If you haven't been keeping an eye on Collymore already, it might be a good idea to do so.

With the team's 10th round pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, the St. Louis Cardinals selected Malik Collymore, an athletic high school shortstop (at the time, considering he now plays second base) out of Mississauga, Ontario. Blessed with a quick bat, fantastic defensive range, and a strong throwing arm (88-90 MPH across the diamond), it was somewhat surprising that Collymore fell to the 305th pick of the draft, but scouting director Dan Kantrovitz and the rest of the front office staff definitely weren't complaining. Collymore, along with Magneuris Sierra (CF) and Edmundo Sosa (SS), has helped lead the Cardinals to the top of the GCL's East Division, with a record of 30-23 and seven games to play.

Player Profile:

• Bats: Right
• Throws: Right
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 200 pounds
• Born: April 29, 1995 (Age 19)
• High School: Port Credit SS (Mississauga, Ontario)

2014 Statistics:

Q&A:

Viva El Birdos: What are some of the best nicknames you have acquired over the years?

Malik Collymore: To be honest, the only nickname from teammates or coaches that has stuck is "Colly," and that was given to me when I first joined the GCL Cardinals last summer.

VEB: If you had to pick one teammate to participate with in American Idol or the Voice, who would it be and why?

MC: I would have to say Deandre Asbury-Heath. He’s been my roommate for this whole year. He loves to freestyle rap, so I think he would be a good partner to do a singing competition with. I’m not much of a singer, but I always remember the words! Haha.

VEB: If you had to eat one meal every single day for the rest of your life, what would you choose and why?

MC: Definitely a chicken bowl from Chipotle. It is basically the standard minor league meal. I already eat it 2-3 times a week because it’s relatively healthy and filling.

VEB: If you weren’t a professional baseball player, which sport would you most reasonably see yourself playing?

MC: If I did not play professional baseball, I could see myself being a sprinter in the 100 meter dash. I ran track and field in high school and enjoyed it a lot. It’s a sport that requires a good work ethic, and I think I could do it.

VEB: If you could hit off any current big league pitcher, who would you choose and what the result of the at bat be?

MC: I would want to face Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. I’ve never faced a knuckleballer before, so I think that would be a cool experience. Hopefully, I’ll be able to put the ball in play!

VEB: It appears that Canadian basketball seems to be on the rise in the NBA, can the same be said about baseball in Canada? What does the youth baseball scene look like up there?

MC: I’m really excited about sports in Canada as a whole. It’s such a diverse country, so we are starting to produce elite athletes in all sports more consistently. In Canada, high school baseball isn’t a really big deal so kids play with travel teams. I played with arguably the best organization in Canada, the Ontario Blue Jays, as well as the Canadian Junior National Team. We would play against NCAA colleges, junior colleges, as well as other travel teams in both Canada and the USA. There are other good programs that are producing great baseball talent north of the border.

VEB: Who is going to finish 2014 with a higher batting average? You or Magneuris Sierra?

MC: We both have been playing well so we’ll see who finishes out on top. The main goal and focus for this season is to be the first Cardinals team to win the Gulf Coast league. If we can do that, then I’ll be happy regardless.

VEB: What adjustments have you had to make from playing in the dry/cold weather of Canada to the hot/humid weather of the Gulf Coast?

MC: Playing in the Toronto area is a lot different from playing in the Gulf Coast when it comes to weather. For example, in Florida it’s really important to hydrate because we sweat so much more in the Florida heat. If we don’t hydrate enough, we can get dizzy or cramp up when running. On defense, the sun is extremely bright because we play in all day games. I have made an adjustment of playing with sunglasses as well as blocking the sun with my glove on fly balls.

VEB: What are your thoughts on hitting mechanics and approach? What have you been taught throughout your playing career?

MC: I feel that the most important aspect of hitting is confidence. Without it nothing else will work because the batter will always have doubts in his swing or approach, no matter how much work he has put in. I’ve been working on my swing since I was 8 years old and know I have a long way to go but I believe that if I’m confident and comfortable in the batter’s box everything will take care of itself.

VEB: With the end of the season approaching, what do you plan on working on most over the offseason? Have the Cardinals discussed anything in particular that they would like you working on?

MC: I really want to continue to improve my defensive skills at second base. I have already come a long way from when I first got drafted, and I’m excited to continue getting better while I prepare for the next level.

VEB: From a fielding standpoint, what do you feel like is your biggest strength? Biggest area for improvement?

MC: My biggest strength is my range. I take pride in not letting a ball get by me. My main area for improvement is my arm accuracy. Working with our infield coaches has greatly helped me in this area.

VEB: What has been the best part of minor league baseball so far? The worst part?

MC: The best part about minor league baseball so far has been all the ball players I have had the chance to meet and become friends with. I have learned a lot from my teammates over the course of my short pro career. The worst part would be dealing with the ups and downs of the season. I try to stay positive everyday no matter how I played that day.

VEB: Which current big league player do you believe your game most resembles at this point?

MC: I like to model game after some baseball’s best second basemen such as Brandon Phillips and Dustin Pedroia. They are great players as well as great team guys who set good examples for the rest of the team.

High school home run derby video (fast-forward to the ~3:20 mark):

*********

I am grateful for Malik taking the time to answer these questions for Viva El Birdos. I wish him the best as he closes out a breakout 2014 season with the GCL Cardinals and fully expect him to appear on some Cardinals' top prospect lists come 2015.

*********

Of note: The Astros' SBN site put together an in-depth, pre-draft scouting report of Collymore last year.

The Blue Jays return home for a weekend series with the Tampa Bay Rays beginning this evening at 7:07 pm. This nine-game homestand against the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees is essentially the set of games that will decide whether the Blue Jays have any chance of making things interesting in September. If they can manage to come away with something like seven wins, there will still be hope of making a late push for the second wild card. The Rays are also trying to get back in the playoff race, but they've lost some of the steam they had earlier in August and now sit at 62-65 after dropping four of their last five against New York and Detroit.

Drew Smyly gets his fourth start for the Rays tonight, going up against Marcus Stroman who is trying to rebound from his atrocious outing last time out against the White Sox. Smyly, a lefty, came over from Detroit in the David Price deal and has continued his solid season down in Florida. After being picked in the second round of the 2010 draft, Smyly made his major league debut in 2012 and had amassed 1.154 years of service time before this season, meaning he will likely be a super two player after this year.

The southpaw sticks to three pitches, with his fastball leading the way with over 50% usage, while his cutter and curveball make up the rest. It's slightly unusual that a lefty like Smyly doesn't really throw a changeup, preferring to use his curveball/slider pitch against opposite-handed hitters instead. The jury is kind of out on whether his breaking pitch is a curveball or slider, but what matters is that hitters are having a hard time doing anything other than hitting the ball on the ground against it, which is a bonus for the predominantly fly ball pitcher. You can decide for yourself whether the pitch is a curveball or slider:

via Bless You Boys

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera LF
3. Jose Bautista RF
4. Edwin Encarnacion 1B
5. Colby Rasmus CF
6. Danny Valencia 3B
7. DIoner Navarro C
8. Steve Tolleson 2B
9. Nolan Reimold DH

Bullpen Usage

All night long.

Before coming to the Rays, he had never recorded an out in the eighth inning. Two starts ago he set his own major league career record by finishing seven and two thirds, and now Smyly's bested that with a complete game shutout in which he only allowed two hits, both singles, while walking no one. His four strikeouts don't sound overpowering, but I think that underplays just how off-balance he had the Blue Jays tonight. He spotted his fastball both at the top and at the bottom of the zone. When it was up, it almost always resulted in a lazy fly ball.

Meanwhile, his curve ball and cutter (and maybe changeup) consistently got the Jays hitters out onto their front foot where they pounded the ball into the dirt for easy to play grounders. Smyly is a fascinating pitcher, both because of the uniqueness of his stuff, which Brian Anderson is doing a good job discussing on the telecast, and because of the way it combines. The overall ball-in-play numbers make him out to be a fly ball pitcher, but there's hidden complexity beneath those numbers. His fastball is an extreme fly-ball pitch, while his cutter is a very strong ground-ball producer. Both types of extremes are good for the pitcher.

I'm going to make a prediction. As his career with the Rays continues, we're going to like Smyly's FIP (fielding independent pitching), but we're also going to come to regard him as a possible, or even probably FIP-beater (a guy who consistently records a better ERA than his peripherals would suggest). I'm calling my shot.

As the game wore on, King Smyly let more of his pitches get away from him, yanking a couple into the dirt and sailing one high, but he never seemed flustered. Rather, he was calmly annoyed at himself, and he was always able to come back with a good pitch. He deserves this complete game.

The Offense

Marcus Stroman is an interesting young pitcher. He probably has a very bright future, and he undoubtedly has a great arm. In the minor leagues and in his short time in the majors this season, he's shown good control and and a high strikeout rate. Tonight though, he looked like a rookie. He came into the game throwing four-seam fastballs belt-high over the middle of the plate, and while he touched 95 mph, and worked his fantastic sinker off of it low in the zone as the inning went on, he had given the Rays something to look for.

