As always, the All-Star rosters don't reflect first half performance. Here is the American League roster that should be taking the field in New York. In the interest of science, sabermetrics, and correcting things that should be there in the first place, I have ignored the "every team must be represented" rule. Starters are listed in italics, asterisks designate injured players.

Before I get started, read these primers on weighted on base average (wOBA), weighted runs created plus (wRC+), and isolated power (ISO) if you are unfamiliar with those statistics.

Catcher

Actually going:Joe Mauer (Twins), Jason Castro (Astros), Salvador Perez (Royals)

Top performers:Mauer, Castro, Carlos Santana (Indians)

As much as I love Perez, Santana has been far better offensively this season. He has a .361 wOBA and 132 wRC+ compared to Perez's .329 wOBA and 107 wRC+. His 14.8% walk rate dwarfs Perez's 3.0% and is why Santana's OPS is nearly 80 points higher. Santana also has more home runs (10 to 4) and RBI (38 to 36). Perez makes up ground defensively, and it shows in their similar fWAR values (Santana at +1.9, Perez at +1.7).

Meanwhile, Mauer and Castro join Santana in what has been a "big three" of American League catchers this year. Castro's .804 OPS, .345 wOBA, and 119 wRC+ all rank third among AL catchers with at least 200 plate appearances. Mauer is first in all three categories, and Santana is second.

First base

Actually going:Chris Davis (Orioles), Prince Fielder (Tigers)

Top performers:Davis, Edwin Encarnacion (Blue Jays)

You could go with any one of Encarnacion, Adam Lind, or James Loney as Davis' backup, but Lind missed some time due to injury. As for Encarnacion vs. Loney, I give Encarnacion points for hitting for a much higher slugging average and for having more sustainable numbers. Encarnacion has a .526 slugging average and .260 ISO compared to Loney at .478 and .158, respectively. Meanwhile, his line drive rate isn't approaching 30% like Loney's.

Chris Davis has a slugging average of .717 and an ISO of .392. Video games are too hard now to call those "video game numbers," so I don't even know what to call them besides "really good."

Second base

Actually going:Robinson Cano (Yankees), Jason Kipnis (Indians), Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox)

Top performers: Cano, Kipnis, Pedroia, Howie Kendrick (Angels)

Four second basemen seems a bit excessive, but they did it on the actual roster and Ben Zobrist has been crap this year (more on that below). Kendrick has put up the quietest career year of 2013 thus far, hitting .317/.360/.473 with 10 home runs, a .357 wOBA, and a 130 wRC+. His line drive rate is nearly as high as Loney's, but he doesn't have a competitor neck-and-neck with him like Loney did.

The bigger debate here is who deserves to start. Pedroia and Kipnis are neck-and-neck in WAR, with Pedroia getting the love from defensive metrics to make up for Kipnis' superior offensive numbers. Given the volatility of advanced defensive statistics and Kipnis' white-hot bat in June, he gets the nod. Meanwhile, Robinson Cano is good enough to see his stats regress across the board and still be a lock for the roster.

Shortstop

Actually going:J.J. Hardy (Orioles), Jhonny Peralta (Tigers)

Top performers:Peralta, Yunel Escobar (Rays)

I debated listing only Peralta on this list, but Escobar's defensive stats were impressive enough to garner a nod at the most important defensive position in the infield. His .301 wOBA and 92 wRC+ are slightly more medicore than Hardy's .313 wOBA and 98 wRC+, but Hardy has nine more home runs than Escobar. Someone with 15 home runs in 87 games should be at least a league average hitter. Defensively, Escobar's glove has been better. Instead of an awkwardly worded sentence comparing their respective numbers (because there's plenty of those in this post), here's a table.

Jed Lowrie's offensive numbers are better than both Hardy's and Escobar's, but his glove has been absolutely brutal at short this season. While defensive statistics can be volatile from year to year, Lowrie's glove has been consistently below average at short over the past five seasons, so it's not that outrageous to think that he's becoming more exposed as he spends more time at the position.

Third base

Actually going:Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), Manny Machado (Orioles)

Top performers:Cabrera, miles of empty space on a page, Machado, Evan Longoria (Rays)

Three third basemen? I do what I want. I'm shocked that Longoria was snubbed in favor of teammate Ben Zobrist, especially when you consider that Longo is on pace for his best season as a big leaguer. His glove has been nearly as elite as Machado's, but his bat has been much better. Machado's doubles frenzy has been impressive, but advanced metrics aren't a fan of his lack of power (.161 ISO) and horrible walk rate (4.0%). Still, he's too good to keep off this roster.

Outfield

Actually going:Mike Trout (Angels), Adam Jones (Orioles), Jose Bautista (Blue Jays), Nelson Cruz (Rangers), Alex Gordon (Royals), Torii Hunter (Tigers)

Top performers:Trout, Bautista, Jones, Cruz, Gordon, Jacoby Ellsbury (Red Sox)

Mike Trout? Garbage defender. At least that's what Fangraphs seems to think. The lack of wall-climbing catches are the main reason for Trout's defensive "drop off," but the offensive numbers are just as astounding as they were in 2012. Bautista has been good enough to put up a .375 wOBA and 138 wRC+ despite a .264 batting average. Jones' numbers (WAR, in particular) have been hurt by unfavorable defensive metrics even more than Trout's.

The real debate here is what to do with that sixth outfield spot. Hunter has been good this year, but I don't see anything that separates him from the pack. Austin Jackson would have been a lock for the roster had he not gotten hurt, so I went with the next best option in Ellsbury. He is third in the AL among outfielders with 3.1 fWAR and leads the majors with 36 stolen bases. His glove has been above average, as usual. Aside from the lack of home runs, he has been every bit of the player that finished second in the 2011 MVP race.

Designated Hitter

Actually going:David Ortiz (Red Sox), Edwin Encarnacion (Blue Jays)

Top performers:Ortiz, Josh Donaldson (A's)

Donaldson is a third baseman, but the position is too stacked to list him there. That said, he has been too good in the first half to snub him from the roster. He is hitting .317/.385/.533 with 15 home runs this year, and his .393 wOBA and 154 wRC+ are much higher than just about anyone else that could have filled in at this position. Sure, Miguel Cabrera might be a more appropriate DH in theory, but both he and Big Papi have earned the starting nod.

Don Kelly

Actually going:Ben Zobrist (Rays)

Top performers: Don Ke- just kidding

Zobrist is technically listed as a second baseman, but as usual, Joe Maddon has penciled him in all over the diamond. He has started 55 games at second base, 22 in right field, and four at shortstop this season. Over the past five seasons, he has played every position on the diamond besides catcher.

That said, Zobrist's numbers have taken a big hit this season. He is only hitting .260/.348/.376 with five home runs. His .322 wOBA and 107 wRC+ are both 10th among American League second basemen. In his other All-Star season (2009), Zobrist had 17 home runs, 11 steals, and a 1.012 OPS in the first half.

Starting pitchers

Actually going:Clay Buchholz (Red Sox), Bartolo Colon (Athletics), Yu Darvish (Rangers), Felix Hernandez (Mariners), Hisashi Iwakuma (Mariners), Justin Masterson (Indians), Chris Sale (White Sox), Max Scherzer (Tigers), Justin Verlander (Tigers)

Top performers: Buchholz*, Darvish, Hernandez, Iwakuma, Sale, Scherzer, Derek Holland (Rangers), Anibal Sanchez (Tigers)

If we're going to include Clay Buchholz on the All-Star roster despite only pitching 84 1/3 innings this season, then Sanchez has to make the team. Both have been outstanding this season despite the time missed due to their respective injuries, and the numbers are too gaudy to ignore. Sanchez has a 2.11 FIP to to Buchholz's 2.49, a 2.80 SIERA to Buchholz's 3.47, and the second-best strikeout rate in the league.

Holland deserves the nod over Bartolo Colon due to superior peripheral statistics and a much more hitter-friendly home ballpark. Colon's home/road splits are nearly even, but there's something to be said about Holland maintaining a 3.35 ERA in Arlington.

What about other deserving pitchers? James Shields has put up a couple of stinkers recently that hurt his numbers. Our very own Justin Verlander and Doug Fister have nice peripherals, but their actual production isn't as impressive as the guys that made the cut.

Relief pitchers

Actually going:Brett Cecil (Blue Jays), Jesse Crain (White Sox), Joe Nathan (Rangers), Glen Perkins (Twins), Mariano Rivera (Yankees), the five dudes in the fan vote

Top performers: Crain*, Cecil, Greg Holland (Royals), Perkins, Rivera, Joaquin Benoit (Tigers)

This is tough. There are plenty of deserving players, and determining a fool-proof method for selecting them is particularly difficult. Closers like Joe Nathan and Grant Balfour are definitely deserving, but their peripherals aren't as impressive as the guys that made the cut. Alex Torres has been a force for the Rays, but Benoit gets the nod over him for more innings pitched and a superior win probability added (WPA). Given that Benoit has only been the Tigers closer for about a week, it's impressive that he is still third in the AL in WPA.

What about Drew Smyly? As good as he has been, he has been slightly outperformed by everyone else on the list. Cecil has filled a similar role out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays with a lower ERA, FIP, xFIP, and a higher WPA in just eight fewer innings.

Alright BYB, your turn. I took 36 players for 34 spots, just like the actual roster once the fan vote is completed. Who makes your roster?

"You got a diamond, you got nine men, you got a hat, and a bat," sings the Rogers Centre crowd during the seventh-inning stretch, after watching their nine Blue Jays take their bats and score six runs on three homers against Twins starter--and Canadian--Scott Diamond.

After a soul-crushing shutout on Saturday, the Toronto Blue Jays won the rubbermatch 11-5 in front of the 43,795 fans who showed up for J.P. Arencibia bobblehead giveaway day.

