A look at how the players on our top prospect list are doing this season.

With the All-Star break we thought we'd look at how the guys on our Top 30 Prospect List are doing to this point this season. This isn't a reorder, just a look at how the guys are doing.

1. Marcus Stroman: I really don't have to talk about him, but I'm glad we had him at the top of our list. He's been terrific. In Buffalo, around a stint in the Blue Jays bullpen, Marcus made 7 starts, had a 3.03 ERA. In 35.2 innings he allowed 32 hits, 1 home run, 9 walks with 45 strikeouts. His time in our bullpen wasn't overly successful, but, since they have brought him back as a starter, he's been great, 3-2, with a 2.87 ERA, batters have hit .232/.283/.350 against him. He's not always going to be this good, I'm really curious to see how he'll handle a slump (no rush though), but he's been great.

2. Aaron Sanchez: Sanchez started the season at New Hampshire, made 14 starts, had a 3.82 ERA, struck out 57 in 66 innings, but he also walked 40. 40. That's 5.5 per 9 innings. Normally,, that wouldn't get you a promotion, but he was moved up to Buffalo. As a Bison, he's 0-2 in 6 starts. In 32.1 innings, he's allowed 17 walks and has 25 strikeouts. That's still 4.7 walks per 9 innings. The good news is that he's allowed just 5 walks in his last 3 starts, 19 innings. Much, much better, 3 starts isn't much but they talk about making a minor change to his delivery that has made the difference. We'll see. I do think he's moved himself to near the top of the list to be the fill in if, god forbid, we lost another starter to injury. They are talking of  bringing him up to pitch out of the pen. I'm all for the idea of starting pitchers career's in the bullpen.

3. Daniel Norris: Norris started the season in Dunedin, went 6-0 with a 1.22 ERA. In 66.1 innings he allowed 50 hits, 0 home runs, 18 walks with 76 strikeouts. They moved him up to New Hampshire and he hasn't been quite as great, 1-0, 4.24 ERA, 17 innings, 13 hits, 3 home runs, 8 walks and 25 strikeouts. They have been talking about bringing him up for the Jays pen too. I do like the idea of having pitchers come up and pitch in the pen first, though I'm slightly worried that that it is panic move because of how bad the pen has been. He also pitched a clean inning in the 'futures game'. John Sickels said " Has made huge progress refining his mechanics and command, and he always had the stuff."

4: Alberto Tirado: Tirado started the season at Lansing and wasn't good. He pitched in 13 games, 7 starts, had a 6.30 ERA. In 40 innings he allowed 45 hits, 3 home runs, 39 walks with 40 strikeouts. 8.8 walks/9 isn't good. In 2013, pitching in Bluefield, he only allowed 3.7 walks/9, I don't what's going on with him. He was moved down to Vancouver, and it hasn't gone all that much better, 5.40 ERA in 5 games, 3 starts. In 11.2 innings, he allowed 10 hits, 11 walks with 7 strikeouts. That's 8.5 walks per 9. In his last start, he only got through 1 innings and walked 3. He is just 19, playing against guys that are older, but I think it's safe to say he'll be lower down on our list next year.

5. Franklin Barreto: Barreto has been at Vancouver and it is going great for him, he's hitting .311/.400/.434 in 31 games, with 13 walks and 27 strikeouts. He's got 11 steals, caught twice. He's playing shortstop and has made too many errors, 12, for a .912 fielding average, but again he's young and has time to smooth out, or move to second base or center field. We really could use a good middle infielder to fight his way up our minor league system.

Fourth outfielder has become first ringleader of dugout antics since joining team in May

Since he joined the White Sox via a waiver claim from Toronto in early May, Moises Sierra's contributions have been mostly negligible from a production standpoint. He's hitting .271/.292/.388, but while that's a stark improvement over his .059 average with the Blue Jays, an eight-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio tempers any enthusiasm.

Well, unless it's Sierra's enthusiasm we're talking about. Nothing can keep that in check.

Sierra might not be a roster lock the rest of the season, but that hasn't stopped him from making himself at home, transforming into a dugout tour de force.

The first sighting I can track dates back to a simple pat on the butt on June 11 ...

... but the phenomenon has exploded in earnest over the final fortnight of the first half. Since we have nothing better to do on this unnecessary day off, let's go back to...

June 29

This is the first extended sighting of Sierra-related tomfoolery, after Sierra belted a hanging Mark Buehrle changeup over the wall for his second homer of the year. The WGN crew showed Sierra receiving congratulations in the dugout.

Which was cool ... but it wasn't even halfway over. Jose Abreu, who tailed Sierra down the dugout, wanted to address him from the front, too.

Then Avisail Garcia got his attention for three thunderous, labrum-endangering hand slaps while Dayan Viciedo shimmied past.

Ever since the WGN crew lingered on the White Sox celebration, the broadcast directors started paying closer attention to Sierra-related activities in the dugout.

Most of them involve Abreu. Two of them do not, and you'll be delighted to find out who took his place.

July 1

In the first inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Angels, Abreu drilled a three-run homer to the opposite field. Upon settling back into the dugout, Sierra served as Abreu's personal attendant.

So much so that it required two separate GIFs.

July 4

Once again, Abreu homered. Once again, Sierra wiped him down. This time, Abreu boogied down.

July 7

But it's not a one-way relationship. Here's Abreu getting tender with Sierra during the fifth inning at Fenway Park.

Maybe a little too tender, judging by Sierra's reaction.

July 8

OK, so we know that Abreu is more than game for Sierra's shenanigans. But what happens when Sierra pals around with somebody who might not react so favorably to his boundary issues?

ENTER CONOR GILLASPIE

whose completely uncomfortable reaction to Andre Rienzo's gracious embrace made for a Pantheon-caliber White Sox GIF. Let's see what happens when Sierra congratulates Gillaspie after his homer in the second game of the Boston series.

