The Bisons enter June with a 29-24 record and have fallen to second place in the north division, 3 games behind the Pawtucket Red Sox. They rank second in the league in runs scored, averaging 5.34 per game and lead in team home runs, slugging and OPS while ranking second in batting average and OBP. The pitching side isn’t so encouraging, ranking second LAST in the league, giving up 5.51 runs per game, more than they’re scoring. They rank 4th from the bottom in walks and have also given up the second most home runs to go with their worst-in-the-IL WHIP of 1.592. Amazingly, the team has outperformed its Pythagorean W-L record by three games.
In terms of prospects, the biggest name, Anthony Gose has been with the Blue Jays since Rajai Davis went down with an injury. After a solid April in which he hit .250/.370/.345, he had a tough may with a .200/.309/.300 line. He is still taking walks but isn’t really stealing a lot of bases (2 in May).
Moises Sierra has also slumped in May, but has seen his power increase, hitting four of his five home runs in that Merry month. He hit .227/.298/.418 for an okay .716 OPS. He actually stole as many bases as Anthony Gose did in May (2) but more than doubled his strikeout total for the month (33 in May, 14 in April).
25 year old shortstop Ryan Goins has picked it up in May, hitting .298/.378/.444 for an .822 OPS. He hit two home runs in the month and is starting to walk, taking 10 free passes with only 14 strikeouts in the month. Very solid performance for him this month.
While not really prospects, the first base/DH duo of Luis Jimenez (lefty) and Mauro Gomez (righty) have been strong in May. Jimenez has hit .314/.397/.510 with 5 HRs (the same he hit in April), 15 walks and 22 Ks (a significant spike) while Gomez has hit 7 HRs in the month but struck out 34 times in a .248/.291/.505 month.
Catcher Josh Thole had a down month of May, but that doesn’t mean that he was unproductive. In 75 at bats, he hit .267/.349/.440 with 4 home runs. 3B Andy LaRoche has also been mentioned for a call-up and has put together a very solid May (and strong overall year). He hit .317/.408/.500 with 2 home runs and 11 walks to 12 strikeouts.
On the pitching mound, things haven’t been great for the Bisons with a few exceptions. Neil Wagner and Juan Perez earned callups, while recent call-up (to Buffalo) John Stilson has been very good. Joel Carreno got into one game with the Bisons and was solid.
Dustin McGowan has appeared in five games for the Bisons, throwing 6 innings, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits, 4 walks while striking out 8. John Stilson has only given up one run on 3 hits and 4 walks in 7 innings in Buffalo while also striking out 8. Chad Beck has also been called up to Buffalo but hasn’t fared as well. He has a 7.15 ERA in 11 1/3 innings, giving up 17 hits and 8 walks while only striking out 3 – numbers that are a long way from his 25:7 K:BB ratio in New Hampshire in 15 2/3 innings.
Before getting called up to the Blue Jays, Wagner’s May was outstanding, going 11 innings, saving six games, giving up four hits and three walks while striking out 18 without allowing a run. Juan Perez put up similar numbers in Buffalo, throwing 12 2/3 scoreless innings in May, giving up five hits and 6 walks while striking out 13.
Finally, Ricky Romero’s May has been a disaster in Buffalo. Ricky has only managed to get through 13 innings in 4 starts, walking 20 batters and striking out only three. He has a 13.85 ERA. Things can only get better from here.