Spot starter Todd Redmond allowed a leadoff walk that eventually made it to third base thanks to an Arencibia throwing error in a caught stealing attempt. Redmond got out of it and had a pretty good outing, keeping the Twins hitless until the fifth inning when Aaron Hicks slammed a two-run homer to right. I'm glad that Hicks is on his way out of town. Redmond's start went five innings; he struck out four while allowing just that one hit, but he did walk three Twins.

Guelph, Ontario's favourite son Scott Diamond fared less well. He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits, walking four while striking out just one. Colby Rasmus started the scoring in the fourth with a two-run shot, then Jose Reyes led off the fifth with a solo shot, before Rajai Davis crushed a three-run homer later that inning to break the game open.

Adam Lind hit the ball hard the whole game but didn't get anything out of it until the sixth when he cashed in Edwin Encarnacion with a double to the wall. Lind could've had two RBIs on that play, but Jose Bautista was caught wandering off second base and was tagged out after a brief rundown. In the seventh, the Blue Jays tagged on four more runs on a Rasmus double to score Davis, then Rasmus crossed the plate on a Maicer Izturis single.

Later in the eighth, Encarnacion, who was the last Blue Jays starter without a hit, tripled (!) in Reyes and Bautista off of Twins reliever Josh Roenicke. If you recall, Encarnacion was the "throw in" when the Blue Jays acquired pitching prospects Roenicke and Zach Stewart from the Reds for Scott Rolen. Munenori Kawasaki then came in to pinch run for Encarnacion (who was probably out of breath) to a thunderous cheer from the crowd. Toronto really, really, really loves Kawasaki.

Jays of the Day! Colby Rasmus (+.266) gets it for his 3-for-4, 3 HR RBI effort, Rajai Davis (+.213) gets it for his three-run homer, Jess Dunn (+1.000) gets it for throwing the first pitch and beating cancer!

Suckage Jays: None. Adam Lind has the number for it (-.098) but as I wrote above he hit balls hard, but they were just directly at fielders.

The Blue Jays get Monday off before heading off to Cleveland on Tuesday for a three-game series (note: Thursday is a 12:05 pm start).

In terms of terrible starts, it doesn't get much worse than it did for Scott Diamond today. Pitch after pitch, replay after replay, Diamond continued to lay the ball right over the plate where Blue Jays hitters continued to demolish almost everything. When the dust cleared, Toronto notched eight hits off him in just 4.2 innings of work. Diamond also walked four and was, in the end, charged with six runs. With an ERA in the mid 5s, it's safe to say that this is not the season that anybody wanted.

The Twins did manage a little offense of their own. Aaron Hicks temporarily gave Minnesota the lead with a two-run blast in the top of the fifth. It was big considering Colby Rasmus had just launched a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. It didn't last, of course. Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run shot in the eighth, but it was far too little and far too late.

Toronto was 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position, while the Twins were just 1-for-9. That pretty much tells the tale, and the best thing to do for my sanity is to just chalk it up to "one of those days". Everything the Blue Jays swung at was hit hard, and too many of those balls in play found grass. Or seats.

Bullet Point Highlights

• In his last ten outings, Diamond has recorded just two quality starts and is sporting a 6.49 ERA in that period.
• Plouffe has now hit four home runs in his last nine games.
• He's been back for just six games, but Hicks is going through a relatively good stretch: .286/.348/.476 in those 21 at-bats.
• Clete Thomas checks enough boxes to fill the role of fourth outfielder. At the plate his on-base percentage continues to fluctuate around .333 - which, with Justin Morneau, ties him for fourth on the club behind Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Oswaldo Arcia.
• Casey Fien threw another scoreless inning. He was the only effective pitcher for the Twins today.
• Small sample sizes kill relief pitchers. Three appearances ago, Brian Duensing's ERA was 3.81. After three trips to the hill and six runs in 3.2 innings, it's ballooned to 5.06.

Studs

Casey Fien
Trevor Plouffe
Aaron Hicks

Duds

Scott Diamond
Anthony Swarzak
Josh Roenicke
Brian Duensing

I was at Memorial Stadium for the second of three games tonight. What I'm sure you're all interested in is how Paul Blackburn and Rob Zastryzny did. The answer is very well. Blackburn showed a potential plus fastball. When he was locating it, which was most of the time, the Tri-City hitters couldn't catch up to it. His curve also showed potential as a plus pitch, although it was more inconsistent. He hung it a few times in the early innings, but later on he snapped off a few nasty pitches. I didn't see enough of the change up to get a good read on it.

Zastryzny pitched one inning in his professional debut, and the way he changed speeds made the Dust Devil hitters look silly. His off-speed stuff was too good for the Northwest League, honestly. Now we'll have to see if he can do this when he pitches for more than one inning at a time.

Also, I'm going to be on the Boise Hawks pregame show with Mike Safford tomorrow night. It will be live, so wish me luck. Be sure to tune in at 93.1 in Boise or at boisehawks.com.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs scored seven times in the seventh inning to atomize the Albuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers), 8-5.

Guillermo Moscoso improved his record to 6-5 after giving up two runs on only two hits over six innings. That sounds good, but he did walk five. He also struck out five.

Brian Schlitter bailed out Casey Coleman, who had allowed three runs in the bottom of the eighth, by getting a strikeout with two on and two out in the eighth. Then he pitched the ninth inning and he loaded the bases with two outs before getting another strikeout to end the game and get his ninth save. Schlitterpitched 1.1 innings and surrendered two hits and a walk. He had those two strikeouts.

Shortstop Donnie Murphyhit his tenth home run in the top of the first to give Iowa an early 1-0 lead. He was also hit by a pitch, after which he exited, which led to speculation he's going to replace Hairston. Possible. But more likely it was because he was hit by a pitch.

Iowa had nine hits by nine different hitters. Center fielder Jae-Hoon Ha was 1 for 4 with a double and a bases-loaded walk in the seventh. He struck out the other three times he came to the plate. Right fielder Anthony Giansanti was 1 for 3 with a two-run double in the seventh inning. He later scored in the seventh. Left fielder Ty Wright was 1 for 3 with a walk and a two-run single in the seventh. He scored on Ha's walk.

Tennessee Smokies

Rained out. Double-header tomorrow.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs dropped one to the Dunedin Blue Jays, 5-2 in a game that ended after eight innings because of rain.

Starter Yao-Lin Wang took the loss. He pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out one.

DH Taiwan Easterlinghit a solo home run in the seventh inning. It was his second home run of the season. Easterling was 1 for 3.

Left fielder Pin-Chieh Chen went 2 for 2 with a double and a walk.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars got mugged by the Quad City River Bandits (Astros), 12-5.

Starter Tayler Scott took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits over 5.2 innings. Scott walked three and gave up a home run. He struck out four.

DH Albert Almora went 3 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored. He also stole a base. Third baseman Jeimer Candelario was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. He scored once and had one RBI.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks dropped their fifth game in a row, 3-1 in ten innings to the Tri-City Dust Devils (Rockies).

Starter Paul Blackburn (see above) gave up one run on five hits over five innings. Blackburn walked two and struck out four.

Rob Zastryzny (also see above) made his professional debut by throwing a scoreless sixth inning. He gave up no hits, but he walked one and struck out two.

Andrew McKirahan (don't see above, but he pitched brilliantly) faced seven batters and retired all seven. He struck out four.

Tyler Bremer took the loss. He allowed two runs on two hits over 1.2 innings. He walked one and struck out two. Both runs scored on a two-out infield single after a bang-bang play at first base that I thought the batter was out, but it was hard to tell.

Center fielder Shawon Dunston was 2 for 4. He tripled to lead off the bottom of the first and then scored on a ground out by David Bote.

Right fielder Yasiel Balaguert went 2 for 4 with a double. Catcher Lance Rymel was 2 for 4.

AZL Cubs

Lost to the Mariners, 4-2.

Tigers links:

Verlander’s Decline in Historical Perspective
FanGraphs Baseball, Matt Klaassen

By reasonable standards, Verlander’s 3.54 ERA and 112 innings pitched at the halfway point of the 2013 season is very good.

Pieces are finally starting to fall into place for Tigers, Dave Dombrowski
The Detroit News, Lynn Henning

Nothing is certain in baseball. But at some point you trust probabilities.

Justin Verlander Is An All Star, But Should He Be?
Motor City Bengals, John Verburg

With All Star rosters being announced today, I was a bit surprised to see the Tigers' Justin Verlander as one of the American League selections.

How Does Scherzer Look If We Add Hits To The Equation?
Tiger Tales, Lee Panas

Tigers starter Max Scherzer is off to the best start of his career dominating American League hitters en route to a 13-0 record, 3.09 ERA and 2.63 FIP.

Tigers Are Endangered Species and Now We Know Why
Cats With Bats

Apparently several Tigers got stuck in a revolving door at the Cleveland Marriott and NBC Sports’ Craig Calcaterra is livetweeting it at the scene.

Around the AL Central:

MLB Final Score/Recap: Cleveland Indians 9, Detroit Tigers 6
Let's Go Tribe

It wasn't easy, but it's a win.

Kansas City Royals lose to Oakland Athletics in rout
Royals Review, Connor Moylan

Oakland scoffs at the notion you can't hit homers at Kauffman.

Blue Jays 11, Twins 5: Diamond Crushed
Twinkie Town

You can't win when your pitching staff gives up 11 runs. Well, most of the time. For the Twins, today was one of those most-of-the-times.

Rays 3, White Sox 1: Different lineup, same result
South Side Sox, Jim Margalus

Josh Phegley's first career homer the lone offensive highlight as Tampa Bay completes sweep.

Elsewhere in baseball:

Chipper Jones says he won’t watch games umpired by Angel Hernandez
Big League Stew, Mark Townsend

It seems those of us on the outside looking in aren't the only ones tired of umpire Angel Hernandez's antics.

The 10 worst position players in baseball (so far)
Baseball Nation, Grant Brisbee

We're more than halfway through the season. These 10 players are hated by math and facts.

