team is going to suck for the next season or two though. There is really no point tip toeing into a rebuild. I mean they arguably did tip toe into the rebuild a couple years ago....which was a mistake.

 

[Anthrax442]

 

[aingefan]

Cavan Biggio with a pretty nifty double header.
RF in one game. 1-2 with a 2b and a bb.
3B in the other. Goes 1-1 with a 3-run shot, 2bb and a sb.
Gurrieljr with a day, too. 4-8 with a 2b and hr.

 

[kb]

Cavan Biggio with a pretty nifty double header.
RF in one game. 1-2 with a 2b and a bb.
3B in the other. Goes 1-1 with a 3-run shot, 2bb and a sb.
Gurrieljr with a day, too. 4-8 with a 2b and hr.

That's non-prospect Cavan Biggio according to the Law....

 

[The Nemesis]

That's non-prospect Cavan Biggio according to the Law....

Non-prospect in a system that's not top 5 by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[kb]

Non-prospect in a system that's not top 5 by any stretch of the imagination.

View attachment 223105

We fought the Law, and the Law won....we fought the Law, and the Law won....

 

[The Nemesis]

We fought the Law, and the Law won....we fought the Law, and the Law won....

I'd post a pic of Law making a sour face, but that doesn't appear to exist. The closest are him looking like a knob wearing a Harry Potter costume or some sort of lamb hood... thing.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

Was Biggio rated as a top 100 prospect? If not, why not?

 

[kb]

I'd post a pic of Law making a sour face, but that doesn't appear to exist. The closest are him looking like a knob wearing a Harry Potter costume or some sort of lamb hood... thing.

No one snapped a pic of him when he saw the Jays obviously paid for a top-5 system ranking?

 

[kb]

Was Biggio rated as a top 100 prospect? If not, why not?

Age and draft pedigree plays a huge factor.

 

[The Nemesis]

Was Biggio rated as a top 100 prospect? If not, why not?

I get the feeling he suffers from Danny Jansen syndrome (evaluators keep waiting for a cooling off and settling into a lower tier of prospect value that just hasn't happened yet.)

 

[The Nemesis]

Honestly, I should say that I keep waiting for Biggio to crash as well. He was supposed to maybe be an OK utility guy, not come up through the minors looking like an everyday player.

 

[hoc123]

Was Biggio rated as a top 100 prospect? If not, why not?

A couple reasons:

1. Lack of a true defensive position. He can play multiple positions which helps, but it’s more that he can field many positions adequately rather than field many positions well like most utility players.

2. Strikeouts. Big strikeout numbers aren’t as big a problem for hitters as it used to be, but it still can be a problem. It was especially considered an issue because there were questions about how much of Biggio’s power would transfer to the MLB.

3. Lack of previous history. His power burst in 2018 came out of nowhere, and he was considered a really poor power hitter before then. While his power increase wasn’t a fluke, as it was because of a swing change, there was a question on if he could continue it.

All of this meant that many prospect evaluators thought he had a limited ceiling. This year he has managed to cut his strikeouts and continue his power increase so he should probably be seen in a higher light now. In a Baseball America chat today a writer said they were considering putting Biggio in the top 100 in their next update.

 

[kb]

Honestly, I should say that I keep waiting for Biggio to crash as well. He was supposed to maybe be an OK utility guy, not come up through the minors looking like an everyday player.

He's getting better and better with each level. Strikeout rate is way down, OPS is up.

 

[canucksfan]

He's getting better and better with each level. Strikeout rate is way down, OPS is up.

Line drive rate is up too this year

 

[hoc123]

Line drive rate is up too this year

He just seems to be allergic to ground balls as well. If your not a quick player who can out run ground balls, might as well hit everything in the air.

 

[Anthrax442]

I really root for Drury too. It would be nice if he turned out an every day player too.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Cavan Biggio with a pretty nifty double header.
RF in one game. 1-2 with a 2b and a bb.
3B in the other. Goes 1-1 with a 3-run shot, 2bb and a sb.
Gurrieljr with a day, too. 4-8 with a 2b and hr.

I expect to see both up shortly.

 

[BlueForever75]

I personally feel it would be a mistake to deal Stroman. I would deal Sanchez though, simply because he is a Boras client. Hope is that we can keep Sanchez healthy to the trade deadline and he continues to throw as he is. If we can then acquire a package like Archer got for TB I would be all for it. A major league ready pitcher and position player.

As for Stroman I would keep him as the vet in the rotation long term. He bleeds Blue Jay blue and loves Toronto. We are going to need vets in a year or two to help out a young rotation with our young core. Stroman is the perfect fit.

Focus on getting good deals for players like Smoak, Tepera, and other players. Keep Tellez, Stroman, Borucki, Pearson, Thornton, Drury, Bichette, Vlad, Galvis, Jansen, Hernandez and Grichuk as your MLB core to build with.

 

[Discoverer]

I expect to see both up shortly.

I would be pleasantly surprised if Biggio is up before June. Gurriel likely gets another chance first, and even if another spot opens up on the roster they probably just plug the hole with Urena for now.

The 40-man situation works in his favour, though, with Shoemaker easily able to move to the 60-day DL to open up a spot (without having to DFA Hanson, which itself wouldn't be much of a loss at all).

But really... replace Smoak (by trading him, obviously), Brito, and Hanson (by... whatever) with Gurriel, Davis, and Biggio, and this team would be so much fun to watch. They already have enough young, interesting talent that games are enjoyable, but that would be excitement and hope up and down the lineup every day. Can't ask for much more than that in a rebuild.

 

[thehockeysong]

Stroman would be a nice player to have long-term, but I do fear us hanging on to the 28 year old prime aged pitcher having a good season - who will be looking for money starting with his age 30 season. That could in turn create a declining asset just as we start to really compete.

I think, as much as it sucks, that you pull the trigger and make the trades.

P.S. It's funny how we are all 20/20 tough guys when it comes to not selling low and trading at peak value - until we have to do it. Then no way they're playing good

 

[Discoverer]

Stroman would be a nice player to have long-term, but I do fear us hanging on to the 28 year old prime aged pitcher having a good season - who will be looking for money starting with his age 30 season. That could in turn create a declining asset just as we start to really compete.

I think, as much as it sucks, that you pull the trigger and make the trades.

P.S. It's funny how we are all 20/20 tough guys when it comes to not selling low and trading at peak value - until we have to do it. Then no way they're playing good

I'm pretty happy to not have to make the decision on him. Considering the variety of opinions we hear about him, literally any decision they make is going to enrage half the fan base. Of course, that's why taking fan opinions into consideration is stupid.