One of the questions I hate hearing the most is ‘What reasons can you give Jays fans to bother coming out to watch the team this year?’ My response to it is usually along the lines of ‘because baseball is a beautiful thing to watch, you fucking limp-dicked bandwagon jumping whore-mongering would be Masshole cocksucker!’ Unfortunately, with the rules of modern media, Alex Anthopoulos is not allowed to scream that right before lamping Dick Griffin one. Putting aside my total hatred for people who judge the worth of baseball on post-season play, I’ve decided to give people five reasons to watch the Jays next year, and all of them are based off of recent moves by the Jays to augment their farm system.
Zach Stewart
Brought over in the Rolen trade (or better described as a steal), Zach Stewart will start at AAA Las Vegas next year, and is a potential front of the rotation starting pitcher for the Jays down the road. Stewart went to high-A Sarasota to start the season where he was truly overpowering. In 42.1 innings and 7 starts, Stewart posted a 2.13 ERA with a 32/8 K/BB ratio, 2.42 GB/FB ratio, and a 1.30 WHIP. In AAA ball, Stewart posted more human numbers, with an ugly WHIP of 167 and an ERA of around 2. However, Stewart was focused on controlling his walks, something he’s been inconsistent with, and once he becomes a little more comfortable down in the zone, his numbers should improved.
The key with Stewart is that he’s got a high end potential in his raw stuff. He gets a lot of strikeouts, especially on the quality of his slider, and is developing a change and a curve ball that will strongly help his 95mph+ heater. Stewart actually projects a little like Stieb; a power pitcher who can blow past batters, and if he adds an average off-speed pitch to his repertoire, will continue to strike out a lot of batters at any level.
Stewart features a nasty fastball and a hard biting slider, but as a starter he is working on a third pitch: his change-up. His slider is his obvious plus pitch, with scouts being extremely impressed by its movement and speed. His fastball has good sinking action to it and hitters are beating the ball into the ground.
Josh Roenicke
Roenicke will likely start 2010 in the Jays bullpen, currently in a mid-relief role. The high leverage pitcher has closer like power, with his 95mph fastball and almost splitter like cutter. His thirty odd innings in the majors last year between the Reds and the Jays saw him touched up a bit, but a lot of that is just the normal growing pains that come along with transitioning into the Bigs.
Roenicke certainly has the profile of a closer, and one of the very promising things about him is his clean mechanics. His approach to the plate is very efficient, which means that arm concerns are finally not a worry, and with the cutter as a go-to pitch, Roenicke could be a very effective option in late innings to shut down the opposition for an inning or two. He normally exhibits excellent control, keeping the ball down and limiting home runs.
Brett Wallace
The Jays seem to like their power hitters pasty and thick. Wallace is very much in the mould of Travis Snider as a guy who can just flat out rake, and has been doing so his entire minor league career. A left handed hitter with plus power, Wallace has posted some gaudy numbers and is most praised for his approach to the plate and ability to work counts. He strikes out a fair amount, which is to be expected with his power swing, but not so much that it is a serious concern. His patience means he’s unlikely to hit Adam Dunn territory in that regard.
Wallace owns a .293/.367/.455 line for his career, which is all the more impressive since it is mostly based at AAA level. His power as well as his ability to take a walk makes him a dangerous middle of the lineup bat, adding more left handed power to the already impressive Jays lefties.
A huge powerfully built guy, Wallace is currently a third baseman. While most people say he’s built for first base, several of his coaches have been clear that he’s got the athleticism and glove to stick at the hot corner. Either way, his bat is the real value, and the fact that he’s not limited to a DH role is an added bonus.
Kyle Drabek
Drabek is the biggest, swingingest dick in this whole trade. When sports writers in Southern Pennsylvania aren’t busy unlocking their jaws to slip his manmeat down their throats, they talk about his electric stuff and guaranteed stardom in a short time. The reality is less impressive, but not much so. Son of a former Cy Young award winner, Drabek projects some nice things in the future.
A hard throwing fireballer, there isn’t a former Jay he resembles as much as AJ Burnett. Drabek throws a nasty two seamer that he can locate down in the zone, and a plus curve that he uses to lock up batters. It’s not quite the knuckle-curve, but more of the twelve-six traditional over-arm breaking ball with a lot of late movement. He needs a third major league ready pitch to put him into Ace territory, but is working on a change up, and the Jays seem to develop a lot of high quality change up tossers.
If Drabek can twin a Marcum-like change with his heater and hook, he’s a very dangerous presence on the mound for a long time. The ability to change speeds and deliver a late breaking ball will handcuff batters, and could propel him to an elite level pitcher like many hope.
Travis D’Arnaud
D’Arnaud is one of the most intriguing elements of the trade, as he’s basically been below most scouts’ radar, and has been strongly coveted by Toronto. Their belief is that the farm system of the Phillies has mishandled his development, which is why their interest in the man is limited. Instead, the Jays believe strongly that D’Arnaud is not only a strong prospect, but a potential All-Star catcher, with a strong defensive game behind the dish and a bat that is promising power and consistency.
The catching of the Jays has long been suspect, with a raft of failed ‘can’t miss’ prospects littering the wayside like driftwood; Delgado was converted to first, Quiroz never learned how to hit and stay healthy, Phelps was over hyped, Diaz the same, Arencibia had a disappointing year and Jerolman’s bat hasn’t come around. The Jays have stitched together a catching solution for years, with veterans from Kevin Cash, Gregg Zaun, Rod Barajas and now John Buck taking over the role as journeyman solutions.
For an organization that hasn’t developed a quality catcher since the days of Ernie Whitt (one of the impact catchers of the 80s) and Pat Borders (proof that intelligence on top of mediocre skills behind the dish can provide a long and successful career), the Jays are starved for a stalwart behind the dish, and in D’Arnaud they see that person. Not exciting, but defensively good, solid and improving at the plate, looking for a chance at high A and AA ball; we’ll see shortly who D’Arnaud really is, a plus defender with some pop, or another hope on a prayer.
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