That goes about as well as you'd expect. Gillaspie barely tolerates it, so obviously Sierra will pick up the cues and not bother giving it another try.

July 9

Oh man, he's giving it another try.

Gillaspie: Excuse me, I need to get my cap.
Sierra: You have to pay the toll first.
Gillaspie: What's the toll?
Sierra: One hug.
Gillaspie: ...
Gillaspie: /heavy sigh
Sierra: /hugs
Sierra: You smell nice.
Gillaspie: I hate you.
Sierra: But I like you.

Seeing Gillaspie's refusal to reciprocate made me wonder whether Sierra's affection might inadvertently lead Gillaspie to believe he was better off hitting doubles. But then he homered the next day, so, you know, he's a trooper.

July 11

Lest we think Sierra is limited to providing value behind the rail, he showed that he's capable of delivering outside the dugout, too.

Just outside the dugout.

I'm with you all the way, Moises.

Continuing our review of how the players on our Top 40 prospect list are doing this season. Again, it isn't a re-doing of the list, just a look at how the players are doing.

6. Mitch Nay: Nay has been playing at Lansing, he has a .286/.346/.383 slash line in 90 games.  3 triples, 2 home runs, 31 walks and 52 strikeouts.He's picked it up over the last couple of months, hitting .317/.391/.439 in June and .339/.375/.441 so far in July, after a .233/.302/.310 line in May. Mitch isn't showing a lot of power but he's just turned 20, there is time for that to come. He's been playing third base and has cut down on the errors some from last year, he's made 17 errors for a .933 fielding average, better than last year's .901. Nay played in the Mid-West League All-Star game, but went 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

7. Sean Nolin: With all the guys going up and down on the Blue Jays staff, you'd think we would have seen Nolin by now, but then he hasn't been 100% healthy. At Buffalo, he is 2-4 with a 3.70 ERA. In 48.2 innings, he's allowed 43 hits, 3 home runs, 24 walks and 42 strikeouts. He's been on a rehab assignment in Florida. He's 24 now and I'm kind of wondering if he has missed his moment.

8. D.J. Davis: Our first round pick in 2012 isn't hitting at all in Lansing, just .210/.268/.322 with 5 triples, 6 home runs, 9 steals with 13 times caught (Tim Raines has his work cut out for him with Davis), 26 walks and 122 strikeouts in 348 at bats. When you strikeout more than a third of the time, things aren't going well. July isn't going any better for D.J., he has a .120/196/.180 line in 12 games this month. He's made 12 errors in CF, which I'll chalk up to being young and learning the position. He is 19, playing in a league where most of the players are older than he is but still, i would expect better. I'm sure he'll be dropping down the list next time around.

9. A.J. Jimenez: A.J. started the season in New Hampshire, hitting .223/.275/.340 with 1 home runs, 6 walks and 19 strikeouts in 25 games. They moved him up to Buffalo, where he has hit .276/.310/.372 with 1 home run, 9 walks and 23 strikeouts in 41 games. He's thrown out 42% of base stealers with the Bisons. He played for the World team in the Futures game. With how bad our catchers have been, I'd like to see him get a chance in Toronto, but as long as Thole is Dickey's personal catcher, there won't be room.

10. Jairo Labourt: Jairo started the season at Lansing and had a rough time of it, putting up a 6.43 ERA in 6 games, 3 starts. He threw 14 innings, allowed 15 hits, 1 home runs, 20 walks with 11 strikeouts. 13 walks per 9 innings isn't what we'd like to see. They sent him down to Vancouver, at the start of the Canadians season, and things have gone much better there. He is 1-2, with a 2.83 ERA in 7 starts. in 28.2 innings he's allowed 17 hits, no home runs, 17 walks with 35 strikeouts. 5.3 BB/9 isn't good but at least is isn't more than a walk an inning. He's just turned 20, he's got a long way to go yet. Jairo was an international free agent signing in 2011.

After two Blue Jays cracked both the Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus Top 50 prospect lists last week, Keith Law has toned down the excitement a bit. Only lefty Daniel Norris made his list which was released this morning, with both Dalton Pompey and Aaron Sanchez being left off the Top 50. On the bright side, Norris was not even on Law's preseason list so his massive step forward this season has not gone unnoticed by the ESPN writer. With the #37 ranking, the 21-year-old beat out fellow pitchers Jameson Taillon, Alex Meyer and Andrew Heaney, which is especially shocking considering how little buzz there was about Norris entering the season.

After reading this Sportsnet piece, it's hard to think could anyone dislike the laid back lefty from the South. In his four starts at AA New Hampshire, Norris has an ERA of 4.24 and K/9 of 13.2 although there's still some command issues which can be seen in his 4.2 BB/9. Here's some of what Keith Law had to say:

Norris has passed Aaron Sanchez as the Jays' top pitching prospect, thanks to some substantial delivery cleanup that has him more on line to the plate and better able to repeat his still-long arm action. He'll show three above-average pitches...and a potential major-league out pitch in his slider. He's a long way from having average command...

As most people know, Norris appeared in the Futures Game in Minnesota over the All-Star break and continued to impress. Pitching for Team USA in the second inning, Norris got two groundouts and a strikeout throwing 7 of his 11 pitches for strikes. The pitch breakdown was four fastballs in the mid-90's and seven sliders that gave the World Futures players all sorts of trouble.

Norris' next start with the Fisher Cats will come on Saturday as New Hampshire takes on the Portland Sea Dogs. The opposing pitcher will actually be fellow lefty and Boston Red Sox prospect Henry Owens who pitched the first inning of the Futures Game for Team USA before handing the ball over to Norris. Owens was ranked #23 in Keith Law's list, so it'll quite the pitching match-up over in New Hampshire.

