[Griever20]

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Series:
1-2 @ CLE (2B Eduardo Escobar 3-3 R TP BB)
2-1 vs BOS (SP Henderson Alvarez 9IP 4H 0ER 1BB 1K W)
0-3 vs BAL
2-1 vs TBR (DH Ben Francisco 2-3 2R 2RBI DB HR(1))
1-3 @ KCR (SP Kyle Davies 5.2IP 5H 0ER 1BB 6K W(1-2 4.50))
0-3 @ BAL
1-2 vs SEA (SP Marcus Stroman 5.2IP 2H 0ER 3BB 7K W(1-3 5.79))
1-0 vs TEX (SP Kyle Davies 6IP 1H 0ER 1BB 6K W(2-3 4.05))

Record: 8-15
April: 8-15
Runs Scored: 67(14th)
Batting AVG: .217(14th)
OBP: .290(14th)
Home Runs: 11(13th)
Stolen Bases: 15(8th)
Runs Against: 103(9th)
Starters ERA: 4.26(8th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.8(7th)
Defensive Eff.: .690(6th)
Zone Rating: +6.0(4th)

Toronto Pitcher of the Month: RHSP Kyle Davies 2-3 4.05 24K 2.96FIP 0.8WAR 5GS
Toronto Position Player of the Month: C Devin Mesoraco .271/.342/.486 2HR 5RBI 0.9WAR 19G

Hey we are not the worst in baseball… by three wins! Our defence and pitching has been rock solid and middle of the pack, but as expected when we constructed the roster and looked at our opening day roster, we lack offense. With three hitters under the Mendoza line and only six players hitting home runs this month, I would say that we are in for a hard year… no surprise.

Funny enough, we are tied with the Tampa Bay Rays despite Brandon Morrow going 2-2 2.81 and Edwin batting .341-5-8 1.005OPS 1.3WAR, and over in the NL, Jose Bautista is batting .256-5-16 .918OPS 0.6WAR… for the Washington Nationals of course.

The hardest part of being a GM of this team is… you can’t do **** apart from calling up players from the minor leagues or signing minor league free agents 23 or younger. I would love to already plot the next wave of trades and look for the big next deal… but all I can do is wait this one out, scout the draft, look for the international free agents… and be patient. Speaking of the draft, we will have the 17th pick in the first round, and assuming our scouts aren’t completely incompetent, there could be a player around a 4*-4.5* ceiling in for us… just have to not draft a bust.

Minor League Report and Awards:
AAA RHRP Chris Heston(24, 2/2.5*) 1-0 5SV 0.00 12K 11.2IP 8G 0.3WAR
AA RHSP Chase De Jong(18, 1.5/2*) 3-1 1.09 18K 4GS 24.2IP 0.7WAR
A RHSP Joe Musgrove(19, 1.5/3*) 3-0 0.72 24K 4GS 25IP 0.9WAR
R RHSP Tom Robson(18, 1*) 4-0 2.21 24K 4GS 20.1IP 0.4WAR
won Pitcher of the Month Awards in their leagues!

In addition to that, we saw a hot start by 3B Anthony Rendon who hit .338-4-13 1.039OPS 0.6WAR in AAA, but some struggles with the pitching as our highly talented AAA rotation in Snell, Syndergaard, Archer and Giolito only have a starters ERA of 5.35… and the truth is, we are not planning any callups of our top prospects this season. 2012 will be a season of pain.

That being said, we have the future of our franchise in the minors and build up a structure of youth. Nobody in AAA that has less than 2.5* potential is older than 25, and the age structure in AA and below is similar. Let the young kids play and the old, hopeless players leave. Also, we will use the development lab very aggressively on our prospects… as our major league team sucks anyways.

International Amateur Discovery Adds:
None significant. We stocked up on some 2.5* potential players to fill out our minor league system, but that is pretty much it. Over all players, the best find was 16-year old 2B Jesus Lopez(3*) who is batting .375-1-5 1.224OPS in rookie ball, but may need some work on his defence.

In Other News:
April 7th- Brewers LF Ryan Braun(28, 4.5*) collected 3 HR on opening day, going 4-5 3R 6RBI 3HR in a wild 10-9 extra inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The 2011 NL MvP obviously is coming off a monster year, .332-33-111 .994OPS 8.9WAR in 150 games.

April 15th- Rangers C Mike Napoli(30, 4.5*) had a career night today in a 9-5 win over the Twins, going 5-5 3R 2RBI with two doubles and a home run. The upcoming free agent is batting .367-2-6 1.095OPS 0.6WAR in the first eight games.

April 18th- Brewers RHSP Yovani Gallardo(26, 3*) dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers today with a 3-hitter with 0BB and 10K. The 2010 NL All-Star moved to 3-0 1.69 18K 0.9WAR in three starts.

April 21st- Cardinals RHSP Kyle Lohse(33, 2.5*) needed 114 pitched today to pitch a complete game 2-hitter against the Pirates, walking none and striking out 6 in a 8-0 win. The veteran moved to 2-1 1.23 13K 0.7WAR in 3 starts.

April 25st- Cincinnati RHSP Mat Latos(24, 3.5*) seemingly toyed with Giants hitters today, pitching a complete game 6-hitter with 2BB and 7K in a 5-0 win. The young stud is 3-1 1.41 22K 0.7WAR in 4 starts.

April 27th- Brewers RHSP Marco Estrada(28, 2.5*) blanked the Cardinals 5-0 while holding them to 4 hits, 1BB an striking out six. The changeup artist moved to 2-0 3.07 19K 0.6WAR in four starts.

April 27th- Oakland RHSP Brandon McCarthy(28, 3*) sent the home crowd home unhappy as he pitched a gem today on the road, 9IP 4H 0ER 1BB 7K in a 10-0 over Baltimore. The master of pinpoint control is 2-2 2.43 30K 0.6WAR in 6 starts.

April 30th- Brewers LF Ryan Braun(28, 4.5*) collected 3 HR for the second time this month, going 3-5 3R 5RBI 3HR in a 11-10 instant classic win over the Padres. The reigning NL MvP is batting .450-9-30 1.448OPS 2.0WAR in 23 games.

May 1st – Red Sox DH David Ortiz(36, 4*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .354 with 5 home runs, 12RBIs and 19 runs scored for the month.

May 1st – Brewers LF Ryan Braun(28, 4.5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .450 with 9 home runs, 30RBIs and 18 runs scored for the month.

May 1st – Mariners RHSP Felix Hernandez(26, 4*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 1.10 41K in 41IP for the month.

May 1st – Giants RHRP Sergio Romo(29, 4*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 3-0 8SV 01.00 11K in 12IP and 11G for the month.

May 1st – Rangers RHSP Yu Darvish(25, 4*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after going 2-1 3.07 24K in 29.1IP and 5 starts for the month.

May 1st – Padres C Yasmani Grandal(23, 3/3.5*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .388 with 0 home runs, 15RBIs and 10 runs scored for the month.