Who will the Jays add in the OF?

Jordan Bastien reported today that the Jays intend on adding a player to the OF rotation that currently consists of Lind - Wells - Snider. The major statement made in the report is as follows: " If Scutaro accepts, Anthopoulos said he would have playing time in the outfield. Scoot would prefer to stick with shortstop or second base. Toronto will be looking for outfield help this winter, and Anthopoulos said the Jays have not discussed and don't plan on discussing moving Vernon Wells out of center field."

So, where does that leave us?

Current option #1 - Marco Scutaro accepts arbitration, goes through that painstaking process, gets paid and mans left field or right field instead of an IF position. He becomes a super utility player who can also man 3B, 2B, SS when needed. This option is very unlikely to occur because Marco wants to cash in on his amazing season, and who can blame him after all the hard work he's done to make it.

Current Option #2 - Sign a FA outfielder. Since the Jays are not planning on moving Wells at all, they can acquire a left fielder or right fielder. The best options out there that the Jays can afford include guys like Xavier Nady, Reed Johnson, Randy Winn, and Fernando Tatis. Nady and Tatis are both Type B FAs, but neither was offered arbitration. Clearly, Xavier Nady has the most upside and can hit 25+ HRs while driving in a ton of runs, but may opt for a better option than the rebuilding Jays, unless he feels like he'll get more playing time and exposure in Toronto than he would elsewhere. If he does well, as Marco did this year, he gets paid. I'd love to see the Jays sign Nady to a 1 year deal and see how it goes. He might cost a bit more than the others, but should be able to give you a lot more as well. That is, if he pans out when doctors look at that shotty elbow.

Current Option #3 - Make sure that when we deal Lyle Overbay or Roy Halladay, we get an MLB outfielder in return as part of the package. The possibilities here are endless, but if the Jays can find a catcher on the FA market, adding an outfielder may become their priority in Lyle Overbay trade talks. Would an Overbay for Felix Pie deal be worthwhile? Just a thought.

Current Option #4 - Promote from within and hope for the best. What could be better than remodeling the Blue Jays by adding youth, instead of recycling some oldies. And no, I'm not speaking of guys in AAA like Jason Lane or David Dellucci. Nor am I mentioning Joe Inglett or other infielders thrown out there as patchwork. I'm talking about CF Darin Mastroianni (pictured above). Darin will be 25 in 2010. He played in HiA and AA last season and had 70 SBs between the 2 levels. His OBP was outstanding at .398 overall, and he walked almost as often and he struck out (76/83). He kept up this performance in the AFL this year, with a .368 OBP, 8 walks and 5 strike outs. He's the kind of guy would could really become a spark plug for our offence, and could potentially become a fixture at the top of the lineup. Sure, skipping AAA altogether without a full season in AA is not done often, but do the Jays really have much to lose in this case? The pressure would be a little heavy, but entering a scenario where the organization is ready for growing pains may be the perfect time to do this kind of thing. He would become a CF in this case, and Wells would rightfully shift to RF or LF, where he belongs.

Personally, I don't mind any of the options since they all have their upside and downside. One thing is for sure however, by making that kind of statement, Alex is admitting that he isn't comfortable with the outfield he currently has - most likely due to their generally limited range and sloth like speed. Alex seems to be emphasizing great D to go along with offence as well as to help his young pitching staff out. Smart man.

RP Daniel Farquhar dealing in AA

Over his last 10 appearances, 22 year old reliever Daniel Farquhar has a minute .077 ERA, only 6 hits and 5 walks allowed over 11.2 innings pitched, and 14 strike outs. He also saved 7 games during the same appearances, and now has 15 saves to his credit between HiA and AA this season, with a .082 ERA over 43.2 IP with 57 Ks. With talks of Scott Downs being or Jason Frasor being moved before the deadline, Daniel could be well on his way to a trial period with the Jays by the end of the month.

Daniel was quite a find in the 2008 draft for the Jays since he was drafted 308th overall in the 10th round. Since the Jays are in fact looking to move some older players, Daniel should get a chance to at the very least move up to AAA this season.

Jeroloman goes deep, Fishercats Pen Impressive

The catcher of the future for the Jays has recently been thought to be JP Arencibia, who shows power that may have never existed on a Jays squad. However, with JP's slow start to 2009, Brian Jeroloman has been able to open some eyes and to assert himself as a strong backup plan in 2010 or 2011 if JP's progression stalls. Jeroloman is better known for his stellar defense than his bat, but he has been able to turn on a couple of pitches this season and more so of late. An interesting note for Brian is that he hits for higher average with runners on (.268) than he does without(.221), indicating that there may be a clutch performance capability within his repertoire.

The pen's performance in AA has been excellent all year, but has really come on of late with the additions of RHP Cesar Polanco (34 Ks in 32 IP), LHP Edgar Estanga (40 Ks in 41 IP), and future Jays closer RHP Daniel Farquhar (29 Ks in 22 IP). All three have been promoted from Dunedin's staff and have really closed the door on tight games with small margins of error. Farquhar in particular has been lights out, with a minute 1.19 ERA and hitters getting only a .150 average against him in AA. Look for him to get pushed up once again sometime soon and make his presence felt in AAA Las Vegas. With BJ Ryan's release and Accardo's promotion from AAA, he could be next in line to get the call from the Jays this season.