Leading off the second inning, Evan Longoria found it. Stroman tried to come up and in on Longo's hands. Once upon a time that was a mistake, but too often this season it's worked. Not this time. Longoria turned on the pitch in vintage fashion, cranking it well over the left-field wall to score the first run of the night.

In the fourth inning, Wil Myers walked and then stole second with a horrible, Molina-esque slide. He then advanced to third when a curve ball in the dirt bounced of Dionner Navarro's knee. Later on in the inning, with two outs, Kevin Kiermaier grounded a ball up the middle to easily score the run on a single. Everyone knew it was a single. Everyone included Colby Rasmus in center field. Everyone did not include Kiermaier himself, who rounded first without breaking stride and made it to second in front of Rasmus's panicked throw. Amazing hustle.

In the top of the fifth, Matt Joyce smoked a hanging curve over the head of Jose Bautista for a double. Stroman pitched very carefully to Longoria, walking him on four pitches. Next up, James Loney chopped to third base for what should have been a double play, but Danny Valencia had some trouble getting the ball out of his glove, which gave Longoria enough time to make the turn uncomfortable for Scott Tolleson, who bounced the throw to first. Encarnacion butchered the routine scoop, and Joyce rounded third to score the third run of the game.

The Rays continued to pile on in the sixth. Curt Casali lined down the right-field line but the carom held him to a single. A grounder from Kiermaier found the hole in right side of the infield, and Desmond Jennings plated a run by smacking an elevated fastball for another line drive into center field to put runners on the corners and to end Stroman's night.

But the Rays were not done. Ben Zobrist, facing Aaron Loup, also found that hole on the right side of the infield opened up by the runner on first base. Next up, Joyce chopped up the middle, giving Zobrist just enough time to make it into second ahead of Tolleson's throw to load the bases for Longoria. Loup worked him away, and then, in a hitter's count, tried to come low and inside with a fastball. Longo easily dropped the bat head on it and pulled a line drive into the left-field corner to drive in two more runs with a double. The Rays would load the bases once more, but Loup finally got out of the jam with a double play ground ball from Yunel Escobar.

Wil Myers rounded out the scoring with a solo home run.

Some other notes:

• In the bottom of the first inning, I clearly heard someone from the crowd yell, rhythmically, "We want a pitcher, not a belly itcher." Canadians are so cute.
• For the first out of the third inning, a fly ball came down near the first-base wall. Loney slid to make the catch, but a Jays fan reached over and snagged it before it reached Loney. The umpire called fan interference and the man out.
• During an interview with Alex Cobb in the third inning, Brian Anderson asked Alex Cobb whether he varies the movement on his splitter to sometimes keep it in the zone, rather than have it drop below the zone. Cobb gave an interesting answer:

There's times when it's just not as good -- it's moving more horizontally than vertical -- and that's fine with me. I'm not going to get the tons of swings and misses that I normally get when it's vertical. It's an adjustment that I'm learning to make quicker, as I get more repetitions at it. I'm learning to not lose confidence in it when it's not as sharp as it can be, because, when I do throw it in the zone with that split grip -- as confident as I can and as aggressive as I can -- I'm still able to get some really good two-seam movement on it, and more often than not I'm going to get some ground balls with it. So, it really just turns into a heavy two-seamer when it's not on completely, which is good for me because I don't have to feel like I need to groove a fastball in there or, you know, a get-me-over curve ball. I can still throw that changeup with conviction in the zone and it'll be a decent two-seamer more often than not

I obviously prefer it to be moving down out of the zone, but you work with what you got when you have it, and you make the adjustments in between innings.

• BA on Wil Myers shoes: "Looks like he's getting ready to go to prom . . . either that or he took it from some senior citizen the other day . . . Canadian coffee is outstanding."
• In the seventh, Kiermaier came up with yet another hustle double, blooping a fly ball between shortstop and center fielder, and cruising into second when it took an awkward bounce away from Reyes to prevent him from playing it cleanly. It's odd, but only a perfect bare-handed grab could have kept KK from a bloop double.
• Myers's home run was his first hit since returning to the majors. BA: "I don't want to say it's the shoes, but it could be the shoes."

Rays 8 @ Blue Jays 0

It has been famously said that 80% of life is just showing up. Whatever the merits of that proposition, it certainly wasn't the case Friday night, as the Blue Jays showed up to take on the Rays but did little else en route to an ugly 8-0 whitewash. The win expectancy chart does a pretty good job telling the story of this one:

Source: FanGraphs

The Jays were outplayed in all facets of the game: out-pitched, out-hit (14-2, and six extra base hits to none) and out-gloved as well. Frankly, it might have been in the latter component that the discrepancy was on fullest display. Tampa defenders, in particular Kevin Kiermayer in right field, took away a number of hits while the Jays misplayed a number of balls.

Things started off pretty well for Marcus Stroman, and slowly went downhill as the Rays kept chipping out single runs before things spiralled out of control in the sixth inning, with an assist from Aaron Loup who turned a three-alarm situation into a five-alarm blaze. In the end, that scarcely mattered, since Drew Smyly was in control from start to finish. He needed just 105 pitches (75 strikes) to go the distance in a two-hit shutout, with four strikeouts and no free passes issued.

The Jays made some decent contact the first time through the order, but Smyly prevented any damage, assisted by Kiermayer tracking down some well hit fly balls. Reyes led off the first inning with a solid single, and was promptly erased as Melky Cabrera grounded into a DP. In the bottom of the third, Colby Rasmus led off with a pop-up down the first-base line in foul territory. A fan in the TD seats showed some great hands, reaching in front of the diving Loney to make a barehanded catch. Unfortunately for Rasmus, fan interference was called and he was out.

One batter later, the #9 hitter Steve Tolleson pulled a single into left field with 2 out. It would be the last time a Blue Jay hitter reached base, as the next 19 batters were retired in order as Smyly faced one over the minimum. He mixed, matched and located to keep the Jays completely off balance, and there were few well hit balls after this point. This marked the second time this week that the Blue Jays were completely shut down after the early innings, as on Tuesday Milwaukee pitching retired the last 24 batters in order after a Rasmus double in the second inning.

Pitching wise, Stroman started strong with a seven-pitch, three-up-three-down first inning punctuated by painting the inside corner at 95 mph to freeze Matt Joyce. Evan Longoria led off the second by turning on a first pitch fastball on the inside corner at the belt and hammering it out. Stroman missed his spot, but it was not a terrible pitch--Longoria showed why he's one of the best hitters on the planet. Stroman got two easy outs before yielding a couple of bloop singles, but got Kiermayer to roll over an easy grounder to Reyes for the third out.

With two out in the third, Stroman walked Joyce, though appeared to get squeezed on a couple pitches. Longoria hit a bouncer through the infield for a second straight two out threat, but Stroman induced a flyout from Joyce to end the threat and keep things at 1-0. In the fourth, he was not so lucky. After a leadoff walk to Wil Myers, he got back to back strikeouts, but Brett Gardner Kiermayer (is it just me, or is this guy the next divisional rival Jays killer?), grounded one up the middle to cash Myers, and took second when Rasmus failed to promptly get the ball back in. Despite Jennings hitting a bunt single, Stroman once again contained the damage.

In the fifth, a couple of defensive miscues cost the Blue Jays a third run. Joyce led off the inning with a fly ball Bautista probably should have caught, but he took a terrible route and ended up just missing the ball. After Longoria walked, Stroman induced a routine ground ball that should have been an easy double play, but Tolleson made a poor throw and Edwin Encarnacion couldn't scoop it, which allowed Matt Joyce to score. Stroman again limited the damage, ringing up Myers looking and getting our old friend Yunel Escobar to fly out, but the damage was done.

In the sixth, things totally fell apart. Whereas in the early going the hits Stroman gave up were mostly of the seeing-eye variety, he gave up back-to-back-back hard hit singles to score another. With his pitch count above 100, John Gibbons went to his middle inning fireman Loup hoping to contain the damage. Loup could not do that, somewhat snakebitten himself. The first two batters reached on a jammed ground ball in RF, a ground ball to second that Tolleson was too slow flipping to Reyes, and a double smashed down the LF line. He was fortunate not to give up any more than 3, as the Jays turned a questionable inning-ending double play that Joe Maddon (mercifully) didn't challenge. The coup-de-grace was watching Escobar leisurely enjoying some popcorn in the dugout.

At that point, the game was essentially over. Drabek came in the for the seventh, and had a reasonably successful inning despite loading the bases. Once again, he was helped by the gloves behind him, as with 1 out he induced a full count pop-up that landed just beyond Reyes in the Bermuda triangle in centrefield. He then alternated walks and strikeouts to the end of the inning, but had good movement on his pitches and got some good whiffs. 34 pitches is too many for one inning (as is 24 if the pop-up is caught, all else equal).

Todd Redmond came in for eighth, and his outing featured exactly what one would expect of Todd Redmond. He struck out the first batter on four pitches, with two fastball whiffs. Wil Myers was next, and he started with three pitches at the top of the zone, one whiffed on and missed. Myers did not make the same mistake on the fourth pitch, and demolished a fastball up in the zone for a home run. Brett Cecil came on for the ninth and had a the first three-up-three-down inning since the first, with a strikeout and two weak ground outs.