Jeff Blair tweeted this:

As I mentioned on Sportsnet Connected on Wednesday, Aaron Sanchez has been moved to Bisons bullpen. Could be here within 10 days as reliever

— Jeff Blair (@SNJeffBlair) July 17, 2014

I don't really understand it. If you are in the bullpen, I get that you have to stretch your arm out for the rotation, but why do you have to move to the pen to prepare for a call up to the Blue Jays pen? Shorten your arm?

I guess the team would like to see how his arm reacts to pitching back-to-back days and maybe see if he makes adjustments to how he attacks batters when he's not expected to go multiple innings. Personally, I'd rather see him build up the innings, so that, if he were to make the Blue Jays rotation next year, they won't feel the need to shut him down in September. And if they need him in the bullpen in Toronto, just call him out of the Bisons' rotation.

Sanchez seems to have improved his control recently, or at least he's limited the walks in his last starts. In 3 starts and 19 innings, he's only walked 5. On the flip side, he's allowed 3 home runs in that time.  In all, in 6 Bison starts, Aaron has a 4.18 ERA, with 32 hits, 4 home runs and 17 walks allowed in 32.1 innings, with 25 strikeouts.

Our pen has been a problem. They have a 4.39 ERA, giving up a .255/.340/.398 batting line. July has been some better, 3.45 ERA and a .211/.313/.333 line against.

Gibby could use another right-hander that he could trust. Casey Janssen has been great but Dustin McGowan and Chad Jenkins have been inconsistent, Sergio Santos has been awful and Todd Redmond has been good, but he's only been used in a mop up role. Steve Delabar has gone from All-Star to minor leaguer (where he's given out 4 walks and a hit batter in 8 innings). So if Sanchez can come up and be decent, he would be a welcome addition. .

Ken Rosenthal tells us:

#BlueJays claim LHP Brad Mills.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 17, 2014

I'd guess it is to fill out the Bisons' starting rotation. I think the Blue Jays have a full 40-man roster so someone will have to be DFAed. Any bets?

Since the A's picked up Mills for $1.00, they make a $19,999 profit on Mills. They will be able to refill the pop machine in the clubhouse.

Brad made 3 starts for the A's, going 1-1 with a 4.41 ERA. In 16 innings he's allowed 19 hits, 2 home runs, 7 walks with 14 strikeouts. Before that he pitched for Nashville in the PCL, the Brewers Triple-A team. There he was 4-2 with a 1.56 ERA in 14 games, 12 starts. In 75 innings he allowed 51 hits, 5 home runs, 18 walks and struck out 77.

I'm sure you know, but Mills was drafted by the Jays in 2007's 4th round. He did pitch a bit for us, pitching in 18 games, 13 starts, over 3 seasons. He had a 2-3 record with an 8.57 ERA, 48.1 innings, 57 hits, 10 home runs, 31 walks and 45 strikeouts.

I guess I'm wrong about Mills going to Buffalo, Ben Nicholson-Smith, at Sportsnet tells us:

Mills is headed to Toronto, where he's expected to be placed on the team's active roster before Friday's game against the Texas Rangers.

So there are more move coming.

Welcome back to the organization, Brad.

The Toronto Blue Jaysclaimed left-handed starting pitcherBrad Mills from the Oakland Athletics today. Mills, 29, was designated for assignment on July 8 after Jason Hammel reported to the Athletics.

Mills made three starts for the Athletics after arriving in a trade from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for one dollar. MLB's waiver fee is $20,000, so the A's made a tidy profit there. In his starts for Oakland, Mills was 1-1 in 16⅓ innings pitched, allowing eight earned runs, walking seven, and striking out 14. At the time of his arrival in Oakland, Mills was the Pacific Coast League's ERA leader.

While the loss of Mills is disappointing, the arrivals of Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, as well as the return of Drew Pomeranz to full health, gives the A's significant depth at starting pitcher down to Sacramento:

1. Scott Kazmir
2. Sonny Gray
3. Jeff Samardzija
4. Jason Hammel
5. Jesse Chavez
6. Tommy Milone (Sacramento)
7. Drew Pomeranz (Sacramento)
8. Arnold Leon (Sacramento)
9. Josh Lindblom (Sacramento) (minor league disabled list)

Arnold Leon, 25, was on the active roster as the 26th man for the May 7 doubleheader against the Seattle Mariners, but did not appear. With the Sacramento River Cats, he is 9-3 with a 4.47 ERA in 96⅔ innings, striking out 80 and walking 32.

Josh Lindblom, 27, made a spot start as the 26th man for the A's April 2 doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, going 4⅔ innings, striking out two and walking two while giving up two earned runs. With the River Cats, Lindblom is 4-3 with a 5.86 ERA in 83 innings, striking out 59 and walking 26.

Another one that surprises me, not that they shouldn't DFA Deck, but that they would. I figured that, since he was the Blue Jays first round pick in 2010, that they would go a little longer before giving up on him. Thought he might clear waivers.

Anyway Deck is in DFA limbo for a while, to make room for Brad Mills. I'm not sure how much of an upgrade Mills is over Deck but Deck hasn't done anything to make the team want to keep him since the day they signed him

This season It looks like McGuire might be turning things around, he started the season in New Hampshire and had a pretty good 2.98 ERA in 10 starts, allowing 58 hits, 3 homers, 17 walks and 47 strikeouts. They moved him up to Buffalo but that didn't go well. He is 3-5 with a 5.56 ERA, in 10 starts at Buffalo. In 55 innings, he has allowed 57 hits, 12 home runs, 23 walks with 38 strikeouts.

I do wonder if another team will take a try with him. First round picks normally get several chances, and the team got good reviews for picking Deck. The hope was that he would quickly raise through the minor leagues, he was thought to be a pretty safe choice.

Chicago made a series of transactions on Thursday, including the signing of the former Yankees' ace.

