Jays prospect watch: catcher J.P. Arencibia

Much has been hyped upon the next Blue Jays "catcher of the future" in J.P. Arencibia after he was selected with the 21st pick in the first round of the 2007 draft. After failed experiments in both Robinzon Diaz and Curtis Thigpen as the "next big thing" at catcher, the Jays hope that Arencibia can fulfill the expectations heaped upon him after his collegiate career at Tennessee.

The book about the 6 foot Arencibia is that he has a good bat, but below average skills behind the plate. The early word in the 2009 campaign, however, is that his defense is improving, but his bat has been lagging behind. In 28 at bats over 8 contests, he has an average of only .214, with 3 doubles and 3 RBI (just 1 in his past 7 games.) Arencibia has struck out 5 times, so there is not a huge concern over his ability to make contact, as it will take some time to get adjusted in his first tour of AAA. After catcher Michael Barrett went down with a shoulder injury, the Jays opted to call up veteran Raul Chavez instead of Arencibia. Don't be surprised, with more seasoning, to see the prized prospect called up as the season wears on.

Jays prospect watch: pitcher Brad Mills

Toward the end of spring training, the 5th and final spot in the rotation came down to Canadian Scott Richmond and lefty prospect Brad Mills, a 4th round selection in 2007. The Blue Jays decided to go with Richmond to ensure Mills had some more experience at the minor league level, considering he had never pitched in a level above AA. After two years in the Jays system, Mills has sported a gaudy 15-5 record, which shows he has potential to be a starter with the big club.

In his two starts in Las Vegas, the southpaw has gone 0-1 with an E.R.A. of 4.82. He improved upon his debut performance in his 2nd outing, lasting 5.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits to go along with 4 strikeouts. In the first start, Mills was yanked after 3.2 innings and 3 runs surrendered. Not horrific numbers by any means, but nothing spectacular either. The clubs brass decided against promoting him when Jesse Litsch was shelved with forearm tightness, opting to elevate Brian Tallet to the rotation because they felt Mills needed more time. After his first two starts in AAA, that appears to be the case.

"Blow Jay Ryan" nickname lifted (at least temporarily)

After B.J. Ryan blew a save against Detroit in the 2nd game of the season, followed by an outing in which he nearly coughed up a 3 run against Cleveland, I affectionately dubbed him "Blow Jay Ryan" Was it deserved? Perhaps not. I did, however, still post my belief that the ball club needed to continue rolling him out for the 9th inning in close games. After three consecutive solid outings, 2 of which resulted in saves, I have dissolved the Blow Jay Ryan moniker, at least for now.

The main reason B.J. has been effective is because he is getting ahead in counts. In the first two poor outings, he was facing too many 3-1 counts which left him in danger of serving up a meatball. He solidified his first save of the season against Minnesota on April 13th, then continued his strong play in back to back games against Oakland this weekend. He worked a scoreless 10th frame on Saturday, and preserved the series win against Oakland for his 2nd save in as many chances.

For now, he is back to being B.J. Ryan. Let's hope it stays that way.

Blue Jays bullpen carving up opponents

The American League's best bullpen in 2008 seems to be hitting their stride after a shaky start to the 2009 campaign.

In the last two contests, the 'pen has combined for a scintillating performance, both Toronto victories. In 8.2 innings of work, the Athletics managed a meagre 2 hits against Blue Jay relievers. With the exception of Brandon League, who was teed off of for the tune of 3 runs in 2 innings in game 1, three other relievers in Blue Birds bullpen stymied Oakland, giving up zero hits in 3.1 innings of action.

Manager Cito Gaston has three hurlers at his disposal that have been perfect 14 games into the year; Shawn Camp, Jason Frasor and Scott Downs, who have combined to give up zero runs in 19.1 innings. Of the three, Frasor has already secured 2 victories, and notched his first save in over a year.

Look out Major League Baseball. The best bullpen in 2008 is picking up right where they left off.

Ricky Romero shines again; Jays win 4th straight series

The Blue Jays concluded their three game set against Oakland with yet another series victory, their fourth of the campaign. With the 1-0 nail biting win, Toronto pushed their overall record to an American League best 10-4...

The Jays received another stellar outing by rookie Ricky Romero. In just his 3rd career start, the rookie went 7 innings, without surrendering a run, while striking out five. Romero (2-0) has lowered his E.R.A. on the season to a minuscule 1.71. Toronto figures to be leaning heavily on the young hurler if they are looking to stay atop a stacked American League East...

On Lyle Overbay bobble head day at the Rogers Centre, the Jays 1st baseman provided all the offense Romero & Company needed with an RBI single in the 2nd inning. Scott Downs and B.J. Ryan worked the final two frames to put the finishing touches on the Athletics (5-7). Instead of relying on their red hot offense, Toronto leaned heavily on their deep pitching staff which allowed just 2 runs in the final two games...

Overbay's walk off home run lifts Toronto to victory

Did Lyle Overbay ever pick the right time to crank a game winning 2 run home run! With two out and a man on base, the 1st baseman lifted an Dan Giese offering over the wall in right centre to cap off a thrilling 4-2 Jays victory in 12 innings...

Having seen his playing time reduced (to starting exclusively against only right handed pitching) Overbay has responded brilliantly. He went 2 for 4 in this one with the winning 2 run bomb, a double, scoring the tying run, and drew a pair of walks. Since the reduction in his at-bats, Overbay has gone 6 for 16, increasing his batting average from .200 to .290, to go along with 2 home runs and 6 RBI in his last 3 games...

Having squandered several opportunities to put this game away, the Blue Jays seemed destined to repeat what they did almost exactly one year ago. They suffered a crushing sweep at the hands of the Athletics at home in a series that left the team in a downward spiral for weeks. But with the aid of an improved Overbay, the Jays came out on top and with a win Sunday, they will improve their record to a sterling 10-4...

Heads up baserunning by Scutaro nearly leads to victory

Marco Scutaro is having a fantastic start to his 2009 campaign. He leads Major League Baseball with 15 runs and has a solid .306 average to go along with 4 home runs and 10 RBI. But what Scutaro did in the 9th inning of Saturday's ball game against the A's gives a deeper and more meaningful look into why he's a key cog for the Blue Jays...

Deadlocked in a 2-2 affair in the 9th inning, Scutaro walked (his 3rd time on base in the contest.) Aaron Hill followed with a long fly out to centre. Scutaro alertly tagged up from first base and managed to make it into 2nd safely on the play. The following pitch, he swiped third base rather easily, leaving him 90 feet away from scoring the winning run. His heads up base running nearly resulted in a Jays victory, had Alex Rios, Vernon Wells or Adam Lind been able to come up with the clutch game winning hit...

Though it will go largely unnoticed (mainly because he didn't wind up scoring the winning run), Scutaro's intelligent base running illustrates why he's such a valuable member to the ball club...