National League All-Star squad looks much stronger
ESPN, David Schoenfield

But I’m left with this one: Could the American League have chosen a worse, more boring squad?

Do you have some trade offers you are considering, but need to bounce them off of someone? Are you pondering a roster move and want a second opinion? Feel free to post your questions in the new Fantasy Baseball Questions thread.

Fake Teams Podcast, Episode 15: His eyes are so dreamy

Zack and Andrew hosted the latest episode of the Fake Teams Podcast, where they discussed the MLB Futures game prospects including the best fantasy prospect in the game. You can listen to the podcast in two ways:

MP3on

ITunes

Question: What players do you feel were snubbed in the All Star game selections? Let us know in the comments section.

Clayton Kershaw: All Star starter?

Everyone knows how good Clayton Kershaw is. Too many words have been written about him, but I think there is widespread agreement that he is probably the best starting pitcher in the game. And what is amazing is that he is only 25 years old, and he is likely to become the highest paid starter in baseball in the offseason.

Last season, he made 33 starts, and gave up two runs or less in 23 of them. This season, he has made 19 starts and has given up two runs or less in 15 of them. So, he has limited opponents to two runs or less in 38 of his 52 starts going back to the beginning of the 2012 season. Pretty amazing.

On Sunday, he limited the Giants to one run on 3 hits, a walk and just 3 strikeouts in 8 quality innings in the Dodgers 4-1 win over the Giants. Kershaw is now 8-5 with a 1.89 ERA, 2.62 FIP, 0.90 WHIP and a 129-34 strikeout to walk rate in 138.1 innings. The All Star game is next Tuesday in New York, and many think Mets starter Matt Harvey should start the game, but Kershaw has been the better pitcher this season.

Michael Brantley goes yard twice

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley has never hit more than 7 home runs in any one season, but he has already equalled that total in 2013, after leaving the yard twice in the Indians 9-6 win over the Tigers. Brantley went 3-4 with 2 HRs, a double, 3 runs and 5 RBI, and is now hitting .280-.330-.394 with 7 HRs, 41 runs, 45 RBI and 8 stolen bases in 10 attempts.

He is on pace for career highs in home runs (13), runs scored (75), RBI (83) and stolen bases (15). He was probably a very late round pick in mixed leagues, if at all, but could put his name into talk for the top 40 fantasy outfielders in baseball.

Round'em Up

We are about a week from the All Star break and Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera is having another Triple Crown type season. Cabrera went 4-4 with a HR and 2 RBI in Sunday's loss to the Indians. Miggy is now hitting, .368-.457-.679 with 28 HRs, 67 runs and 90 RBI. 90 RBI!! He is on pace for 52 HRs, 125 runs, and 168 RBI right now. He will have to catch Orioles masher Chris Davis to win his second consecutive Triple Crown, which would be pretty absurd if you think about it.

Blue Jays outfielder Colby Rasmus is on pace to have his best season as a major leaguer in 2013. Rasmus went 3-4 with a HR, a double, 2 runs and 3 RBI and is now hitting .250-.324-.476 with 16 HRs, 38 runs and 46 RBI. He is on pace for a career high 29 HRs and 85 RBI. He could take the free pass a bit more, and strike out a lot less, but his owners have to be happy with the power this season.

Rays starter David Price appears to be back to his old self since returning from the DL. I heard earlier in the week that he felt the best he has ever felt during his last start, a 7 innings, 3 hit and 10 strikeout performance vs the Astros. Well, he must have felt great yesterday, as he threw a complete game vs the White Sox, giving up just one run on 8 hits, no walks and 5 strikeouts. He is now 3-4 with a 4.18 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 64-14 strikeout to walk rate in 71 innings. He should have an excellent second half for his owners.

The Nationals drafted Anthony Rendon as a third baseman, but due to the presence of Ryan Zimmerman at third base, and Danny Espinosa's inability to hit a baseball, he is now playing second base. And that is great for fantasy owners. I own him in two leagues now, and love that he has second base eligibility next season. He had a nice day at the plate vs the Padres yesterday, going 2-5 with a HR, 2 runs and 3 RBI, raising his triple slash line to .303-.353-.444 with 3 HRs, 19 runs, 12 RBI and a stolen base in 142 at bats thus far. He could be a top 10 fantasy second baseman heading into 2014 drafts.

What the heck has happened to Braves outfielder Jason Heyward? He is fast becoming the next Alex Rios, where he follows up a good year with a bad year. Heyward went 1-4 with a walk and an RBI in the Braves 7-3 loss to the Phillies on Sunday. Heyward is having a very disappointing season, now hitting .229-.326-.373 with 7 HRs, 32 runs, 21 RBI and 2 stolen bases. Maybe he just doesn't like hitting in the two spot in the Braves order? I don't know, but he will fall in my outfielder rankings as a result.

Mets starter Jeremy Hefner is on one heck of a run on the mound lately. Yesterday, he limited the Brewers to one run on 2 hits, a walk, and 8 strikeouts in 7 innings in the Mets 2-1 win. Hefner is now 4-6 with a 3.39 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 79-28 strikeout to walk rate in 101 innings this season. He has given up two runs or less in each of his last seven starts, and in 12 of his 17 starts this season. Yet he is owned in just 21% of ESPN leagues.

Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin silenced the Rockies over 8 innings on Sunday to win his 10th game of the season. He limited the Rockies to just one run on 3 hits, a walk and 10 strikeouts in the Diamondbacks 6-1 win. He is now 10-1 with a 2.40 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and a 99-31 strikeout to walk rate in 123.2 innings thus far. He was named to the National League All Star team on Saturday night.

More from Fake Teams

Complete SP Rankings: Week 15

Fantasy Baseball: Two-Start Pitchers for Week 15

Five impact prospects still in the minors

The Unexpected Competence of Marcell Ozuna

Around the League: NL

Around the League - AL

Three (Possibly) True Outcomes: Carlos Correa

Waiver Wire: 10 Under 10%

I Traded Chris Davis

Low Level Prospect Review: Roberto Osuna, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

I've got an issue with this episode of MLB Bullets, because most of the news this weekend revolves around the All-Star Game rosters and who made the team and who didn't. Honestly, I stopped caring who made the All-Star Game a while ago. Since no one even agrees what the criteria is for who should be on the team, I think arguments about who should be included are pointless. And of course, others have pointed out how the selection rules work against Bud's "This Time It Counts" mantra.

• If you're more interested in the All-Star Teams than I am, the rosters for both leagues are here.
• While I don't really care about who won the fan voting any more, I've got to admit that MLB revealing geographic data about the online voting is really cool.
• Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles says that Yasiel Puigmust make the All-Star team. I don't think there's much chance of him losing the fan voting, but I don't think anything involving the All-Star Game "must" happen.
• Ken Rosenthal thinks that the Athleticsgot hosed in the All-Star selections. If that's the worst thing Oakland gets hosed in this year . . .
• Matthew Pouliot lists this year's All-Star snubs.
• Emma Span lists all the players she thinks got snubbed for the All-Star Game. Folks, it's easier if you just stop caring. Of course, then you'd have to think of something else to write a column about. May I suggest "I don't care who got snubbed for the All-Star Game"? Wait, I've taken that idea already.
• Adam Jones did make the All-Star team as a starter, along with starters Chris Davis and J.J. Hardy and reserve Manny Machado. But as David Schoenfield says, Jones's lack of plate discipline keeps him from being more than just a "good" player.
• Manny Machado, on the other hand, just did an amazing impersonation of Brooks Robinson. Except as Jonah Keri pointed out, that might be shortchanging Machado. Earlier this year, I linked to this article that talked about Machado's relationship with Robinson.
• Everth Cabrera is excited he made the All-Star Game, despite his connections to the Biogenesis Scandal. He maintains he has no relationship with the clinic.
• Bryce Harper texted Nationals manager Davey Johnson to "Play me or trade me." Thomas Boswell thinks that Johnson's handling of this "joke" (and it was a joke. Sort of) and his relationship to Harper shows why Johnson is such a great manager. He thinks the Nats will miss Johnson next season.
• An MRI on Yadier Molinashowed no structural damage.Cardinals fans can now exhale.
• Maybe this is an optical illusion, but this picture of Miguel Cabreraliterally crushing a baseball is very cool.
• Jered Weaver outdueled his former teammate and mentor John Lackey. This was just two days after he became a father for the first time. His wife gave birth to a son, Aden David Weaver, named after his late teammate Nick Adenhart. Seriously, two days after my wife gave birth, I was so out of it that I told someone that my wife gave birth to a boy. (She didn't.)
• Paul Hoynes lists the Cleveland Indians shopping list. Matt Garza tops the list. Trevor Bauer, anyone?
• Bud Shaw thinks that the Indians bullpen is in need of an upgrade.
• Jon Paul Morosi thinks the Blue Jaysneed to go into "sell" mode and build for 2014.
• David Schoenfield thinks that three relatively small market teams, Cleveland, San Diego and Pittsburgh, should all try to trade forCliff Lee.
• Phillies GM Ruben Amaro does admit that the Phillies could end up as sellers at the trade deadline.
• Larry Stone thinks it's time the Mariners start selling players.
• The San Francisco Giantsbatted out of order. You could never win a World Series with a manager who makes those kinds of mistakes. Oh, wait.
• Joakim Soria has been taken of the DL by the Rangers and is set to pitch in the majors for the first time since Sept. 11, 2011.
• Ryan Braun is feeling "great." He's expected to be activated off the DL on Thursday.
• Derek Jeterstarted his minor league rehab assignment.
• David Price thinks his time on the disabled list allowed him to get his head back on straight.
• Rangers ace Yu Darvishis done throwing so many fastballs.
• Michael Pineda is off the disabled list and has been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
• Ike Davis is back with the Metsafter having been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas.
• Small adjustments have made Jeremy Hefnera much better pitcher.
• The new international signing rules have hurt players like Eloy Jimenez as well as teams who scouted and were aggressive in signing Latin American players. Who was helped? Teams like White Sox, who argued that if they didn't want to spend money on international players, neither should anyone else.
• Finally, the Yankees did something classy, inviting around 4,000 residents of Newtown, CT to take in a Yankees game for free.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.

