Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos struggles in outing against Venezuela

The Toronto Blue Jays have a handful of players in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, both from the active roster and within the Minor League depths.
Reliever Yimi García is with the Dominican Republic and had a solid outing yesterday in the loss to Venezuela, pitching a clean inning against the top of the order while Jays starter José Berríos is on Puerto Rico’s roster, joining former Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman in the rotation. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Dominican) and Alejandro Kirk (Mexico) were both slated to suit up in the tournament but Guerrero withdrew after a minor knee injury while Kirk’s spring warmup was delayed due to the birth of his daughter, with the club and player deciding to forego the tournament.
The Jays’ farm system is also heavily active across the World Baseball Classic including Luis Quiñones (Puerto Rico), Jaden Rudd (Great Britain), Spencer Horwitz (Israel), Jesús López (Nicaragua), Jiorgeny Casimiri (Netherlands), Otto Lopez (Canada), Damiano Palmegiani (Canada), and Dasan Brown (Canada).
Berríos Gets the Start for Game #2 Against Venezuela
Stroman made the start for Puerto Rico against Nicaragua yesterday, going 4.2 innings and allowing just one earned run in the contest. Puerto Rico would win the contest 9-1, collecting 11 hits with four players collecting two or more in the contest.
In a stacked Pool D that is made up of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Israel, and Venezuela, Berríos got the ball for Puerto Rico’s second game against a strong Venezuelan squad that pulled out a huge win the night before again …

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Author: Tyson Shushkewich / Blue Jays Nation

Internal options for the Blue Jays 40-man roster when Hyun-Jin Ryu and Chad Green are place on the 60-day Injured List

In the upcoming weeks, the Jays may be adding two players to their 40-man roster.

Although the 40-man is currently full, both Hyun-Jin Ryu and Chad Green will need to be placed on the 60-day Injured List, freeing up two spots. The question is, which players will the Jays add to the 40-man roster? Let’s look at a few internal options:
Bowden Francis:
Before the cancelled Rule 5 draft early in 2022, Bowden Francis, among others, was added to the Blue Jays 40-man roster. In fact, he actually pitched two thirds of an inning with the Jays early in the 2022 season, posting a 0 ERA and 0.11 FIP with a 33.3 K%.
Looking at a larger sample size which is his time with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, he had a 6.59 ERA and 6.02 FIP in 98.1 innings pitched, with a 24.3 K% and a 9.5 BB%. That doesn’t really tell the entire story though, as from July 6th onwards, he had a 4.47 ERA and a 3.42 FIP in 46.1 innings pitched. His K% also increased to 29.8%, while his BB% dropped to 8.3%.

Here are Bowden Francis (@Bowdenpoint0)’s strikeout and whiffs from his Jan 2 game.
4 P, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K.
Rocking a 1.51 ERA, 34.6 K% and a 6.6 BB% in 35.2 innings pitched in the Puerto Rican Winter League!#BlueJays pic.twitter.com/HnCvLNTKHA
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) January 5, 2023

Francis continued to pitch well in the Puerto Rican Winter League, where he had a 1.51 ERA in 35.2 innings pitched. His …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

Ten Blue Jays minor league players elect free agency, including Elvis Luciano

On Thursday, Blue Jays minor league players elected free agency.

Updated on the transaction page on Friday evening, there are 10 minor leaguers whose contracts weren’t extended/decided against signing with the Jays:
C Ryan Gold
RHP Jake Elliottt
RHP Elvis Luciano
RHP Brady Lail
LHP Trey Cumbie
RHP José De León
OF Yoshi Tsutsugo
RHP Eric Yardley
RHP Casey Lawrence
SS Eric Stamets
The most noticeable name is Elvis Luciano, who was a Rule 5 draft pick in 2019. The right-handed pitcher was the first player born in the 2000s to play in Major League Baseball. With the 2019 Jays, he had a 5.35 ERA and 5.56 FIP in 33.2 innings pitched, along with a 17 K% and 15.1 BB%, pitching in relief. 

At just 19 years old, Elvis Luciano has a scoreless @MLB debut in the books! #LetsGoBlueJays pic.twitter.com/N3zTPsFAtv
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 1, 2019

This looks bad, but Luciano was only 19 years old and wasn’t ready for the big leagues, but had to remain on the Jays’ 26-man roster.
Luciano spent most of the 2022 season on the minor league injured list, as he had a stress fracture in his pitching arm. Last season in New Hampshire, he had a 3.16 ERA and a 4.54 FIP in 37 innings.
Other former major leaguers that elected free agency/weren’t signed are Casey Lawrence, Eric Yardley, Yoshi Tsutsugo, José De León, and Brady Lail.
In the mid-10s, De León was regarded as a top prospect, but injuries have hampered his career. He has an 8.44 ERA and 5.98 FIP in 48 innings pitched with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Cinncinati Reds. This season, the 30-year-old had a 4.35 ERA and 5.15 FIP, along with a 31.3 K% and 14.6 BB% in 10.1 innings with the Bisons.
Casey Lawrence is another name of note, as he was the only pitcher on the list that pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022. While his 7.50 ERA and 6.34 FIP weren’t great, Lawrence was a guy who could eat innings in a pinch. He had a 2.79 ERA and 4.16 FIP in 126 innings pitched with the Buffalo Bisons.
We here at Blue Jays Nation wish nothing but the best for …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

Blue Jays Nation 2022 Mid-Season Prospect Countdown: 10-1

The last article in the series, featuring players ranked 10th to 1st!

Here are all the other articles and if you want to do the countdown the right way, you can click the article title below to read them first.
Blue Jays Nation 2022 Mid-Season Prospect Countdown: The Players Who Just Missed The Top 60 List
Blue Jays Nation 2022 Mid-Season Prospect Countdown: 60-51
Blue Jays Nation 2022 Mid Season Prospect Countdown: 50-41
Blue Jays Nation 2022 Mid Season Prospect Countdown: 40-31
Blue Jays Nation 2022 Mid Season Prospect Countdown: 30-21
Blue Jays Nation 2022 Mid-Season Prospect Countdown: 20-11
As in each of those articles, I’ll be using clips of players in High A, Double A, and Triple A throughout the series of articles. For players in Dunedin, I’ll be using exit velocities numbers, pitching velocity as well as clips from the three series on MiLB TV.
For players in the Rookie Leagues (Florida Complex League and Dominican Summer League), we’ll strictly be using the season numbers. Furthermore, the year is done for those individuals.
Also, the most important aspect to me when evaluating players is their statistics, as it quantifies what players do with the tools. Afterward, their ceiling/floor is important, while proximity to the MLB matters for some, especially closer to 60.
Starting with our tenth best prospect.
#10 Yosver Zulueta:
This one may be surprising to you, but while I think Yosver Zulueta could be a mid-rotation starter or a high-leverage reliever, there are some issues that push me away from placing him higher up in this article.
Signed in 2019, Zulueta missed 2020 due to COVID (and Tommy John) and 2021 due to an ACL tear.

Zulueta just fanned his first runner throwing…
100 mph!!!!!!#BlueJays #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/RjpNT5v6Jl
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) July 7, 2022

The 24-year-old started his first full professional season with the Dunedin Blue Jays, posting a 3 ERA and a 1.41 FIP in 12 innings pitched. He had an incredibly high 45.1 K% in those 12 innings while limiting walks to 5.9%.
He was promoted to High A Vancouver, where he posted a 3.80 ERA and 3.37 FIP in 23.2 innings pitched. Zulueta’s K% dropped to 30.4, while his BB% increased to 10.8, a worrisome sign as he started to pitch against players his age.

