Minor League Roundup - August 10

The Good

Anthony Gose – Buffalo (Triple A)

2/4 – 1 2B, 1 SB, 2 K

Gose continues to hit really well, and I think is putting himself back on the radar for the call that I’ve been clamouring for the past month.  Now it not only is to see if he has anything worthwhile, but he actually deserves it.

Kevin Pillar – Buffalo (Triple A)

3/5 – 1 2B, 2 K, 1 CS

Pillar had his first legitimately good game over 2 weeks.  After the scorching start to his AAA career, things have fallen off, and any sort of drum beat for Pillar to get the call has pretty much stopped (which is a good thing cause it was over blown).  However it was positive to see him at least have a positive game.

Gustavo Pierre – Dunedin (High Single A)

4/4 – 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B

*Hit for the cycle*

If a prospect hits for the cycle, you can pretty much guarantee he’s going appear in the Roundup.  In Pierre’s case tho, he isn’t much of a prospect.  He lacks standout tools, aside from his arm.  Even despite his stand out game he’s still sporting a .226/.237/.321 line.  This game could wind up being the high point of his baseball career.

Franklin Barreto – GCL (Low Rookie)

2/5 – 2 HR, 3 K

The youngest, and most promising prospect in the Jays system continues to perform out of his mind.  Before August 5^th he hadn’t hit a single home run yet, now in the past 7 games he’s hit 4, including 2 tonight.  There initially had been questions about how much power he would develop (especially since he’s only 5 foot 9), but he seems to be answering those questions rather quickly.  Damn this kid is fun to keep track of. 

The Bad

AJ Jimenez – New Hampshire (Double A)

0/6

In a 15 inning game against the Flying Squirrels (one of my favourite Minor League team names), Jimenez was pretty much a nightmare.  Not only did he go zero for six, but he also grounded into a double play in the 13^th inning.  Yikes. 

Dwight Smith Jr. – Lansing (Low Single A)

0/3 – 3 K, 1 BB

After 2 Golden Sombreros on Thursday night, we get yet another one from a semi-legit prospect in Smith Jr.  He had a really hot month of July but things have cooled off in the past week or so.  He’s got an uphill battle to prove he isn’t a first round bust.

Jake Brentz – GCL (Low Rookie)

0.2 IP – 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Continues to be a very slow climb for Brentz.  He is really struggling to find the plate, but given that he’s hitting 95 on the gun (as I’ve heard reports of lately) I still have hope.