Blue Jays Discussion: Off-Season Pt VIII: Spring approaches and less (fewer) things are happening

[BertCorbeau]

Does Manoah have a nickname yet?

Because I love “The big Kahuna”

 

[canucksfan]

He's become a bit overlooked with Pearson and SWR getting all the attention on the pitching side, but he's not far off and has a pretty ridiculous ceiling.

I read in a few places where a lot of people had him as the best pitcher in that draft.

It's awesome the Jays have a great prospect pool even with many of their top prospects with the big club now. Many of the players too have a swagger and seem very confident.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Some names of interest early on for our picks:

Joshua Baez, HS, OF
Notes:
Ht: 6-3 | Wt: 220 | B-T: R-R
Commit/Drafted: Vanderbilt
Age At Draft: 18.0

One of a handful of toolsy Northeast hitters in the 2021 class, Baez has some of the best power projection in the high school class thanks to a powerful swing and a well-developed, muscular 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame. There are scouts who believe Baez has a chance to grow into 70-grade raw power, but at the moment there are some swing-and-miss concerns, though scouts have noted he never truly looks out of control or lost at the plate. There’s a hand drop in his swing that could lead to inconsistencies against velocity up in the zone, but when the Vanderbilt commit does connect the ball explodes off his bat and carries a long way. Baez clocked a solid-average 60-yard time at East Coast Pro, but most scouts believe he will become a fringe-average runner in the future and is best suited to a corner outfield position. His power and arm strength—he’s been up to 97 mph on the mound—would be a major asset in center field if he could stick there, but he’s built more like a corner guy and has the toolset and power to profile nicely as a right fielder.

Oregon righthander Caleb Sloan is getting some buzz despite having pitched just one inning so for for the Ducks this season after transferring from Texas Christian and recovering from Tommy John surgery. He's a big, workhorse-looking righty with a fastball that's been into the upper 90s, two different breaking balls and a changeup.

UCLA righthander Nick Nastrini currently ranks No. 95 on the BA 200 but has come out with better fastball velocity (up to 95-96 mph) and is trending up because of that.

Henry Davis, C, Louisville

Last Week: 5-for-12 (.416), 4 BB, 1 HR
Season: .409/.567/.682, 6 BB, 0 K, 2 HR

Davis is riding a seven-game hitting streak to start the season and would be leading Louisville in hitting if it weren’t for a blistering start to the season from teammate Cameron Masterman (.476/.621/.905).

While a cannon arm is what Davis is generally most known for, he produced well with the bat in the shortened 2020 season and is doing more of the same early in 2021. Davis has excellent, pure bat-to-ball skills and doesn’t swing and miss much—see his strikeout total above—but his natural tendency seems geared towards the pull side.
Both of his home runs have gone out to left field and while this is certainly nitpicking, he also seems to pull out on breaking balls and soft stuff on the outer half of the plate, rather than sitting back and driving the ball to the opposite field.
Either way, his production has been impressive and MLB teams will not hesitate to push college catchers up the board with full-season performance—particularly a catcher with Davis’ pedigree and defensive toolset.

Sam Bachman, RHP, Miami (Ohio)

6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K, 2 HBP (94 pitches)

Bachman has been close to lights out for Miami (Ohio) through two starts this season, allowing just one run over 11 innings with 16 strikeouts and three walks. The stuff has been loud, and on Friday night against Florida International, Bachman sat with a fastball around 96 mph and ran it up to 100 on one offering.
His best pitch in this outing was a knee-buckling slider, which generated 17 whiffs and plenty of chases out of the zone. The pitch is hard, ranging from 84-90 mph but was mostly in the 86-88 mph range in this outing. It has two-plane, diving action at its best and was particularly effective against righthanded hitters when Bachman would locate the pitch down and away to his glove side. When left up the pitch would flatten out to his arm side, and he also occasionally yanked both his fastball and slider—hitting batters with each pitch.
Bachman works with an up-tempo delivery that features significant drop and drive as he surges forward to the plate. There’s a bit of plunging action and extension in the back of his arm stroke, which could affect his command, and as he delivers the ball he does so with slight effort and a bit of recoil. It is not an exceptionally smooth and fluid delivery, though Bachman was in the strike zone more than not in this outing—especially with his slider. Bachman also threw a few changeups in the 85-87 mph range and generated one whiff with the pitch. He was inconsistent with his arm speed on the offering in this outing and the change looked like a distinct third pitch.

Joe Rock, LHP, Ohio

7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K (89 pitches)

Rock was a big riser last summer and fall after showing a fastball up to 95 mph and a slider that got plus future projections. The big question with him was a lack of track record with Ohio and questions about his strike-throwing after he walked 37 batters in 59 innings (5.6 BB/9) in 2019. Through two starts in 2021 he’s been impressive and was a weekend standout in week two after no-hitting Morehead State over seven innings. While it’s only 12 total innings, his strikeout rate (13.5 K/9) is up and his walk rate is down (3.8 BB/9). Rock’s lower-80s slider has been a weapon against righties and lefties, but is particularly tough against same-side hitters thanks to a low, three-quarter arm slot.

