Episode 24 feat. Chris Jared - Play by Play of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats

We had the play by play analyst of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Chris Jared who joined us to talk about the Blue Jays AA affiliates. We talked about how he was introduced in the minor league industry being a play by play analyst, talking about the 2025 Fisher Cats Season, most impressive players for the Cats, what he saw from Trey Yesavage, some of the players acquired from the 2024 trade deadline, Victor Arias on the rise and who he compared Arias to, and many more!

Where you can find Chris Jared:

1. X: @ChrisJared01
2. X: @FisherCats

Episode Transcript

(00:30):
Welcome to another edition of the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast. We have a special guest in here
today and we've been trying to get this guy for quite some time
and he's finally made it. And he's he's the play by play
guy for the AA Blue Jays affiliate for the New Hampshire
Fisher Cats. Chris, Jared, welcome to the

(00:51):
show. I introduced herself.
Talk about yourself and give yourself an introduction and
your track record of what you have done.
Absolute absolutely Rocky, Rob, appreciate you guys having me
on. It has it's been a bit of a
stretch here trying to land, butI'm happy that we're able to do
this and get me on to talk aboutsome Fisher Cats.

(01:12):
Last year was year 1. And so from last year to this
year's team has seen some different guys kind of roll
through. The manager has been different
where it was say sorry last yearand Brent now this year in his
first year. So even with this being year #2
it still feels like the first year in a lot of different
regards. But before this was you couldn't

(01:33):
be what felt like further away from New Hampshire on the
baseball side or really anything.
I was down in Texas and Abilene,TX working with the Abilene
Christian Wildcats kind of on the university side, but also on
their athletics department working with broadcast students
that some of them come to the university and they kind of
maybe want to do some broadcast stuff.

(01:54):
Maybe they're not super sure. Maybe they think it was a really
cool job to just be a part of and that was it.
Well, a lot of those students turned out to be successful,
whatever they did in journalism or print or media or anything.
So that wasn't super long. It was, I think August 23 and
then February 2024 is when I gotthe call to come on up to New
Hampshire and had a couple stopsin minor League Baseball before

(02:17):
this one. My first was actually in Lansing
in the lug nuts days when the lug nuts were in the Toronto
system in Jesse Goldberg strassler, who's just a
tremendous person and a great broadcaster and it still a
pretty good friend. He reached out to me because he
was doing Central Michigan women's hoops and said I need
help to get the season off the ground and the late March,

(02:39):
April, May responsibilities and his assistant Matt Schumacher
couldn't be there. And so Jesse and I knew each
other from Central Michigan doing women's hoops.
And he said, can you come down and just kind of be a literally
a pinch hitter, a fill in #2 andhelp me get media day up in the
air in April and May down? And he let me travel to Rd.
trips. I was essentially his number 2,
which to some, I was a sophomorein college experience like that

(03:02):
just for me. He he didn't even need to pay me
anything. He didn't pay me anything and I
was completely OK with that. It's just the experience alone
and say, sorry, Martine was actually there.
We come to find that out later when I got to Manchester last
year as we're Bo and Vlad. So that right there kind of sunk
the hooks in me of anytime I'd play road to the show and I'd be

(03:22):
with the Fisher Cats. I I always loved it just I would
always choose Toronto's organization worked with the
Great Lakes loons after COVID, worked in Montana before COVID
and then the Frisco Roughriders when they won the Texas League
in 22. So it's been a lot of baseball
and I really wouldn't have it any other way.
It's been a ton of. Fun.
That's a great journey, man. We're excited to have you.

(03:43):
I know it's been a, it's been a little bit of a, a, a long time
coming getting you on here. But you know, me and Rocky have
followed the prospects and the Blue Jays system for a long
time. So it's it's exciting to have
you, man. I've always wanted to get out to
New Hampshire. I haven't been here so many
great things about the ballpark and the team and everything

(04:04):
else. So but one of these days
hopefully, but we're just glad to have you on.
So thank you very much for joining us today.
Of course, yeah, no, happy to talk about it.
It is beautiful. Oh yeah, hit me.
Rocky yeah, so, so, so funny because you know, Jesse, Jesse
Goldberg Strassler is actually afriend of of us too.
Like, and he didn't even mentionto you.

(04:25):
I was like, Oh my goodness. I got a message.
Jesse. I was like, how come you didn't
message Drew Chris Jarrett aboutthis?
But yeah, Jesse's great people, by the way.
So, yeah, let let's get let's get this started.
My first question I want to ask you is, so this year we talked
about, you know, the New New Hampshire Fisher Cat.