Jays of the Day: None, by the numbers. I'll give one to Drabek, for looking reasonably good, with two strikeout, two pop-ups induced, and despite the two walks. And for not going completely red and disintegrating when the pop-up fell in as he might have circa 2011-12.

Suckage Jays: By the numbers, just Stroman (-0.169) and Cabrera (-0.106, essentially the GIDP in the 1st). But that's just because there were 15 guys in the game, and only -0.500 of WPA to go around. So much suckage, so little WPA: really, throw a dart at the board and you'll likely hit someone who deserves one. (Note: I originally gave one to Loup, but after reviewing the condensed game that was too harsh).

Tomorrow Mark Buehrle takes on Jeremy Hellickson in a 1:07 ET start. Let's hope the Jays got all the ugly of their system tonight and that this series has a second masterful outing from a soft-tossing lefty.

The Blue Jays try to get something started this afternoon at 1:07 pm from the Rogers Centre as time is slowly starting to tick down on their playoff chances. Is the season over? Is it not over? I don't know. Mark Buehrle goes up against Jeremy Hellickson who is making only his seventh start this year after undergoing elbow surgery near the beginning of spring training. The righty has returned to the rotation in fine form, currently sitting at a 2.56 ERA and a career-low walk rate of 6.1% in his first season of arbitration eligibility.

The book is pretty much out on Hellickson by now, with the righty throwing mainly fastballs and changeups against hitters on both sides of the plate, which isn't exactly common. His changeup has some cutting action to it, but it's still pretty surprising how such a simple and unorthodox repertoire for a starter has been so successful for Hellickson over the past few years. The two different WAR measures value Hellickson quite differently as his FIP is always much higher than his ERA leading to a career 4.7 fWAR and a 7.9 rWAR based on the different way the two totals are calculated.

Another weird part of Hellickson's game is that almost all of his pitches end up on the arm-side of the plate, which leads to a lot of changeups in on the hands of right-handed hitters. If you like pitchers with quirks, then Hellickson is your Picasso:

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera LF
3. Jose Bautista RF
4. Edwin Encarnacion 1B
5. Adam Lind DH
6. Colby Rasmus CF
7. Dioner Navarro C
8. Juan Francisco 3B
9. Munenori Kawasaki 2B

Bullpen Usage

It certainly wasn't the prettiest of wins, but the Blue Jays got the job done on Saturday afternoon against Tampa Bay to even the series. At least hopefully, as the game was played under protest from the top of 4th, and the win will be pending resolution by the league office.

With the score 2-1 and 1 out in the 4th, Mark Buehrle got Wil Myers to hit a ground ball to third, and beat it out for an infield single. Before Yunel Escobar saw a pitch, Buerhle caught Myers flat footed off first on a pick-off attempt, but Myers was called safe on a bang-bang play. Gibbons came out to challenge the play, but not before Buehrle (diligent worker that he is) had already got back on the mound and Escobar was in the box. Joe Maddon came out at this point to argue that it was too late to initiate a review, as the rules state:

[T]o be timely, a Manager must exercise his challenge (by verbal communication to the appropriate Umpire), or the Crew Chief must initiate Replay Review...before the commencement of the next play or pitch. .... For purposes of these Regulations, the next "play" shall commence when the pitcher is on the rubber preparing to start his delivery and the batter has entered the batter's box (unless the defensive team initiates an appeal play in which case any call made during the play prior to the appeal still may be subject to Replay Review).

Crew chief Bob Davidson dismissed Maddon's concerns, despite what would seem to be a pretty open-and-shut interpretation of the rules (Gregg Zaun drolly noted he's been ignoring rules for 20 years). On review, Myers was called out as he was tagged just before his fingers made it back to the bag, and Maddon indicated a protest. Escobar then struck out on three pitches to end the inning.

Since the Rays went on to lose the game, it seems likely that they will proceed with an official protest, which if upheld would mean the game would be replayed from the 4th inning. Will that happen? The official rules state:

Each league shall adopt rules governing procedure for protesting a game, when a manager claims that an umpire’s decision is in violation of these rules....Even if it is held that the protested decision violated the rules, no replay of the game will be ordered unless in the opinion of the League President the violation adversely affected the protesting team’s chances of winning the game.

On one hand, a plain reading of the rules makes it pretty clear it was too late to review the plate, and with the game eventually going to extras it's quite possible the reversal was outcome determinative. It reduced the Rays run expectancy by about 0.44 runs, and win expectancy by 5.3%.

On the other hand, upheld protests are quite rare, with the Giants' protest earlier this week the first upheld since 1986, and both those were regarding rain shortened games, not replaying games and wiping out on field results. The last time that happened was the famous Pine Tar game in 1983. MLB will likely want to avoid creating a precedent that could result in more protested-and-replayed game, especially since in the end the right call was made. It would seem somewhat perverse to order half a game to replayed because the right call was made. Finally, the reality is it's unlikely this game really affects the playoff race, and re-scheduling the replay would not be easy with 5 weeks remaining. So we'll see, but my guess is the result stands. Though at the very least, Balkin' Bob should face some league sanction for not seemingly properly applying the rules

That aside, it was still an interesting game. Mark Buerhle's start was a mix of being in complete control, and getting hit hard. He retired the first six batters on just 26 pitches, looking quite in control. The third inning went quite differently, starting with a leadoff single that was erased on a Jose Molina GIDP. For the second straight game, the Jays had trouble turning the double play, with Kawasaki bobbling the turn. Fortunately, it was Molina lightly jogging down the line and he still beat him by a mile, but with almost any other runner there would have been no twin killing.

Buehrle then gave up back-to-back singles to put runners at first and third, before Ben Zobrist laid down a perfect bunt down the third base line for a single on which Buerhle and Valencia collided. After another botched ground ball to load the bases, Buerhle ended the inning to contain the damage after a 23 pitch inning. In the bottom of the inning, the Jays' bat came to life with some rare clutch hitting as Reyes cashed Valencia with a 2 out RBI double. Melky then followed it up with a single to score him and put the Jays out in front 2-1. It was essentially the only time the Jays got to Hellickson all game.

For the next three innings, Buerhle was back in control. He needed just 23 pitches to retire 9 batters, the Myers infield single being the only damage. He came out for the seventh at just 72 pitches, but after a single, fielder's choise and walk, yielded an RBI single to tie the game, and then a hard double to put runner at 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out, down 3-2. Gibby had seen enough and pulled Buerhle at just 86 pitches in favour of Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez came in and needed just 7 pitches to completely contain the damage, with a ground ball on the infield and a strike out.

In the bottom of the 7th, the Jays once again rallied back. Adam Lind led off with a deep fly ball that came up just short, but that was the end of the day for Hellickson. While the Jays failed to do much damage to him, they did succeed in running up his pitch count (starting with a 10 pitch leadoff AB by Reyes), and got to the bullpen with provided immediate dividends. Encarnacion greeted Brad Boxberger with a hard double, and then Navarro pulled a ball over the right field wall for the go-ahead home run. Rasmus followed that up with a double, but was stranded.

Sanchez came back out for the 8th and had a similarly easy time, inducing two fly balls to Rasmus sandwiched around a strikeout of Longoria on 3-2 99 MPH knuckleball fastball in the dirt with crazy movement that made an all-star look like a minor leaguer.

Casey Janssen came in for the 9th for the save, but did not have his usual pinpoint command. A leadoff walk was followed by a one out single, bring James Loney to the plate. He drilled a ball into the LF corner, scoring Myers from first to tie the game. Luckily, Kiermaier made an aggressive turn around 3rd, slipped getting back, and Melky's throw behind him got him. Janssen got the last out, but was fortunate to have only got a blown save and not loss.

The Jays did nothing against Peralta in the 9th, and game went to extras. McGowan had a scoreless 10th, but did not look impressive at all, falling behind most batters and giving up a single and walk. Again, the Jays got the game tied to the bottom of the inning, but by the skin of their teeth.

Rasmus led off the bottom of the 10th, and with 2 strikes saw Longoria back up at 3rd. He gambled, and laid down a great bunt that he quite easily beat out. That brought Valencia, who is terrible against RHP, to face Peralta, a very good RHP. I personnally would like to have seen Francisco pinch hit, but Gibby opted for the bunt (with Kawasaki on deck). Unfortunately, Valencia made two terrible attempts at bunting to put himin a 0-2, and he then struck out. As did Kawasaki on a full count, but Rasmus was going and was able to steal second. That brought up Jose Reyes, who delivered his second clutch hit of the day, and the Jays walked it off.

