We now move to the relievers for the DSL Blue Jays, starting with the ones who made the most appearances and working our way down. If a player played for more than one team over the course of the season, he’ll be grouped according to the club he played the most with (categorized by innings for pitchers and plate appearances for hitters).

 

 

Mexican righty William Gonzalez led the DSL Blue Jays with 22 appearances, logging 27 innings, all in relief and he had three saves out of 15 games finished. The 19-year-old had a 4.33 ERA and 1.48 WHIP, striking out a very solid 27.1% of batters but he had trouble with control, walking 15.5%. He also had an excellent ground ball rate of 52.3%.

 

 

One of the few pitchers repeating the DSL, Jeison Contreras improved his numbers in his Age-18 season. The 6-foot-4 Dominican righty improved his ERA by just over a run and a half, posting a 4.03 ERA while cutting his WHIP to 1.52 in 22 1/3 innings, striking out 14.7% and walking 8.8%, improvements across the board. Is it enough to get him to the US? That’s going to be the big question.

 

Jose Brito just turned 19 the other day and had some struggles in his first professional season. The 6-foot-1 righty from the Dominican Republic had a 4.50 ERA and 1.70 WHIP in 20 innings, striking out 27 (28.1%) but walking 21 (21.9%). He’ll likely need another year to polish his control.

 

18-year-old Dominican Christian Reyes made his professional debut, tossing 17 2/3 innings to the tune of a 4.08 ERA and 1.53 WHIP, striking out an impressive 30.0% of batters but walking 21.3%.

 

6-foot-4 lefty Jhoan Dominguez played his Age-18 season in the DSL and wasn’t particularly effective, with a 5.73 ERA and 1.77 WHIP, striking out 17.5% and walking 12.6%. The low strikeout rate was helped out by a solid 43.5% ground ball rate.

 

Pedro Padilla, an 18-year-old Colombian righty made his pro debut with some control issues. He had a 4.12 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 19 2/3 innings, striking out 16.3% but walking 19.6% and had a strong ground ball rate at 45.1%.

 

Eliezer Bello, 19, made two stops in his first year. The 6-foot-5, 230 lb. righty tossed 12 2/3 innings in the DSL, with a 4.26 ERA and 1.66 WHIP, striking out 10 and walking 12 before moving up to the GCL where he had similar numbers, posting a 3.00 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in nine innings, striking out six and walking five, seeing an improvement in walk rate but a drop in his strikeout rate.

 

Dominican righty Moises De La Cruz returned to the DSL for his second year, posting a 13.94 ERA and 2.32 WHIP, having extreme difficulties with control, walking 17 batters and striking out only five in 10 1/3 innings, adding eight hit batters and five wild pitches. Clearly, De La Cruz, who was 18 at the start of the season (and is 19 now) will need to work on that before he moves up.

 

Pedro Guzman, 18, tossed 13 2/3 innings with the DSL Jays, putting together a respectable 3.29 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, striking out 21.9% with just a 4.7% walk rate. Guzman didn’t get started until the end of July and could jump to the GCL at some point next year.

 

In his second season as a pro, Brayan Mejia, 18, made the jump to the GCL after throwing 17 2/3 strong innings with the DSL Blue Jays. He had a 3.06 ERA and 1.42 WHIP before the move, striking out 10 and walking 11 and had similar numbers after, with a 3.00 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 12 innings in the GCL, walking eight and striking out six.

 

Sergio Leon, an 18-year-old Venezuelan appears to be a converted catcher whom the Blue Jays picked up after he was released by the Rangers. Leon struggled in his first attempt to pitch professionally, posting a 12.00 ERA and 2.67 WHIP in nine innings, striking out 12 and walking nine.

 

Miguel Olivo, another 18-year-old Venezuelan, had a 5.06 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in 10 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking three.

 

Lefty Erick Teran was strong in just 16 innings with the DSL Blue Jays, but saw his season end in late July. A 6-foot-4 19-year-old lefty, Teran was pitching multiple innings in the games he came into, posting a 2.81 ERA and 1.44 WHIP, striking out 29.9% of batters while walking 13.4%. Teran could come to Florida but he’ll need to be healthy and keep his walk rate down.

 

Williams Moreno, 20, also made the jump to the GCL after 12 2/3 innings in the DSL where he had a stellar 0.71 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, striking out a batter per inning (12) with seven walks. After his promotion, he threw 12 1/3 innings in the GCL with a much higher 7.30 ERA and 2.03 WHIP, striking out only eight batters and walking 10.

 

18-year-old Mexican Juan Acosta tossed 13 1/3 innings with the DSL Blue Jays, having a 1.35 ERA and 0.68 WHIP, striking out 21.6% and walking 2.0%. Acosta got a late start, throwing five times in the DSL and working his way up to a four-inning stint before he was moved to the GCL where he tossed two innings, giving up a run on two hits without striking out or walking anyone. Acosta will likely be back in the GCL and he was invited to the Fall Instructional League.

 

Nelfi Santos threw three games and got three innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts and one hit batter. Santos only pitched from August 4 to August 15 so health may have been an issue.

 

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