The Chicago White Soxmade a series of minor moves on Thursday, including the signing of Taiwanese right-hander Chien-Ming Wang. The White Sox also dealt right-hander Dylan Axelrod to the Cincinnati Reds for an unknown return. The 34-year-old Wang will head to Triple-A Charlotte, where he will take Axelrod's place in the Knights' rotation.

ROSTER MOVES: @whitesox sign RHP Chien-Ming Wang & assign him to #CLT. Dylan Axelrod traded to #Cincinnati, Deunte Heath released (Japan).

— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) July 17, 2014

Wang has seen his production fall off significantly since his 2006-2007 heyday with the New York Yankees, bouncing around the league and spending time with the Blue Jays, Nationals, Reds, and Yankees, again. At a time when much of the Yankees' early-aughts rotation was succumbing to age, Wang posted two consecutive 19 win seasons, accruing 11.0 WAR from 2006 to 2007, and finishing second in AL Cy Young voting in '06. Since missing much of 2009 and 2010 due to injury, Wang has thrown just 121.2 big league innings over the past three years, with disappointing results (5.55 ERA).

Wang was pitching in the Reds' organization this season until opting out and being released earlier this week. He has yet to pitch in the majors so far this year, and had a 3.70 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Louisville.

The 28-year-old Axelrod has pitched for the White Sox in each of the past three season, but has yet to make an appearance this year. He finally earned a full-time gig with Chicago last year, but posted a 5.68 ERA, 5.44 FIP, and 1.7 K/BB in 128.1 innings, leading to a Triple-A role in 2014. In 88 innings for the Charlotte Knights, Axelrod has a 4.50 ERA and 2.11 K/BB.

In another move, the White Sox released right-hander Deunte Heath, who will be heading to Japan. The 28-year-old has thrown 9.2 major league innings over the past two, allowing 11 runs and walking 13. He has been quite good at the Triple-A level, serving as somewhat of a swingman. Heath has a 3.22 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 4.5 BB/9 in 64.1 innings this season.

Players who hit fourth in the lineup are meant to be feared, but in 2014 they have been far from fearsome.

The idea of a manager agonizing over his lineup card is one of the most iconic concepts in baseball. Like many iconic baseball concepts it might not be that meaningful to the bottom line of wins and losses, but it has a special place in the game nonetheless.

Not only does lineup construction not matter THAT much, but the physical lineup cards seem archaic at a time when there's no practical reason why inputting the starting nine couldn't be done electronically. Even so, the image of two managers ambling out of the dugout to show the umpires a piece of paper somehow feels right to the ever-nostalgic sport of baseball.

Lineups are also a constant source of debate for fans and the media. It is rather amazing the amount of fury that can arise about a manager's decision to put Player X in the 5 hole as opposed to the 3 hole. I don't mean to completely dismiss lineup optimization here, there are runs to be obtained by ordering your hitters in a sensible manner, but it does seem that there is a disproportional amount of fuss about the whole thing a lot of the time.

As a sabermetrically-inclined fellow who follows the Blue Jays closely, Toronto's insistence on batting Jose Bautista third instead of second may be annoying, but there are far more important issues going on with the team tactically. And yet, the debate rages.

One thing that most people in baseball agree on is what to do with the fourth spot in the lineup. From the most old-school folks to the biggest stats guys, everyone likes the idea of having a guy with real power hitting fourth. The idea is that this player will bring home the top three hitters, who should get on base consistently.

Teams tend to put their most menacing hitters in the cleanup spot, and usually guys hitting fourth league-wide put up some pretty impressive numbers. For instance in 2003 cleanup hitters league-wide hit 288/.372/.501. That was a different era offensively, but the 126 wRC+ shows that those guys were raking, even within the context of their environment.

This year, not so much. I could probably wrap up the article now by saying the player in 2014 with the most plate appearances as a cleanup hitter in 2014 is Ryan Howard. Honestly, that says it all, but this is Beyond the Box Score and there must be at least one chart.

In this case, the chart below shows how cleanup hitters have fared across the MLB in the last 10 seasons:

Something about a .256/.330/.422 line just doesn't scream "intimidating power hitter". Interestingly , cleanup hitters are more or less alone in their struggles among those in the middle of the lineup this year.

Third hitters are posting a 121 wRC+, tied for the second best total for that lineup slot in the last 10 years while the 109 wRC+ is their best number in the same time period. The question is, why is this happening?

Are MLB teams moving their best hitters to other lineup positions and away from the cleanup spot? It seems unlikely, it is the conventional wisdom to have a masher in the four hole and there's no sabermetric reasoning to depart from that convention.

Instead, the answer is probably a matter of struggling sluggers rather than a structural change in how teams are building their lineups. In 2014 their are an inordinate amount of good cleanup hitters who are doing far worse than expected.

Chris Davis has disappointed, Dayan Viciedo has been brutal, and Allen Craig has been dumpster fire-esque at the plate. Consistent offensive performers like Evan Longoria, Carlos Santana and Billy Butler have been league-average at best. The reality is that teams aren't going to take these stars out of positions to drive in runs, even if they have struggled for half the season. Teams know that they are likely to return to something like their career norms in the near future.

Cleanup hitters in general, and some of the examples above in particular, have been very underwhelming this year. However, in the majority of cases they should rebound. Most of the players who are struggling have the talent to cease bringing shame to the title of "cleanup hitter" and make the four hole feared once again.

Except Ryan Howard.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs

Nick Ashbourne is an Editor for Beyond the Box Score. You can follow him on Twitter at @Nick_Ashbourne.

The "second half" of the regular season officially gets underway tonight as the Texas Rangers visit the Rogers Centre for a three-game weekend series that both teams will be wanting to win to kickstart their stretch runs. With the Blue Jays (49-47) sitting second, four games back of the Orioles in the American League East, these next few months may determine the whole future of the organization and who gets to keep their job at the end of the year.