(04:46):
It seems like there's a lot of roster movement, like talk about
the beginning of the season withthe New Hampshire Fisher Cats
and compared to where it's at right now.
Yeah, and I think honestly, too,you just get a good amount of
turnover as the season starts. But coming breaking camp, a lot
of guys were really excited about what was going to be going

(05:06):
on in New Hampshire kind of justbecause of who was on the roster
last year. And coming into this year, you
know, you had guys like CJ Van Dyke that had his eyes on AAA
and that's where he is now, and Ryan Jennings, who had his eyes
on AAA and that's what he's doing right now.
But for the most part, it was just you were hoping that guys
would be a little bit healthier from last year coming into this

(05:29):
year. And again, at times, it's just
the way that the season goes. But, you know, we roll back Kay
Doty from last year who just didn't get enough licks and AA
and the reps in the infield wasn't getting reps at shortstop
nearly enough because you had a guy like Josh Kasevich that was,
for the most part, all intents and purposes your everyday

(05:49):
shortstop until he goes on up toBuffalo and August to finish out
last year. So you had a good number of of
of names that were familiar to the Toronto system coming into
2025 in New Hampshire. And then there were a few names
too, that not a lot of people were super familiar with because
they were acquisitions at the deadline last year.
So you were excited to say, OK, what's RJ Shrek going to show us

(06:13):
that he kind of flirted with last year and you saw flashes
with it. It was only upside that you
could see from Joe Hendrick, Pinango from last year coming
into this year and same with Josh Rivera.
And all three of those guys eventually moved on to, to to
Buffalo. And I'll tell you 2 guys, I
really don't know if they were excited.

(06:33):
They liked what they saw of all three of Shrek and Josh and
Pinango, particularly from what they saw in the spring.
But I think the level of how they really just came in and
Pinango, we were talking about his numbers as tops in the
league for four weeks into Apriland into May.
And that was really fun to watchso early on.

(06:54):
So honestly, I, I think the biggest thing was just you had
some names of guys that headlined in New Hampshire from
maybe late 23, like someone likeCJ or 24 with Ryan Jennings or
guys that didn't even join the organization.
No one knew their names until late July last year.
So you kind of had a mix of all of those names and excitement
coming into this year and maybe some flashes not coming all

(07:17):
together at once is what the winand loss record shows.
But there have been some fun moments to take away.
Who would you say is impressed you the most this season on the
Fisher Cats roster? Oof, you know, bro, that's a
tough one because just really the deadline, I think kind of
took away some of the answers that you can kind of put to

(07:38):
that. Like there was from a good
understanding, I guess, and a good build off of what we just
talked about of the guys that you knew were starting here, you
probably knew weren't going to stick around for too long.
And I think there's been a good pool of of consistent guys that
have produced like I've been impressed by Charles McAdoo and
but in his April and May compared to the June and July

(08:01):
and and pushing into August has been really fun to watch.
And he's been someone that has been here all year.
But then you also kind of have to recognize, uh, someone like
Cal Cal Steven, he was incredibly impressive and just
to see him in a really limited scope had a had an interesting
carry to him of just a really sharp individual off the field

(08:23):
and kind of guys that you can just get a sense from.
And he gave that carried himselfreally well.
And I think you see that too when he gets, you know, when
he's the return piece for, for someone like Shane Bieber was
really impressed with the maturity of trade savages short
time here and it seems like there's a lot of mutual respect

(08:44):
that's paid back and you see himget all the way up to, to
Toronto in his first professional summer.
I've been impressed with yeah, I've been impressed with the
coaching staff, you know, to seethem, Austin Bibens, Dirkx, his
first year, Brent's first year, continue to build as
professionals and come up and, you know, be really at the end
of the day, just be themselves. And that's someone that is just

(09:05):
well respected by the players and and can shoot them a
straight message and because that's what life is going to do
to us. So they understand that and they
they pay that back as well. You know, Kay Dotty's been fun
to to see how he is what really feels like.
Plus defensively, there's never really a ball that's chopped
George short that you feel like is out of cages range, both

(09:30):
physically range or just his capabilities as a as an
infielder. And the more you see it, the
more you as they register, you're thinking that's an above
average play. The the thing about seeing so
many games from a broadcasters perspective, like someone like
myself and and Bob and Joe, my assistant this year is there's
kind of like a thermometer set. And when you see different teams

(09:51):
and you see their their guys that are regular contributors,
you can see and and make out pretty quickly guys that are
kind of above that average temperature or guys that are
below. But those are the ones that
stand out to you. And you know, when you see plays
like Kade makes on defence, those are some of those plays.
Charles at third base is they kind of cut out the outfield
side for when he came over from Pittsburgh, he was a listed as

(10:14):
an outfielder. And I think Torano and just New
Hampshire particularly were kindof flushed and outfielders.
Um, you had for a while, like Gabby had to go back down to
Vancouver because there was a point where we had just so many
outfielders when Jace was healthy and, and RJ and Pinango
were here and Jason and Devante,there was a point where it's
like we've got 6 outfielders right now that all are deserving

(10:35):
of playing time. And they were playing like it
too. So that competition certainly
didn't hurt. You know, I, I love that Devante
finally gets a shot to go on up to AAA and excited to see him
because he's a guy that has beencutting his teeth for awhile
here too. On the pitching side, you know,
Nate Garko is 27. He's the resident senior on this
team and he's he leads the cats and and ERA because of how

(10:58):
crafty he is. He doesn't really throw anything
that's above 85. And it's such a gear shift that
it was almost rude that you'd have Someone Like, You know,
Kendra or Trey or Cal and then Nate Garcia would come out of
the pen and just be such a, a shift in audible that you could
see in guys approaches to the plate that he would hit him
with. So, um, you know, I think a lot

(11:18):
has impressed us this year collectively.
I'm sure the coaches can certainly go a lot more in depth
too, about what's been impressive.
And but those are just some of the particulars that come to
mind. It's tough because some guys
have been here all year, some guys are now not even in the
organization. And it's it's all been
impressive how they've handled it and how they handled
themselves too. Taught you, you talked about

(11:41):
certain names that that's been pressed, but who would you say
it's been under the radar for this team?
Because we talked about guys who's already been promoted,
who's already, you know, the bignames like we'll talk about
later on, but under the radar guys that doesn't get talked
about, that should be talked about.
Yeah, yeah, I think someone likeEdinson Paulino kinda comes to

(12:04):
your mind. You know, a second baseman right
now that we're seeing start to hit for a little bit of power
from the left side. It's been difficult for him here
in August for Paulino to to try and see if he can't piece things
together. So we'll see if that continues
to develop. But he is another guy, too.
I love seeing Kade at short and Paulino at second base.

(12:24):
They're starting to get that chemistry a little bit too, and
that's a ton of fun to see. I think someone like Ryan Cardi
deserves some recognition, you know, just because of the player
captain role that he really has seemed to fill pretty well.
And one of those guys that, you know, I mentioned the word
thermometer, right? Never sour nothing.
You know that there's never a complaint from Ryan McCarty.

(12:45):
It's always just good times and positive vibes and you really,
really need people like that. It's not just a big league
clubhouse thing that that is valued.
You need someone like that wherereality is kind of constantly
just looming for a lot of guys like this, and I give Ryan a lot
of respect for that. I think on the pitching side,
Grant Rogers continues to be someone that just grabs my

(13:06):
attention that he can handle such a high workload night in
and night out. And there's a lot of talk about
pitching that you want things tobe consistent.
I think it was actually Keegan when he joined your guys show.
I heard him talk about the, the 2 words of pitching and
consistency. And that for Grant Rogers, his
consistent take away is that he can throw 90 pitches or even in

(13:30):
the 80s and get you through 6 innings.
And we've seen seven this year. And I, I think these guys can
probably all agree where they feel and what they feel about
the prospect list and who's a prospect and who isn't and what
not. And Grants not on that list.
And I think he certainly should be just, you know, if you're
ranking guys and I, I, I get it,there's only 30 chairs at the
table. And it's a big system even with

(13:51):
the limited posters these days. But he's handled things really
well. And and it's he wasn't on this
team at the start of the year. So started in Vancouver, gets
the AA bump with Jaron Watts Brown on the same day and was
able to, you know, get get his knuckles kind of roughed up a
little bit because this is really a cut your teeth league
in the Eastern League, particularly one of the larger

(14:13):
rostered leagues in AA, if I'm remembering, actually it is the
largest. The Southern League is a little
smaller. Texas League, I think has five
in each division. And so it is very difficult with
a 12 team Eastern League with six in each division.
You're going to see a lot of talent and your stuff is really
going to you kind of put things on the line.