The Rays are coming off a three-game series sweep of the Chicago White Sox and have seven games remaining until the All-Star Break, four against Minnesota and three against Houston. Tampa Bay is currently a season’s best 9 games above .500 with a record of 49-40. The Rays have also managed to sneak their way up into a tie for second place not only in the AL East, but also for the second Wild Card position.

For a recap of yesterday’s 3-1 victory over the White Sox and a review of David Price’s dominant outing, you can check out Yossi’s recap here. It’s pretty evident that CyPrice is looking the best he has all year, since his return from the DL. Price will have one more outing against the Astros before the All-Star Break.

A Look Around the AL East

The Boston Red Sox currently hold a four and a half game lead on the division after losing to the Angels 3-0 last night. They continue their ten game road trip by heading to Seattle for a four games series before ending the first half of the season in Oakland. The Red Sox are 7-3 over their last ten games.

Baltimore had a ninth-inning comeback against the Yankees yesterday as Mariano Rivera blew the save opportunity in Yankee Stadium, a rare occurrence. Manny Machado also made a really great play during the game which you can watch below. The Gold Glove award for third baseman is not going to be an easy decision this year.

The Orioles and Yankees are both 6-4 in their last ten games. Baltimore will host the Rangers next for a four-game series, followed by three games against the Blue Jays. The Yankees will play host to the Royals for the next four games and then the Twins will come to town after they finish their series with us.

Remember not too long ago when the Blue Jays were on an 11-game winning streak? I guess the Rays kind of shifted their momentum when they ended that streak. In their last ten games, the Blue Jays are 4-6 and sit below .500 on the season with a record of 43-45. They’ve also managed to slip in the division race sitting ten games behind the first place Red Sox. To wrap up the first half, Toronto heads to Cleveland for three games and then to Baltimore for three games.

Rays Odds and Ends:

-Ben Zobrist talks to reporters about being selected to the American League All-Star Game and what an honor it is.

-Kelly Erickson of MLB.com examines the Rays upcoming series against the Twins and Roberto Hernandez’s history against them.

-Joe Maddon is not a fan of daily batting practice at the Trop and left it up to the players this weekend if they wanted to swing in the cages or not.

-As a follow-up to his July 5th tweet about liking the team to swarm, Maddon tweeted this before yesterday's game:

More evidence of the swarm: we now have 8 guys with 30 RBI.

— Joe Maddon (@RaysJoeMaddon) July 7, 2013

-Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times takes a look at the impacts that the Rays new additions are making on the team.

Links:

-After lineups for the 2013 All-Star Game were revealed, there were definitely some big shocks. David Schoenfield of ESPN’s The Sweet Spot blog examines the lineups and feels that the National League has the advantage.

-Emma Span of Sports On Earth also took a look at the ASG lineups and highlights the Evan Longoria snub.

-Mets Catcher, John Buck, interrupted the sausage race at Miller Park this weekend and then gave an outstanding quote when asked about the incident.

-Jon Heyman of CBS Sports talked with Chris Davis about what else but PED’s and homeruns.

-Despite also being in the "Final Vote" for the National League All-Star team, Adrian Gonzalez wants to see his Dodger teammate, Yasiel Puig, win the last roster spot.

After going 3-4 in their last homestand, the Toronto Blue Jays are kicking it back today before heading off on the road for a three-game series against the 46-42 Cleveland Indians (note that the Thursday game is a 12:05 pm affair) and then another three games against the Baltimore Orioles to round up the unofficial first-half of the season. The Blue Jays are 43-45 right now, so in order to get to their April goal of .500 at the All-Star Break, the club would have to go 4-2, which is certainly a possibility. I wouldn't bet on it, though.

Announced matchups: Josh Johnson vs Ubaldo Jimenez on Tuesday and Esmil Rogers vs Justin Masterson on Wednesday. The Indians have not announced a starter to go against Mark Buehrle on Thursday. R.A. Dickey and Todd Redmond are expected to take the mound for the first two games in Baltimore.

Blue Jays Related

Blue Jays’ path to second-half success remains problematic - The Globe and Mail
Yes, the Blue Jays routed the Twins and we all had fun watching the game on Sunday, but Jeff Blair reminds us that the Jays don't really have an adequate starting rotation. He also writes about how well the attendance has been at the park, and also (interestingly) mentioned about fans on Twitter "skewering" fans at the park who cheered loudly when Munenori Kawasaki came in to pinch-run for Edwin Encarnacion.

The tweets that I saw at the time had some fans calling the folks who were cheering "stupid" for believing that Kawasaki was better than Encarnacion just because he received a louder ovation. I think it's just arrogance on their part for thinking that fans who follow the Jays less closely than them actually believe that Kawasaki is the superior player. I cheer for Kawasaki because he makes me happy and he is a fun guy. Don't cheer for him if you don't want to, but don't come telling me how to be a fan.

Hayhurst: Blue Jays' Johnson must attack hitters - Sportsnet.ca
Dirk Hayhurst gives his advice to Josh Johnson: don't nibble, attack the zone. I wonder if we should tune in to Brady & Lang to see of Johnson calls.

Jays pitcher Cecil tips his hat to his dad - Toronto Sun
All-Star reliever Brett Cecil thanks his dad Duane above all for his success. "And like any dad, he’s one of the people I can open up to when it has been a rough season. Obviously the last two years he has been involved pretty heavily."

Toronto Blue Jays’ Steve Delabar continues his remarkable saga as all-star candidate - National Post
I think the "#RaiseTheBar" hashtag is kinda stupid (I prefer #LetsGoToTheBar) but Steve Delabar does have a fantastic story and an almost-as-fantastic 2013 season. So go here and give him a vote or 50 or 500 (there's no limit), won't you? Delabar is currently first among AL vote getters. Let's keep it up, Jays fans!

Jays look to help get Delabar to all-star game - Sportsnet.ca
The Blue Jays have partnered up with the Atlanta Braves to coordinate campaigns for the final spot at the All-Star Game, asking fans to vote for Freddy Freeman in the National League when they vote for Delabar. This was undoubtedly inspired by the Citizens United to Yell "Kawasaki!!!!" Super PAC and their campaign ad targeting Nationals fans. Also, sad news coming from the Super PAC:

Citizens United to Yell "Kawasaki!!!!!" Super PAC is officially suspending its #WriteInKawasaki campaign. Thanks for all your support!

— Kawasaki Super PAC (@WriteInKawasaki) July 6, 2013

Down on the Farm

Bisons sweep doubleheader - The Buffalo News
Dave Bush and Chien-Ming Wang throw back-to-back seven-inning complete games on Sunday as the Buffalo Bisons sweep the Syracuse Chiefs in a doubleheader down at Coca-Cola Field. The Bush-Wang dual complete games was the first for the Bisons since Jon Niese and Nelson Figueroa both did it in 2009. In the first game, Kevin Pillar hit his fourth homer with Buffalo. On Bisons radio Saturday evening, Alex Anthopolos told Ben Wagner that he's "just been geting incredible reports about Kevin Pillar" and that when Melky Cabrera went down, there was discussions in the front office to call up Pillar; however it was ultimately concluded that a two-week stint in the majors would not be the best for his development.

Fisher Cats Back Stroman on Record Day - New Hampshire Fisher Cats News
Marcus Stroman threw a career-high seven innings with the Fisher Cats, striking out eight with no walks. The Fisher Cats won 16-5 over the Binghamton Mets, a day after the Mets beat them 14-3. New Hampshire has a knack of trading lopsided victories: Back in June they lost to Erie 16-2 one day and then beat them 22-1 the next.

Brett Lawrie will soon be headed to New Hampshire to continue his rehabilitation. According to Anthopoulos on Bisons radio, Lawrie may get some playing time at second base with the Fisher Cats, but management had not decided whether or not to do that.

Two homers power Jays to 5-2 victory - Dunedin Blue Jays News
The D-Jays won 5-2 over the D-Cubs in a rain-shortened affair. Kyle Drabek started, allowing a single hit in two innings of work while striking out four swinging. In case you missed it, Drabek is no longer rehabbing--he was taken off the 60-day DL and was optioned to Dunedin last week. Sergio Santos, who is still rehabbing, followed with a strikeout in his own scoreless outing.

Quick Hits: Green, Rosales, Blue Jays - MLB Trade Rumors
Charlie Wilmoth lets us know that the Blue Jays have signed Matt Boyd below slot, and have saved $1,800,000 in their bonus pool in order to sign Phil BIckford (1st round pick), Jake Brentz (11th round), and Rowdy (!) Tellez (30th round). Tellez is headed to USC so Jim Callis believes he'll need 2nd round money to go to the pros.

Around Baseball

Anniversary of Larry Doby's breaking of AL color barrier deserves more recognition -The Strike Zone
Jay Jaffe writes about why we should do a better job recognizing Larry Doby, who, while he stood in Jackie Robinson's shadow, was still in targeted with the racist vitriol. I remember, as a kid, seeing the picture of Larry Doby and Steve Gromek in a baseball book and not really recognizing why it was so important. Now I understand.

New BP Jerseys Coming to MLB in 2014 - SportsLogos.Net
This sort of got lost in the shuffle last week, but Major League Baseball will be debuting new batting practice jerseys in 2014, and Chris Creamer mocked up what the Jays version might look like. I like them, but I hope that they would use white instead of dark blue to pipe the collar, and sleeves--dark blue would work under the arms though. I also am not a fan of uneven button spacing if the logo is on the breast and not across the chest.

