Every year you make sure to check out the players an organization sends to the Arizona Fall League. These can be players the team is fast tracking to the Bigs, players changing positions or players needing extra work while rehabbing from injuries. The Blue Jays have seven prospects playing this year with the Salt River Rafters: four pitchers, a catcher, an infielder and an outfielder. The four of most interest are all pitchers - Drew Hutchison, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and John Stillson. Hutchison, coming off of Tommy John surgery, pitched 35.1 innings this past season split among Single, Double and Triple-A. Clearly, the Jays are trying to get him more work to hasten his return to the big club. Hutchison has been pretty sharp making four starts for the Rafters, going 1-0 with a 0.57 ERA and with two walks and 14 strikeouts over 15.2 innings. As good as he looked, when you consider how few innings he pitched this past season, it would still make a lot more sense for Hutchison to spend the bulk, if not the entire coming season, in Double and Triple-A. Aaron Sanchez is two years younger than Hutchison at 21, but is regarded as the Jays top pitching prospect what with the trades of Justin Nicolino to the Miami Marlins and Noah Syndergaard to the New York Mets a year ago. The only real knock so far on Sanchez has been his control. With the Rafters, he has eight walks in 13.1 innings, but otherwise, the numbers look pretty good. In four starts hes 0-1 with 10 strikeouts and a 1.35 ERA. However, it still looks as though hes at least another year away from a shot at the Majors. The other two are puzzlers. After a year starting at Double and Triple-A, 22-year-old Marcus Stroman is only working in relief in the AFL. Hes pitched in seven games, just 7.2 innings and is 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA. Hes struck out six and walked only 3 and opponents have only hit .207 off him. Alex Anthopoulos said towards the end of this season, he might trade some of the Blue Jays bullpen depth, to fill other holes. So, perhaps, Stroman will move into the Jays pen to fill one of the created openings. The fourth pitcher is right-hander John Stillson, who greatly impressed skipper John Gibbons last spring. The 23-year-old right out of Texas A&M went 6-2 at Triple-A Buffalo out of the bullpen with four saves. He struck out 47 and walked 15. Unfortunately, he hasnt pitched well in the AFL. Hes appeared in just three games out of the pen going only two-and-a-third innings and getting hit hard. Stillsons ERA is 23.14 and batters are hitting .438 against him. Yes, there is still Kyle Drabek and the impending return of Brandon Morrow from his injury and the possibility that Ricky Romero has a shocking return to form, but its still pretty clear Alex Anthopoulos is going to have to do most of his searching for pitching help outside the organization in the off-season. Monday at 5:00pm et. is the deadline for teams to make qualifying offers of to their perspective free agents. The Blue Jays are not expected to tender right-hander Josh Johnson who went 2-8 in an injury plagued first campaign with the Jays. The Blue Jays were supposed to have met with their medical people over the weekend to determine if it was worth making Johnson any sort of offer at all, say in the $2-3M range for one season. Interest in Tanaka A reworked Japanese player-posting system havent been put into place yet, but the interest in Masahiro Tanaka continues to skyrocket. The 25-year-old who went 24-0 this season for the Rakuten Golden Eagles, threw 160 pitches in a complete game loss in Game 6 of the Japanese World Series to the Yomiuri Giants. The very next day, though, in Game 7, Tanaka came right back and threw 15 more pitches in the ninth to nail down the victory and give Rakuten its first league title ever. The New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs just a few of the clubs who want to get into the bidding once a new posting system is in place. Bay Area Share? There is a chance that the Oakland Athletics could be playing in the San Francisco Giants ballpark for the next two years. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, unless the As can get a two-year lease agreement in Oakland rather than the six-to-eight-year deal the O.co Coliseum people want, they will be playing out of AT&T Park as soon as this spring. The As want to maintain their flexibility so they can move someplace else if a new facility isnt built in Oakland. A few scheduling details would have to be worked out, since, right now, the As and Giants are both scheduled to play eight games at home on the same days. End of the Astrodome? The fate of the sports first indoor facility, the Houston Astrodome, could well be decided shortly. There is a vote being taken on Tuesday on a $217M bond issue on whether to transform the Astrodome into a convention and exhibition centre. If the nays carry the vote, the Astrodome, which opened in 1965, will be leveled. Isaiah Irving Jersey . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. David Montgomery Jersey . 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Pat ODonnell Jersey . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills approach to the NFL draft this year has much to do with EJ Manuel. After selecting the quarterback in the first round last year, the next step is adding talent to give Manuel the opportunity to progress after an inconsistent and injury-shortened rookie season. "Its a quarterback-driven league, so were going to give every avenue and every piece of the puzzle to surround EJ and make him as successful as possible," general manager Doug Whaley said. "What we did this off-season affords us the opportunity to go any way and every way in the draft. But our main focus is making sure EJ progresses." Manuels progression is a point of emphasis for a team that hasnt had stability at quarterback since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season. And questions remain whether Manuel is capable of providing that stability. He went 4-6 and oversaw a sputtering offence that contributed to Buffalo (6-10) extending the NFLs longest active playoff drought to 14 seasons. The Bills can do little but cross their fingers in hoping Manuel can stay healthy after being sidelined by knee injuries on three separate occasions. What they can control is adding pieces to the offence. Buffalo began by creating two new offensive positions on coach Doug Marrones staff, including quarterbacks coach Todd Downing. Whaley also acquired Mike Williams, a proven receiver with a troubled off-field past, in a trade with Tampa Bay. The next step is the draft, which is top-heavy on receivers and offensive tackles. Here are five things to look out for from Buffalo, which opens with the ninth pick: DOUBLING DOWN ON WR: Despite acquiring Williams and drafting receivers Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin last year, the Bills might not be done restocking the position. Buffalos passing attack lacked a dependable threat, finishing 29th in the NFL in yards gained. At 6-foot-5, Texas A&Ms Mike Evans has the size and range Buffalo lacks. And Clemsons Sammy Watkins has the overall talent that might be too good to pass up despite his 6-1 frame. "We believe so," Whaley said of Watkins, for whom Buffalo probably has to move up. "We think his traits are dynamic enough to overcome his lack of height.ddddddddddddquot; Tight end is another option, with North Carolinas Eric Ebron in the mix. O-LINE NEEDS: With left tackle Cordy Glenn protecting Manuels blind side, the Bills are interested in upgrading the other side of their line. Whaley expects more teams to adopt what he calls "NASCAR packages," featuring swift-footed pass rushers across the defensive front. "You need a right tackle nowadays as athletic as your left tackle," he said. The draft features several highly regarded tackles, including Auburns Greg Robinson, Michigans Taylor Lewan and Texas A&Ms Jake Matthews. The Bills also have a pressing need at left guard that is expected to be addressed in later rounds. REPLACING BYRD: The Bills believe they have enough depth to overcome losing three-time Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd in free agency. Aaron Williams was solid in making the switch last season from cornerback. Returning players DaNorris Searcy, Jonathan Meeks and Duke Williams will compete for regular jobs. And then theres the free agent addition of Corey Graham, who can play cornerback and safety. WHALEYS DEBUT: After spending his first three years in Buffalo being groomed for the GMs job, Whaley gets to run his first draft after Buddy Nix stepped down a year ago. At 41, Whaley has extensive background as a scout after working his way up through the Steelers organization. And hes eager to begin being judged on how he does rebuilding the Bills. "Call me crazy, I like it," Whaley said. "Im a competitor and I want to win. If thats my role and thats my job, I embrace my destiny." REMEMBERING RALPH: This is the Bills first draft since owner and founder Ralph Wilson died in March. Wilson enjoyed being involved in the draft. Wilson proudly recalled the time he broke a deadlock among executives by urging them to select running back Thurman Thomas in the second round of the 1988 draft. Thomas went on to a Hall of Fame career. "This was his favourite time of year," Bills president Russ Brandon said. "People ask me all the time how we can honour Mr. Wilsons legacy. And my answer is always the same. Its one word: Win." ' ' '