Jays of the Day: Reyes (+0.449, 2-5 with the game winning hit and a 2 out hit to get the offence rolling), Sanchez (+0.277, for 5 critical outs), McGowan (+0.143, for a scoreless 10th, tenuous as it was), Navarro (+0.253, for the HR in the 7th), Rasmus (+0.105, for the bunt single and SB in the 10th), Melky (+0.097)

Suckage Jays: Buerhle (-0.213, though the start was better than the WPA), Janssen (-0.187, blown save), Kawasaki (-0.151, 0-4 with 2K). Valencia didn't have the number at -0.083, but he gets one for being unable to lay down the bunt in the 10th. A player at the back end of a MLB roster simply has t be able to do little things like that, especially when he has a huge flaw like, oh, not being able to hit righties. Bautista (-0.088) and Lind (-0.094) were close but both hit balls hard so are spared.

Basically today half the players in the game did very well, and half did quite poorly. The rubber match is tomorrow at 1:07 with Drew Hutchison taking on Will SmithChris Archer.

Tonight the Buffalo Bisons demolished the Pawtucket Red Sox 15-2, combining an impressive show of offense and a pretty good start from Kendall Graveman. But what really stood out was a sensational defensive play by Blue Jays farmhand Ryan Goins.

In the top of the sixth inning, Pawtucket's Ryan Roberts hit a bouncer to Buffalo third baseman Matt Hague. The ball deflected off of Hague's glove for what was expected to be an error on the third baseman, but the shortstop Goins was there to save the day. The shortstop backed up behind third and grabbed the ricochet with his bare right hand before firing it to first, where a stretching Dan Johnson completed the rare 5-6-3 putout.

"It kind of just happened," Goins told reporters after the game, "it happens so fast most of the time that you don't realize what you're doing until after the play. Just try to get to every ball you can and make the play."

Goins called the 2014 Bisons one of the funnest team he has played on and that the atmosphere in the dugout was full of fun after he made that play.

"It was a hell of a play, you don't see that too often," Bisons manager Gary Allenson said recalling the play, "especially to get a deflected ball in the hole bare handed, throw across the body in the air for the out."

When asked about the feeling in the dugout after that spectacular play, Allenson said that the team has just "gotten used to" that level of play with the Ryan Goins-Jonathan Diaz combination up the middle, remembering another highlight-level play from earlier this week:

"They turn hits into double play and get outs when you [shouldn't] get outs," Allenson continued about the effect of the Bisons' good defense on their young rotation, "they take a lot of heat off the pitchers."

Both defensive plays have made it to ESPN SportsCenter's "Top 10" this week.

Game notes

• Ryan Goins also had a great time at the plate as well. He had three doubles and a single, driving in two and scoring two.
• Dalton Pompey continued his hot start in triple-A, going 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base in front of his parents, brother, and friends who drove down from Mississauga for the game. He said his quad is now back to "100%" but he will get a scheduled day off on Sunday to give Anthony Gose to play centre field.
• Kevin Pillar went 2-for-4 with a sac fly, double and a three-run homer in the first to secure five RBIs in his first game back after missing four games from hurting his elbow falling on a rock.
• Cole Gillespie got on base five times on two singles, two walks, and a double, scoring three times.
• Dan Johnson, who is officially on a major league rehab assignment, went 0-for-4 but hit the ball hard twice, once lining it to deep right and the other time hitting a frozen rope right into the second baseman who was shifted into shallow right field. He did get on base once on a walk, his 83rd of the season. Despite missing more than a month due to his callup and subsequent injury, Johnson still holds a 14-walk lead in the International League.
• Kendall Graveman didn't look dominant, striking out just one PawSox and allowing nine hits, but he limited the damage by not walking anyone and getting three inning-ending double plays to limit Pawtucket to two runs. He pitched like an extreme ground ball pitcher, just as advertised: out of the 21 outs he made in the game, 16 came on a ground ball. After the game, Gary Allenson said that Graveman is not afraid of getting contact--of course not, he is currently playing in front of a great defensive team.
• Steve Delabar came out and struck out the side in the ninth, but surrounded those with two walks and a single on a comebacker that he did not field cleanly. He ended up tossing 33 pitches, and showed little command of his fastball, but still struck out the side because it's triple-A.
• With the win over Pawtucket, Buffalo is just one game behind them for the IL Wild Card and are now 4.5 games behind Syracuse for the IL North division lead.

The Blue Jays are calling up Sergio Santos for tomorrow's game. They haven't announced who is making the trip to Buffalo to make room for Sergio but it will be Chad Jenkins, Kyle Drabek unless someone is going on the DL and we haven't been told about it yet. I guess it could be Juan Francisco too, he hasn't started a game since August 17th and he's hitting just .077/.122/.128 in August.

Santos has pitched in 11 games for the Buffalo Bisons. He has a 0.00 ERA and has allowed 3 hits, 6 walks with 16 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Of course, as a Jay he had a 7.78 ERA in 19.2 innings, 24 hits, 3 home runs, 17 walks and 26 strikeouts. He also had 3 blown saves.

I'd like to think he worked out his delivery problems. down with the Bisons, but he's going to have to show me before I believe it. Then, it isn't like Casey Janssen has been great of late. He's blown 2 saves this month.

Anyway, welcome back Sergio.

UPDATE

Even though he threw three scoreless innings in his brief stint back with Toronto, Kyle Drabek has been chosen to be optioned. He'll be back in September.

The @BlueJays have optioned RHP KYLE DRABEK to the @BuffaloBisons

— Blue Jays-Official (@BlueJays) August 24, 2014

Firsthand looks at Erie's Devon Travis, Dixon Machado, Steven Moya, and Warwick Saupold and Reading's Adam Loewen and Aaron Altherr.

As an evaluator who often chases high profile pitching prospects, it was a bit odd for me to scout a game featuring none of the sort. There was one former top pitching prospect in Reading starter Adam Loewen, but that was quite a long time ago and he has had an unusual career since then. Loewen was the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft by the Orioles, made it to the Majors with the O’s but then injuries forced him to take a Rick Ankiel type of career switch by transitioning to an outfielder and first baseman. He made it to the Major Leagues with the Blue Jays in 2011, but was unable to establish himself at the highest level as a hitter. This prompted another career switch from Loewen, who signed at minor league contract with the Phillies prior to the 2014 season as a pitcher. He has stayed healthy this year but possesses fringe stuff and below average command. Loewen could factor into the wide-open Phillies rotation next season, but I can’t see him being any more than a replacement level pitcher. He did have a nice outing Friday night, however, surrendering just three rather weak hits and striking out eight, but he also walked four and lost control at times. It’s great to see a guy continue to chase his dream but Loewen is a far cry from the prospect he used to be.

Warwick Saupold, RHP, Erie

On the Erie side, I hadn’t heard much about starter Warwick Saupold heading into the matchup and didn’t plan on writing about him, but his impressive outing prompted a report. A righty with an average 6’1", 195 pound frame, Saupold sat 89-92 with his fastball, showing good movement, control, and aggression in the zone with the pitch. His best offering was a sharp overhand curveball with 11-5 movement that generated a lot of swings and misses. He showed the ability to move the pitch around, throwing it for strikes and as a chase pitch in the dirt, and I was impressed at how the offering did not lose its shape when he threw it in the zone.

Saupold’s third offering was a changeup that was solid-average and generated a few swings and misses. It was not used as often as the fastball or the curve, but the offering featured similar arm side run to the fastball and was thrown with good arm speed and conviction, adding to the deception. Although it is tempting to throw him into the "just another righty pitcher at Double-A" category, last night’s look showed me that he could be more than that. He demonstrated a plus curveball and two other average pitches, a good feel for his craft and even plus #want when he induced a critical inning ending double play in the seventh to preserve the lead.

Based on this look, I grade Saupold as follows (present grade/future grade): Fastball 45/45; Curveball 60/60; Changeup 45/50; Command 55. That might not be enough to establish himself as a legitimate big league starting pitcher, but he is definitely more than an organizational guy.

Aaron Altherr, RF, Reading

Altherr is a tall, thin, toolsy outfielder with a questionable hit tool. He starts in an open stance with his hands high, then steps to closed and shows a long swing with a lot of preswing movement. He had trouble repeating the excessive movement, leading to questions about his bat to ball ability. If he can make enough contact his power could play, as he is a strong kid with a good frame who can add muscle as he grows.

Neither his defense in right nor his arm was tested, but Altherr did get a chance to show off his speed. He has long legs and a top speed slightly above average, but didn’t make good decisions on the basepaths. He was thrown out easily at home trying to score on a groundball to first then got a bad jump on a steal attempt and was thrown out again. With some refinement it could be a weapon but his baserunning is still a work in progress.

Altherr is an interesting player to watch, but players with questionable hit tools are typically longshots to reach their potential. The big German-born outfielder fits this bill and I don’t ever see him hitting enough to establish himself as a Major League regular. However, he could carve out a role as a reserve with a low average and flashes of talent.

Based on this look, I’d give Altherr the following grades on the tools he displayed last night (present grade/future grade): Hit: 30/35, Power: 45/55; Speed 50/55

Devon Travis, 2B, Erie

Listed at 5’9", 195 pounds, SeaWolves second baseman Devon Travis will earn Jose Altuve comparisons both for his height and hit tool. Short in stature, Travis has a think lower half and lacks physical projections, but the quality of the hit tool erases many concerns about his size. He has a quick trigger on his short, compact stroke, good batspeed and natural bat to ball ability. I loved the selective aggression he showed during his plate appearances, as he was comfortable wasting pitchers’ pitches and waiting for his pitch, which he was eager to jump on whenever it came. He didn’t have great results in this game, but I was impressed with his ability to barrel a ball after getting fooled on an offspeed pitch. This is an easy plus tool and this player will hit at the Major League level.