All-Star roster surprises and snubs - ESPN [Insider Only]
Keith Law did not like Jim Leyland's choice of including five short relievers on the All-Star squad. He wrote that the inclusion of Brett Cecil, "who was nearly designated for assignment out of spring training, and had a 5.72 ERA last year," while not selecting James Shields or Hiroki Kuroda"perverts the original purpose of the game while also recognizing the wrong guys." Oooooook, settle down and have some pie, Keith, you're beginning to sound like the folks who sent in complaints saying that the Write-In Kawasaki Campaign "tainted the sanctity" of the All-Star Game.

Kuroda and Shields have pitched All-Star seasons (especially Kuroda) and they both deserved to get in, but so does Brett Cecil. Of course, an argument can be made that Shields and Kuroda have pitched 100+ innings each while Cecil has only weighed in at 45. But baseball has evolved to need short relievers. It's a fact. Maybe their selection will have less controversy if there were separate categories, to remind managers that both the best starters and best relievers in the league deserve to be on the team.

Machado continues to amaze, proves he's the future for Orioles - SI.com
Manny Machado made this play on Sunday just to highlight how great this 20-year-old has played this season. It's not shown in the GIF but this video shows him just calmly walking back to the dugout after the incredible throw. Could you imagine how Brett Lawrie would've reacted if he had done that?

Phantom ballplayer - Wikipedia
Remember when Brian Jeroloman came up to the Blue Jays for a month and didn't play a game? Apparently there is an entire Wikipedia entry dedicated to players like him. The list is fascinating and definitely worth a look-see. I think the story of Harry Saferight was the saddest--he so close to getting an appearance on three separate occasions--but it does look like Jeroloman spent the most time on the active roster out of any other names listed.

Foul Ball Lands in Cupholder - MiLB.com [Video]
This guy should think about golfing as a career.

Coming off a series win over the lowly Minnesota Twins the Blue Jays are hovering just below .500 with the All-Star break on the horizon. This team may not officially be out of contention but there is no doubt they are going to need to go on a big run again at some point if they really want to get in the thick of things. With the trade deadline later this month it is unclear what AA has in mind. There is some thought out there that the Jays will be pursuing upgrades for 2013 only because they are "going for it this year". In a sense that is true given the nature of AA's aggressive off-season, but the reality is that this team is built for a 2013-2015 window. In fact, the Blue Jays have team options on R.A. Dickey, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion for 2016, although so many things can happen between now and then that it's hard to say whether the Jays would want to pick those options up. The only significant player whose contract is up after this year is Josh Johnson.

While one could make an argument that this year should be the Blue Jays' best chance to make the playoffs due to the aging curves of their best players, it is important to remember that it is not the only year in which they have a good chance to contend with their current core. I don't think that it's prudent for AA to sell out to win this season considering how far back the Jays currently sit and the fact they have a couple more seasons to make this thing work. Thinking along these lines I find rumors that the Jays might be interested inChase Utley, a pending free agent, highly peculiar. In my view the only acquisitions that make sense at this juncture are players that will be under team control in 2014.

One could also argue that the Blue Jays should be sellers at this point but they really don't have that many pieces to sell at the moment. Josh Johnson's value is at its absolute lowest point right now and there won't be much of a return unless he can string together some strong starts before the deadline. I'd rather hold unto him and gamble with a qualifying offer at the end of the year. The other piece that stands out is Darren Oliver who has become somewhat redundant with three other younger, cheaper southpaws in this bullpen. I don't think the Jays should hesitate to rent out Oliver if they get an even remotely promising prospect in return because I don't think his departure makes the team any worse today and there is no way he returns for 2014.Other than those two there aren't any pieces to sell that wouldn't be giving up on the next couple of years. If Anthony Gose were excelling then you could get a good return for Colby Rasmus right now and turn over the keys to Gose but the gap between those two is pretty big at this moment and Colby looks more likely to be the CF of the future right now.

With the premise that 2014-2015 is the window the Blue Jays should be focusing on, I decided to begin a three part series on shoring up the three biggest weaknesses on the current team: second base, catcher and starting pitching. For each position I will examine two players on other teams that I think would be good fits, one that I think they could realistically acquire, another that would be more of a pipe dream as well as two internal options that could reasonably contribute within the window mentioned above.

Today I begin that series by looking at arguably the biggest hole the Blue Jays have right now: second base. Toronto currently ranks last in the major leagues with a -2.0 WAR from their second baseman. The next worse team in the league, the Chicago White Sox are getting a -1.0 WAR. With a .227/.269/.345 slash line and a league worst -16.8 Ultimate Zone Rating on defense there is nothing to like about the output Toronto second baseman have produced.

The saddest thing about those numbers is that they are actually misleadingly inflated. The way FanGraphs keeps statistics by position is by including the stats of all the players who are listed at that position as opposed to who actually played there. As a result the total stats for the Jays second baseman are actually inflated by Mark DeRosa's .205/.291/.410 slash line given that he has played mostly third base. Additionally Maicer Izturis's stats count towards this number when in fact he has been the starting third baseman since June 10 (he has only played 5 games not at third base since then) and during his time at that position he has hit .295/.323/.368 which, while far from spectacular, is a misleading representation of how Toronto second baseman have produced. Also Munenori Kawasaki has yet to reach base in 10 PA as a 2B and this is not counted because he is only listed as a SS by Fangraphs right now, another tiny demerit on Toronto's second base black hole. Long story short, it's ugly. Almost unbelievably ugly in fact. There is a possibility that when Brett Lawrie returns Izturis can slide back to 2B and continue to produce but that relies on a lot of unknowns. The first thing to do when examining possible candidates to fill this role is to look internally.

Internal Options

Option #1: Jim Negrych

I would like to start off by saying I never made any guarantees that all of these options would be great options. Negrych is 28 years old and a career minor leaguer so he isn't exactly a high ceiling player. However, the guy has hit .325/.389/.460 in AAA, which isn't nothing. He has a career minor league line .301/.377/.409 which suggests he has some idea with the stick. I punched his current AAA numbers into a major league equivalency calculator and it came up with a .277/.332/.385 line which is respectable. Not that MLE statistics should be trusted or treated as gospel but perhaps you could consider that an unlikely best case scenario.His numbers are fairly reliant on his hot start to the season and I'm sure there are plenty of good reasons he hasn't gotten a chance, but he walks, hits and doesn't strike out a ton and none of that can be said of Toronto's second baseman so far. Perhaps the Jays could squeeze a Joe Inglett type run out of Negrych sometime in the next two years, especially if Bonifacio is released, but ultimately that is likely too much to ask.

Option #2: Andy Burns

Burns is farther from the major leagues that Negrych but he might be more likely to be a viable contributor. Burns turns 23 later this year and has just made him way to AA New Hampshire so he is a bit old to be thought of as a big time prospect. At the same time, he's not a career minor leaguer type like Jim Negrych just yet. In 2011 Burns hit .248/.351/.464 at Lansing, which he improved on this year at Dunedin with a .323/.379/.520 effort. Burns does not have big time power or big time speed and many have questioned his ability to stay at shortstop. However, his more modest tools might be fine for a second baseman. New Hampshire will be an important test for Burns but if he can continue to excel and move his way up to Buffalo to start 2014 he could be knocking on the door. Burns would probably need to have some luck for that to happen, he isn't the calibre of prospect for the Jays to actively make room for, but he remains an interesting name to watch in the next couple of years.

Toronto does not have extraordinarily exciting internal options and chances are the problems at second base will be something addressed with players from outside the organization. Below are two thoughts of players they might think about acquiring, one on the realistic side and one that's a bit of a reach. As I stated before I believe the Blue Jays should be prioritizing 2014 and 2015 so I did not consider any player whose contracts expire after the 2013 season.

External Options

Realistic Acquisition Possibility: Kevin FrandsenPhiladelphia Phillies.

At this point you are well within your rights to say, "Kevin Frandsen who the [choose your own preferred expletive here, I wouldn't want to impose my stylistic preferences on you] is that?" It is true that Frandsen is not exactly a household name but I think he would be an intriguing possibility for the Blue Jays.

Frandsen is currently a utility infielder for the Phillies, he's 31 and he has a career slash line of .269/.329/.372 with a career UZR of -5.3 and career WAR of 1.4 in 945 plate appearances. It is for this reason that you are not excited about the idea of Kevin Frandsen, it is for this reason that I doubt my own conclusion when I look at all those numbers in a row, and perhaps most importantly, it is for this reason that Frandsen would be easily available to the Blue Jays.

There are a few reasons why Frandsen is more a more valuable player than he appears to be. It starts with his defense. Although Frandsen has ugly overall defensive numbers, that is a function of how he has been used. Due to the fact he has never really been considered a starter he has played many positions. The problem is that he's only good at one: second base. Here's a chart showing Frandsen's career UZR by position:

The sample size on most of these numbers is very small but my guess would be the Frandsen has been misused at third bases and just doesn't really have the arm to hack it on the left side of the infield. When I dug around a while a found this quotation from soxprospects.com from when he was in the Boston organization, "Frandsen is a very good defensive second baseman and average shortstop, strong glove, limited range and arm strength". Additionally, according to his Baseball America page he was rated "Best Defensive Infielder" in the San Francisco Giants system after the 2005 season. While that rating is from a long time ago and defense peaks early, I think there is reason to believe that Frandsen could be capable with the glove if you stuck him at second base.

There is also reason to believe Frandsen might be able to do more with the bat than his career line indicates. Since he joined the Phillies in 2012 he has hit .320/.382/.446 and been worth 2.2 WAR in 319 PA. Those numbers have been helped by an unsustainably high BABIP (.366 in 2012) but this year Frandsen's BABIP has come back to earth (now sitting at .288) he has still hit .283/.380/.435, a pretty good line. As long as Frandsen has a BABIP within the normal range he looks to be a half decent hitter considering he almost never strikes out (8.5% career rate). It appears that he ran into some awful BABIP luck earlier in his career and he was never the guy with flashy tools that was going to get a second chance. Previous to his stint with the Phillies the only two years in which he had over 150 PA he registered BABIP's of .277 and .267 which just aren't enough for a contact hitter to get by.