The Standings

As mentioned, the Blue Jays are in pretty good shape heading into the second half of July with only the Orioles and Yankees providing any competition for the division crown. It's beginning to look unlikely that the Rays or Red Sox will be able to mount much of a second half comeback, but stranger things have happened. On the Wild Card side of things, the AL West is tearing it up and has a good chance to take both of the playoff berths for teams who fail to win the division. Currently, the Angels have a huge lead for the first Wild Card spot while the Mariners are holding onto the second berth by 2.5 games over the Royals and the Blue Jays. It would certainly make things easier for the Blue Jays if they could snatch the division crown away from Baltimore instead of trying to beat out the plethora of competition for a place in the Wild Card game.

The Schedule

The remaining 66 games for the Blue Jays are certainly not that daunting as they are scheduled to play the Red Sox 13 more times, who they are 4-2 against so far this season, as well as nine more games against the Rays, who Toronto is 6-4 against this year. The schedule also provides an opportunity for the Blue Jays to beat teams they are competing against for playoff berths including 10 more games against the Yankees, 9 more games against the Orioles, and 6 against the Mariners.

The important stretches remaining include a 10-game road trip starting on July 25th, that sees the Blue Jays play the Yankees, Red Sox, and Astros. The outcome of that road trip will likely decide how Alex Anthopoulos approaches the rest of the season in terms of trades and prospect call-ups. Other key stretches include a nine-game homestand in late August with massive games against division rivals Tampa Bay, Boston, and New York, as well as a season-defining seven-game road trip in late September against Baltimore and New York.

The Injuries

The playoff berths this season may be decided by who is healthiest heading down the stretch, which is what always seems to happen. For the Blue Jays, Brandon Morrow has started throwing and should be back around the beginning of September, while infielders Brett Lawrie and Edwin Encarnacion should return sometime between the last week of July and beginning of August. No one seems to know when Adam Lind will return, but thankfully it won't be the 6-8 week timetable that was initially talked about. The new Blue Jays in Nolan Reimold and Cole Gillespie will be back sometime before early August, although it's tough to say if they'll even be a spot for them when they return.

The Players

The possible trades that the Blue Jays could make have been talked about around these parts ad nauseam, but the prospect of landing David Price, Aaron Hill, Martin Prado, Chase Headley or someone else is still relatively high before the trade deadline. On the prospect side of things, there's still a chance that a highly regarded player like Daniel Norris or Aaron Sanchez is promoted to the Blue Jays bullpen to give a final jolt to the team down the stretch. With it being so late in the season, it's unlikely that the promotion would have a major impact on service time, which the Blue Jays say doesn't factor into their decisions anyway (yeah right).

So hopefully y'all are as excited about the second half of the season as I am! It's tough to predict, but what I do know is that it would be mighty sweet if this was the season that the Blue Jays broke their playoff curse.

It's Friday again and Friday means it is time to submit questions for this week's Around the Nest podcast. Our host. broadcaster for the Lansing Lugnuts, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, talks to the broadcasters from all the minor league teams in the Blue Jays system. These guys see every game, so we get a great insight to the players in our system.

Their question of the day is: What is the quickest you've seen a player go from non-prospect to prospect? To put another way, what is the most unexpected occurrence in which a non-impact player became an impact player?

This week,  my question would be, we can read the offensive stats on the players in the minors, who is the best defensive player on each team?

We'll have the link to this afternoon's show a little later, but, in case you missed it, here is last week's show, where Jesse talked to Chris King of Baseball Prospectus, to catch up on the Gulf Coast League, before talking to the regulars.

Here is the link to today's show (starts at 5:00 Eastern)

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/around-the-nest/2014/07/18/week-16-2014-i-was-like-emilioooooo-guerrero

Show summary:

Week 16, 2014: I was, like, Emilioooooo Guerrero

The MLB All-Star Game is behind us, as are the Triple-A and Double-A Midsummer Classics... so how did the Blue Jays' representatives fare? Plus, Aaron Sanchez moves to the bullpen in Buffalo, Kendall Graveman keeps on rolling in Dunedin, Dawel Lugo's bat catches fire in Lansing, Max Pentecost moves up to Vancouver, and Jesus Tinoco and Ryan Borucki's gems spotlight the latest efforts from the streaking Blue Jays in Bluefield. Join the radio voices of the Toronto Blue Jays' organization as we head Around the Nest!

Q of the Week: What is the quickest you've seen a player go from non-prospect to prospect?

Bluebird Banter Q of the Week: Who is the best defensive player on each team?

Atlanta has finally cut ties with the struggling second baseman.

After a year-and-a-half of terrifyingly bad performances, the Atlanta Braves have finally mustered up the courage to part ways with Dan Uggla, unconditionally releasing the struggling second baseman. Uggla's release was first reported by both Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Joel Sherman of the New York Post, with the Braves confirming the decision via Twitter.

The Braves have released 2B Dan Uggla. A corresponding roster move will be made prior to tonight's game.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 18, 2014

The 34-year-old Uggla has been among the worst players in baseball since the start of last season, hitting just .175/.295/.332 with a 73 OPS+, atrocious defense, and a -2.3 WAR over his past 184 games. He is hitting a dreadful .162/.241/.231 (33 OPS+) in 145 plate appearances this season. Along with his horrid performance this year, Uggla has also lost his starting job to rookie Tommy La Stella and was recently suspended for one day by Atlanta for supposedly showing up late to the ballpark.

Uggla is still owed roughly $18 million on what remains of a five-year, $62 million extension he signed with the Braves upon being traded to Atlanta by the (then) Florida Marlins following the 2010 season. He played quite well over his first couple seasons with the Braves, combining to hit .227/.329/.421 with a 103 OPS+, 55 home runs, and 4.8 WAR during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, even earning an All-Star nod and leading the NL in walks in 2012.

Uggla could find himself in the majors again this season, if a team in need of a second baseman is looking for someone cheap and sees him as a possible rebound candidate. Teams such as the Giants, Reds, and Blue Jays have expressed interest in finding additional help at the keystone.

