June 19th Blue Jays Minor League Recap: Austin Martin and Samad Taylor go bonkers

New Hampshire- BARN BURNER. The Fisher Cats scored 15 runs off 22 hits and went 12-for-20 with RISP. Austin Martin, Samad Taylor, Vinny Capra, Otto Lopez, Reggie Pruitt, and Gabriel Moreno each had multi-hit games. Martin and Taylor, batting 2nd and 1st respectively, drove in 4 runs apiece. Elvis Luciano returned to the mound for the 1st time in a month and was pulled in the 2nd inning after reaching his 30-pitch count limit. Maximo Castillo (bulk inning guy today) picked up win #4, allowing 2 runs over 6 innings.

Vancouver- The AquaSox scored 12 runs off 13 hits, beating up on Sam Ryan (6R), Sean Mellen (3R), and Justin Maese (3R). Willy Gaston pitched two no-hit innings to close out the game. The C’s scored 4 runs off 6 hits with Cameron Eden providing the bulk of the offensive excitement for the 2nd game in a row.

Dunedin- The D-Jays scored 6 runs in the 6th which turned out to be the turning point for this match as the Dunedin scored 9 runs on 10 hits. Harrison Ray, Miguel Hiraldo, and MacKenzie Mueller each had multi-hit games. Jhon Solarte went hitless in 3AB but scored 3 runs. Naswell Paulino pitched 6 scoreless innings for the W.

Triple-A

Trenton Thunder AKA Buffalo Bisons (21-18)

The Bisons won 8 to 6

HR- none

Starter- Connor Overton 5.0IP, 7H, 3R, 1BB, 3K on 61 pitches

W- Casey Lawrence (1-1, 9.00ERA)

H- Hobie Harris (2)

SV- Kirby Snead (2)

Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (16-24)

Fisher Cats won 15 to 2

HR- Gabriel Moreno (7)

Starter- Elvis Luciano 1.2IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 3K on 31 pitches.

W- Castillo (4-1, 5.24ERA)

Advanced-A

Vancouver Canadians (23-18)

The C’s fall hard 12 to 4

HR- none

Starter- Sam Ryan 3.2IP, 7H, 6R, 3BB, 4K on 73 pitches

L- Ryan (0-2, 5.23ERA)

A-Ball

Dunedin Blue Jays (17-23)

D-Jays won 9 to 4

HR- none

Starter- Sem Robberse 5.2IP, 3H, 2R, 2BB, 2K, 1HRA on 70 pitches

SV- Gabriel Ponce (3)

GM2- Dunedin fall 4 to 1

HR- none

Starter- Paulino 6.0IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 3K on 92 pitches

W- Paulino (2-1, 3.47ERA)

Top Performers:

• Buffalo- Urena (3-for-5, 3RBI, 2B, K), Christian Colon (1-for-2, 2R, 3BB, K), Harris (1.1IP, 1H, 3K), Breyvis Valera (1-for-3, 2R, 2BB)
• NH Samad Taylor (4-for-5, 3R, 4RBI, BB, 2-2B, CS), Lopez (3-for-5, 2RBI, BB, 2B), Capra (4-for-5, 3R, RBI, K), Pruitt (2-for-4, 3R, RBI, BB, K) and Maximo Castillo (6IP, 7H, 2R, 0BB, 5K).
• C’s- Cameron Eden (3-for-4, 2R, 3RBI, 2B, SB, K) and Gaston (2IP, BB, K)
• Dunedin- Naswell Paulino (see above), Ray (3-for-5, 4RBI, K, 2-2B), Hiraldo (2-for-5, R, 2B, SB), Mueller (2-for-5, 2R, 2RBI, K)

Player Spotlight

Today we turn our attention to Samad Taylor

The breakout season continues for the 22-yr-old out of Corona, CA. Taylor batted leadoff and played CF for the Fisher Cats. Samad singled in the 1st but was erased attempting to steal 2nd base. He doubled, driving in LJ Talley and Vinny Capra, and scored in the 2nd inning.

Samad picked up his 2nd double of the game in the 4th inning, scoring Capra and Pruitt with New Hampshire’s 6th and 7th runs of the game. He scored one pitch later on an Austin Martin double. Samad Taylor hit a flyball to RF for an out in the 6th. He walked and scored in the 7th inning, scoring off a Gabriel Moreno single, 14-1.

Taylor singled and was stranded in the 8th to end his night at the plate. Samad Taylor went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, 4RBI, and 3 runs scored. He walked and was caught stealing. The former 10th round pick is now batting .324 with a 1.021OPS, scoring 38 times with 10 doubles, 11HR, 16SB, and 28RBI.

The Martin and Groshans Show

Austin Martin manned SS and batted 2nd for the Fisher Cats. Martine singled in his 1st at-bat but Otto Lopez ground into a double play to end the frame. Martin contributed to the Fisher Cats 5-run 2nd inning with an RBI single and stolen base but was stranded at 2nd base when Gabby Moreno grounded out to end the inning.

With Taylor at 2nd base and two runs already across, Martin hit a ground-rule double to push the lead to 8-0.  Austin scored off a Lopez single.  The former 1st rounder singled in the 6th inning to put runners at 1st and 3rd for Otto. Lopez stroked an RBI double to RF and Moreno grounded out to bring Martin in from 3rd, 11-0. Martin struck out in his final at-bat, finishing the game 5-for-6 with 2 runs scored, 4 runs batted in, a stolen base, and a strikeout.

Austin Martin is now batting .287 with 24 runs scored, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 2HR, 3 SB, 14 RBI, and .815OPS.

Jordan Groshans played 3rd and batted 5th. Jordan walked, struck out, and scored a run in the Fisher Cats offensive explosion. He was the only Fisher Cat not to collect a hit in the 22-hit onslaught.

Groshans owns a .255BA with a .712OPS, 6 doubles, 2HR, and 13RBI.