RHP Kenny Rodriguez - New Hampshire

Kenny was promoted from Dunedin after Marc got the call from the Jays. At 24, he was the most mature HiA pitcher and had proven himself worthy of a promotion with his 66.2 IP, 63 Ks, and 2.43 ERA for Dunedin.

His first 2 starts in AA have been the Dr-Jekyl and Mr.Hyde type of starts, with his first line being 6 IP, 2 Ks, 1 ER, 3 BB, and his second being 5.2 IP, 3 Ks, 7 ER, and 2 BB. We can at least say that both have been lengthy starts and that every pitcher goes through growing pains when promoted. Kenny hails from Cuba and could move into the "top 3 guys to call up if needed" category quickly if he progresses as expected. Purcey is surely next in line, along with others returning from injury, but Kenny is getting close to being next on the totem pole and should get better this season in AA.

Marc Rzepczynski ahead of David Purcey?

I know that the Jays want to give their young guys a chance this season, but the use of Marc Rzepczynski - who has only made 2 starts higher than AA - ahead of the experienced David Purcey, who has pitched very well of late in AAA, brings a couple of questions to mind.

1- Is it possible that the Jays want to evaluate whether or not they can expect good production from Marc in the near term, allowing them to begin negotiations to deal Roy?

2- It is also possible that they want to showcase Marc in order to deal him along with Wells in order to get rid of his ludicrous contract.

3- They may simply want someone for 1 start and want to fall back far enough in the standings so that they don't get hate mail when they deal Roy away.

Purcey's stats in AAA lately amount to (last 6 games) 29.2 IP, 24 HA, 8 ER, 16 BB and 28 Ks. To me, he seemed like the most logical choice if the Jays actually wanted to be competitive this season since he did make 12 starts for the Jays last year. Instead, they opted for the rookie - who I am very anxious to see pitch - and who along with Bret Cecil represents the future of the Jays rotation.

Kenny Rodriguez makes first AA start

RHP Kenny Rodriguez, a 24 yr old from Cuba, made the jump from HiA to AA this week and got the July 4th start for New Hampshire. While in HiA, Kenny was 6-3, with a 2.43 ERa in 66.2 IP, 56 Ha, 23 BB, and 63 Ks. In his first start in AA, he went a strong 6 IP, with 3 HA, 3 BB, 1 ER, and 2 Ks. A very encouraging beginning to his progression through the higher levels of the minors. With Marc Rzepczynski getting the start for Toronto on Tuesday, chances are Kenny is in AA to stay and Marc may go to AAA if or when he is sent down again.

AA's Marc Rzepczynski, LHP Makes BA' Hot Sheet

Marc Rzepczynski's last 2 starts have been absolutely outstanding, and to prove it, here's what BA had to say about this line:

1-0, 0.64, 14 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 0 HR, 4 BB, 1 HBP, 16 SO

"A fifth-round pick in '07 from UC Riverside, Rzepczynski leads the EL with 88 strikeouts. On the flip side, he's also tops with 36 walks issued. But nearly half of those free passes (17) were issued in five April starts. Since then he's struck out 53 batters in 52 innings, while issuing a manageable 19 walks—or 3.3 per nine innings. Rzepczynski checks in on Hot Sheet this week for twirling seven shutout innings against Erie and then following that up by allowing only one run over seven innings to a strong Akron club. He struck out eight batters each time."

You can check out the other hot prospects here, but Marc has definitely given the Jays something to look at when they need another arm. He is maturing at a good rate and could become a strong #2 or #3 candidate that compliments Bret Cecil for a long time for the Jays. To have such great home grown talent is awesome and should allow the Jays to make a good run at resigning Doc.

Meet New Hampshire's RP Edgar Estanga

I came across Edgar's information while watching highlights of New Hampshire games and liked what I saw, and so do the Jays. The Jays signed him as a non-drafted FA in 2003. Edgar hails from Venezuela, Toronto's Latin American backyard, and measures 5'9" 240 lbs. Visualize that for a moment....ok. Carrying on, he's a 23 year old lefty who was charged with closing duties for a while last season in Lansing, and ended the season 9-3, with 102 IP, 106 Ks, 92 HA, 22 BB, and 9 saves. He led Lansing in wins and was definitely ready for a push forward.

This season, Edgar started the year in Dunedin but was promoted very quickly (after 2.2 innings) to New Hampshire. His stats thus far are:
2-2, with 21 IP, 20 Ks, 15 HA, 11 BB, and 2 saves.

His walks in AA are a little worrisome, and the fact that Edgar is so dominant against lefties may define his role in the pen when he makes it to the Jays. One encouraging fact is that regardless of whether he's facing a lefty or a righty, Edgar gets 1 strike out per inning on average, indicating that he can get out of tough spots if need be. He may need to work on his stamina since he is starting to do what he did last season, which was to have an extremely strong start, followed by a rough second half. Hopefully Edgar can build his stamina because the Jays will need options in the pen at some point with so many guys struggling and he would be a great fit. Look for Edgar to make AAA if he can prove that fatigue isn't a factor from July forward.