Overall there isn't a ton of data on Frandsen and he's no spring chicken but I think there is reason to believe he could be the type of player that could be a sneaky upgrade for this team. Not that being an upgrade on the current situation is a high bar by any means. He is under team control through 2014 and would cost almost nothing in arbitration and could also probably be had from the Phillies for a song. Frandsen is no franchise player or saviour, but if his glove holds up at second base he's the sort of guy that could surprise and be an average starter for a year or two. I could see him as a poor, probably very poor, man's Marco Scutaro. I may be the only person on the planet thinking this, but the Blue Jays might be looking at the wrong Phillies second baseman.

The second external possibility falls firmly into the category of "wouldn't that be fun" type pipe dream. However, it's not so ludicrous so as to be literally impossible so it gets a mention here.

Far Less Realistic Acquisition Possibility: Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

Unlike Kevin Frandsen if you are reading this blog you are likely fairly aware of what Ian Kinsler brings to the table. Kinsler is a three time All-Star with a .273/.354/.459 career slash line and surplus value on the base paths and in the field. There would appear to be very little reason for Texas to part with Kinsler but if they are smart, and they are, they might have to consider it. Texas recently signed defensive wizard Elvis Andrus to a massive extension locking him in as the shortstop of the future and they have phenom Jurickson Profar recently graduated to the major leagues without a definite position as a result. Right now Texas is trying Profar in the outfield but if Andrus remains on the squad they really need to maximize Profar's value by putting him at second base. Profar's bat will probably play well in a corner outfield but it would look truly elite in the middle of the infield. Although Kinsler is a very valuable player Texas would be wise to part with him if they could get a big return due to his age and contract.

Kinsler turns 32 next year and he is locked up until 2017 on a contract worth $17 million dollars a year. If Kinsler was moved off of second base his value to Texas would be diminished and they would likely be able to do better with the $17 million in payroll flexibility and the healthy return they could get in a trade. As Kinsler ages he is likely to lose a great deal of value given that his fielding and base stealing looks to take a hit in the coming years. By 2016-2017 his contract could be a little bit ugly. So if you are Texas, trading Kinsler makes some sense. However, the reason this is a pipe dream is the logistics.

Firstly, the Blue Jays don't really have the assets to swing a deal for Kinsler and secondly Texas is trying to win right now and keeping all three of Profar, Andrus and Kinsler is probably the best way to do that at this moment. Although Kinsler would look good as a Blue Jay and will probably play his last couple of truly great years during the Blue Jays window of contention I just don't see how this deal would ever get done. However, AA has done things I would have previously considered impossible, dumping the Vernon Wells contract comes to mind, so you never know.

The overall picture for the Blue Jays at second base looks fairly bleak. The internal options are questionable to say the least and the biggest second baseman on the trading block is only signed through 2013. If the Blue Jays absolutely surge through July perhaps a trade for Chase Utley becomes a more realistic option. Until such time count on seeing a lot of Munenori Kawasaki, which, in terms of entertainment value alone, is hardly a tragedy.

Spent my last day at Memorial Park, catching the Boise Hawks win over the Tri-City Dust Devils. I'll have more to say about that later, but tonight I want to get the Wrap done and get the bed. I'm tired.

I'm going to have to lead off with the Daytona Cubs tonight. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of Matt Loosen.

Daytona Cubs

Matt Loosen threw Daytona's first nine-inning complete game no-hitter in 19 years as the Daytona Cubs beat the Dunedin Blue Jays, 7-0.

Loosen dominated the Blue Jays all game. He walked a batter in the first and fourth innings and one batter reached on an error by shortstop Elliot Soto. He struck out nine batters and he finished the game with 106 pitches.

David Hutcheson threw Daytona's last nine-inning complete game no-hitter on August 4, 1994. Their last combined nine-inning no-no came two years later, when Kerry Wood, Darold Brown and Brandon Hammock threw one on August 24, 1996. Daytona's last seven-inning no hitter came in 2009 when Craig Muschko, Chris Siegfried, Oswaldo Martinez and David Cales combined to throw one.

The Cubs offense staked Loosen to a 7-0 lead after three innings. Right fielder Bijan Rademacher hit his first Daytona home run in the third inning with a man on. He was 1 for 2 with two walks. He scored twice.

First baseman Dusin Geiger was 2 for 4 with a walk and a double. He scored once. Soto was 2 for 5 with a two-run single in the second inning.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs zipped past the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins), 5-2.

Chris Rusin allowed a home run to Gorkys Hernandez, the first batter he faced. After that, he settled down and collected his eighth win of the season. Rusin allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. He walked four and struck out two.

Yoanner Negrin tossed two innings without allowing a hit. He walked one and struck out two.

Brian Schlitter pitched a perfect ninth inning for his tenth save. He struck out one.

Catcher Luis Flores led off the top of the third with his fourth home run of the season. He also doubled in a 2 for 4 game.

First baseman Brad Nelson was 3 for 4 with a double. He had two RBI.

Second baseman Logan Watkins had two doubles and a walk in a 2 for 4 game. He scored one run and had one RBI.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies dropped a doubleheader to the Huntsville Stars (Brewers), 2-0 and 6-3 in eight innings.

In game one, Kyle Hendricks lost for the first time this year at home. He allowed two runs on two hits over five innings. He uncharacteristically walked three and struck out five. Both runs scored in the fourth inning on a double after Hendricks hit one batter and walked another.

The Smokies only had two hits in this game.

In game two, starter A.J. Morris took a no-decision after he gave up only one run on six hits over five innings. Morris fanned three and didn't walk anyone.

Frank Batista pitched the top of the eighth inning and allowed three runs on two hits and two walks. One of the two walks was intentional. Batista did not strike anyone out.

First baseman Justin Bour cut Huntsville's lead to 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning with a solo home run, his eighth of the season. Bour was 1 for 3.

Right fielder Rubi Silva sent the game to extra innings when he singled in the seventh and then stole second, stole third and scored on an error on the throw to third base. Silva was 2 for 3 with a double.

Kane County Cougars

Rained out. The game will not be made up. It's probably for the best.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks ended their five-game losing streak by cleaning up the Tri-City Dust Devils (Rockies), 11-3.

Dae-Eun Rhee started and threw three scoreless innings in a rehab assignment. He gave up two hits. He didn't walk anyone and struck out three.

Loiger Padron got his first Boise win, since Rhee didn't go five innings. Padron pitched three innings and allowed two runs on three hits. One of the two runs was unearned. Padron walked one and struck out three.

Second baseman David Bote lead off the bottom of the first inning with a tremendous home run that went over the fence in dead center field. It was his third home run this season. Bote was 1 for 4 and scored twice. He had a second RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. He also reach on a hit-by-pitch.

Third baseman Daniel Lockhart was 3 for 4. He scored once and had two RBI.

Right fielder Yasiel Balaguert was 2 for 5 with a walk. He had an RBI single in the fourth inning that just missed being a home run. It banged off the left field wall with such force that he was held to a single.

First baseman Jacob Rogers went 2 for 3 with three walks. He had one RBI and scored three runs. DH Rony Rodriguez was 2 for 5 with a double and scored twice. He was also hit by a pitch.

Center fielder Shawon Dunston Jr. went 2 for 4 with two walks. He scored on Balaguert's single and one of those walks came with the bases loaded.

Dunston walked seven times in the five-game series with Tri-City. Must take after his mother.

AZL Cubs

Day off.

Hopefully everyone made it home safe yesterday, that was really something. Here are your morning links as the city returns to sanity.

JAYS LINKS

Alex Anthopoulos’s Trade History: Hits & Misses
Excellent piece by Mop-Up Duty on AA's trade record

Jays Draft Strategy Revealing Itself | Drunk Jays Fans | Blogs | theScore.com

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want Rowdy Tellez for his name alone.

Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Indians series preview | Toronto Star

"The Blue Jays travel to Cleveland for a three-game series against Terry Francona and the Indians."

Baseball Prospectus | BP Unfiltered: Analyzing Rogers Centre's Roof

"Does Rogers Centre's retractable roof have a significant impact on scoring?"

Ferguson: Jays' 2B situation much like it was before Alomar

Don't think that Jose Altuve is going to be an option.

This week in Jays merch: The JAYS WIN! shirt and more | Drunk Jays Fans | Blogs | theScore.com

I want the Colby Two Wolf Moon shirt, badly.

AL EAST LINKS

Manny Machado leads youth brigade headed for All-Star Game - MLB - Joe Lemire - SI.com
The snub that we need to be talking about: Munenori Kawasaki

Ben Zobrist, All Star Again - DRaysBay
"Zorilla was the only Rays player named to the All Star Game roster by manager Jim Leyland this weekend."

Can Chris Davis break Roger Maris' AL home run record? - SBNation.com
"Not only is Chris Davis having a great season, but he has a chance at breaking a record that's much older than he is."

MLB Trade Deadline: Red Sox will spend what's needed at the deadline. Probably. - Over the Monster
"According to John Henry, money won't be an issue for the Red Sox come the deadline. But is it for the right reasons?"

Yankees rumors: Rosenthal confirms interest in Justin Ruggiano - Pinstriped Bible
Ahahahahaha I hope so

2013 MLB All Star Game: Baltimore Oriole Chris Davis selected for the Home Run Derby - Camden Chat
"The major league leader in home runs, Chris Davis was a no brainer pick for A.L. captain Robinson Cano."

THE REST OF THE BASEBALL UNIVERSE LINKS

The Best Non-All-Star Seasons of the Past 50 Years | FanGraphs Baseball
What were the fans thinking in 2004?