Players his size do not often offer any power, but Travis has surprising pop for his frame. He doesn’t sell out for it, but with his plus batspeed he should be able to knock a few out each year. He won’t hit 20, but 8-12 is a reasonable expectation in this category.

Defensively, Travis was solid in his limited chances. On his one difficult play, he got a bad read on a chopper but made up for it with a nice pick and a strong throw. The arm certainly plays at second but it was unclear whether it would play at third. Travis isn’t a shortstop but the ability to play the hot corner could help him earn more playing time with the Major League club. He also demonstrated plus speed, although he doesn’t figure to be a true basestealer.

Travis is a bat first infield prospect whose bat will carry him to the Major Leagues. I didn’t see enough of his defense to offer firm grades on those tools, but even an average defender with a plus hit tool and occasional pop could be a solid regular. Based on this look, I’d give Travis the following grades on the tools he displayed last night: Hit: 55/60; Power: 35/40; Speed: 60/55

Devon Travis applies a tag in spring training, via cdn3.vox-cdn.com

Dixon Machado, SS, Erie

Erie shortstop Dixon Machado also showed signs of a Major League future, including a terrific baseball name that is as smooth as his actions on the field. Machado is 6’1", 170 pounds and thin, but also well built for his frame and position.

At the plate, the Venezuelan displayed a short, line drive oriented stroke that is still a work in progress. I liked the swing itself and his very good plate discipline, but Machado could use a bit more consistency and work with his bat to ball skills. One concern is that he threw away an at bat late in the game, swinging out of his shoes three times on a strikeout, which is not his best approach. He is best when he stays short to the ball and sprays line drives around the yard, and if he focuses on that, I think the hit tool will play at the Major League level.

A line drive hitter, Machado’s swing isn’t geared towards knocking balls out of the park. His offensive skill set is best when he doesn’t attempt to do so, thus it is no surprise that his power grades out well below average. Defensively, Machado can make an impact. He showed smooth actions in the field, very good footwork, and a strong throwing arm. He is a true shortstop who can stay at the position long-term and provide value for his club. Machado also possesses plus speed and good baserunning instincts. I’m a bit surprised at his low stolen base totals over the past few seasons (five this year, one last year, but a combined 48 in the two years prior), but even if he doesn’t turn into a stolen base threat his speed is an asset.

As a whole, this is a player who could become a second division starter if the hit tool continues to progress, but even if it does not he could be a solid utility infielder. Based on this look, I’d give Machado the following grades: Hit: 45/50; Power: 25/30; Defense: 60/60; Arm: 60/60; Speed: 60/60

Steven Moya, RF, Erie

The last player of note was Erie rightfielder Steven Moya. At a chisled 6’6", 230, Moya is a high-waisted physical specimen who looks the part of a Major Leaguer. At the plate, however, he does not, as the big left handed hitter lacks both balance and consistency with his swing. Moya starts closed, has significant preswing movement with his hands and has trouble getting repeating said movements. His stroke is short for a big power hitter, but it doesn’t make much of a difference since his pitch recognition and bat to ball skills are poor and he can be beaten in many different ways. I have no idea how he is hitting .273 at Double-A and I don’t expect him to hit anywhere close to that in the Majors. This is a well below average tool that will be exposed at the highest level.

Moya’s power is a different story. The Eastern League home run leader with 33, if the big fella can hit enough he could easily match that total in the Major Leagues. He has terrific batspeed and the ball jumps off his bat when he makes contact. In one of his plate appearances, Moya was fooled and skied a pop up straight in the air to right that made it all the way to the warning track, demonstrating that even if he doesn’t square up the ball, Moya still possesses enough raw power to hit home runs.

Neither his defense nor his arm was tested in this look, but Moya did show off solid average speed. Despite his long legs, he has short strides and will slow down as he develops, but for now the tool plays.

Moya is an interesting player, but the lack of a quality hit tool will hold him back. The story begins and ends with this tool, and really any semblance of it would allow him to become a legitimate power threat at the highest level. However, that outcome is far away and Moya has far too many obstacles to overcome to get there. Based on this look, I’d give him the following grades on the tools he displayed last night: Hit: 25/30; Power: 70/70; Speed: 50/45

. . .

All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com.

Dan Weigel is a contributing writer at Minor League Ball and Beyond the Box Score. You can follow him on Twitter at @DanWiggles38.

With the season almost one month from expiring on the Blue Jays, it's pretty much life support time for their playoff hopes. If the team is going to go on an epic run and make it interesting, it's probably going to take a few of the players getting hotter than California in July to pull it off. With almost every Blue Jay underperforming  at the moment, what better time to pick which player (or players) on the team need to step up their game for September to not be the usual depressing set of meaningless games that we've come to expect as Blue Jays fans.

On the pitching side of the ledger you can throw a dart at the starting rotation and hit someone who needs to pick up their game for the team to have any chance in the next month. Each of the five members of the rotation had four starts in August and their ERA's were 4.07 (Happ), 4.94 (Hutchison), 5.11 (Dickey), 5.68 (Buehrle), 8.66 (Stroman) so that's clearly not good enough. If you were to pinpoint two starters who should shoulder most of the burden, it would have to be the highly-paid and veteran players in R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle. They've got the experience (especially Buehrle) needed to right the ship and will have to lead the way if this rotation is going to start meeting the expectations set for them.

In the bullpen it begins with Casey Janssen returning to his reliable form after blowing two saves in August. If the Blue Jays are to have any chance in these last few crucial games then Janssen will have to lock the door in the ninth when the team manages to hand a lead off to him, which has been a rare occurrence as of late. Todd Redmond has been bad recently as well, but he's Todd Redmond so he's not exactly captain of the Blue Jays ship (which has already hit the iceberg and is taking on water pretty rapidly).

Offensively, you don't have to look further than the Super Smash Bros of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion when it comes to finding players who need to get hot. Bautista has been pretty mediocre recently and could be heading towards another sub-30 home run campaign. It's also starting to look like his frustrations are boiling into a big pot of unproductive rage so that's always fun. Encarnacion is 5-31 since returning from his injury, so the lineup is going to continue looking pretty soft until the big Dominican gets hitting again.

I think most Blue Jays fans would agree that EVERYONE has to step up if this team has any chance of turning around their season, but if we had to pick just one player who the teams needs to get hot, I would probably point to Edwin Encarnacion. It's all well and good if Jose Bautista starts hitting home runs again, but teams can avoid giving him any good pitches to hit if the guy behind him in the lineup is hitting below the Mendoza Line.

What say you Banterers?

I would have liked that one.

Red Sox 4 Blue Jays 3 (10 innings)

The bottom of the 9th was the most fun, I've had watching the Jays in weeks. Unfortunately, the game didn't end right.

In the 9th, Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera each had ground ball singles squeeze through the infield. The first one, that Jose hit,  Brock Holt and Dustin Pedroia collided. In retrospect, I wish Holt was hurt.. Jose Bautista walked to load the bases and Clay Buchholz was lifted for righty Koji Uehara to face Adam Lind. Farrell never got the memo that Lind doesn't hit lefties.  Lind didn't make him pay, hitting a ground ball, that almost made it through the infield,  but Pedroia made a nice play on it, almost turning it into a double play. Thankfully,  Bautista took out Holt with his slide into second. It was a good thing he did. Edwin Encarnacion hit a double off the wall (I thought it was going to be a game winning home run, it just came up short), but at least it tied things up.

In the top of the 10th, Aaron Sanchez gave up a 1-out single to Holt. Pedroia struck out but Holt stole second on the third strike (it was reviewed, there might have been interference on Pedroia's part but we didn't get the call). Holt stole third, then scored when Yoenis Cespedes singled just past a diving Munenori Kawasaki. He came so close, great try, Mune.

We tried for another comeback. Danny Valencia took a one out walk, but Kawasaki hit into a force at second and  Reyes popped out to end it.

For most of the game, we couldn't hit. Jiffy Lube allowed just 2 hits in his first 8 innings. The Sox made a few good plays, but mostly we really didn't have all that many hard hit balls. Two soft hits, and a walk, in the 9th got Farrell to take him out of the game for us.

J.A. Happ was pretty good. He gave up a couple of home runs in the 5th inning, Mookie Betts solo shot and a  Pedroia 2-run homer. In all he allowed 5 hits, walked 2 and struck out 8. Unfortunately, since we aren't hitting at all, 3 runs are too many to give up.

Todd Redmond pitched the last 3 innings and was great. He allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk, to give us the shot at the comeback.

Back in the 3rd inning, Melky Cabrera made a great play in left field, running a long way to the wall, made the catch and a then made a perfect throw to 3rd to get the runner tagging, saved us from what looked to be a bad inning building. He made two other very good catches. He's been so much better in LF lately. I don't know what has gotten into him, but I approve.

Edwin Encarnacion gets the JoD. with a .474 WPA. I'm also giving one to Todd Redmond for his 3 scoreless innings of relief.

Suckage? Aaron Sanchez gets the number (-.290). It is hardly fair, but that's baseball. Also getting the number are Dioner Navarro (-.192),  Kawasaki (-.190, 0 for 4, 1 k), Colby Rasmus (-.169, 0 for 4, 2 k), Reyes (-.152, 1 for 5, but not the big hit when we needed it) and Lind (-.112, 1 for 4).

We had 552 comments, MjwW just beat me out for the win.

Iowa wins in Soler's swansong. The Smokies and Daytona both lose, but stay in first place. Kane County is nearing a franchise record.

So yes, Jorge Soler is heading to Chicago. Or Cincinnati, technically.

Also, three Iowa Cubs were named to the All-PCL Team: second baseman Arismendy Alcantara, left-handed starter Tsuyoshi Wada and reliever Blake Parker. This is the first time ever that Iowa has ever had three players receive this honor.

If you want the full list, it's here. As you can see, the I-Cubs had three of the twelve players so honored, more than any other team.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs summitted the Tacoma Raniers (Mariners), 8-0.

Starter Eric Jokisch only lasted 2.1 innings before exiting with what has been reported to be a blister. He gave up just one hit. He struck out two and walked no one.

Alberto Cabrera then pitched the next 4.2 innings and got the win. He allowed three hits but no walks. (In fact, the Raniers did not get a single walk off the Iowa pitchers tonight.) Cabrera struck out two.

Before he exited the game, Soler hit a three-run home run off of Mariners top prospect Taijuan Walker. It was his eighth of the season and he was 1 for 2.

Soler was replaced in the lineup by Jonathan Mota, who hit a solo home run of his own in the seventh inning. It was his third home run of the year and second for Iowa. Mota went 2 for 3.

DH Junior Lake was 3 for 5 with a double. He scored one run and knocked two in.

Catcher Rafael Lopez was 2 for 4 and scored once. Shortstop Elliot Soto was 2 for 2 with a double. He scored two runs and had one RBI.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies lost their fifth straight game, 2-1 to the Jacksonville Suns (Marlins).

It was a really strong start for C.J. Edwards. Edwards went five innings and allowed only one run on one hit. He struck out eight and walked three. He threw 86 pitches, 48 of which were strikes. So those numbers could be a little better.

Andrew McKirahan got the loss after he allowed one run on two hits over two innings. He struck out two and walked nobody.

Pin-Chieh Chen entered the game after Stephen Bruno exited the game after grounding out in the first inning. Chen went 2 for 3.

The only good news is that Chattanooga lost again, so the Smokies keep their one-game lead in the division.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs were blue after losing to the Dunedin Blue Jays, 8-7.

Yao-Lin Wang started for Daytona for the first time since July 11 and took the loss. Wang allowed five runs on seven hits in only four innings. Wang struck out three and walked one.

Kyle Schwarber's home run streak may have come to an end (he went 1 for 4) but second baseman Gioskar Amaya hit his fourth home run of the season with the bases empty in the fourth inning. Amaya also tripled and walked n a 2 for 3 game. Amaya scored two runs and had two RBI.

In the ninth inning, left fielder Bijan Rademacher led off the inning with a solo home run to cut Dunedin's lead to 8-6. Rademacher was 2 for 4 with two RBI. It was his ninth home run of the season.

The D-Cubs would get another run in the inning on a Schwarber sacrifice fly, but with the bases loaded and two out, Willson Contrerasstruck out to end the game.

Tampa had an off-day, so Daytona's lead in the division fell to two games.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars took the honey from the Burlington Bees (Angels), 8-3.

Paul Blackburn started and allowed two runs on four hits over five innings. Blackburn walked two and struck out two.

James Pugliese came off the disabled list and gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the score at 3-3. But he got the win when Kane County retook the lead in the top of the seventh. Pugliese pitched just the one inning and allowed two hits and one walk. He did not strike anyone out.

Kane County retook the lead in the seventh on a solo home run by DH Yasiel Balaguert, his seventh of the season. Balaguert also doubled in a 2 for 4 game. He scored twice and had two RBI.

Going back-to-back with Balaguert was right fielder Jeffrey Baez with his sixth home run of the season for Kane County and 13th overall. Baez was 1 for 4.

Third baseman Jeimer Candelario was 3 for 5 with a run scored. First baseman Jacob Rogers went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI. He also scored one run.

The win improved Kane County's record for the season to 87-46. The franchise record for wins in a season is 88 in 2001. That team had Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Willingham on it. The Cougars will have to win two of their final seven games to break that record.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks shut out the Everett AquaSox (Mariners), 3-0.

Starter Trevor Clifton went seven innings for the first time in his career. He gave up only six hits as he won his fourth game. Clifton struck out three and walked no one.

Corbin Hoffner pitched the final 1.1 innings for his second save. He surrendered one hit and one walk while striking out two.

Third baseman Jesse Hodges had an RBI double and also scored in the fourth inning. He was 2 for 4.

AZL Cubs

Off day.

Did you know that the Blue Jays acquired Nolan Reimold back on July 6? It has not felt like a month-and-a-half since that waiver claim. Of course, he had a stint on the disabled list four games into his tenure here (beating the one-game stint of Cole Gillespie) so he ended up playing just 22 games for the Blue Jays. It was a fairly unspectacular 22 games that had him hit .212/.283/.404 and striking out 22 times out of 60 plate appearances. That kind of strikeout rate mixed with some bad defense is what got Juan Francisco released... oh that was only in my dreams? Poop.

Anyway, this morning, we learned that the Reimold Era is over (and the J. Francisco Era continues): Reimold has been designated for assignment, and Kevin Pillar has been recalled from Buffalo. The move is not official at the time of writing, but Roch Kubatko reported the DFA early Tuesday morning, Shi Davidi reported both moves later in the morning, all after Jenn passed us the note on Twitter last evening.

There was some good in Reimold's time here in Toronto: he went 2-for-4 against the Angels with a walk and three RBIs in his third game here, and there was that game on the trade deadline when he hit two home runs, which almost made fans forget that he can be counted as one of the biggest in-season acquisitions this club has made this year. I'm sure that no fan has forgotten his magical walkoff double against Joba Chamberlain:

Since that hit, however, Reimold has been hitting .100/.174/.100. Oh look, his slugging is his batting average. In that span of 23 plate appearances, Reimold struck out 11 times, capped by a five-strikeout effort in the 19-inning game. So that routine fly ball he simply failed to catch on Sunday was simply the catalyst, not sole cause, of his being designated today.

As much as Reimold pulled himself from the roster, there was a heavy push factor from Kevin Pillar down in triple-A. Pillar has been putting up solid triple-A numbers since his June 24 exile after being a little angry in the Blue Jays dugout. Through the 53 games in his latest stint with the Bisons, he had slashed .327/.358/.528 with with just 28 strikeouts in 229 plate appearances. Through a sample size of one game, I will say he looks pretty good, having seen him plate five runs (a three-run homer and a double) on Saturday. I don't think he is magically going to start hitting (or stop chasing) major league quality breaking balls, but at this point can't see how staying in Buffalo helps him.

Pillar's callup is a big loss for the Bisons, though, who are making a late push to get into the International League postseason. They are now just one game behind in Pawtucket Red Sox in the wild card standings with eight games remaining in the regular season. Daniel Norris takes the hill tonight against the PawSox at 6 pm to try to bring the Bisons back to a tie for the wild card lead.

The Blue Jays' 40-man roster is now at 39 with Reimold's designation, opening up a spot for a September callup who's not currently on the roster.

UPDATE

It is now official.

The @BlueJays have recalled OF KEVIN PILLAR from @BuffaloBisons and have designated OF NOLAN REIMOLD for assignment.

— Blue Jays-Official (@BlueJays) August 26, 2014

A win! A win! Major League Baseball and Joe Torre announced this afternoon that the Rays' protest from Saturday was denied meaning the Blue Jays will keep their win. The recap was written up nicely by MjwW, so let's remind ourselves of what happened first:

With the score 2-1 and 1 out in the 4th, Mark Buehrle got Wil Myers to hit a ground ball to third, and beat it out for an infield single. Before Yunel Escobar saw a pitch, Buerhle caught Myers flat footed off first on a pick-off attempt, but Myers was called safe on a bang-bang play. Gibbons came out to challenge the play, but not before Buehrle (diligent worker that he is) had already got back on the mound and Escobar was in the box.

To the objective observer, the Rays had a real case to get this game replayed from the fourth inning with Wil Myers on first base. Instead, the protest has been rejected and the Blue Jays will keep the win they earned in a tense tenth inning on a Jose Reyes walk-off hit:

If the protest was upheld, it would have been the second one in a week with the Giants and Cubs game being restarted after being shortened by rain a few days earlier. Before that mess in Chicago, the last protest upheld had come over two decades ago on another rain-shortened game.

