Wow

The title really says it all about Carlson. I know Johnny touched on him last night, but damn. That was extremely impressive what he did getting out of that bases loaded jam. Isn't that the second, or third time he's gotten out of a bases loaded situation without giving up a run? I know it's a small sample size and all, and he could implode and prove why he's been a minor leaguer for so long, but I'm very intrigued by Carlson's peformance to date. If he can keep this up, it can pretty much negate the injury to Janssen.

The biggest thing to me that validates Carlson's performance was getting guys out in the 13th, after they'd seen him already once in the game. They knew what to expect, and he still got guys out. To me, that seems to imply that he could be for real, and could be somewhere between Tallet & Downs long term. Or he'll prove why I shouldn't blog about minor leaguers after a ridiculously impressive outting against a poor hitting team. Either way...

Should I be worried about Scott Downs? 5 BB in 7 innings, giving him a 1:1 K:BB rate. I'm a huge supporter of Downs, and I know it's a small sample size. But I'm worried that if he doesn't get his control at least back to 07 levels, the set-up situation will go from terrific to bad in a hurry. Sure doesn't help that Accardo's doing horrible either. Good thing we got Carlson here pretending to be BJ Ryan of 06...

Eckstein is performing around career levels, and so far I have to say I'm unimpressed. His lack of ability to get the ball out of the infield is really pissing me off. That being said - could part of his problem be due to the fact he isn't used to seeing these pitchers? He's been in the NL for a while, so it's possible the reason he hasn't been very successful is the fact he isn't used to seeing these AL pitchers. Even I think Eck's slugging should be higher than it is, which leads me to believe that when he sees these pitchers a second time around he should be more like the leadoff guy we expected. Right now, he just seems to get on base by taking pitches or getting hit by them.

Switching Gears

Rotowire has some very cool news about how some of the Jays did in the minors the last few days:

Low Single-A Lansing's Justin Jackson went 4-for-5 with a triple and a double on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old Jackson is batting .311/.446/.511 with five steals in six tries. This after the 2007 supplemental first-round hit just .187 in Rookie ball last year. A toolsy shortstop, he went into the season as one of the Jays' most intriguing prospects anyway.

This is great news considering the revolving door the Jays have had at SS for what seems like forever. I loved the Jackson pick, thought it was an absolute steal. He's supposedly a stud defensively and the question's always been his bat. I think he can be an above average SS, and it's nice to see he's successful in stealing (5/6 successful SB). The batting line is impressive, but what I like the most is the 130 point difference between OBP and BA. Not only does it suggest he's got good bat speed, and makes good contact, but he has a good eye and can work a walk.

Kyle Ginley fanned 10 in 6 2/3 scoreless innings Tuesday for low Single-A Lansing.

Ginley wasn't quite as impressive as hoped at Lansing in his first full season last year, but with a 1.53 ERA and a 21/3 K/BB in 17 2/3 innings so far this year, he's off to a great start as a repeater. The Jays could push him up to high-A ball within a month or two. He might have a future as a fourth or fifth starter.

I don't know much about Ginley, but that's a pretty dominant performance. Add in a 21:3 K:BB ratio and I'm sold.

Twitchy.