Neuigkeiten » a half for Mastroianni since he fouled a Joe Kelly pitch

BALTIMORE – The pattern suggests Aaron Sanchez will be a high-walk pitcher over the course of his career but as the 21-year-old takes his next and perhaps final minor league step, the man who hopes to manage Sanchez in the big leagues isnt concerned. Greg Maddux Cubs Jersey . "Hes got that big-time arm and his big pitch is his sinking fastball," said Gibbons. "Theres a lot of life to that. Thats a tough pitch to command and keep in the zone a lot. He may be one of those guys his whole career who walks guys. That doesnt mean he cant pitch at this level and be very good because those ground balls, you can erase some of those walks and those hits with one pitch." Sanchez joins the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons after making 14 starts for Double-A New Hampshire. He posted a 3.82 ERA and a 1.394 WHIP but talk centered on Sanchezs walk rate, which sat five-and-a-half per nine innings. "Hes still a baby. Hes still learning. He hasnt logged a lot of innings in the minor leagues yet," said Gibbons. "He may be one of those guys who walks some guys. I dont think thats necessarily, I mean youd rather not but I dont think thats a bad thing. I dont think thats a killer. Lets put it that way." This is nothing new. At any of Sanchezs seven stops in the Blue Jays chain so far, hes never had a better walk rate than 3.8 per nine innings. That came in 2011 with Bluefield of the Single-A Appalachian League. He was 18 years old at the time. Sanchez threw 109 2/3 innings last season, New Hampshire and the Arizona Fall League combined, and has already tossed 66 innings this season. A 20 per cent year-over-year increase would cap Sanchez at about 130 innings. A 30 per cent spike would see Sanchez stop at a little more than 140 innings. The Blue Jays have a plan. Whatever it is, Gibbons is being mum. "Thats none of your business," he said, before adding, "Hes still learning. Hes still developing. Hes in the minor leagues for a reason. Hes making his start every five days. Hes working through his career. When that career begins, who knows? Every pitcher in baseball in the minor leagues, I mean teams are conscious of the workload because there are so many injuries." MASTROIANNI BACK WHERE IT BEGAN Darin Mastroianni met the Blue Jays in Baltimore, his contract selected to serve as the fourth outfielder when Bobby Korecky was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. A 16th round pick of Toronto in the 2007 amateur draft, Mastroianni made his major league debut with the Blue Jays – his only game with Toronto – on August 24, 2011. He moved on to Minnesota, appearing in 114 games for the Twins in two-plus seasons. "Its really nice to be back with Toronto," said Mastroianni. "Obviously, whenever you get a chance to come back to a team that gave you your start and I made my big league debut with them, its always exciting to come back and play with an organization like that." Its been a trying year and a half for Mastroianni since he fouled a Joe Kelly pitch off his left shin in a spring training game in 2013. He suffered an avulsion fracture but tried to play through it. He was shut down in April and underwent surgery in May. Even though he returned late in the season the procedure didnt take and Mastroianni underwent a second surgery last November. He cleared waivers in December but appeared in seven April games with the Twins before being designated for assignment. Thats when the Blue Jays claimed him off waivers. "I didnt really know what was going to happen," said Mastroianni. "Obviously you hope you get a chance; that someone would want you and it was exciting to know that the Blue Jays felt that they wanted me to come over here and I was even more excited to get that call (Wednesday) that I was going to join them here." Mastroianni is a base stealer. He swiped 21 bases in 24 attempts for the Twins in 2012. His performance in Buffalo since his acquisition has allayed any fears his foot surgeries have affected his speed. Mastroianni has 14 stolen bases in 16 tries. The Blue Jays arent scheduled to face any starting left-handed pitching on the road trip or when the club returns home to face the Yankees on June 23 and so a strict bench role appears to be in Mastroiannis future. Regardless, hes excited. "This is kind of new territory for me," said Mastroianni. "Ive never been on a team thats in first place. Its kind of new. Its exciting for me. I always felt that my role on a team was to help teams win late in the game, whether its pinch-run, defence, whatever and its exciting if that is the role to be on a team when you can actually impact and really help a team win baseball games." GIBBONS PRAISES BAUTISTA Whether the club is running hot or cold and regardless of whether Jose Bautista is streaking or slumping at the plate, manager John Gibbons said his star player sets the right example. "When your top dog or one of your top guys, their mindset is they show up everyday, man, they lay it out there, thats important because its not always the case," said Gibbons. "Not just in this sport, any sport, if your top guy does things the right way, everybody falls behind that. When they do it the wrong way, everybody falls that way too and that can work against you." Bautista, as he has for most of the season, continues to lead baseball in on-base percentage (.434 entering Thursdays action). His seven outfield assists are second only to Oaklands Yoenis Cespedes. "He does everything right," said Gibbons. "He prepares himself. Hes into it. He doesnt take an inning off." RASMUS BEGINS REHAB ASSIGNMENT Colby Rasmus served as the designated hitter in Triple-A Buffalos 11-0 win at Toledo on Thursday night. In four plate appearances, he went 1-for-3 with a single, a walk and a strikeout. The plan is for Rasmus to play five innings in centerfield on Friday and play another full game at designated hitter on Saturday. At that point Rasmus right hamstring will be evaluated, possibly paving the way for his return to the Blue Jays early next week. Jon Lester Cubs Jersey . Pospisil, from Vancouver, and Sock will compete for the title against defending champions and top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States, who defeated the 12th-seeded French duo of Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2. Adbert Alzolay Cubs Jersey . Coach Randy Carlyle didnt know the severity of Bozaks injury. Bozak left the bench and went down the tunnel early in the second period, returned to play a handful of shifts and then did play in the third. https://www.cheapcubs.com/120t-cole-hamels-jersey-cubs.html . Gaborik was acquired in a trade with Columbus on Wednesday and skated on the top line with centre Anze Kopitar and right-winger Justin Williams. "We created some things," said Gaborik, who logged 16:38 of ice time.The Grizzlies, who play in the Pacific Coast League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, will wear special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles baseball jerseys according to their Facebook page. Weve seen many great minor league baseball gimmicks over the years, but this one may take the cake or take the pizza if youre a Ninja Turtles fan. Benito Santiago Jersey. . More details about the promotion will be unveiled today on a local radio station, but from the looks of those jersey mock-ups, this promotion will be totally radical, dude! The Ninja Turtles are no strangers to baseball. Here they are dancing with their friend the Phillie Phanatic. ' ' '