If we're being honest, the Rays probably should have had this protest upheld and the game should have been replayed from where the infraction occurred. The rule is clear as day and even the most biased Blue Jays fan would have to agree that what John Gibbons did was against the rules:

A manager must exercise his challenge . . . before the commencement of the next play or pitch," and adds, "The next ‘play’ shall commence when the pitcher is on the rubber preparing to start his delivery and the batter has entered the batter’s box.

Major League Baseball denies Rays’ formal protest regarding Saturday’s game in Toronto.

— MLB (@MLB) August 26, 2014

If you were hoping for some sort of reasoning from the league on why they decided that the rules don't matter, then you're out of luck:

Rays protest denied by MLB. No formal reason given.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 26, 2014

In a season that has had some unlucky moments, I guess we can be happy that some good fortune has finally come the Blue Jays' way.

Dalton Pompey, Jon Berti, and Dwight Smith Jr. are three of the Blue Jays prospects who will play in the Arizona Fall League this October and November.

Despite the Blue Jays' diminishing chances at making the postseason, Jays fans can still watch some relevant games in October as the Arizona Fall League will start up on October 7 at 12:35 mountain time. Dalton Pompey, who rocketed from Dunedin (A-Adv) all the way up to Buffalo (AAA) this year, will be one of the Blue Jays prospects to play fall. Joining Pompey will be Jon Berti and Dwight Smith, Jr. with more players to be announced.

I must thank Bernie Pleskoff for announcing the names on Twitter, because I had a hell of a time finding this link.

Teams send up to seven players to fill the rosters of their AFL affiliate, and usually they consist of the top prospects in the organization in order to expose them to the top talent of other organizations. So we can expect the Blue Jays to announce four more players (including a few pitchers, one might think) to add to the roster going forward.

The Blue Jays have moved their affiliate from the Salt River Rafters to the Mesa Solar Sox this year, and their prospects will be on the same team as the top prospects from the Cubs, Nationals, Angels, and Athletics. The Blue Jays will be sending roving infield coordinator Mike Mordecai to the AFL to manage the Solar Sox. Joining him will be pitching coaches Ron Villone and Matt Wise, and hitting coach Greg Sparks.

Schedule

The following Mesa Solar Sox's schedule has been announced by the AFL:

Daytona is claiming a playoff spot while Tennessee has lost their grip on one. The Cougars tie a franchise record for wins.

Kane County manager Mark Johnson was named the Midwest League Manager of the Year.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were beaten by the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners), 5-3.

Dan Straily started for Iowa and allowed five runs on ten hits over five innings. One of the five runs was unearned. Straily struck out six and walked three.

Left fielder Junior Lake hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning. Lake was 2 for 3 and also doubled and walked. He scored two runs.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies were swept by the Jacksonville Suns (Marlins), 6-5.

Starter Pierce Johnson allowed three runs on five hits over six innings. Johnson had some problems with the longball as all three runs scored on a pair of home runs. Johnson struck out three and walked two.

Frank Batista entered the game in the top of the ninth with a 6-4 lead, but took the loss when he allowed three runs on two hits in the inning he pitched. One of the runs was unearned because of an Addison Russell throwing error. Batista walked two, hit one batter and struck out one.

Anthony Giansanti was 2 for 3 with a double and a sacrifice fly. He scored once.

Albert Almora went 2 for 5 with a double and a triple. Almora had one RBI and one run scored.

Charles Cutler was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

Chattanooga won tonight, so the Smokies fall into a first-place tie with the Lookouts. The two teams will finish out the season with a five-game series at Chattanooga starting on Thursday. It's best-of-five, winner-take-all.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs clipped the wings of the Dunedin Blue Jays, 6-5.

Rob Zastryzny pitched five innings and gave up four runs on seven hits, two of which were home runs. He did dominate the strike zone as he struck out nine and walked only one.

Stephen Perakslis got the win with 2.1 innings of relief of Zastryzny. Perakslis allowed two hits, three walks and a hit batter, but no runs. He struck out three.

Zack Godley entered the game in the eighth inning with men on first and second and one out and promptly loaded the bases on his own fielding error. But he struck out the next two batters to end the threat. He allowed a leadoff home run in the ninth inning and a single to the next batter, but then retired the next three batters for his seventh save.

Godley's final line was one run on two hits over 1.2 innings. He struck out four and walked nobody.

The Cubs took the lead in the top of the eighth on a two-run single by shortstop Marco Hernandez. Hernandez was 2 for 4.

In the fourth inning, right fielder Bijan Rademacher hit a solo home run which was his tenth of the season. Rademacher also had two doubles in a 3 for 5 night. Rademacher scored twice.

Third baseman Wes Darvill went 2 for 4 with two runs scored and one run batted in.

Tampa won, so Daytona holds their two-game lead in the division with four to play. After the final game of the Dunedin series tomorrow, Tampa comes to Daytona to finish out the year.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars tied a franchise record for wins by swatting the Burlington Bees (Angels), 6-1.

Starter Duane Underwood got his sixth win by allowing just one run on five hits over 5.1 innings. Underwood struck out four and didn't walk anyone.

The Cougars had ten hits in this game and all nine players in the lineup got at least one hit. DH Chesny Young was the guy who got the second hit. He was 2 for 4 with a double and a sacrifice fly.

The Cougars record now stands at 88-46 with six games to play. The franchise record for wins was 88, set in 2001.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks gave up three runs in the top of the ninth inning to fall to the Everett AquaSox (Mariners), 4-2.

Starter Josh Conway pitched three innings and was perfect, retiring all nine batters. He struck out two.

Sam Wilson entered the game in the seventh inning and allowed only one single between the seventh and eighth innings. But then he started the ninth and gave up singles to the first three batters he faced before exiting. Two of the hits were bunt singles. (I presume both hitters were trying to sacrifice.) So Daniel Lewis came into the game with the bases-loaded, no outs and a 2-1 lead. After a strikeout, he walked in the tying run. Then Everett took the lead on the third bunt single of the inning. A sacrifice fly ended the scoring.

The final line on Wilson, who got the loss, was 2+ innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out four and walked nobody.

DH Kevin Brown was 2 for 4 with a triple and two run scored.

Seventeen year-old shortstop Gleyber Torres made his Boise debut tonight. He was 0 for 3 with a walk.

Salem-Keizer also lost. For the Hawks to make the playoffs, they need two things to happen. One, they need Hillsboro to win the second half.  Then they need to have a better overall record than Salem-Keizer. Currently, Hillsboro has a three-game lead over Salem-Keizer in the second half and Boise has a two-game lead overall on the Volcanoes with six games to play. The final three games of the season will be between Boise and Salem-Keizer at Memorial Stadium.

AZL Cubs

Lost to the Dodgers, 8-3.

The AFL is players that the organization is pushing.

The Arizona Fall League is baseball's way of extending the minor league season for a handful of prospects from each MLB club. The league forms rosters of teams with eight players from five major league teams. The six teams then play each other during October and November.

In the past, Mike Trout played Winter Ball (and had a terrible AFL season) and was teammates on the Scottsdale Scorpions with Bryce Harper. Years ago Chone Figgins refused an assignment to Winter Ball but nevertheless rose thru the organization. This year the Angels make up part of the Mesa Solar Sox. The four other teams adding players to the MSS are the Nationals, Blue Jays, Cubs and Athletics.

The Future Halos making this year are:

PITCHERS:

• Trevor Gott (AA, Halos Heaven Rank: 14)
• Dan Reynolds (AA, Halos Heaven Rank: 26)
• Mark Sappington (High A, Halos Heaven Rank: "In the Picture")
• Nate Smith (AA, Halos Heaven Rank: 3)

POSITION PLAYERS:

• Kaleb Cowart (AA, Halos Heaven Rank: 24)
• Chad Hinshaw (High A, Halos Heaven Rank: "In the Picture")
• Eric Stamets (AA, Halos Heaven Rank: "In the Picture")
• Cal Towey (High A, Halos Heaven Rank: "In the Picture")

Stamets is on the restricted list and can only play in games on Wednesday and Sunday. 66ers pitching coach and former Angel starting pitcher Matt Wise will be part of the Mesa coaching staff.

Inclusion in the AFL is not an indication of a prospect's status. A lot of players are "on the bubble" and the organization may want to watch them a little more carefully before cutting ties with them. Many players are given definite instruction on what to work on in the AFL, be it pull hitting or throwing a certain pitch. If a player tears up the AFL you will see their national rankings on prospect lists go up but if they tank they often get a free pass for just being too damn tired at season's end to produce.

On the field, players wear their AFL team's cap but put on the jersey for the team with whom they are signed. MLB estimated that sixty percent of AFL players eventually play in the Major Leagues.

I assume this is another step in converting Nick Maronde back to a starting pitcher.

2014 Az Fall League participants for the #Indians INF/C Tony Wolters OF Jordan Smith RHP Dylan Baker LHP Nick Maronde RHP Louis Head

— Cleveland Indians (@tribeinsider) August 26, 2014

• Michael Brantley has the best stolen base percentage among qualified batters and Dustin Pedroiahas the worst.