In big switch, Cubs considering signing Garza long-term - CBSSports.com
Sounds like posturing to this guy

Miami Trades Ricky Nolasco for Warm Bodies | FanGraphs Baseball
It's about time this happened.

2013 All-Collapse All-Stars

"A look at the guys who have gotten the oldest, the quickest this year."

NON-BASEBALL LINK OF THE DAY

BBC News - Antarctic Lake Vostok 'might have fish'
"There could be some complex animals, perhaps even fish, living in the deeply buried Antarctic Lake Vostok, a new study suggests."

The Cleveland Indians welcome Toronto to Progressive Field today as Ubaldo Jimenez goes up against Josh Johnson. Jimenez faced the Blue Jays in the second game of the season when things were still so fresh and new, unfortunately that feeling has faded. In that appearance he went 6 innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits, with the only damage being done by Maicer Izturis' homerun in the third inning.

This season Jimenez has performed pretty poorly pitching to a 4.67 ERA, which is backed up by a 4.68 FIP. Although he has a career high strikeout rate of 8.93 K/9, he also has a career high walk rate of 4.97. He's been a mixed bag this year, but has not finished 6 innings since June 1st, which was seven starts ago. His control has killed him as close to a walk per inning has been commonplace in the past month's worth of starts.

Judging by this graph, when Jimenez loses feel for his fastball and sinker, he starts leaning heavily on his slider which becomes predictable after throwing it as the first pitch 41% of the time against right handers:

When Jimenez was successful back in Colorado, his slider was lower in the zone than this year where it's been elevated too often:

via www.fangraphs.com

The lineup I'd like to see today would be:

1. Reyes SS
2. Bautista RF
3. Lind DH
4. Encarnacion 1B
5. Rasmus CF
6. Davis LF
7. Thole C
8. Izturis 3B
9. Kawasaki 2B

Coming of a disappointing series against Detroit, the Indians continue their homestand with three games against the Blue Jays. Tuesday and Wednesday's games will start at 7:05, while Thursday's series finale begins at 12:05 that afternoon. The two teams haven't met since their season-opening series in Toronto, when the Tribe took 2 of 3.

Team in a Box

*All stats through Monday, July 8th's results

The Blue Jays acquired a lot of new players coming into 2013, including Melky Cabrera, R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson, and Jose Reyes, and were seen by many as a top contender for the American League pennant. Instead, they stumbled badly in the season's first couple months, and at the end of play on June 4th, they found themselves with a 24-34 record. Since then though, they've gone 19-11, including an 11-game winning streak, and have pulled back within 6 games of the second wildcard spot. They aren't likely to overcome enough of the teams ahead of them to make the postseason, but they're back in the conversation.

Projected Lineup

The lineup is very dangerous through the heart of the order. Reyes has been hot since returning from an injury, Bautista and Encarnacion continue to be one of the best power-hitting duos in baseball, Lind is having his best season since 2009, and Rasmus finally looks like the player Toronto thought it was acquiring back in 2011.

Projected Starters

Johnson and Buehrle have disappointed in their first season in Toronto, Johnson especially. Rogers, on the other hand, has done fairly well since coming over from Cleveland in a deal for Yan Gomes and Mike Aviles. He worked out of the bullpen until a month ago, when he was moved into the rotation. Since then he's made 3 quality starts and compiled a 3.89 ERA over 34.2 innings (in 6 games). Buehrle has faced the Indians more times than any other pitcher in the last 25 years, but without great success (a 4.87 ERA, his highest against any of the 13 opponents he's thrown 100+ innings against).

*This post has been updated to reflect that Toronto has moved R.A. Dickey up a day. He will now pitch on Thursday, instead of Mark Buehrle.

Key Relievers

Other active members of the bullpen are Steve Delabar, Darren Oliver, Neil Wagner, Juan Perez, and Dustin McGowan. There aren't many (if any) big names in that group, but collectively, Toronto's bullpen has been arguably the AL's best. They lead all Major League teams in innings pitched and have the best ERA in the American League. The Indians should look top avoid any battles of the bullpen in this series.

On the Shelf

• 3B Brett Lawrie (sprained ankle) - 15-day DL, rehabbing now
• OF Melky Cabrera (knee tendonitis) - 15-day DL, likely back after All-Star break
• SP Brandon Morrow (strained forearm) - 15-day DL, possible August return
• SP J.A. Happ (head contusion) - 60-day DL, possible August return
• SP Drew Hutchinson (Tommy John surgery) - 60-day DL, possible August return
• RP Luis Perez (Tommy John surgery) - 60-day DL, possible August return
• RP Sergio Santos (elbow surgery) - 60-day DL, rehabbing now

Almanac

*Does not include 2013 stats

The Blue Jays have signed their 8th round pick, RHP Kendall Graveman and LHP Chad Girodo. Both were drafted out of Mississippi State. The Jays don't announce signing bonus amounts but It was way under slot.

Officially, of the their top 20 draft picks, the only ones left unsigned are:

• #1 Philip Bickford. The Jays have been saving up lots cap space, so they can offer Bickford well over slot.
• #6 Matt Boyd. On Sunday, Jim Callis of Baseball America said he signed for $75,000. The Jays are always slow to make these announcements.
• #11 Jacob Brentz. They will have to go way over slot to sign Brentz.
• #17 Eric Lauer. Same as above.

It looks like they have made all the easy signings. They have until the 12th to negotiate with the players that are left. I'd imagine the negotiations with Bickford will go down to near the deadline.

Over at Sportsnet.ca, our friend, Dirk Hayhurst tells us that the Blue Jays should trade Casey Janssen now.

Being honest, I'm never really a fan of posts saying player X should be traded because none of us know what is being offered for the player. I think any player can be traded if you are offered more that you feel he is worth. So sure if you can get something good for him, go ahead. The trouble is that you and I and Dirk have no idea what is or would be offered for Casey.

Dirk is right, saves are overrated. The A's made a game of getting someone a bunch of saves and then trading him, year after year. I don't think GM's over rate the save as much as they once did, but you could likely find someone that would pay a bunch for Casey.

Dirk suggests that both Brett Cecil and Steve Delabar could step into the closer. They could, I'll admit I'd rather they stay in a setup role because I think they are more valuable in that spot. I'd rather they give Neil Wagner or, when/if he comes back, Sergio Santos.

He also suggests that three teams that would love to trade for Casey: the Tigers, the Cardinals and the Diamondbacks. And suggests that maybe they would be able to fill the back hole that is second base with the trade.

Now I don't see that the Tigers would trade us a second basemen. They have a good one, Omar Inante, but they don't have a obvious replacement for him, if you were the Tigers would you open a hole at second to fill the closer spot? No, I didn't think so.

The Diamondbacks have Aaron Hill, I don't think they'll give us him back and Willie Bloomquist, who I wouldn't want. But then they do have Chris Owings in Triple-A, he is playing SS there but I'm sure we could move him over. He's hitting .348/.369/.481 in the PCL.

The Cardinals have Matt Carpenter at second, a pretty great 2B and they have Daniel Descalso backing him up. More interesting they have Kolten Wong in the PCL at Memphis, hitting .303/.358/.465.

Yeah they would have to be pretty desperate to give up that much for Casey but then mid season is the time to take advantage of desperate teams. So sure, if you could use Casey to fill the void at second base, do it quick. If not, hang on to him until you can use him to get something you really need. But then I'd trade anything to fix that hole at second, unless it opened another gaping wound on the team.

Personally, Janssen has always been a favorite of mine. I'd being really sad if he wasn't on the team anymore, but if he can be part of a trade that would help the team, you'd have to let him go.

Anyway, what do you think? Will the Jays try to trade Casey? Should they?

Good afternoon prospect watchers. Let's get down to it.

***Yesterday's Minor League Ball Gameday thread, chock-full-o'information and vitriol-free for your enjoyment!

***My main project right now is revising the Top 2013 Prospects List. I will have this done by the end of the week. Other large projects include a review of the Futures Games rosters, and an origins report for the National League and American League All-Star teams, looking at where each player came from. Someone also requested a Shawn Green prospect retro and I will try to fit that in, but the other projects have higher priority at this time. If any trades involving prospects occur, we will cover those too as usual.

***I noticed today that Arizona Diamondbacks third base prospect Matt Davidson has some unusual statistical splits down at Triple-A Reno. Overall he is hitting .289/.348/.489 with 12 homers, with a 115 wRC+, not terrible but not super-impressive for the Pacific Coast League and Reno in particular. The right-handed slugger is striking out a lot, with his whiff rate going from 21.9% last season to 26.4% this year, high enough to be worrisome. He's not drawing a large number of walks, either, just 7.6% of plate appearances. This is typical stuff for a young power hitter trying to adapt to advanced breaking stuff.

The thing that stood out to me was this: a strong reverse platoon split. He's hitting right-handers well at .303/.350/.538, but his performance tails off against lefties at just .244/.340/.333, the lack of power standing out. Given the sample sizes it could be a fluke; he had a sharp split last year in Double-A but in the opposite, normal direction.

***Right-hander Matt Loosen threw a nine-inning no-hitter for the High-A Daytona Cubs in the Florida State League yesterday, fanning nine and walking two. He was a 23rd round pick in 2010 from Jacksonville University. Otherwise I don't know much about him. He has a decent-enough record as an A-ball strike thrower but got lit up during a trial in Double-A earlier this year.

***Houston Astros pitching prospect Asher Wojciechowski was the other big pitching star last night, throwing a one-hitter for a nine-inning complete game for Triple-A Oklahoma City against the Omaha Stormchasers Round Rock Express. I dunno where I got Omaha. Apparently my subconscious wants to go on a road trip.

Woj now has a 3.06 ERA with a 66/29 K/BB in 79 innings since moving up to the PCL, with 58 hits allowed, holding opponents to a .199 average. If I were the Astros, I'd be looking to give his fastball/slider/changeup combination a major league trial come August. He's been consistently effective in the high minors since being acquired from the Blue Jays last summer.

