STRIKE ZONE
Jays prospect Leblebijian turning heads at spring training with the bat and in the field ... Growing pains for pitcher Borucki ... Donaldson and Smoak will DH more this season
DUNEDIN — Following Toronto’s 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon at sunsplashed Spectrum Field, Blue Jays manager John
Gibbons was asked about the play of infielder Jason
Leblebijian in the Grapefruit League this winter.
Perfectly fine question, only the reporter totally butchered the pronunciation of Leblebijian’s name.
“Isn’t he Irish?” Gibbons said with a laugh at the writer’s Don Cherry moment.
Gibbons and most of the players refer to Leblebijian as Lebby. No matter how you pronounce it, Leblebijian has been one of the bright spots for the Jays at spring training.
In eight games and a teamhigh 19 at-bats, the Arlington Heights, Ill., native has gone 6-for-19 (.316) with a home run, two doubles, two walks and two stolen bases. And he’s also played well at third base.
Though he’s not expected to break camp with the big team, the Jays are certainly giving the 26-yearold a long look.
“The organization’s always liked him,” Gibbons said. “He came over in the past and played the last couple of innings in spring training. And he had a real nice first half down there (for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons) and then he cooled off at the end of the year.
“But there’s something in there, he’s versatile, he can play a lot of different places, primarily been going third and first but you can put him other places too. And he gives you a good at-bat, he’s a big, strong kid (6-foot-2, 205 pounds). Yeah, he’s definitely opened up some eyes, but the organization’s liked him for a couple of years.”
Leblebijian had a solid first half of the 2017 campaign, hitting .276 with 43 RBI, and was the only Bison named to the triple-A allstar game. He cooled off in the second half, eventually slashing .258/.323/.405 with 11 home runs, 60 RBI and 56 runs in 2017, his first campaign in Buffalo.
He also played at five different positions, hit from eight different spots in the lineup over his 120 games and was voted the most inspirational player by his teammates. Despite his play, the Bradley University alum didn’t receive call from the big team in September, but Gibbons said this could be the season Leblebijian finally gets his first taste of the majors.
INCONSISTENCY EXPECTED
On Feb. 26 at Charlotte Sports Park, left-handed pitcher Ryan Borucki had a masterful outing against the Tampa Bay Rays over two innings as the starter, not giving up a hit or run, while walking one and striking out one.
A few days later at Dunedin Stadium against the Minnesota Twins, the 23-yearold pitched 1.1 innings, giving up five hits, including a home run, and five runs, while walking one and striking out zero.
Gibbons later told Borucki, one of the organization’s most promising young pitchers, not to sweat his second appearance.
“It’s the same thing I told (fellow Toronto prospect
Sean) Reid-Foley. You’re getting ready for the season. I know you want to impress us here, you’re one of our top (prospects), but it’s still spring training for a reason and sometimes an outing like that can do you some good,” said the manager.
“He’s got a great arm, he’s going to be good. But you still got to pitch. Nobody throws hard enough if they’re not locating the ball and falling behind, so that’s not going to hurt him.”
Borucki pitched 150.1 innings in three levels in the minors last year and recorded a 2.93 ERA with 157 strikeouts. Before the Jays went out and signed veteran lefty
Jaime Garcia, several baseball websites suggested that Borucki could be the club’s fifth starter this season. Barring an injury, he’ll likely play the entire year in Buffalo.
DH MADNESS
Gibbons said expect to see guys like Josh Donaldson and Justin Smoak getting more designated hitter appearances this year in an effort to keep the sluggers fresh. He also figures that new infielder
Yangervis Solarte will DH from time to time.
“That’s one of the reasons we got him, because he can hit,” Gibbons said. “We have to figure out how to get him in the lineup as much as possible.”
Smoak had a breakout season in 2017, playing in a career-high 158 games, but admitted that late in the year he was feeling pretty sore and banged-up. Gibbons said he had to run Smoak out every day because the Jays were always fighting to get back into the playoff race, at least until later in the year.
For now, Kendrys Morales is the club’s every day DH.
“I think we’re going to have to more (move guys around),” Gibbons said. “It’s something we’ve always wanted to do in the past but really haven’t been able to do much of that. I think this year it’s something smart we’re going to have to do.”
A PEAK AT ZEKE
The Jays designated
Ezequiel Carrera for assignment last weekend to make room on the 40-man roster for recently signed reliever Seung-hwan Oh.
Carrera is back in camp after passing through waivers and being outrighted to triple-A Buffalo, though his future is up in the air as it appears as though Toronto’s four outfielders are set with Kevin Pillar, Randal Grichuk, Curtis Granderson and Steve Pearce.
In any event, Gibbons was glad to see him back at camp.
“You guys know how I feel about him. You guys have seen what he’s done for us. So we’ll see,” said the manager. “Who knows how things shake out in the long run, but we know what he can do and he’s been very productive for us.”