• I don't think this has appeared in a news and notes yet, so here is August Fagerstrom's take on Trevor Bauer's Effective Velocity beliefs.

• Cody Allen did not appear in last night's game despite it being a save situation. But don't be alarmed, it was just a second day off after 3 straight appearances. Here's more from Bastian on last night's game.

• I bet you've never heard this one before: Carlos Quentin is about to be shut down for the season.

• For some reason, the Mariners made another long-term commitment to #JackZ.

• The Toronto Blue Jays continued their slide last night against Boston. Entering the 11th inning tied at 4, the Blue Jays allowed 7 runs in the top of the 11th. The 3 they scored in the bottom of the inning was not enough to stop them from falling to .500.

• Yordano Ventura was already scratched from his start today. Liam Hendriks will take his place. Hendriks is somehow still only 25!?

• Zach Walters hit another home run yesterday. Yawn. Anyways...

Of Walters' 6 HRs with the Tribe ... + 4 have given the team the lead + 2 have tied the game #Clutch

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) August 27, 2014

Which pitchers release the ball from the farthest point in each cardinal direction?

Pitchers tend to pitch their own way. Deliveries stay mainly the same throughout a player's career because it's such a hard thing to change. Altering the stance or the windup of a pitcher can throw the body completely out of motion. For that reason, you can see pitchers delivering the ball through whatever means necessary.

Some pitchers employ a sizable leg kick and others twist their hips so far it looks like they're about to break in half. Some, however, choose to release the ball at odd places. In this article, I'll highlight four pitchers who go the farthest out of their way to release the ball.

Nick Hagadone of the Indians commonly throws the ball from heights as far as seven feet above the ground. Louis Coleman of the Royals releases the ball so far right (left from catcher's perspective) that he often finds his feet planted a few feet away from the top of the mound. Ben Rowen of the Rangers throws the lowest submarine pitches since "Moneyball" Chad Bradford. Finally, Aaron Loup of the Blue Jays reaches as far as five feet left (right from catcher's perspective) when the ball flies out of his hand. All of them have found success at one point or another because of their unique release points.

Nick Hagadone

Hagadone, a 6'5" lefty, has gone largely under the radar this season as a valuable reliever in Cleveland's bullpen. His arm action is the closest to what most pitchers in baseball do; the over-the-top release is generally favored because of its quick torque release. Because Hagadone stands taller than most pitchers in baseball, and because his arm stretches far above his head, he is often throwing down into the catcher's glove.

Through 19.1 innings in 2014, Hagadone has pitched to a 1.40 ERA and 79 FIP-,  21% better than the average pitcher. The three seasons prior, however, tell the story of someone who has been continually challenged. Once a top prospect in the Indians and Red Sox systems, Hagadone had fallen from grace after compiling -0.1 fWAR in his first three stints at the major league level.

As you can see from the chart above, Hagadone's release point centers just above seven feet. In fact, among all pitchers in 2014, Hagadone has thrown the most pitches from the height of 7'2" or taller with 86. Not only that, but 6.2% of all his pitches are thrown from over 7'4". All in all, Nick tops out at 7'7", a tremendous height to pitch down from. The photo on the right displays a 7'2" slider release against David Ortiz that results in a groundout (GIF). The massive downhill plane that Hagadone uses to freeze hitters has finally begun to work in his favor.

Louis Coleman

Coleman, the proprietor of a 7.48 ERA and consequent demotion to AAA, has imploded this season. He has lost all sense of control and command, bumping his walk rate up to 5.40 BB/9 and his strikeout rate down to 6.23 K/9. As a result, Coleman has struggled to stay afloat in the crowded Royals' bullpen. The answer to his problems may lie buried in his release point.

In 2013, just seven of Coleman's 420 pitches were released from over four feet to the right of the mound. In 2014 though, 76 of his 420 pitches (the exact same number of total pitches), or 18.1% have been released from over four feet right. Maintaining such a strange release point can only be detrimental as Coleman ventures further and further off balance. As you can see in the photo below, Coleman is nearly falling off-balance when he throws because his arm is dragging the rest of his body so far off the mound. 44.7% of pitches Coleman has thrown from over four feet off the mound have been balls. 

Coleman's release points are literally off the charts. All four of his pitches are thrown from way past four feet and some have even reached past the five foot precipice. His 420 pitches this season have been thrown from an average of -3.712 feet to the right side of the mound. In the photo on the right, Coleman releases a -4.0' two-seamer (GIF) to David Freese, resulting in an amazing catch by Lorenzo Cain in the outfield.

Ben Rowen

Out of all four pitchers featured in this article, Rowen probably has the strangest arm action because he releases the ball only a mere two feet off the ground. In fact, upon watching his throwing motion for the first time, I thought he was about to throw a bowling ball because the two motions look so much alike. Fortunately, Rowen's low release point makes him a ground ball machine; he's amassed 65 ground outs to only 17 fly outs at AAA Round Rock. In limited work at the major league level (only 8.2 innings), he has compiled a 4.15 ERA and 2.90 FIP.

Regarded as possessing possibly the worst pitch repertoire in the minor leagues according to Baseball America, Ben Rowen makes up for it with his underhanded mechanics. He will often freeze batters at the plate because his arm action is so rare. While the popular consensus in baseball may be that Brad Ziegler has the more pronounced release, Rowen actually edges him by a sizable amount. Ziegler's average release point this year stands at 3.414 feet while Rowen's release point averages a minuscule 2.307 feet.

The diagram on the left graphs Rowen's release points this season, often measuring less than two feet off the ground. Of the 145 pitches he has thrown, 141 have been released from below 2'6", and he is the only player to have thrown from below 2'6" at all. In the photo on the right, Rowen utilizes his submarine arm action to induce a groundout (GIF).

Aaron Loup

Loup is basically the opposite of Louis Coleman. Whereas Coleman, a righty, pitches on the extreme right side of the mound, Loup, a lefty, pitches on the extreme left side. The difference is that the 5'11" pitcher has actually had sustained success in the MLB. For three years out of Toronto's bullpen, Loup has a 1.109 WHIP and 2.67 ERA over 158.2 innings. As we look closer at the data, we'll be able to see that the main thing Loup and Coleman have in common is that their control problems may stem from their release points.

In 2013, Loup had relatively superb control, walking only 1.7 batters every nine innings, but in 2014, he's jumped all the way to 4.3 BB/9. The problem may stem from the outlier pitches. By averaging all of Loup's pitches from 2013 and then from 2014, you wouldn't find a noticeable difference; however, the mean doesn't effectively take into account all of the extreme pitches. In 2013, Loup only threw 1.5% pitches from farther than 4'6" to the left of the mound. In 2014 though, Loup has thrown 9.1% of his pitches from farther than 4'6" to the left of the mound. As we seemed to see with Coleman, the farther away on the x-axis from the center of the mound a pitch is released, the less control the pitcher has over it. Of all 83 pitches from this year's selection, 57.8% have been balls.

The diagram on the left again shows that Loup's release points this year have been literally off the charts, often measuring more than five feet to the left of the mound (right from the catcher's perspective). In the photo on the right, Loup releases a fastball to Alex Gordon (GIF), which is then lined back into Loup's glove before Gordon is retired at first base.

Conclusion

Imagine a bullpen with access to all of these pitchers. Using them in quick succession in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th innings would devastate batters as they try to get a handle on where the pitchers are coming from. All four have shown flashes of success in the MLB at one point or another. The trick is to get them to harness their unique release points and use it to their advantage. For Loup and Coleman in particular, practicing with the far-sided release more could help get their pitches under control. Just to capture the strange array of release points in MLB, I combined both Hagadone and Rowen, and Coleman and Loup's releases into two single pictures.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs, Baseball Savant,Brooks Baseball, and Baseball-Reference.

Justin Perline is a writer for Beyond the Box Score and The Wild Pitch. You can follow him on Twitter at @jperline.

Once again, Chad Jenkins makes the trip from Buffalo.

You had to figure the Jays were going to send out Sergio Santos after last night's disaster and they did, he got the DFA treatment again. This time I'm not expecting him back.

And Chad Jenkins returns. Is it really 10 days since he was last sent out? We should just schedule these Jenkins callup posts for 10 days after he gets sent out, it would save time.

Jenkins has a 2.56 ERA in 21 games in Toronto. In 31.2 innings, he's allowed 34 hits, 2 home runs, 6 walks and 18 strikeouts, as a Jay. As a Bison, he has a 4.70 ERA in 44 innings, 45 hits, 5 home runs, 9 walks and 27 strikeouts.

Sergio has been just terrible this year after a great season last year. He has a 8.57 ERA, in 21 innings. He's allowed 28 hits, 5 home runs, 18 walks and 29 strikeouts. I huge change from his 1.75 ERA from last year. It is hard to believe that he could forget how to pitch over the winter, but that seems to be what has happened.

He did seem to have figured things out in Buffalo, but lost it again somewhere on the highway back to Toronto. I wonder if he will go back to Buffalo, their season ends on the first of September, but, if they make the playoffs, he'd be handy to have.

Welcome back Chad. This time. I hope, you'll be here for the rest of the season.