***Today's schedule of minor league games.

***Kenneth Arthur wonders if, of all the top hitting prospects in the game,Oscar Taveras has enough caution flags (granted in a small, injury-plagued 2013 sample) for us to be more careful in our evaluations and expectations of him for the future.

The Indians are 46-43 good for second in the AL Central, trailing the Tigers by 3.5 games and 3.5 games back in the Wild Card race.

The Indians are Just 3.5 games back of the Tigers...what do you think of your chances to catch them? How making on of the wild card spots?

The Indians spent big chunks of 2011 and 2012 in 1st place before coming apart, but I think this year's team is better than those two editions. That said, Detroit has a lot more talent than the Tribe, so I don't hold out a ton of hope for the division title. The Tigers would probably need to suffer a couple of key injuries. All season, I've seen one of the wildcard spots as a more likely gateway to the playoffs. The AL East teams will either separate, or the second wildcard will go to a team with 86 or 87 wins, which seems like a possibility for the Indians, if they somehow get their pitching straightened out.

Which Indian is the biggest surprise? Biggest disappointment?

In terms of being pleasantly surprised, Ryan Raburn is a player I expected nothing from when he signed with the team last winter, but he's got an OPS over .900 while playing in about half the team's games. Jason Kipnis, I expected to be good, but he's been far better than I hoped, the best-hitting 2B in the American League, as well as the best base stealer on a team with much faster guys.

Speaking of much faster guys, the biggest disappointment for me has been Michael Bourn. I was really excited when the Indians signed him, because he'd been such a dynamic player in recent years, one of the best fielders and base runners in baseball. His defense hasn't been what it was, whether you're going by advanced metrics or the 'eye test,' and his stolen base attempts and success rate are both way down too.

How are our old friends Yan Gomes and Mike Aviles doing in Cleveland?

Gomes has been far better than anyone expected. He's starting 2 or 3 games a week and his OPS+ is 123, right between All-Stars Joe Mauer and Jason Castro, among catchers. Aviles hasn't been anywhere near that good, but he's been solid enough, as backups go, and while filling in for an injured Asdrubal Cabrera at SS for a few weeks. With the way Esmil Rogers has pitched for the Jays of late, this seems like a trade that worked out well for both sides.

How comfortable are you with Chris Perez as closer?

Short answer: Not very.

...But as an Indians fan, I'm accustomed to that sensation. Frankly, it's the rest of the bullpen that's been frustrating to me. Vinnie Pestano, the would-be "closer of the future" has really struggled this season, after being one of the best relievers in baseball over the last couple years. Other mid-inning guys have had a hard time as well. This is especially problematic because other than Justin Masterson, the starting pitchers aren't making it deep into many games.

Are there any players in the farm system you expect to help out in the second half of the season?

Trevor Bauer is someone I was once expecting to get a mid-season boost from, but he's been called up for spot starts four times already, without much success, and his Triple-A numbers haven't been that good either. Starting pitcher Danny Salazar will get a chance at some point, maybe as soon as Thursday, because the rotation is a mess and he's been very good on the farm, but most of the Indians' best prospects are a couple years away yet, so I don't expect much help on that front.

You have a few pitchers on the DL? What's the status of Zach McAllister, Josh Tomlin and Brett Myers?

Losing McAllister was a big blow, because he'd become the team's #2 starter. The hope is that he returns by August 1st. Josh Tomlin is said to be almost ready to begin rehabbing somewhere in the minors, and possibly in position to join the Indians rotation sometime in August. I don't have a lot of confidence in his ability to pitch well this season though. Myers could be back by the end of July, but the team has said he'll only be used as a reliever, if and when he returns.

Thanks Jason

Here's a roundup of today's minor moves:

Mets release Brandon Lyon

The New York Metsannounced that they have released right-hander Brandon Lyon, who was designated for assignment five days ago. Although Lyon was relatively effective throughout most of the season, his recent struggles and upcoming incentive clauses led the Mets to make a change in the bullpen. In 37 appearances, the 33-year old was 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA, and will hope to sign on with a new team for the remainder of the season.

Blue Jays release Ramon Hernandez

The Toronto Blue Jays released catcher Ramon Hernandez from Triple-A Buffalo, according to a press release from the team. The 37-year old, who appeared in 17 games for the Dodgers before being released in June, signed a minor league deal with the Jays on June 29th. In 19 at-bats with Buffalo, Hernandez registered only two hits, in what is possibly the end of a strong career.

Cubs release Shawn Camp

The Chicago Cubs have released right-handed pitcher Shawn Camp, according to the team's official transactions page. The 37-year old reliever was designated for assignment a week ago after posting a 1-1 record and 7.04 ERA in 26 bullpen appearances. Although he struggled with Chicago this season, Camp may sign a minor league team with a team looking for a veteran presence in the organization due to his durability and ten years of major league service time.

Indians option Carlos Carrasco to AAA

The Cleveland Indians officially optioned pitcher Carlos Carrasco to Triple-A Columbus after designating him for assignment off the 25-man roster, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Carrasco, who went unclaimed on optional waivers, is 0-4 with a 9.10 ERA in six major league starts on the season, and will head back to Columbus, where he is 2-0 with a 3.10 ERA in 11 appearances.

White Sox outright Hector Gimenez to AAA

The Chicago White Soxoutrighted catcher Hector Gimenez to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday after designating him for assignment last week. The 30-year old has hit .191 in 26 big league appearances this season and heads to Charlotte for the first time on the year.

Red Sox sign Eric Niesen

The Boston Red Sox have purchased the contract of lefty Eric Niesen from the Atlantic League's Long Island Ducks, according to a tweet from the Ducks' general manager, Michael Pfaff. The 27-year old will be assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket after posting a 4-0 record and 3.23 ERA in 35 relief appearances with the Ducks on the season. Before heading to the Atlantic League, Niesen spent five years in the Mets' system, reaching as high as Double-A Binghamtom.

Yankees sign Jose Gil

The New York Yankees have purchased the contract of catcher Jose Gil from the Lincoln Saltdogs of the independent American Association, according to the league's transactions page. The 26-year old will report to Double-A Trenton, where he spent parts of the past four seasons. The longtime Yankees farmhand appeared in three games in the Orioles organization this season before being released.

Nationals release Mike Costanzo

The Washington Nationals released third baseman Mike Costanzo from Triple-A Syracuse, according to the International League's official transactions page. The 29-year old hit .220 with 10 HR and 29 RBI for Syracuse on the season after spending part of the 2012 campaign in the big leagues with the Reds. In 17 games for Cincinnati in 2012, Costanzo was 1-for-18 with 2 RBI.

More from MLB Daily Dish:

• Biogenesis investigation: Suspensions coming for Braun, A-Rod, others
• Indians trade rumors: Tribe looking at Garza, Gallardo
• Phillies interested in Joba Chamberlain
• San Francisco Giants sign Jeff Francoeur
• Join the MLBDD community and write a fanpost!

July 9, 2013

Indians 3, Blue Jays 0

I think I may petition Commissioner Selig to award Ubaldo Jimenez a complete game shutout for last night's game. For Ubaldo, the seventh inning might as well be the Elysian Fields, something that only exists in myths, so to throw six innings is for him the equivalent of nine innings for the average MLB pitcher. I know I'm exaggerating, but not by much: in 18 starts this year, JImenez has pitched 7 innings or more just three times. He's a durable pitcher but not an innings eater, oftentimes a bullpen wrecker, but sometimes in spite of himself he'll throw out a perfectly acceptable six inning start, and last night he combined length with craftiness to keep the opposition off the board.

The Indians haven't seen the Blue Jays since the first series of the season, when they were priming for a playoff run. Now, with the All-Star Break looming, it doesn't look like that run is happening, for although they are hovering around .500, they are sitting in last place in the AL East. They're in an awkward position, having a lot of tradeable talent but probably unwilling to trade too much of it lest they be thought a rebuilding team. However, one player that it makes sense for them to trade faced the Indians last night. Josh Johnson was one of the players acquired last winter in the megadeal with the Marlins, and although he's largely been a disappointment this season (missing a big chunk of the season with a triceps injury and not pitching that well when he's been healthy), they should get something for him before the trade deadline if they cover some of his salary. And his outing against the Indians certainly won't hurt his trade value, as he went seven innings, looking excellent for six of them.

The only blip of the Johnson's evening turned out to tip the game in the Tribe's favor, though. Perfect through three innings, Johnson walked Asdrubal Cabrera with one out. Now pitching out of the stretch, he got discombobulated, giving up three straight singles to Jason Kipnis, Nick Swisher, and Michael Brantley, and suddenly the Indians were up two runs. A visit by manager John Gibbons snapped him out of his rut, but the damage had been done, although you certainly didn't expect two runs to be fatal to the Blue Jays.

Unlike Johnson, Ubaldo was in and out of trouble all night. He allowed a first inning double, a second inning "double" (Michael Brantley lost a ball in the lights) and walk, and (in his biggest jam) a fourth inning double and single, but somehow kept the normally productive Jays offense off the board. He wasn't really a different pitcher last night, he just didn't allow any runs. I hope that makes sense.

The Indians got an insurance run they didn't need in the eighth inning. Drew Stubbs led off the inning with a ringing double, Michael Bourn sacrificed him to third with a sacrifice bunt, and Asdrubal Cabrera drove him home with sacrifice fly. Both Bourn and Cabrera have really been struggling at the plate over the last week, but in that instance they were able to help out of the offense.

Meanwhile the new 7th/8th/9th bullpen lineup was working as intended. Cody Allen retired the Jays in order in the seventh (a double play erased a leadoff single), Joe Smith did the same in the eighth (a double play taking care of a one-out walk), and Chris Perez allowed two groundball singles but didn't allow any more damage.

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call (39 Commenters)

Game Thread (434 Comments)