Around the Titans minor league system

I'm getting my chance!

APL Presents Player of the Week TrophySo far in his young career, Pedro Zaragoza has kept a low profile, but after his performance at the plate last week, he attracted the notice of the rest of the Appalachian League in a big way as he was named the Player of the Week today for his efforts.  The 19-year-old Dunedin Blue Jays designated hitter hit at a torrid .444 clip as he collected 12 hits in 27 at-bats, 1 home run, 6 RBIs and 7 runs scored.  On the season, Zaragoza is batting .305 with 10 home runs and 61 RBIs. He has played in 79 games.  The deal to acquire Rivas in Toronto sent several minor leaguers to Orlando and this has helped Pedro get consistent playing time against RHP and LHP in Single A ball.  Don't be surprised when he gets the call up to Double A by seasons end.

Very Disappointed!

Ramírez Out of Commission 11 Months
Martín Ramírez SP prospect was placed on the disabled list. The New Hampshire starting pitcher told reporters that he expects to be "out of commission" for 11 months because of a torn labrum. He hasn't played since 06/13/2015 and, he said, he's "itchin' to get back out there."  So far in 12 appearances this season, Ramírez has recorded 4 wins and sustained 4 losses. He has pitched 78.2 innings, yielded 66 hits, fanned 63 and has a 2.63 ERA.  Martin is another important part of the future Titans rotation.





I have a BSA power!

In Castillo we TRUST!
A blast from Castillo is a common radio announcer saying since this long ball hitter has hit 14 HR in just 151 PAs.  More than half his hits have been for extra bases.  Alec needs to work on his contact to improve his low batting average of .257 if he wants a sniff of the Titans roster in the BSA anytime soon.  Toronto signed this FA who recently played for Vista.  On the season, Castillo stats are: 

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	SB
42	144	37	5	0	14	44	7	29	.257	.306	.583	0

Frankenstein down for the Count...

Oh My Back!

Toronto's Sanders Diagnosis Revealed
Team officials for the Toronto Titans have revealed that the recent injury to Jimmy Sanders will keep him out for 4-5 months. The 29-year-old starting pitcher suffered a torn back muscle on 06/24/2015. He has not played since.  This bad news comes in his 2nd start after returning from the DL.  GM Goldy said after the news was revealed, "We knew he was a risk when we made the contract offer"  "This is why we gave him a high IP incentive and the only reason we would have signed him to begin with not to mention it was only a 1 year deal", sighed Goldy.  The injury to Jimmy Sanders nicknamed Frankenstein means "Incredible Yi" is now back in the rotation after seeing bullpen duty in long relief.  Toronto fans know that Yi can get the job done in the regular season against the normal teams but, come post season time there is little confidence that Yi can excel versus the juggernaut teams.  Sanders now joins Mendoza in the DL leaving the rotation expected to be in the post season down by two.

No Free Pass anymore

I am poised to be an ACE!

Shawn Jackson has always struggled with his control.  No wonder his nickname is "Free Pass" Jackson!  This year he has it going in the right direction and in fact the past few years he has made steady improvements.  In a rotation that has been completely revamped with the exception of Salvador Perez;  this young Titan is making his mark in 2015.  Shawn has since requested a nickname change and his fans are eager to come up with one.

His stats so far this year:  10-3, 3.02 ERA, 1.13 WHIP is impressive and is only 2nd in the CL in total wins.  What is also impressive is Jackson's improvement with his walk rate.  Acquired in a deal from Saint Louis after spending a couple of seasons with rival Greenville;  Jackson has finally be able to get his off-speed pitches over for strikes.  Lets look at his past career stats and compare them to this year (See below).  At only 27 years old, Jackson might turn out to be an eventual ace of the staff.  BB/K rates the past 4 season:  2012:  0.77, 2013: 0.90, 2014: 0.70 and 2015: 0.55!  Goldy said in an interview with BSA Commissioner Gray, "We will continue to apply the PPs to him"!  Big question is?  Will Jackson be a shoe-in for the post season rotation...

Year/Team/League	Age	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	CG	SHO	WHIP	BABIP	VORP	WAR	ERA+
2012 Greenville - BSA	24	28	28	13	7	0	3.87	169.2	145	79	73	13	92	119	0	0	1.40	.267	32.4	2.3	119
2013 Greenville - BSA	25	11	11	3	6	0	6.83	54.0	58	42	41	7	37	41	0	0	1.76	.325	-7.1	0.1	66
2014 Toronto - BSA	26	32	32	13	13	0	3.45	190.2	166	93	73	17	100	143	0	0	1.40	.264	39.9	1.1	128
2015 Toronto - BSA	27	16	16	10	3	0	3.02	104.1	75	39	35	9	43	78	0	0	1.13	.229	26.2	1.2	146
Total BSA		87	87	39	29	0	3.85	518.2	444	253	222	46	272	381	0	0	1.38	.265	91.4	4.7	122

Titans Golden again

Glad to be a Titan!

The Toronto Titans have a flare for the dramatics and that is no myth.  The Titans worked overtime in making a blockbuster trade with cross league friend JTP and Orlando.  The trade sent the following Titans packing to Orlando for "Golden" Rivas one of the most feared hitters and base runners in the game:  CF Bryce Hopkins, MR Jorge Ibarra, MR Max Jones, MR Juan Reyes, MR Tetsunori Okamoto, SS Michael Cooke, MR Randolph Plante, MR Michael Taylor, MR Bill Boland, MR Kenneth Duncan and very talented prospects Salvador Gonzalez DH, Santiago Marquez OF, Vincente Morales 2B and phenom SP Reagan Wear.  Yes that is correct 14 players for 1.  GM Goldy said afterwards, "Whenever you get a chance to land a top 5 player in the league and you are also competing to win a championship you don't look back and there is no ceiling to what you will pay"!  In typical Goldy fashion he let others draw their cards first and then rang up JTP a fellow Canuck to talk and finalize the deal.  The deal would have went through earlier, however;  there were some economics involved that had to be re-worked in order to get the budgets to work on both sides.  Goldy said, "JTP is a class act and we both were looking for a win-win here"!  German is hitting .333 bavg in 22 games with 4 home runs, 10 doubles, 18 RBI and 14 runs scored.  He also is 6 for 7 in stolen bases an area the Titans are looking to take advantage of down the stretch..  Rivas will be handling the CF duties moving forward taking the spot from Bryce Hopkins.  Toronto adds another piece to an already scary batting lineup in a tough pitchers park.  "We feel we have no big holes from 1 to 9 in the lineup vs. either LHP or RHP moving forward with this trade" replied Goldy in a live radio interview.  Asked if this was the last big deal of the season - Goldy replied, "No we have a few more moves yet to make!.  Any team looking to make a win-win trade down the stretch that can help the Titans win this year and the other team win down the road is encouraged to contact us.  We won't stop tweaking until we have the 1st CL title in our hands....