Blue Jays Discussion: time for some post-all-star mini-break speculating

[Bad News Benning]

I think I'd put Alford as the Jays #1 prospect on my list. Maybe its crazy but man, that upside and the performance he's shown in limited appearance with barely any pro ball experience shows there's upside there for a potential superstar which I don't think any other Jays prospect possesses.

Out of all the prospects we have, I think he's the one I wouldn't want to give up.

I like him quite a bit and was tempted to put him higher.

I think people forget what Pompey and Norris did last year. It was as impressive, if not more, than what Alford has done so far this season. If Alford repeats his performance next year while moving up to through AA/AAA there is a very good chance he finds himself as the jays best prospect.

 

[TootooTrain]

High profile arms aside. If asking prices are too high, I'd be curious if Arizona would be willing to part with Collmenter. Same mold as Estrada. Fastball (86-88mph) / Change (77mph) combination type of pitcher - works off of strong location. If not as an upgrade from Doubront, he can slide into the pen with ease (where he's actually more effective) going multiple innings. We don't technically have a long relief pitcher. Hendriks perhaps. Free agent 2017. He's had a rough go this season shifting back to the pen. Team is giving him a shot at starting again this week.

 

[TF97]

I like the signing of Aumont. I've always liked him, I hope he can figure it out and become a good pen arm.

 

[Bad News Benning]

See I can understand Castro no problem. He's probably a 100-150 prospect right now with 45-50 FV, likely more of a bullpen arm however. Pompey would probably be the biggest ticket AA would offer for a Cueto or Price. I've said this within the past two days and I'll say it again though, Cueto is probably the most riskiest venture for the Jays. He will not re-sign, and he has not only been inconsistent lately but offers an incredibly high risk of injury.

All rentals are 2nd tier for AA right now. I'm almost positive he would lean towards acquiring Carrasco for a large sum than to move say, Norris for Price.

I hate what the jays have done to Castro's value. If he was in A/AA putting up numbers as a 20 yr old starter he would have lots of value to other teams. Now that the jays have been using him as a reliever in the minors it cripples his value. I feel we will be selling low on him which sucks because I think he's way too young to give up on as a starter. He was dominant as a starter last year....I saw it first hand a few times last season. No doubt in my mind he would've had another good year starting in Dunedin/New Hampshire.

 

[Bad News Benning]

Who was the last free agent starting pitcher the Cardinals signed?

The Cardinals have the best coaching and development system in baseball. The Jays don't have the track record of success like the cardinals. If we want to win next season we need to improve our rotation by acquiring an ace/stopper to take pressure off the rest of the rotation. You can afford to deal with inconsistency from a young starter on the back of your rotation when you have say Price/Stroman at the front of your rotation.

 

[Swervin81]

High profile arms aside. If asking prices are too high, I'd be curious if Arizona would be willing to part with Collmenter. Same mold as Estrada. Fastball (86-88mph) / Change (77mph) combination type of pitcher - works off of strong location. If not as an upgrade from Doubront, he can slide into the pen with ease (where he's actually more effective) going multiple innings. We don't technically have a long relief pitcher. Hendriks perhaps. Free agent 2017. He's had a rough go this season shifting back to the pen. Team is giving him a shot at starting again this week.

Just give Arizona a non-prospect with #grit to satisfy them.

 

[Bad News Benning]

Shi Davidi ‏@ShiDavidi 2m2 minutes ago
Righty Phillippe Aumont, fresh off Pan Ams gold with Canada, signs minor-league deal with #BlueJays, headed to triple-A Buffalo.

Aumont is terrible. Not sure why we bothered to sign him.

 

[theaub]

Aumont was hitting 98 on Saturday night against PR which may have been a fast gun but I doubt it since the PR guys weren't hitting 90.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Scion]

Who was the last free agent starting pitcher the Cardinals signed?

To be fair, there is no real comparison between how the Cardinals are run and how the Jays are run. The Cardinals operate about as well as any organization in baseball, and I happen to know for a fact that their analytics department puts ours to shame.

 

[Scion]

Aumont is terrible. Not sure why we bothered to sign him.

I remember thinking the same about Justin Smoak in the off-season. Whoops!

 

[Canada4Gold]

Just give Arizona a non-prospect with #grit to satisfy them.

or 15 million dollars and they'll send their top prospect the other way as well

 

[Bad News Benning]

Chapman is an awesome closer but the funny thing is that his current WHIP would place him behind every member of the Jays current pen with the exception of Cecil. He's obviously better than anything we have in the pen but just thought that was funny.

 

[calcal798]

You can bet he isn't signing a two yr contract lol. He will be signing a much longer one.

I have always had the assumption that couple means two years and few means more like 4-6. Maybe just me.

 

[Bad News Benning]

I remember thinking the same about Justin Smoak in the off-season. Whoops!

Smoak at least had a 20 HR season under his belt....Aumont has blown every chance he's had in the majors.

 

[TootooTrain]

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: #Dodgers, #RedSox among many teams asking on #Indians’ starters. CLE not motivated to act; would need to be “very compelling deal.”

AA ninja'ing it up. Much like teams not knowing Donaldson was available. Cats out of the bag now though.

 

[calcal798]

AA ninja'ing it up. Much like teams not knowing Donaldson was available. Cats out of the bag now though.

Damn Morosi (I think that's who first posted the story).

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

To be fair, there is no real comparison between how the Cardinals are run and how the Jays are run. The Cardinals operate about as well as any organization in baseball, and I happen to know for a fact that their analytics department puts ours to shame.

What does that have to do with best practices? If they are the best run organization in baseball, and believe signing free agent starters is a fools errand, wouldn't it make sense to follow that model?

 

[Scion]

Smoak at least had a 20 HR season under his belt....Aumont has blown every chance he's had in the majors.

Aumont has a plus FB, he wouldn't be the first hard throwing pitcher to develop into a dependable pen arm later in his career. Frankly these are the types of RP additions that I like, cheap and talented.

 

[Bad News Benning]

AA ninja'ing it up. Much like teams not knowing Donaldson was available. Cats out of the bag now though.

or maybe he leaked the info so he could go ninja someone the Red Sox or Dodgers were interested in.

 

[Scion]

What does that have to do with best practices? If they are the best run organization in baseball, and believe signing free agent starters is a fools errand, wouldn't it make sense to follow that model?

The point I was attempting to make is that we don't have a management team that subscribes to that model, so it's moot to compare the two. Believe me I would love to replace AA with a forward thinking GM who is a strong proponent of sabremetrics, and can consistently develop talent and acquire impact players at below market value.

 

[weems]

Late to the party on this Carrasco thing.

I would seriously give up a ton to aquire him.

 

[Bad News Benning]

Aumont has a plus FB, he wouldn't be the first hard throwing pitcher to develop into a dependable pen arm later in his career. Frankly these are the types of RP additions that I like, cheap and talented.

Aumont has a career MLB WHIP of 1.99 and career minor WHIP of 1.50

there is nothing here. Not even the cardinals or rays could save this guy.

 

[TootooTrain]

Shi Davidi ‏@ShiDavidi
Sounds like Aaron Sanchez will be activated by #BlueJays tomorrow.

 

[Canada4Gold]

Aumont has a career MLB WHIP of 1.99 and career minor WHIP of 1.50

there is nothing here. Not even the cardinals or rays could save this guy.

Has Oakland failed at trying to turn him into anything? Once that happens, that's when you know there's no hope left