Ode to the Fallen: Blue Jays Release Two

Kevin Patterson
Kevin Patterson

Here at Blue Jays from Away we like to give minor league players their due because of how difficult a life it is for the players involved despite the fact that they’re chasing their dreams. To their major league clubs, minor leaguers are simply assets who fill roster spots and can be released, signed and moved around through an organization at the whim of the big league club. Unfortunately, very few minor leaguers ever make the majors and we like to put the spotlight on players who are let go by the Blue Jays so that they don’t “go gentle into that good night.”

 

 

According to Matt Eddy’s great minor league transaction blog on Baseball America, the Blue Jays have released two of their minor leaguers this week.

 

Patterson Home Run 2
Kevin Patterson and manager John Tamargo, Jr.

 

The first player released is Kevin Patterson, a hulking first baseman who spent 2014 with the Dunedin Blue Jays. Patterson just turned 26 and played in 81 games with the Dunedin Blue Jays, hitting .196/.293/.368 with 11 home runs. Patterson was the classic “big-swing” hitter who would be going for the fences a lot. He has a great eye, posting a lifetime OBP almost 90 points above his batting average and hitting 58 career home runs in four professional seasons with the Blue Jays. Patterson led the Lansing Lugnuts in home runs for two consecutive seasons (2012 and 2013), launching 37 blasts over two seasons in the Midwest League. I saw one of those home runs, a game-winning, walk-off homer in Lansing and all of the photos of Patterson in this post come from that blast on August 9, 2013.

 

Patterson Home Run 3
Kevin Patterson arrives at home plate after hitting a home run on August 9, 2013 in Lansing, Michigan.

 

Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones

 

Drafted in 2010, 29th-rounder Jonathan Jones lasted five seasons with the Blue Jays, making it to Double-A in 2013 and playing the full season there this year. Injuries limited his playing time to just 56 games this season and Jones never seemed to find his way at the higher levels of the minor leagues.

 

Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones

 

His best season came in 2011 when he hit .288/.366/.360 split between Vancouver and Lansing but he also had solid offensive production in 2012 in Dunedin, hitting .266/.356/.322. Best known for his speed, Jones stole 79 bases (and was caught 19 times) for about an 80% success rate over his 333 minor league career with the Blue Jays. I wish I had more to say about Jones but I didn’t see him play very much over the last couple of years.

 

Who are these players? Find out in The 2014 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook, now available as an ebook at Smashwords.com for $7.99 US. It’s coming soon to Amazon, Apple iBooks, Kobo and other fine retailers. You can purchase and preview the book at our Smashwords.com page! If you like us here,“like” us on Facebook!

The All-Star Break Supplement to the Minor League Handbook is also available at Smashwords.com for only $2 US! Get an update on how your favourite players have been doing this season as well as a report on the 2014 draft!

All photos are copyright Blue Jays from Away (2013-2014) and may not be used without permission.