Blake Snell’s tenure as a San Francisco Giant couldn’t be off to a worse start.  After waiting all winter for a lucrative deal that never came, Snell was forced to settle for a two-year, $62-million contract with the Giants signed last month, which includes an opt-out after this season. But following a fast-tracked build-up, he struggled mightily in his first three starts of 2024.  The 31-year-old lefty, last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner, surrendered 15 runs – all earned – on 18 hits and five walks while striking out 12 in 11.2 innings. He lost all three starts and owns an 11.57 E ..read more

While the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system is considered bottom-third in the sport, there are a handful of talented prospects down in triple-A Buffalo that fans will likely see up with the big-league squad at some point this season. The Bisons entered 2024 with the sixth-best roster in all of the minor leagues per MLB Pipeline, and one key reason responsible for that ranking is the amount of talent that resides within their batting order, specifically in the top half. With names like Spencer Horwitz, Orelvis Martinez and Addison Barger in the mix, it’s easy to become excited while theorizing how ..read more

The Toronto Blue Jays will continue their four-game series with the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium after letting one slip away Tuesday. Toronto took a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning Tuesday, but a careless fielding error from first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. helped the Royals rally for three runs in the bottom of the fifth that proved to be the difference in the 3-2 Kansas City victory. The teams have split the first two games of the series, and the Royals snapped a three-game slide with Tuesday’s victory. The series finale will be played on Thursday afternoon bef ..read more

Yusei Kikuchi’s three-year, $36 million contract with the Blue Jays ends this year. Would Toronto want to extend the lefty’s contract, and if so, what would an extension look like? Start with the obvious caveat: there are many factors that could affect that decision that are still in play. Kikuchi is currently playing like a Cy Young candidate, with a top-20 2.08 ERA (and a top-12 xERA). If he continues at that level, it will make him more attractive as a free agent – and a more expensive extension candidate. There are also external factors. The Jays have Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios under c ..read more

Once upon a time, the Houston Astros were the formidable team everyone feared. This was the team that won over 100 games in a span of seven seasons starting in 2017 and successfully reached the playoffs all those years. Houston had a strong rotation, bulletproof bullpen, and fearsome lineup that could fire on all cylinders. They had everything every team could possibly covet and even won the World Series in 2022. The Astros empire looked invincible, but things started to crack in 2024.  Even before reaching the halfway point of the 2024 season, the Astros already have starting pitchers Cr ..read more

It will be a tough upcoming week for the Blue Jays affiliates. It’s the fourth series of the season for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the High-A Vancouver Canadians, and the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, while it’ll be the fifth series of the season for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. This is the off-day version of the Minor League report, where we set upcoming series in the minor leagues for the Jays. Moreover, we’ll look at some recent unfortunate news, and any transactions that have occurred.  As always, let’s start with the Buffalo Bisons. The Bisons play the Iowa Cubs Unfortunat ..read more

It hasn’t been the easiest of starts to the season for Kevin Gausman. After getting just one appearance in Spring Training, he got lit up in his first three regular-season appearances allowing one earned run to the Rays, five to the Yankees and six to the Rockies. But his last trip to the mound, coming last week against the Yankees, was much improved. He threw five innings, allowing one earned run off four hits and three walks. Command continues to be an issue, but the fact he got some length out of a start — throwing 101 pitches — is a great sign. Tonight, he’ll look to build off that against ..read more

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