September 27th Recap: Colon delivers in extra innings

Join Jays From The Couch Each And Every Morning For Your Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Recap and Year in Review Of The System’s Prospects

Buffalo- The IronPigs got on the board first with two runs in the top half of the 4th. The Bisons got one back in the bottom half when Tyler White doubled home Kevin Smith. In the 5th, Mickey Moniak homered for Lehigh to extend the lead to 4-1. In the 7th inning, Otto Lopez drove home Logan Warmoth and Mallex Smith with a double, 4-3. The Bisons tied it up in the 8th with a Rodrigo Vigil double, scoring Forrest Wall. Bryan Baker set the IronPigs down in order in the 10th to set up this:

–Cavan Biggio starts the inning at 2nd base.

– The IronPigs Damon Jones intentionally walks Kevin Smith

–Gregory Polanco works a walk to load the bases

–Christian Colon hits a ground-rule double over the wall in LF, bringing home Cavan Biggio and Kevin Smith

Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons (75-47)

Won 6 to 4

HR- none

Starter- Anthony Kay 2.0IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 3K on 37 pitches

W- Bryan Baker (6-1, 1.34ERA)

DSL

Blue Jays (33-19)

No Game Scheduled

Top Performers:

• Buffalo- Otto Lopez (2-for-5, 2RBI, 2B, 2K), Tyler White (1-for-1, RBI, 2B, 3BB) Gregory Polanco (0-for-3, 2BB, 2K), Kevin Smith (1-for-3, 2R, 2BB, 2B, 2SB), Kay (see above), Kyle Johnston (1IP, 3K), Baker (2IP, 1K)

Year In Review

Gabriel Martinez was signed on July 24th, 2018. He spent 2019 as a member of the DSL Blue Jays. In his rookie season, the native of Maracaibo, Venezuela appeared in 58 games, batting .239 with 13 doubles, 2 triples, and 2HR while scoring 30 runs and driving in 28. Martinez finished with 21 walks and 26 strikeouts, showing some patience at the plate. Not just going up to the plate hacking away.

The 6-foot-0 outfielder started the year with the FCL Blue Jays before joining the Dunedin Blue Jays on September 16th for a 3 game audition. In 31 games in the FCL Martinez collected 33 hits (2nd on the team) in 100 at-bats to finish with a .330 batting average. He continued to show an advanced eye at the plate with 21 walks while striking out 18 times for a .448OBP. The RHB also showed off some base-stealing ability, going 7-for-9 in stolen base attempts and collecting 8 doubles.

In the field, Martinez played all three outfield positions: LF (16GP), RF (9GP), and CF (3GP).

In his 3 games with the D-Jays, Gabriel Martinez went 4-for-12 with a run scored, a double, an RBI, a walk, 4 strikeouts, and a CS.

Looking Ahead

The 19-yr-old doesn’t have much left to prove in the FCL and should start 2022 as a member of the Dunedin Blue Jays. With only 325 professional at-bats, we still don’t have enough to know what Gabriel Martinez will become. Right now it looks as though the Blue Jays have an outfielder with a decent idea at the plate who possesses an eye to lay off bad pitches at the rookie levels. He can run with 15 career stolen bases on his resume; however, I don’t expect him to get the green light too often.