The second half of the baseball season begins and, unfortunately, that means the second half of the Rangers season begins

Series Schedule:

Friday, July 18 6:07: RHP R.A. Dickey vs. RHP Yu Darvish

Saturday, July 19 12:07:RHP Marcus Stroman vs. RHP Colby Lewis

Sunday, July 20 12:07: LHP Mark Buehrle vs. RHP Nick Tepesch

I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is the long arduous All-Star break is finally over and baseball resumes tonight. They say the day after the All-Star Break is the worst sports day of the year because it is practically the only day of the entire year where there are no sports games. Well, MLB extended the All-Star break to four days so now we have two worst days of the year. Remember, though, that this is the good news. It's all over and baseball is back!

The bad news, however, is the short and pleasant All-Star break is ruefully over and Texas Rangers baseball resumes tonight. Lest we forgot while nothing was happening, the Rangers are the worst team in baseball and are coming out of the break with a season-long eight-game losing streak. I miss the Home Run Derby already.

Here's a breakdown of the pitching match-ups against the contending Canadians:

• Yu Darvish: 8-5, 11.08 K/9, 3.04 BB/9, .323 BABIP, 77.3% LOB, 2.76 FIP, 3.10 xFIP, 3.5 WAR - Last three starts: 10 runs allowed in 19.0 innings
• R.A. Dickey: 7-9, 7.49 K/9, 3.60 BB/9, .270 BABIP, 72.9% LOB, 4.51 FIP, 4.82 xFIP, 1.1 WAR - Last three starts: 4 runs allowed in 21.0 innings

Thoughts: Despite Gerry Fraley shitting on Yu Darvish, Yu Darvish is basically the best thing about the Texas Rangers that isn't Adrian Beltre and I look forward to watching him pitch more than I look forward to mostly anything.

You know R.A. Dickey is scoffing at the whole Brady Aiken mess today.

• Colby Lewis: 6-6, 7.82 K/9, 2.79 BB/9, .410 BABIP, 65.0% LOB, 4.17 FIP, 4.35 xFIP, 1.2 WAR - Last three starts: 15 runs allowed in 14.1 innings
• Marcus Stroman: 4-2, 7.93 K/9, 2.19 BB/9, .310 BABIP, 69.4% LOB, 3.44 FIP, 3.51 xFIP, 1.1 WAR - Last three starts: 7 runs allowed in 17.1 innings

Thoughts: If Marcus Stroman can make it as a starting pitcher out of Duke University, there's hope for future top of the 2015 draft pitching prospect Michael Matuella.

I love Colby Lewis. But Colby Lewis version 2014 is the current No. 2 starter of the Texas Rangers and that really says it all.

• Nick Tepesch: 3-5, 5.59 K/9, 3.36 BB/9, .266 BABIP, 74.5% LOB, 4.97 FIP, 4.63 xFIP, 0.4 WAR - Last three starts: 9 runs allowed in 19.1 innings
• Mark Buehrle: 10-6, 5.20 K/9, 2.28 BB/9, .293 BABIP, 81.1% LOB, 3.72 FIP, 4.30 xFIP, 2.3 WAR - Last three starts: 7 runs allowed in 19.0 innings

Thoughts: When Mark Buehrle was a kid in grade school and was asked to draw what he wanted to be when he grew up, he drew a picture of himself as a pitcher giving Texas Rangers hitters fits.

When Nick Tepesch was a kid in grade school and was asked to draw what he wanted to be when he grew up, he drew a picture of himself as a super cool dinosaur!

Toronto Blue Jays (49-47, 2nd Place in AL East)

Rangers' Record vs. Toronto: 1-2 (All at The Ballpark)

Toronto's Recent Results: 1-2 road series loss against Tampa Bay

Toronto's Home Record: 25-21

Rogers Centre Park Factors (LHB/RHB): HR: 104/117 - Runs: 87/88

SB Nation Blue Jays Blog: Bluebird Banter

Questions to Answer:

• What is your favorite 2014 first half memory?
• Who is your Return of the McLemore Approved Player to Watch in this series? (Roogie is apparently now going to be wearing #12 instead of #73 on his jersey which is kind of like officially becoming a real big leaguer.)
• Over/Under: 4.5 hits by the Rangers' four catchers (Geovany Soto, Robinson Chirinos, Chris Gimenez, and J.P. Arencibia) combined in this series?
• What's your guess for line (IP/H/K/BB/ER) by Colby Lewis on Saturday as he tries to avoid giving up 13 runs again?
• Yea or Nay: The Rangers avoid losing 100 games for the first time since 1973 this season?

The Rangers open the second half of the 2014 season with a win against the Toronto Blue Jays

Not a bad game at all. Adrian Beltre went deep. Roogie went 3-4 with a double and the 5th triple of his rookie season. J.P. Arencibia returned to the lineup and hit a 3-run dong against his former team. Yu Darvish was excellent. The bullpen was real good. And the Rangers avoided their first nine-game losing streak since June 8, 2003 -- or, before LeBron James had ever been drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Player of the Game: Despite apparently not being an ace, Yu Darvish started the second half with a 12 K, 1 run performance against the Blue Jays just days after tossing a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game.

The second game post-All-Star Break gets underway from the Rogers Centre this afternoon at 1:07pm as Marcus Stroman takes on Colby Lewis. The California-born righty has been really, really bad this year and he currently sits at an ERA of 6.54 and a BABIP of .410. His last start was downright dreadful, where he allowed 13 runs in just 2.1 innings against Oakland!

