Bluebird Banter

Photo by Todd Kirkland/ Braves look for their sixth straight division title Today is surprisingly just the second off day of the spring for the Jays. To fill the need for baseball content (aside from tonight’s World Baseball Classic finale), here is the preview for the National League East. Atlanta Braves (2022: 101-61, First Place via tiebreaker) Braves @ Blue Jays May 12-14 The Braves won their fifth consecutive division title in 2022, although they took this one in a tie with the Mets but took the tiebreaker with 10-9 head to head victory. Unlike when they won...

Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/ The Jays make the trip to Lakeland, Florida to play the Tigers today. The game is on MLB.tv (as I write this I don’t know if Sportsnet is going to pick this one up) with the Tigers broadcast team. It's Gaus day...and it's on TV! @Sportsnet @FAN590, https://t.co/LCxIWKC6ij pic.twitter.com/bmnQ7qmYEN— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 20, 2023 Ring in the first day of spring with us on @BallySportsDET today! pic.twitter.com/Fz1p0YwDCd— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 20, 2023 We are glad you are here and hope you feel...

A fast moving reliever and three position players with very different risk/upside profiles Moving towards the heart of the Toronto Blue Jays system, this section (and the next spot beyond) feature a group of position players with similar overall value, but very divergent risk and upside profiles. We’ve gone back on forth on ordering them, and it really comes down more to the eye of the beholder. The point to underline here is that while 12th is 20% higher than 15th on the list, it doesn’t represent a significant difference in value. 2023: Full List and Index | 13-16 | 17-20...

A power breakout, two pitchers who missed most of 2022, and a high school arm looking to get really untracked The next section of the Toronto Blue Jays Top 40 prospects features one young position player who flew up the rankings, as well as three pitchers who are lower for various reasons but retain significant promise. 2023: Full List and Index | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40 2022: Full List and Index | 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-12 | 13-16 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40Beyond the Top 40: Just Missed | Top 5 Older | Pref Lists: Matt | Tom 20. Rainer Nunez,...

Cito Gaston turns 79 today. Cito, the player, came up through the Atlanta Braves system and was a September call-up in 1967, sharing the outfield with Hank Aaron. In 1968, the Padres picked him in the expansion draft. He had one terrific season there, hitting .318/.364/.543 with 29 homers and 93 RBI. The rest of his career was up and down, but he had an 11-year career and was an excellent defensive center fielder. Being a black player coming up in the ‘60s through the Atlanta Braves system, it must have been, at the very least, interesting. I’m sure he has some stories to...

Four position players with widely varying skill sets and upsides Moving into the middle of the journey up the Toronto Blue Jays farm system, this section of the Top 40 is four position players but makes for an eclectic mix with very divergent skill sets (and with a strong amount of CanCon). 2023: Full List and Index | 21-24 | 25-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40 2022: Full List and Index | 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-12 | 13-16 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40Beyond the Top 40: Just Missed | Top 5 Older | Pref Lists: Matt | Tom 24. Dasan Brown, CF, age 21 (DOB: 9/25/2001), grade:...

Photo by Mark Blinch/ And Rowdy Tellez, Brandon League, Curtis Granderson Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. turns 24 today. 24-year-old, and he already has 104 MLB home runs (and that’s with a shortened season in there) and a .284/.358/.504 line. On our all-time lists, Vlad is already: 21st in bWAR 45th in games played 34th in runs scored 34th in hits 21st in home runs 29th in RBI 31st in walks Happy Birthday, Vlad. Rowdy Tellez turns 28 today. Rowdy had parts of three seasons with the Blue Jays, hitting .241/.301/.458 with 37 home runs. Traded to the Brewers for Trevor...

A remarkable degree of year-to-year stability in this section The next section of the Toronto Blue Jays farm system features two international signees who flipped spots from 2021, as well as two players acquired in recent offseasons. 2023: Full List and Index | 35-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40 2022: Full List and Index | 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-12 | 13-16 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40Beyond the Top 40: Just Missed | Top 5 Older | Pref Lists: Matt | Tom 28. Adrian Hernandez, RHP, age 23 (DOB: 1/22/2000), grade: 35+, 2022: 27th Hernandez was signed by the Blue Jays out of...

Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via The Red Sox come to Dunedin today. The game is on Sportsnet. Captain Kirk's in the lineup @Sportsnet @FAN590, https://t.co/LCxIWKCE7R pic.twitter.com/eaegMRJ6JQ— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 13, 2023 Kick off your week with some #SoxSpring baseball. pic.twitter.com/vx5LY4OnuY— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 13, 2023 We are glad you are here and hope you feel welcome. As a reminder, we have rules. Mostly it’s “don’t be terrible,” but these days, it’s also, “please debate about baseball and not the...

Photo by Mitchell Layton/ Raul Mondesi turns 52 today. Raul had a 13-year MLB career, spent mostly with the Dodgers, but he spent two and a half seasons with the Blue Jays. We picked up in trade Mondesi from the Dodgers (with Pedro Borbon) in trade for Shawn Green. The Green trade wasn’t something the Jays wanted to do, but Green demanded a trade when the team hired Cito Gaston as the hitting coach. Green didn’t get along with Cito when he first came up to the team, and Cito was the manager. Cito liked players to pull the ball, and Green preferred to hit to all...

A couple recent Day 2 draft picks and a couple bonus babies Moving to move up the Toronto Blue Jays system, this last group of grade 35 prospects is a mix of international and domestic players with the ability to command at least $500,000 to sign. 32. Alan Roden, OF, age 23 (DOB: 12/22/1999), grade: 35, 2022: college junior Roden was selected in the 3rd round of this past year’s MLB Draft, signing for essentially $500,000 (about 20% underslot). Having traded in the (Creighton) Bluejay uniform for a (Dunedin) Blue Jays uniform, over the next couple years he’ll look to...

Photo by Mark Brown/ The Orioles visit the Jays in Dunedin today. The game is on Sportsnet and MLB.tv. Brandon Belt makes his #BlueJays debut! @Sportsnet @FAN590, https://t.co/LCxIWKC6ij pic.twitter.com/BLA8N8FzFt— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 11, 2023 Saturday in the sun ☀️ pic.twitter.com/QvZRCTZk4S— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) March 11, 2023 We are glad you are here and hope you feel welcome. As a reminder, we have rules. Mostly it’s “don’t be terrible,” but these days, it’s also, “please debate about baseball and not the...

Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/ Cardinals look to repeat as Division Champions The second division on our Know Your Enemy series is the NL Central, probably the worst division in all of baseball. There are two decent teams, and three bad ones. St. Louis Cardinals (2022: 93-69, 1st Place) Blue Jays @ Cardinals March 30, April 1 & 2 The Blue Jays’ season kicks off in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals. The Cardinals finished 2022 at the top of the division, winning it for the fifth time in the last ten seasons. They ended up falling in two games to the Phillies in the Wild...

Photo by Mark Brown/ The Jays travel to Fort Myers to play the Red Sox, at “Fenway South”. The game is on MLB.tv and Sportsnet. Coming up: Friday afternoon baseball ⚾️ @Sportsnet @FAN590, https://t.co/LCxIWKC6ij pic.twitter.com/OcFl5ltzWL— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 10, 2023 Friday afternoon baseball coming up! pic.twitter.com/9MNe9ZAiSJ— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 10, 2023 We are glad you are here and hope you feel welcome. As a reminder, we have rules. Mostly it’s “don’t be terrible,” but these days, it’s also, “please...

Mike Timlin turns 57 today. Timlin will always have a special place in my heart as he not only got the final out in the Jays’ first World Series, but he also made the assist on the final play, fielding Otis Nixon’s bunt single attempt and throwing to Joe Carter at first just in time to get Nixon. And for that, he gets to a place as one of my favourite players. The Blue Jays drafted Timlin in the 5th round of the 1987 amateur draft out of Southwestern University. In Bill James’s words, he was your basic two-pitch reliever throwing a two-seam sinking fastball and a slider...