Zulueta has a pretty nasty slider as well.
K thread.#BlueJays #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/neNOJCuYiK
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) July 24, 2022

Zulueta continued to rise up the levels of the minor leagues, as he pitched 10.1 innings with the Double A Fishe …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

TLN Prospect #8: Nick Abruzzese set to prove the doubters wrong yet again

As was the case for many players, Nick Abruzzese entered the 2021-22 season with major question marks having missed an entire year of hockey. Unlike most who had been able to at least use the time away from the rink to work on other aspects of their game, Abruzzese spent his rehabbing.
Even if Harvard had played their 2020-21 season, he wasn’t going to have been a part of it for very long. Abruzzese underwent hip surgery in the summer of 2020 to repair a nagging injury, an operation that would’ve sidelined him for a vast majority of the 2020-21 season.
Coming back from over a year away from game action and a significant surgery, it was fair to have reservations over what Nick Abruzzese would be able to produce. But just as he has done time and time again in his career, he proved the doubters wrong.
Nick Abruzzese
LW | Harvard (ECAC) | Age: 23 | 5-foot-10 | 174 lbs | Shoots: LAcquired: 2019 Draft, 124th Overall | 2021 Ranking: #8
At every level Nick Abruzzese has played, he’s faced the same doubts over and over. Concerns over his lack of size and average at best skating are perfectly valid. They remain true and are going to be the biggest hurdles for him to overcome if he is to …

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Author: Kyle Cushman / The Leafs Nation

Raptors: Nick Nurse details plan for Malachi Flynn, Dalano Banton

Raptors: Nick Nurse details plan for Malachi Flynn, Dalano Banton

The Toronto Raptors have nine players who will firmly end up in the rotation, but there is still a chance that either Malachi Flynn or Dalano Banton finally breaks out. After a long time in the Toronto developmental pipeline, Nick Nurse may finally get to reap the benefits of these youngsters. While Banton is officially […]
Raptors: Nick Nurse details plan for Malachi Flynn, Dalano Banton – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

3 realistic goals for Raptors’ second-year players in 2022-23

3 realistic goals for Raptors’ second-year players in 2022-23

The Toronto Raptors brought in four new players in the immediate aftermath of the NBA Draft, and it seems like most of the new additions are working out. Scottie Barnes won Rookie of the Year, Justin Champagnie became a fan favorite, and Dalano Banton (the first Canadian drafted by the Raptors) saw some rotation time. […]
3 realistic goals for Raptors’ second-year players in 2022-23 – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

2022 TLN Prospect Rankings: #13 Mikko Kokkonen

Few players in the Toronto Maple Leafs system have a career progression as enigmatic as Mikko Kokkonen.
Kokkonen made his debut in the Finnish league at 15 years old and remains the youngest player in league history. By his draft year, he was a regular in the league, scoring the most points by a draft-eligible defenceman in Liiga in 17 years. When the Leafs drafted him in 2019 in the third round, it seemed like a no-brainer in terms of value at that selection.
However, his results have remained relatively stagnant in the three years since. As a result, Mikko Kokkonen falls down the TLN Top 20 Prospect Rankings for the second consecutive year, from #10 last summer to #13 in 2022.
Mikko Kokkonen
LD | Pelicans (Liiga) | Age: 21 | 5-foot-11 | 194 lbs | Shoots: LAcquired: 2019 Draft, 84th Overall | 2021 Ranking: #10
There was a sense of optimism surrounding Mikko Kokkonen heading into the 2021-22 season.
For starters, he was coming off of a strong showing at the end of the previous year, having joined the Toronto Marlies on an amateur try-out to finish the season. There, he produced seven points in 11 games, nearly matching the 10 points he scored in 39 more games during the Finnish league season.
Combined with his posit …

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Author: Kyle Cushman / The Leafs Nation

Raptors one of 4 teams at “forefront” of Kevin Durant trade talks

Raptors one of 4 teams at “forefront” of Kevin Durant trade talks

The Toronto Raptors are rarely considered to be major players in the NBA’s annual trade sweepstakes, but they managed to make their presence firmly felt in the Kevin Durant chase. Toronto remains very active in its attempt to secure KD’s services. Masai Ujiri has preached patience in building this roster, but their surprise leap to […]
Raptors one of 4 teams at “forefront” of Kevin Durant trade talks – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