Lewis basically just throws a fastball and slider with some changeups and curveballs as well. The righty normally only hits high-80's on the radar gun and really hasn't fooled anyone this season. His changeup has some crazy arm-side sink, but he doesn't really use it all that much perferring instead to just stick his fastball and slider against hitters on both sides of the plate:

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera LF
3. Jose Bautista RF
4. Dan Johnson 1B
5. Erik Kratz C
6. Dioner Navarro DH
7. Colby Rasmus CF
8. Juan Francisco 3B
9. Steve Tolleson 2B

Find The Link

Gut Feelings

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from July 18th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L 4-8 vs. Charlotte Knights

RF Jose Pirela 1-5, K
2B Rob Refsnyder 1-5, K - hitting .250 over last 10 games
LF Zoilo Almonte 2-4, 2B, BB, K
3B Adonis Garcia 1-4, RBI
1B Kyle Roller 1-3, BB, 2 K
C John Ryan Murphy 1-4, RBI, PB
DH Corban Joseph 1-3, RBI, BB
SS Carmen Angelini 2-4, 2B, RBI - hitting .333 over last 10 games
CF Taylor Dugas 0-4, K - hitting .300 since call up to Triple-A

Chris Leroux 4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 3 WP - 44 of 86 pitches for strikes, 3 GO/1 AO
Jeremy Bleich 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB - 16 of 24 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/2 AO
Tyler Webb 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K, HR - 23 of 37 pitches for strikes
Edgmer Escalona 1.1 IP, H, K - 18 of 27 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/2 AO

Double-A Trenton Thunder:W 6-5 vs. Binghamton Mets

CF Jake Cave 1-3, 2 BB, CS
LF Ben Gamel 1-4, 2B, BB
3B Rob Segedin 3-5, 3 2B, 3 RBI - hitting .400 over last 10 games
C Peter O`Brien 0-4, BB, 2 K, PB
DH Tyler Austin 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, K - hitting .293 over last 10 games
RF Mason Williams 0-4
1B Dan Fiorito 0-4, K
2B Casey Stevenson 1-3
SS Ali Castillo 1-4, SB

Zach Nuding 6.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K - 62 of 97 pitches for strikes, 6 GO/4 AO
Mark Montgomery 1.0 IP, H, 1 R/0 ER, BB, K - 11 of 20 pitches for strikes, 0 GO/2 AO
Diego Moreno 2.0 IP, BB, 2 K 18 of 25 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/3 AO

High-A Tampa Yankees:L 4-5 vs. Palm Beach Cardinals

CF Danny Oh 0-3, BB, K
SS Cito Culver 1-4, 2 K
1B Greg Bird 2-4, 2B, RBI, K
DH Dante Bichette Jr. 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, K - hitting .368 over last 10 games
3B Eric Jagielo 1-4, fielding error (10)
RF Aaron Judge 1-4, RBI, 2 K
2B Angelo Gumbs 1-4
LF Yeicok Calderon 0-3, RBI
C Trent Garrison 0-4

Brady Lail 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 K - 6 GO/4 AO
Kyle Haynes 2.0 IP, BB, K - 3 GO/2 AO
Ramon Benjamin 1.0 IP, H, 1 R/0 ER, 2 BB - 4 GO/0 AO

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:W 5-3 vs. Lexington Legends

CF Mark Payton 0-2, 2 BB - hitting .406 over last 10 games
SS Tyler Wade 2-4 - hitting .342 over last 10 games
RF Dustin Fowler 0-4, K
3B Miguel Andujar 1-4 - hitting .314 over last 10 games
DH Jackson Valera 0-2, 2 BB, K
LF Michael O'Neill 1-4, K - hitting .342 over last 10 games
C Eduardo de Oleo 0-4, K, threw out runner
2B Gosuke Katoh 1-3, BB
1B Reymond Nunez 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K

Andy Beresford 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, K - 38 of 61 pitches for strikes, 7 GO/2 AO
Eric Ruth 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 K - 29 of 39 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/2 AO
Philip Walby 1.0 IP, ER, 3 BB - 10 of 24 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/ 1 AO

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:L 6-3 vs. Williamsport Crosscutters

CF Devyn Bolasky 0-4, BB, 2 K
SS Vince Conde 2-4, BB, SB
DH Ty McFarland 2-5, 2B, RBI
LF Chris Breen 1-4, BB, K, outfield assist
RF Austin Aune 0-4, BB
1B Connor Spencer 1-4, BB, SB
2B Jose Javier 1-5
3B Brady Steiger 1-4, BB, 3 K, throwing error (3)
C Collin Slaybaugh 1-4, BB, 2 K, 2 SB

David Palladino 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, BB, 4 K, HR - 4 GO/5 AO
Sam Agnew-Wieland 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K - 3 GO/2 AO
Joe Harvey 1.0 IP, H - 1 GO/2 AO

Gulf Coast Yankees 1: vs. W 8-4 GCL Astros

SS Abiatal Avelino 2-5, RBI, 2 K
CF Leonardo Molina 1-4, BB, 2 K, SB
3B Drew Bridges 0-5, 3 K
2B Jose Rosario 1-4, 3B, BB, K, SB, error (2)
SS Bryan Cuevas 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
1B Dalton Smith 1-2, RBI, BB, K, HBP
LF Griffin Gordon 1-3, BB
C Roybell Herrera 2-3, RBI, K, PB
RF Dominic Jose 1-4, RBI, CS

Ty Hensley 3.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 7 K, 2 HBP - 1 GO/1 AO
Deshorn Lake 2.1 IP, ER, 2 BB, 3 HBP - 6 GO/0 AO
Reynaldo Polanco 1.2 IP, H, ER, BB, K - 2 GO/2 AO
Travis Hissong 1.0 IP, H, 2 K - 1 GO/0 AO
Christopher Cabrera 1.0 IP, 1 R/0 ER, BB, 2 K, balk - 1 GO/1 AO

