Blue Jays playing long game with Bastardo
When the Blue Jays selected Angel Bastardo from the Boston Red Sox in yesterday's Rule 5 Draft, it caught the baseball world by surprise.
With the recent acquisition of Andres Gimenez and Nick Sandlin, their 40-man roster was already 39; they were under no pressure to choose a player.
What was even more surprising was who they chose.
Angel Bastardo, a right-hander from Venezuela, is currently recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He is not expected to be active until at least the end of July, he may even miss the whole year.
Still, in spite of his injury, assistant General Mike Murov said the team was intrigued by his upside and repertoire of pitches. Still just 22, Bastardo possesses a high 90's fastball, a curveball, and a slider to go along with his best pitch, a mid 80's
changeup.
So good is the latter pitch, that it limited left-handed batters to a .190. avg last season. And while he tends to get hit hard if he doesn't his locate his fastball, he has the ability to develop greater command and control while rehabbing.
Bastardo has played as high as Double-A, and started 10 games for the Portland Sea Dogs last year.
While Bastardo could be a back-end rotation kind of pitcher, the Blue Jays may also opt to use him in a long man or «bulk» in an effort to ease him back from injury while he gets his first taste of the major leagues.
Although his 9-21 career minor league record may leave something to be desired, wins and losses - and overall results for that matter - are not as much of a big of a deal at the minor league level.
Due to his injured status, Bastardo - who immediately slots in as the Blue Jays 29th overall prospects - will have his Rule 5 restrictions extended in to 2026.
This is an astute decision for the Blue Jays as they will have time to develop their Rule 5 Pick, rather than having Bastardo learn on the fly.
If Bastardo can improv his fastball command and show the Blue Jays that his stuff has returned and that his arm has healed following Tommy John, he could be a valuable asset in the years ahead.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 12 | 150 ANSWERS Blue Jays playing long game with Bastardo Is Bastardo a good pick for the Blue Jays? | ||
| Yes | 91 | 60.7 % |
| No | 59 | 39.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
