TORONTO -- Top prospect Brett Lawrie is "close" to joining the Blue Jays, but an unfortunate injury Tuesday may have thrown the team's plans for him in disarray.
Mere hours after Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos suggested Lawrie was on the cusp of a Major League callup, the blue-chip prospect was hit on the top of the left hand by a pitch in a Triple-A game.
Lawrie left the game immediately and went to a local hospital for X-rays. He gave an update on his Twitter profile, @blawrie13, writing: "At hospital , pls be bruised .. #praying."
Brett Lawrie had a solid spring for the Blue Jays, batting .293 with two homers and six RBIs.
Anthopoulos spoke to reporters at length about several players currently with Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday, including Lawrie -- who appeared to be on the verge of joining the big league club as early as this weekend in Baltimore.
"He's close," Anthopoulos said before Lawrie's injury. "I was hoping he was going to force our hand, and he's starting to. He's very much in the conversation right now. ... At this point, it's just a decision we need to make."
In recent weeks, the Blue Jays have sent several front-office members to Las Vegas to get a look at their blue-chip prospect, including roving infield coach Mike Mordecai and assistant general manager Tony LaCava. Mordecai came back with glowing reviews of Lawrie's improved work in the field.
"The strides he's made defensively have been amazing," Anthopoulos said of Lawrie, who is making a transition from second to third base. "He's really come a long way, and he's looked good."
The primary area the Blue Jays were waiting to see improvement on before calling Lawrie up was his plate discipline. In April, the 21-year-old drew just four walks while striking out 23 times, numbers that raised alarm bells for Anthopoulos and the rest of the Blue Jays brain trust.
More Update :http://www.cricma.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment