Adrian Pinto makes some noise in Vancouver, the debut of Gilberto Batista, Jace Bohrofen’s hot stretch and more in the edition of the FBJ Newsletter.

Pinto Explodes for the C’s

Originally thought to be a throw-in when Toronto traded Randal Grichuk to Colorado for Ramael Tapia, the diminutive (5’6”) Pinto may prove to be a diamond in the rough. Ranked the 60th best prospect in the 2019 International Free Agent Class, Pinto excelled in his rookie season in the Dominican Summer League. Baseball America called Pinto a “potential breakout prospect,” when the deal was made:

Pinto’s swing is quick and direct. He has a small strike zone that he uses to his advantage, recognizing pitches well and using excellent hand-eye coordination that leads to a high contact rate. Pinto has some sneaky juice for his size, but his offensive game is centered around getting on base with below-average power. His plus-plus speed is another weapon, as is his plus arm.

Assigned to Single A Dunedin, Pinto put together a decent (.242/.375/.363) line in 42 games before a hamstring problem sidelined him for the remainder of the 2022 season. Injuries further limited him to 29 games with Dunedin last year and the first three and a half months of this year, but after a long rehab stint, he’s mashing in the Northwest League:

Pinto slashed .438/.471/.844 with 13 RBI in his first 7 games with Vancouver. He has a contact-over-power profile; his power made grade as slightly below average at present, but he has excellent pitch recognition, and like Alejandro Kirk on his journey up the minor league ladder, he can use his short levers to get around on inside pitches. Pinto has some natural loft to his swing which may lead to added pop in the future. He also has above-average speed, and that combined with his ability to get on base suggests a future lead off hitter. Pinto can play 2nd and SS, and has shown some promise at CF, but his fringy arm is best suited to the keystone.

Pinto has missed much of the last two seasons (plus the 2020 Covid season), but he’s only 21. There is plenty to be excited about with him in the long term. Pinto could probably hit AA pitching right now, but the Blue Jays will likely be content with keeping him healthy and enjoying some possible playoff baseball with Vancouver. If his health holds out, Pinto may get extra reps in the Arizona Fall League.

Batista Misses Bats

RHP Gilberto Batista, acquired in the Danny Jansen deal from the Red Sox, made his Blue Jays and full season debut this past week for Dunedin. Perhaps the least heralded of the trio of prospects included in the trade, Batista fanned 54 hitters (vs only 8 walks) in 40 DSL innings last summer, but struggled a bit stateside in the FSL this year.

In a pitch-count limited outing, Batista was impressive. While his final line wasn’t necessarily so (his defence let him down), there was a lot to build on from the 19 year-old’s performance. Listed at 6’/160, Batista has put on some muscle since signing, has a compact physique, and incorporates the lower half of his body well in his mechanics.

His four-seamer did indeed touch 95 with arm-side run, and when he located it up in the zone in his Dunedin debut, it was all but untouchable. But he did have a bit of trouble locating it in the 1st inning, which was not unexpected given that his last outing was on July 20th. Batista also showed a change up which showed good tumbling action, and a slider - Statcast may have called it a cutter at times, but whatever the pitch was (I’m still trying to confirm it), it had late and sharp bite.

In his 2nd inning of work, Batista was let down a bit by his defence - not unusual in Single A. A hard hit GB that ate up 3B Sean Keys, and a single to RF Yhongel Aponte overran, leading to a bases-circling Little League HR, led to 2 runs. But Batista struck out the side in both the 1st and 2nd innings before reaching his pitch count.

Batista hesitates sometimes in his delivery to add some deception, but had mixed results, sometimes hurrying his mechanics and missing the strike zone. He also needs to work on his move to home with runners on - there’s a leg kick that needs some taming.

Batista is a long way away from the big leagues, but he showed plenty to be optimistic about. There was something about him in reports I read in the aftermath of the trade that just gave me that feeling he might be something of a sleeper. He’s certainly worth another look.

Here’s that four-seamer:

And the change up:

Bohrofen

Jace Bohrofen burst onto the scene last year with Dunedin after being selected in the 6th round to the draft. A highly regarded high school player, the Oklahoman played for his state’s school for a season before transferring to Arkansas. He homered in his first three Florida State League games and added two more in his fifth game before cooling off.

It was a solid pro debut, and he came into the season as a Top 20 prospect. But Bohrofen’s pull-oriented approach and difficulty with breaking balls did not translate well to the Northwest League when he moved up this year. July was a very tough month for the lefty hitter, slashing just .197/.319/.303 at the end of a struggle-filled three month stretch.

As the calendar turned to August, Bohrofen put those struggles behind him, and has reeled off a career-best 11-game hitting streak, posting a .920 OPS over the first half of the month.

Schreck as in Wreck

It’s been a very long summer for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats - a team official told me this weekend that August seems like it’s gone on for months. But a bright spot for the team and its fans has to be the play so far of OF RJ Schreck, acquired at the deadline from the Mariners for Justin Turner.

Shreck attracted considerable attention in his draft year of 2021, but opted to return for his senior year, then transferred to Vanderbilt for his final year of eligibility . The Mariners selected him in the 9th round the following year, his stock no doubt having fallen because of his age (23).

Schreck was putting together a decent season in the Northwest League before being promoted to AA just before the deadline. Since joining the Blue Jays organization, about all he’s done is hit (.306/.404/.612) in a lineup that struggles to score. He has a sweet left-handed swing that is more contact-oriented, but has good pitch recognition and an ability to get to his barrel. On Sunday, he homered to almost straightway CF in his first AB, then showed easy opposite field gap power on a pitch down away in his second:

At 24, Schreck may be something of a late bloomer in the Spencer Horwitz/Will Wagner mold. He is only in his second year of pro ball, but he’s improved at every stop. Schreck has the contact-oriented/doesn’t chase profile the Blue Jays covet, but unlike some of his stablemates in the system, he does have some pop. He plays a decent RF, and has to be considered at least a marginal big leaguer at this point, but is trending in an upward direction. Kudos to the pro scouting staff for recommending him.

P-Willy Goes Deep

It was another week and another hard-hit long ball, or so it seems, for Vancouver’s Peyton Williams, who I wrote about last week.

To recap last week’s report, Williams still would have to be considered a fringe big leaguer - players of his dimension do not age well, and he’s already had something of an injury history. But he has baseball smarts, is a good defender, and that bat is developing into something that might be legit.