Gulf Coast Yankees 2: vs. GCL Blue Jays

Game 1: W 5-1

2B Junior Valera 2-4, RBI
LF Jose Figueroa 1-4, RBI, K
DH Bo Thompson 1-1, RBI, 2 HBP
1B Jake Hernandez 0-2, BB, HBP
3B Allen Valerio 2-4, 2B, fielding error (7)
SS Tyler Palmer 0-1, RBI, BB
RF Wilmer Rosario 0-3, 2 K
C Rainiero Coa 0-2, BB
CF Jordan Barnes 2-3, 2B

Jonathan Padilla 4.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, K - 8 GO/1 AO
David Rodriguez 3.0 IP, K - 5 GO/3 AO

Game 2: L 1-3

2B Junior Valera 1-2, BB, CS
DH Ericson Leonora 2-3, 2B, K
SS Angel Aguillar 0-3, SB
1B Bo Thompson 1-3, 2 K
3B Allen Valerio 0-3, 2 K
C Jesus Aparicio 0-2, BB, K, PB
LF Frank Frias 2-3, fielding error, outfield assist
RF Wilmer Rosario 0-3
Cf Jordan Barnes 0-2, 2 K

Elvin Perez 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R/1 ER, 6 K - 7 GO/2 AO
Abel Mora 1.0 IP, 3 H, ER, BB - 0 GO/1 AO
Jose Pena 1.1 IP, 3 K - 1 GO/0 AO

And here I was told if Yu Darvish wins a game it's supposed to uplift the team and they'll win all the games

Well, winning was fun while it lasted. Perhaps it was too early to dream of a miracle second half turnaround. At least the Rangers are holding onto the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft.

Player of the Game: Roman Mendez still hasn't allowed a run in four appearances of his big league career including 1.1 innings of work today.

Last Friday evening at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, there was a small dust-up between the triple-A affiliates of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox that led to the emptying of both dugouts and bullpens, but no punches were thrown.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Pawtucket Red Sox's Alex Hassan hit a home run off of Buffalo Bisons' starting pitcher Esmil Rogers, tying the game 3-3. Rogers threw up-and-in at the next batter, Deven Marrero, who flew out for the second out.

Rogers then struck out Corey Brown swinging to end the inning. As both teams were walking off the field, Rogers said something to Brown and also gestured towards the Pawtucket dugout. That caused Brown to turn around, toss away his bat, and walk directly towards Rogers. Before the two got near each other, though, both benches and bullpens emptied and a large, but rather peaceful, shoving incident started on the field.

Earlier in the game, major league rehabber Will Middlebrooks almost hit a home run off of Rogers, but he was robbed byKevin Pillar over the left-centrefield wall. In the fifth inning, Rogers tried to hit Middlebrooks with a pitch up-and-in, but just missed. The very next pitch, Rogers threw a fastball that got Middlebrooks right in his back. He slammed down his bat and walked to first angrily.

If you recall, Will Middlebrooks' rookie season was ended early on August 10 due to a broken wrist on a hit-by-pitch by--you guessed it--Esmil Rogers, then of the Cleveland Indians.

Since the game was in Pawtucket, we unfortunately only have the reaction from the PawSox. After the game, Middlebrooks was still fuming at what Rogers did, with quotes coming from the Providence Journal's Mark Daniels:

"I thought that was bad baseball. I’m not a guy to charge the mound, especially here. I’m here trying to get my innings up, not trying to fight people. It [ticked] me off, yeah… He should carry himself better than that. Think his emotions just got the better of him."

Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Times noted that Rogers later apologized for his actions, so I don't feel too bad writing this up without comments from the Bisons' side. Middlebrooks, Marrero, and the PawSox deserved that apology. I don't like pitchers hitting batters intentionally, especially if they fail to do it the first time and have to try again. Esmil Rogers was outrighted off the major league roster earlier this season and is probably not very happy to be riding the buses down in the International League, but trying throw up-and-in with the intention to hit a guy who is just down there rehabbing from an injury is wrong.

Pawtucket got the last laugh though: when Steve Delabar came out to pitch the bottom of the seventh, Dan Butler hit a hanging fastball out of the park for what would later be the game-winning home run. Delabar has struggled since his demotion. Through ten innings pitched, he has given up six runs on eight hits (including two homers). He has struck out nine batters in that stretch, but has also walked six.

The Bisons also dropped Saturday's game 3-1 against Pawtucket. Buffalo has now lost six straight games and have gone 6-11 since July 1.

Colby vs. Colby

Some more dumb baseball stuff happened after Saturday's Rangers-Blue Jays game in Toronto. Rangers starter Colby Lewis, he of a 6.37 ERA and 1.84 WHIP, was unhappy that Colby Rasmus decided to bunt for a base hit against the Rangers' shift in the fifth inning when the Jays were up 2-0. Apparently, Lewis believed that it was against baseball's Unwritten Rules to do so, yelling at Rasmus after he arrived safely at first base.

According to Colby Lewis, the Jays are only allowed to bunt once per game. http://t.co/uODWgkzcpO

— Ian Hunter (@BlueJayHunter) July 19, 2014

But we had to wait until after the game for the genuine gems to escape Major League Baseball's second-best Colby's mouth:

Colby Lewis on Rasmus: "He laid down a bunt simply for average and he didn’t steal within the first two pitches."

— Stefan Stevenson (@StevensonFWST) July 19, 2014

Colby Lewis on Rasmus: "That tells me he’s solely looking out for himself & his batting average and I didn’t appreciate it."

— Stefan Stevenson (@StevensonFWST) July 19, 2014

Rasmus then told reporters that he didn't think he did anything that is against the Unwritten Rules (of course, that's hard to fact-check due to the fact the rules are unwritten) and that his job is to help the team not to "please the other side".

The Rangers are now 20 games under .500 for the first time since July 27, 2003

I guess it'll take quite the tank effort for the Rangers to match the franchise worst 49 games under .500 set in 1973.

Player of the Game: Dan Robertson went 2-5 with four RBI and the Rangers wasted his career day.