Justice Thompson, OF, North Carolina

Last Week: 8-for-13 (.615), 3 BB, 1 K, 3-3 SBA
Season: .520/.586/.920, 2 HR, 4 2B

Thompson spent two years at Northwest Florida JC and hit over .300 both seasons with seven home runs in 62 career games. After an electric fall with the Tar Heels, Thompson took over the starting center field job and has had no issues translating his average, power and speed to the Division I level. Thompson had a loud, four-hit game against James Madison that included his first homer with UNC, then had a midweek multi-hit game against Elon and topped it off with a 6-for-10 showing against then-No. 2 Virginia. Thompson has a tall and lean, 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame and sets up with a crouched, slightly open stance in the box. He homered against lefthander Andrew Abbott (No. 119 on the BA 200) on Thursday when the southpaw left a fastball up and over the middle of the plate and has also shown an ability to bunt for a hit and move well on the bases and in the outfield for his size. Center fielders with power and speed combinations and college performance are a valuable demographic, and Thompson will have ample opportunity to continue proving his bat against ACC competition this spring.

Mason Black, RHP, Lehigh

5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K (73 pitches)

Black was terrific in his season debut against Coppin State, as his line makes apparent. The only baserunner Black allowed reached on a fielding error in the fifth inning. And despite striking out 11 of the 16 batters he faced, Black was still efficient with his pitch count, averaging just under 15 pitches per frame. Black isn’t scheduled to face the toughest competition this year, but it’s much easier for scouts to bear down on pitchers vs. poor competition than hitters, so that shouldn’t be much of an issue.

 

[Canada4Gold]

I think it's just Zac Veen thoughts having me want a HS Outfielder. But I want Josh Baez

 

[Mr Knies Guy]

Unless Atkins kept quiet while knowing about incidents, I don't think merely having an association with someone makes you guilty of some sort of wrongdoing.

Unfortunately Woody, you’re wrong; that is exactly how today’s society works because of the witch-hunting cancel culture.

 

[Anthrax442]

Does Manoah have a nickname yet?

Because I love “The big Kahuna”

Manoah means "Engine" in Hebrew

 

[Woodman19]

Unfortunately Woody, you’re wrong; that is exactly how today’s society works because of the witch-hunting cancel culture.

Oh I'm aware, just pointing out the obvious that an article that quotes Atkins praising a new hire at the time is hardly proof of some crime.

 

[canucksfan]

 

[OptimusReim]

Hope Pearson doesn't become injury prone, him being a key part of our rotation is important with our lack of reliable starters.

 

[Jozay]

 

[NeverGoingToWin]

I was very pessimistic about Vladdy before his debut and now I am getting the same vibes about Pearson.

 

[theaub]

Is Nate Pearson the next Brandon Morrow? My column:

 

[Scion]

question since its always brought up.. whos actually been cancelled? who didnt deserve it? Name 1 person

if youre a piece of shit then you dont deserve a good job. seems simple. If that means its some culture then youre apart of the past and will be left in it.

Lots of people actually, most recently that guy Chris Harrison who hosts the bachelor.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[hockeywiz542]

22:32 | March 4, 2021

Ross Atkins addressed the allegations against Mickey Callaway for inappropriate sexual conduct during his time with the Cleveland Indians, and spoke about the changes required to improve the culture around the game.

 

[Da Cool Rula]

Wow the Mets are playing the Nats on TSN right now.

 

[FreeBird]

I was very pessimistic about Vladdy before his debut and now I am getting the same vibes about Pearson.

 

[phillipmike]

Wow the Mets are playing the Nats on TSN right now.

TSN: Which games should we broadcast?
Insiders: Mets or Jays.
TSN: Mets it is...

 

[FreeBird]

Hope Pearson doesn't become injury prone, him being a key part of our rotation is important with our lack of reliable starters.

tommy john is just around the corner, his future bull pen i'm afraid

 

[FreeBird]

TSN: Which games should we broadcast?
Insiders: Mets or Jays.
TSN: Mets it is...

sports net has rights for blue jays, games tsn cannot broad cast

 

[BlueForever75]

Horrible that our tv network cannot broadcast Blue Jay games anywhere but we are broadcasting other MLB teams. Just horrible marketing by the Blue Jays organization.

You would think during a pandemic as we are in. More people working from home. Ability to gain more viewers.

Horrible.

 

[Discoverer]

Horrible that our tv network cannot broadcast Blue Jay games anywhere but we are broadcasting other MLB teams. Just horrible marketing by the Blue Jays organization.

You would think during a pandemic as we are in. More people working from home. Ability to gain more viewers.

Horrible.

TSN and Sportsnet are different.

 

[saska sault]

Does Manoah have a nickname yet?

Because I love “The big Kahuna”

That is a tasty nickname!!

 

[FreeBird]

That is a tasty nickname!!

the big engine