The Dunedin Crew lights up Jupiter!

Dunedin's RHP Andrew Liebel had a great start with 6.2 IP, 8 hits allowed, and 8 Ks for his first win of the season after 11 starts. Yep, his first win despite a respectable 4.35 ERA and 48 Ks over 60 IP. Andrew has allowed 2 or fewer runs over his last 4 starts and is really starting to open up some eyes. He's only 23 years old, stands at 6'0" and a sturdy 195 lbs. He was a 3rd round pick of the Jays in 2008, a draft that seems to have created quite a few options for the Jays going forward.

But, the lighting up of Jupiter pitching was done by one effective offensive outburst. 2B John Tolisano hit his 5th HR of the season and is starting to show the pop in his bat on a consistent basis. Outfielder Darin Mastoianni was a pest the entire game at leadoff, getting 3 hits including one double, a walk, 3 runs, and 2 RBI. His season average now sits at over .300, and although he has no home runs, he does have 27 stolen bases already. He could be the first speedster the Jays have had since.....hell, I can't remember the last speedster they've had. Another hot outfielder during this game was Sean Shoffit, who was demoted from AA after a horrid start to the year. He was 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. However, the ligthning rod of the bunch was the previously mentioned Johnny Tolisano, who went 5 for 5 and punched in 4 RBIs with the help of his home run. John is hitting .286 over his last 10 games but only has 2 extra base hits over those 35 ABs. He still needs to develop a lot before the Jays move him up and may remain in HiA the entire season as a result.


Note: 3B Kevin Ahrens is really starting to look like a huge bust. Although the expectations were not as high as, say a Cameron Maybin or Travis Snider, he was compared to Chipper Jones when the Jays selected him in the 1st round of the 2007 draft. He went 0 for 5 in last night's game and is hitting .162 over his last 10. His season average is at the mendozza line (.206) and he has only managed 9 extra base hits over 131 ABs. Not exactly compelling stuff for a 1st rounder. SP Tim Alderson, Aaron Poreda, Rick Porcello, Andrew Brackman, and OF Ben Revere are just a few of the later picks in the 1st round that may have been better options than Ahrens. Then again, all scouts agreed that Ahrens was a great pick at the time, but who can really tell how a HS player will develop. That Porcello passed us by really kills me though, because the only reason he did was "sign ability". Which pretty much means "we don't want to win badly enough".