(14:33):
And Grant's been able to back itup pretty well.
So I've been impressed with him and I'm sure there's more.
What about a guy like Jackson Hornum, you know, a 16th round
pick. I think he's hitting like 303
this year with an 851 OPS. What are your thoughts on him?
You know, I think 2 of the, I think the tale with Jackson was
that he was catching and they kind of slid him out of that and

(14:55):
just put him a little bit more in the outfield spot.
And he's been more primarily at first base with the, with the
absence of Peyton Williams lately, it's been kind of a
rotation with guys like Jackson Hornings now kind of the regular
first baseman where it was P Willy for awhile.
Now it's Jackson. You can put him in the outfield

(15:15):
and that's kind of where he was playing for the most part, but
now it's starting to handle a little bit more rules there.
And then he's been in the leadoff spot too.
And he's just a fun kind of justa blue collar like traditional
Massachusetts ballplayer that like you, you talk about a lot
of hockey guys that are from theUnited States and you've got the
guys that come from Massachusetts.

(15:36):
That was actually Alec or Alex Amalfi 2 from the same hometown
that Jackson Hornung, both from Ashland, Mass.
That's a cool little Side Story of its own that they were two
guys that just grew up playing Little League ball together and
ended up on the same not only the same organization when both
in AA, but both on the same team.
So I I have to imagine that that's one of the coolest things

(15:58):
in in Alex has told me too, thathe's like every day is just the
coolest thing in the world. But, you know, back on Jackson,
I I think that as he continues to to just get more reps here,
stuffs gonna speak. But he works long counts.
There's not a whole lot of strikeouts that if he's, you
know, if he's going over, you know, couple put outs, the ball
is being put in play. And he runs tremendously well

(16:19):
too. And he's an athlete.
He's an outfielder that they're putting at first base and
letting him get a little bit more reps a former catcher so
that the picking motions a little bit familiar with them.
And we've seen him make some plays and unfortunately has put
his body on the line too, which is what the position requires
time and time again. But yeah, I think you nailed it.
He's definitely a guy that just you look at the numbers and you
might think, holy smokes, how come we haven't talked more

(16:41):
about this guy? And I think that's completely
fair. Let's talk about Trade Savage a
little bit. You know, he's had a shortstop
there in, in in AA. I mean, everywhere he spins a
short stop because he's just rose so quickly through the
system. But yeah, but you know, he was
promoted to AAA not too long ago.

(17:02):
Did you? What have you seen from him in
his time at AA? And do you feel like he has the
potential to be that frontline starter?
I think Trey has the potential to do anything.
I I think that it's really the same kind of with a lot of these
guys were maybe sometimes you might see that the ceiling could
be a little bit more apparent. And with Trey, he's 21 and he's

(17:24):
in AAA and his first pro summer.So I, I think that right there
should tell you a lot about how he's kind of regarded by the
organization that they've got a ton of trust in him and and
certainly believe in him. They believed in him when they
took him in the first round justfrom our take away as the public
and they believe in them to get them up to to Buffalo.
His his first, his debut as we're recording this on this

(17:44):
Friday. What is it?
The 15th is his AAA debut is last night in Buffalo in the the
reverse retros, which I still tell Pat, you know, Carl, those
are my absolute favorite Bisons uniforms are the reverse retros
that they wear. And of course that was in trays
debut. So I was just I was eating it
up. But it kind of looked like his
AA debut where he got a little alittle touched up by the walks

(18:05):
in a short go, but only gave up one hit.
And I think I think it's scored two runs and then he struck out
I think 3 or 4. So again, it's triple is such a
different beast. And AA I had the chance to see
Pat when they were in Worcester for about 3 or 4 games
throughout the course of the season and it's so different.
You got it. It's just, you know, with AA to

(18:28):
AAA, they're dealing with guys that are getting optioned up and
down and regularly dealing with guys that are coming up and down
from the big league club to AAA.And so you're really gonna see a
lot for Trey and I I think that now that the talent bar is a
little bit higher, we'll see howhe responds to it.
But on the front load side of a rotation, again, who knows?

(18:49):
Like we'll see is kind of the biggest thing.
I think a lot of folks, you know, they they were saying like
I just on Twitter, it's going tohappen.
But you see things like I've seen enough call them up and
you, you know, for his sake, if that's what happens, that would
be awesome. But there's really a lot to go
through in the minors to just sit out there and sweat and just

(19:13):
walk guys and give up hits and give up homers and and fail and
fail at times. Like it's just that's what I
think the, the best part about all of this is, is that the road
to the show is what you hear people talk about is littered
with guys that have really had to cut their teeth and scrape
their knees and fail a ton to beable to know what it takes to
continue to move on up the ladder.

