Results tagged ‘ David Purcey ’
Prospecting update
In addition to collecting baseball cards of current Toronto Blue Jays, I also collect guys who are prospects of the team. One day, they’ll hopefully be tearing it up in the Major Leagues. And like I mentioned in the Adam Lind post below, I like “prospecting” players because I can buy their cards for relatively cheap because they’ve yet to make a big name for themselves.
Here’s a look at a few guys I’m prospecting, along with some scans of my cards:
Kevin Ahrens: The highly touted prospect struggled last year at Class A Dunedin, and is back there this year — for the start of the season, anyway. The Jays hope this’ll be a career year for Ahrens, who should be able to jump a level or two if he plays well. Through two games, the third baseman is batting .286 with two RBI. He’s only 21, so there’s no need to panic, but let’s hope 2010 is a big year for him.
David Purcey: The lefty is being used out of the bullpen at AAA Las Vegas, and has pitched eight innings in seven appearances, with a 1-0 record. He’s got a good 3.38 ERA and has kept opposing batters to a .222 average, but has a poor strikeout-to-walk ratio of 9-to-8.
J.P. Arencibia: This needs to be a huge season for catcher Arencibia. There’s lots of talk he could see some time in Toronto at some point in 2010, but for that to happen, he’ll have to stay consistent with AAA Las Vegas. The former first-round pick, who tied Alex Rodriguez’ high school career home run record at Westminster Christian High, is off to a great start this season. He’s hitting .309 with three HRs and 11 RBI.
Pitching staff needs a shot in the arm
It’s May 8. Do you know where your pitching staff is?
Unfortunately, a lot of them are on the Disabled List. This year’s Jays will sink or swim with their pitching. Yes, injuries to any key players are deciding factors in the outcome of a season, but let’s not worry about the offence. It’s currently the league’s best and Scott Rolen, Alex Rios and Travis Snider have struggled early on in terms of power and run production. You know the first two guys will come around, and Snider should be all right, too.
But what concerns me most (and at the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious) is the pitching. It’d be optimistic to say the rotation has been decimated early on.
Roy Halladay: Solid as a rock, as usual.
Scott Richmond: A surprising success story, and the AL’s rookie of the month for April.
David Purcey: He’s been roughed up early, but he throws smoke and will be OK.
Jesse Litsch: Looked poised to have a breakout year, but pitched just nine innings before going to the DL.
Ricky Romero: Had a great start, but joined Litsch on the DL.
The middle relief has been solid. I’ve never been a huge proponent of B.J. Ryan and the Jays are showing that without him, they can still win ball games. That said, you could tell he wasn’t 100 per cent in his early appearances, and I hope his DL stint will help him come back and contribute positively.
Obviously, things are going well in Toronto considering the club is missing Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and Casey Janssen.
But here’s the problem: Through 31 games, nine different starters have taken the bump. That’s not good. A team needs five guys for continuity.
That’s why I believe Toronto should take a good, hard look at picking up another body. It’s too early to hit the panic button and make a trade (though the Tim Lincecum for Alex Rios trade a year ago certainly would’ve been nice, right?) but let’s look at who’s still a free agent. Surprisingly, there are some decent names floating around, and potentially guys who could make a different.
1) Pedro Martinez: He looked good at the World Baseball Classic, and considering he’s likely just sitting under a mango tree (his words, not mine) anyway, why not sign him to a minor league deal and see what happens? Does he have any fire left in his arm? That remains to be seen, but he’s certainly worth a shot.
2) Ben Sheets: He made $12 million last year and is sitting at home now. Yikes. He’s fragile as anything, but he’s still a bona fide stud. He’s out until at least the second half of the season after undergoing elbow surgery, but why not take a flyer on him? The Rangers are rumoured to be after him, and if he’s going to go to the AL, I’d rather he was in Toronto.
3) Mark Mulder: How is this guy still unemployed? He too has battled injury problems, but is healthy and only 31 years old. It wouldn’t be an enormous risk to sign him and see what happens.
malcolmmacmillan
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