Ken Rosenthal on Ricciardi drafting record:
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"When it comes to the draft, Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi is perhaps best known for taking left-hander Ricky Romero over shortstop Troy Tulowitzki with the sixth overall selection in 2005.
No more.
The Jays, the season's biggest early surprise, boast a surplus of starting pitching due in large part to the organization's success in drafting and developing college pitchers such as Romero.
Rarely are the Jays hailed for their prowess in scouting and player development; Baseball America ranked their farm system 19th at the start of the season. But suddenly, the team is producing pitching in waves.
When the Jays promoted left-hander Brett Cecil and righty Robert Ray on May 1, Ricciardi acknowledged, "they're probably not ready to be here." Since then, Cecil and Ray have gone a combined 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA in six starts, delaying the returns of Romero and righty Casey Janssen from injuries.
Lefty David Purcey, a former No. 1 pick who was demoted after a poor April, is regrouping at Class AAA. Three homegrown righties — Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and Jesse Litsch — could return from injuries after the All-Star break.
As Ricciardi says, "It might be a year where you have to ride the hot hands while they're hot."
Cecil and Ray will face perhaps their biggest tests this week when they pitch in Fenway Park in the Jays' first meeting of the season against the Red Sox. But considering that Cecil had an awful spring and Ray missed three weeks with an oblique strain, their contributions already must be considered a bonus.
The Jays led the American League in ERA last season despite losing Janssen, Marcum and McGowan to injuries. They currently rank second despite losing right-hander A.J. Burnett as a free agent.
Obviously, they're doing something right.
Seven of the nine starting pitchers used by the Jays this season were homegrown. Six of those were collegians. And the farm system also helped land lefty Brian Tallet, who arrived in a trade for a prospect.
Ace right-hander Roy Halladay, the Jays' first-round pick in 1995, preceded Ricciardi, who has been the team's GM since Nov. 2001. McGowan also was a product of the previous regime. But the others arrived under Ricciardi's watch.
Ricciardi deflects credit, citing the contributions of assistant GM Tony LaCava, farm director Dick Scott, scouting director Jon Lalonde and roving pitching instructor Dane Johnson, among others.
Still, the Jays clearly have benefited from their philosophy of drafting college pitchers rather than high-ceiling high school arms who take longer to develop — and there are other former collegians, such as lefties Brad Mills and Marc Rzepczynski, still to come.
Ricciardi recalls standing in the draft room in '05 and ending the internal debate between Romero and Tulowitzki, proclaiming that the team would take Romero. His reasoning: The Jays could not convince free-agent pitchers to come to Toronto. They would need to develop their own arms.
The team eventually signed Burnett and closer B.J. Ryan as free agents, but those were exceptions. The more common Jays stories are of pitchers such as Ray, a former seventh-round pick who had made one start for Class A Dunedin and one for Class AAA Las Vegas when Ricciardi contacted Scott, his farm director, in need of rotation help.
"Your call," Ricciardi recalls telling Scott.
"Give me 10 minutes," Scott replied.
Scott checked with his staff and called back with a unanimous recommendation for Ray.
"It was hard to believe this guy would be ready to pitch in the big leagues," Ricciardi says.
Well, here's Ray. Here are the Jays.
Somebody is doing something right."
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Boston Herald predicts 3 game sweep for Red Sox:
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1173270
Tony Masseroti of Boston Globe on Jays:
http://multimedia.boston.com/tn/16/red_sox.htm?bctid=23636632001