(19:33):
So his stuff's great. You know, it's he's a game
changer when you see him into a ball game.
He he even said it this time in college.
And it translates right over to the pros that you're, you just
kind of have a little bit more of a front edge in a game to
game sense. So it was interesting to see
Trey where he was kind of moved around like we saw him.
I, I can count on one hand how many times he started the game

(19:55):
and went five innings. A couple of times he was capped
at four. And maybe one of those times was
because he ran out of pitches tothrow on.
Another time he breezed through,I think there was a go in New
Hampshire where he went through four and he threw less than 40
pitches. He was around like 39 and maybe
in the 40s of pitches that he threw.
And you thought, you know, for sure he could keep going.

(20:15):
And, and he told me later that he come out and Brent shook his
hand and that was pretty much when you kind of know that
you're done and that was it. So I'm sure the deadline was
hectic. You know, he, he said that for
the most part, guys kind of knowthe deal.
They just show up and really just do their jobs because
that's all you can do in a time like that.
But I have to imagine at 21. Years old, it's been a whirlwind

(20:36):
of a season and it just have a last year on the calendar and
really excited to see where he continues to go because to kind
of go back to your initial question, the ball is really in
his court. So I want to ask you about some
of the players that were acquired last year at the trade
deadline, who started the seasonin AA and who's currently in AA

(20:58):
right now, like guys like Edison, Paulino, Hendrick
Chenango, Ardis Shrek, Charles McAdoo.
Talk a bit about those guys and where they stand in the
organization, the development ofwhat they've done now being in
the Jays organization. Yeah, you know, like just to

(21:18):
start with RJ Shrek, he's incredibly hezzy.
And you're going to be when you have colleges like Duke that you
played for in in Vanderbilt to go out of that.
And the Seattle organization is a you got a lot of guys that are
just, it seems like they producea lot of high talent from seeing
that in my time in the Texas League, you know, they won the

(21:40):
Texas League last year to, to now this year.
And so seeing RJ anytime you seeand Toronto and Seattle kind of
have that where you're seeing a couple of trades that have been
made between the two through, you know, throughout the years.
So that that feels like a good sign.
But to see RJ come over and, andjust to get to talk to him a
little bit, an incredibly down to earth guy.
Um, you know, I was trying to reach out to some players,

(22:02):
former players from last year rolling into this year that I
probably had an idea that would be back in New Hampshire and
Charles was one of them. RJ was one of them and both were
incredibly, you know, willing tojust be able to hop on and talk
about what they did over the offseason and you know, where
they are coming into the year. And and both were excited and
both probably looked back and said, you know, I'm just happy

(22:22):
that last season's kind of in the books because you get the
full offseason to go down to Florida and and be surrounded by
the organization that you weren't at the beginning of last
season. And so both got that opportunity
and and all of those guys did that were traded to come into
this year. Rob elbows with the big
leaguers, but also just spent time with the hitting coaches

(22:43):
and develop their relationships because the more that you talk
to the coaches and even the rolling personnel in the Toronto
system, the key to anything of, of the progression of these
guys, they begin with the word relationship.
Um, you're really not going to win on the field unless you went
off the field 1st and you have to gain their trust and their
respect and because they're professionals and so they match

(23:06):
that. So RJ is incredibly professional
power from the, from the left side.
He does have a sharp arm. He, he won us a game in Portland
in the 10th on a, on a catch in left and through 7/2 to the
plate to fry would be tying run to win the game.
So, you know, you see him make aplay like that and he's kind of
the guy to do that. Pinango man.

(23:26):
He hit one last year that was a pull shot and it's a short trip
down the right field, London, Manchester, But he abused it
last year where you kind of justkind of hung around.
You're like, man, if we can see that more power rolling from
last year into this year, he's going to start to move around.
And one of the things that he was, I was loving of him doing
was he was splitting the gaps. He was going to right centre and

(23:48):
even to left centre in AA this year.
It was one of the OPS leaders. He had the best slash for a
while in the Eastern League to see.
So, you know, again, I, there's,there are pieces in Buffalo
that, you know, kind of have these guys around AAA and you.
I really didn't know what to expect going into the deadline
this year because it seemed likethe organization was kind of

(24:11):
primed and locked and loaded go to speak with all these guys
that they had acquired at the deadline.
And so I am selfishly happy thatthey're still around the
organization and I'm excited to see where they go.
Josh, a power hitting shortstop from Florida, Josh Rivera and
you know who who knows, like what we end up seeing from Josh,
but did have a chance to chat with him and AAA little bit too.

(24:31):
And he just, you know, they're just happy.
They're just happy to be around,happy to be playing baseball and
and they're dedicated to just getting better every single day.
So that's I feel like that's really all you can ask from from
someone like myself. Victor Arias been a player who's
been on the rise the past coupleseasons and yeah, and he's
having another good season this year.
He's really opening eyes in the organization.

(24:54):
Tell us about him, what kind of player he is and and what is
what is sealing is going forwardin your opinion?
You know, I think another guy where the ball is kind of in his
court because he is so like speedy.
I, I think you're starting to see it now where he's kind of
rising up on the, on the ladder to um, you know, Vic Vic's only

(25:15):
21. So like it's to be up in AA to
have that, you know, it's kind of like what Gabby was last
year. Gabby Martinez was just barely
over his 20s and then AA. So it's more power from the left
side and we haven't really had that.
And last year at least it didn'treally feel like we had that.
We we went a while of last year without any left-handed guys.

(25:37):
And then all of a sudden you brought in Pinango and Shrek in
Paulino that round this team andyou're like, we've got some
lefties now in this lineup and that that was kind of nice to
see. But there here comes Victor
Arias, you know, and kind of hadseen his name bouncing around
between Vancouver and New Hampshire and you know, last
year it was able to finish up with the seas.

(25:58):
And then when he come up from Vancouver this year and you look
and you see that he had the OS that was believe a little bit
over 8 and flirting with A300 batting average, just 21 years
old. It slot them right in the
Eastern League. And you know, it's it's like,
OK, let him finish strong and finish the year out.
And then maybe by the time next year rolls around around this

(26:18):
time, he is up in Buffalo or he sticks around here and just
continues to get better. Because I I think on the
defensive side, you're seeing that he's going to be fine.
He can cover a lot of ground. He's very quick.
You know, it's what you can kindof ask for from the centre
fielder. I think where he will continue
to ride is, is if he can start catching up and, and staying on
top of some pitches from the left side.

(26:40):
It seems like he has a really powerful aggressive swing.
I, you know, we'll see how he continues to craft at that, if
it maybe does it get a little bit quicker or he just continues
to get the bat on the ball a little bit more.
But this year, what we've seen in 20 games, you know, he's, I
think it's appropriate to match his age with the numbers that
he's putting out. And you got to trust, too, the

(27:02):
coaches that are working with them that they're going to stay
patient with them and just continue to preach to them that
it's going to take time. And again, all it takes is just
a couple of hot stretches and, and he can really turn a corner
because it seems like he's been matched and given that respect,
even a little dinged up this year.
But I don't think it really kepthim out of too many games at

(27:22):
Vancouver. And by the time he got back, he
was ready for promotion up here.So excited to see him.
I, I think you're kind of aroundthis time starting to idealize
what the roster is gonna look like next year.
And he might be one of those guys that sticks around.
But there are a few of those guys.
And you know, if if that chemistry continues to get
built, they could be a, they could be a team that continues

(27:43):
to win games next year. Who do you compare Victor Arias
to because some people think that he could be like Addison
Barger type of guy because of his bat speed, the way he plays
the game and his aggressiveness.Is that a comp you would say or
is there anyone else in mind that do you have as a
comparison? Man, Barger has it's just so
much power. He's a guy that I never got to

(28:04):
see. I really don't know who I would
count Victor Arias to. He's just small and short in
stature and quick. Like maybe you could tag it to
like a Cedric Mullins just if you could have a power from a
centre fielder and that's shooting incredibly high.
But that's, you know, if you think of a power hitting centre
fielder that can do stuff like that, he's kind of a guy that
comes to mind. But Barger, I, I really wish I

(28:27):
could have seen him. He was with New Hampshire in 23
and when we went to Hartford forthe first time was talking to
Alan Roden about the layout of Duncan Park.
And he was, he said the farthestball I've seen hit here was over
the right centre field wall. And Hartford actually has a
second deck out in right field, which is pretty sweet looking.
And he said that Barger cleared it over that and went out onto

(28:49):
the street. And I don't know what the, I
don't know what that would be. It would have to be something
like a 440 foot poke. But so that's incredible power
by a guy. But sure, you know, like if, if
that's what Vic can continue to do, I don't think there's
anything wrong with that. I like to talk about two, two
other outfielders in the system.Jace Borchin was drafted a

(29:10):
couple years ago from Arkansas and Jason Brown, a Canadian that
was dropped a few years ago. Talk about those guys and where
they stand and what's their trajectory.
Yeah, I I think with Jace, it's just been tough because you
never planned for what he's going through where he's on the
seven day and, you know, it justhas kind of taken him out of

(29:32):
what where he at the beginning of the season was in a really
good spot. I I think Jason's best piece.
And here you go again, talking about another left-handed power
hitting outfielder. Yeah, corner outfielder and Jabo
and his arms Incredible. And it seems like that's been
backed up too. But you can see these teams
matching the respect to by anything that's put in play and

(29:54):
they won't they won't be running, you know, wild on on
tag ups and sending guys to the plate if it's a shot out to
right. And there's Jace, you know,
camping underneath it, kind of timing his throw up.
So Jason, I really, you know, I think we just need to see more
of them and AA maybe. And it kind of reminds me of
like what we got with Cade last year because Jace, Jace had a
stretch where he hit 4 homers inApril against Harrisburg and got

(30:17):
incredibly hot and then kind of,you know, simmered down a little
bit after that. But when you saw that really
calm and mild headed dude too, like, you know, it doesn't
really seem like he's probably gonna worry about things too
much to really rack his brain and get him in a slump or get
him out of a slump or anything like that.
So I think those are things you look for in how guys just kind
of carry themselves day-to-day that of course, he's competitive

(30:39):
and whatnot, but seems very lax and laid back.
So I think the biggest thing forJ right now is just the
concentration on getting healthy.
And it seems like he's doing exactly that.
So excited to see him back. And I do believe we'll see him
before the end of the season, which is going to be important
for him. And you know, like Jason of Gold
Glove winner last year across the Miners because of what he

(31:02):
was able to do in the outfield. And we saw the flashes at the
end of August, just saw on yesterday in in in Binghamton,
A2 double game and just such a threat.
Stealing base is probably one ofthe faster guys that you'll ever
see. And he's actually right up there
with Charles McAdoo. Speed has been really
impressive. The fact that he's the base

(31:23):
steel leader because of his speed and how many times he's
gotten on base. But Jason's your first option.
If there's ever a ball game where you know you're in a
situation where you need someonethat's going to come in and run
for you in a leveraged spot and then also has to go out and play
the outfield. That's the song.
So trying to utilize that speed a little bit more and seeing if

(31:43):
he can't continue to try to hashit out and hit the baseball 2 on
the offensive side. But where does Shawn wins you
games and puts you in a high leverage spot as his
capabilities as a runner on the bases and then his plus
defensive play, winning a Gold Glove, you know, across every
level in the Miners last year, that's incredible.

(32:04):
Going to the bullpen with some of the guys like Garco and
Challenger and Kai Peterson. Gallagher, Tell us about some of
those guys and how good the bullpens been this year.
Yeah, you know, for the bowl, the bullpen for awhile has been
carrying us to we've got I thinkit's 12 shutout wins this year.

(32:25):
And so of course that a lot of that's gonna have to do with
your bullpen and not only your starters, but what your bullpen
can do to shut things down. Because now more than ever, but
even at other times throughout the year, we've kind of been shy
of having a five man rotation ora six man rotation even, which
it seems like, you know, we haven't had that this year for
the majority of the season. So, you know, Pat at one point

(32:48):
was an ace in his time at UConn and even in the in the Toronto
system, he was starting a ton ofgames.
And then I, I think figuring outpretty quickly that he could be
someone that engine for you in the middle relief spot and get
you through to even 3 and still be incredibly effective.
So he hasn't winced at that opportunity.
I think he's shined in that roleand to take that starting

(33:11):
knowledge. And then also just come in and
spots and his AA debut, you know, it's like you're in
Hartford. He comes in and the spot and
gives up a couple of runs, but the Fisher Cats end up winning
the game. And, you know, you talk to him
the next day and hey, how'd it go?
And he said, I wish I would havedone better, but we got the win.
And, you know, so he's, he's just a really sharp dude.
Also an area guy from Leominster, Mass.
I love seeing the area guys be close to home because they can

(33:35):
see their family like it. The Vancouver it's it sounds
like such a cool city and such acool ballpark in a winning
place, but it's very tough for these guys that are so far away
from home. So anytime that anyone can be
home, I'd love to hear that. You know, Nate Garko, we only
saw him for a few times last year.
He's back up here this year and again, it you know, it doesn't

(33:57):
always happen, but it exists. I think there's a world where
guys like that can be in a ball game and be effective.
So he is really impressive what he's been able to do.
Um, someone like Alex Amalfi, who's now the Fisher Cat
strikeout leader can come into games and he really is smart
with guys on base. We saw that pretty recently of

