Moreno is not only the top contender in the Jays’ organization, but he is also a contender for the top 10 in all of baseball in almost every ranking of its kind.
Detectives say Moreno will be an All-Star caliber winner. He is a two-way player with a great arm and strength. He is not hitting for as much strength this year as last year, but his .324 / .380 / .404 will play well in the Jays lineup. In addition, many players end up hitting for more power in the big companies than in Triple-A. The pitchers in the large ones are around the plate more than in the small ones, where the pitchers can scatter the ball. Moreno comes to the big companies to play, not to watch games. As general manager, I would not promote my top prospect in the middle of the season just to let him see what the big leagues look like. I suspect the Jays will bring in three collectors to use their collectors more safely as designated strikers. I would wait for Alejandro Kirk at DH the days Moreno catches on. When Kirk catches up, Moreno will DH. When Charlie Montoyo wants to take a break in one of these two, he will introduce the left by hitting Zach Collins as DH. This is a fairly low risk promotion. A Kirk / Collins band can certainly hold on to the fort until Danny Jansen returns from a broken bone in his left arm. If Moreno excels, the Jays will have a decision to make when Jansen returns. My expectation is that if that happened, Collins would be demoted to Jansen, Kirk and Moreno. What seems like a problem with a lot of depth and talent usually takes care of itself. If Moreno is having a hard time, they can send him the experience and information on where he needs to improve. Moreno is the future daily catcher for the Jays. The biggest unknown concerns the future of Jansen and Kirk. One of them will probably be a commercial chip at some point to further enhance the pitching staff or add a left bat to the lineup.

Vlady could learn from Trout

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. seems to be taking over his offensive production in June. It reached 0.217 / .333 / .348 in May with only three doubles and three home runs. Guerrero already has four homers and a double this month. I did an analysis at SportsCentre that took a closer look at his games. What adjustments can Guerrero Jr. make to regain his form as MVP? After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. set fire to the league last season, it was difficult this year as the pitchers adapt to him. What adjustments can the Blue Jays star make to get back in shape for the MVP? TSN baseball analyst Steve Philips has some ideas for some simple adjustments that Guerrero Jr. can make. Remember all the talk about the launch angle? The beaters of the big leagues have an average shooting angle of 12 degrees. Last season, Vlad hit 48 homers with a launch angle below the average of 9.4 degrees. How did he do it? Hitting pitches in the zone where he could still hit the bottom of the baseball with a flatter path to the ball. Vlady is a tall ball player. In fact, only 14 of his 78 off-field hits came on pitches in the zone. By comparison, LA Angels superstar Mike Trout is a player who hits a low ball. The average launch angle this season is 24 degrees. It makes sense that Trout should go down and raise the low positions to get them in the air, thus creating a more significant launch angle. Guerrero hits the top of the ball on low pitches, where Trout extends to hit the bottom of the ball when it is down. The Pitchers know this about Guerrero, so they throw him in the belt, more than happy if he hits hard ground balls. Guerrero could learn from Trout. The Pitchers started attacking Trout with his weakness in the belt and made an adjustment, taking this pitch until he had to hover in it with two blows. Trout also adjusted to his swing on the high ball. He hit hard some balls that were on the belt and that drove the pitchers to hit him exclusively there. Guerrero must do the same in the low courts. His hitting practices should be almost exclusively about driving the low ball. I would avoid talking to him about changing his crib. I want him to think about leading the low court to the wall. Of course it will make an adjustment. Guerrero just has to go down the field and then drive some that he has to hover to change the scouting report.

Girardi, Madon pointed to the door

Last Friday, the Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi and continued to sweep the Angels into a series of three games. Philadelphia has won six consecutive games since making the move. On Monday, the Angels fired manager Joe Madon. Los Angeles was 27-17 and in first place in AL West before their collapse. They lost 14 consecutive games before finally beating Boston 5-2 on Thursday night. Madon did not become a bad manager in two weeks. That’s just the nature of the game. It’s a business, and the goal is to win. If a team does not win, then things should try to reverse it. There were rumors that Maddon was unwilling for the front office to use more detail than he preferred. As a general manager, it is difficult to remove a manager who is not doing his job the way you want him to when he wins. But when you lose 12 consecutive games, it becomes the reason you get fired. There were high expectations for the Angels this year. I did not buy exactly because I was worried about their depth. A key factor in both layoffs is that neither of them was hired by the current general manager. The front office inherited them. There is less emotional connection when this happens. Sometimes such moves work and other times they do not. What you need to remember is that both teams have serious warts on their roster. There are real shortcomings that will continue to be seen because they always do. Marlins manager Don Mattingly convened a meeting 90 minutes after the layoffs, acknowledging that he may be in danger. His club (25-30) has suffered and is not working for the general manager who hired him. They have now won three consecutive games. It’s a copy championship. When a team does something that seems to work, others will try it. Do not feel bad for Maddon or Girardi, he is one of the highest paid coaches in the game and he will be fine. I expect both of them to get another crack in management if they want to come back.