(34:17):
just he'll give up a base runner, but can work long counts
and seems like he keeps his coolin situations like that.
You know, he's he was also a starter.
He was really just a baseball player.
His time and a story on him quickly And when he was in high
school that it was an American Legion team.
He played for his high school ball team and then also a travel

(34:38):
team. And he played in a tournament, I
think it was in Vermont or somewhere up kind of the New
England stretch, where he playedfor two different teams in the
same tournament and played in like 4 games in one day through
a no hitter in the first game, played some shortstop in the
second game, played the outfield.
And, and like the final couple games.
And he said the only, the only thing that bugged him about the

(34:59):
entire thing was that they made him take breaks in between the
games. And so he's now in a spot kind
of like what I mentioned with Pat Gallagher, where it's like
if things are going sideways fora starter early or you want
maybe in a bullpen game, someoneto give you a start, which we
saw him do earlier this week in Binghamton.
That's Alex Amalfi. And so I love the D3 success

(35:19):
stories of guys that are just trying to cut it loose and make
a name for themselves. And that seems like it's a
majority of the D3 guys. We mentioned Jackson Hornings AD
every guy, Alex Amalfi's AD three guy.
So it's a ton of fun to watch those guys that maybe at one
point you not give them a high success rate and here they are
in AA doing their thing. Perfect way to ask the next

(35:42):
question is you mentioned about Alex Amalfi.
The three guys there that lead the team in strikeouts, believe
it or not, it's Alex Amalfi, Dever, Deverell Harrison and
Brian Watson, so named. That doesn't really get talked
about enough and talk about someguys and I know that I was

(36:03):
watching a bit of the Amalfi andhe's been really impressive.
Did he get like six strike outs in like 2 innings or something
like that? It's like, it's insane, like.
Yeah, he got 7 oz last night, and six of them were cases.
Yeah. Insane.
Yeah. Talk about some of those guys,
like what's been successful withthem, you know, punching out
guys in AA. Yeah, I I think with Alex, he

(36:27):
just having the the capability to really keep his patience.
I think patience is a big thing where sometimes you might see
some pictures not really want tobe dedicated to, to working on
holding the baseball and, and holding runners and being smart
with their disengagements and, and throwing over to the base.
And Alex seems to do those things really well.

(36:47):
Again, yesterday this the stat line, I had to look it up to.
And a third with one run, he gave up five hits, but only one
run, two walks and he struck outsix.
So he's constantly getting to two strike counts and winning
them. But then on top of that, he was
in run scoring chances. It seems like in both of those
innings and even into the third and some of those numbers, I
think it was three hits in a row.

(37:08):
He gave up where he it was. It came to a point where they
tried him for three and it just it got to a point where he had
to be taken out. But patience is a big thing with
him. And I think that there's no
opportunity that goes wasted with him.
He's slowing things down and he's got some good velocity
where he can climb the ladder and and throw a good nice pitch
mix too, to keep guys off balance.
So really like Alex, patience I think is probably the big thing

(37:33):
to Ryan Watson was was someone that, you know, we were kind of
excited about to start the season because he was a guy that
was an independent league signy last year and kind of came up
and and lit high a on fire. And then now here he is with the
Fisher Cats where, you know, in April in the early stretches
with Watts with what it was, it was really impressive.

(37:55):
And then, you know, just what happens with with teams in this
league is that when they just they kind of get the blueprint
on you. And it's very tough to get game
planned in this league because it you can just really run into
some really difficult goals. But you know, Ryan kind of he's
only made one go here in in August and he has I know that I

(38:15):
think it's it's been an injury that's kind of been nagging him
for a little bit. So hoping that he can get back
healthy. And you know, for Dev, he was a
starter here. Dev Deborah Harrison last year
finished out as the innings leader, the strikeouts leader,
most starts last year for the Cats and then he goes up to
Buffalo and then was being worked out of the bullpen, which
is kind of the role that he was in in college.

(38:35):
So I think the options are stillopen for for Devereaux, but it
seems like when he comes in the game, you're gonna get someone
that has experience of working in this league and and still
winning counts in winning battles too.
Watson and Deborah, both guys that just their foot is on the
gas pedal. You know, as much what I say
about Alex Malfi where he's he'spatient and you're on his time.

(38:57):
The same can be true with with Deborah and Watson where you're
on their time, but they're you're going and they're
constantly going. They they want things to be
quick and they want the ground ball.
I think that's worked with Watson incredibly.
Also his ground ball rate, he does a lot of pitches are in the
zone, which is where he might give up the hits, but he's
chopping a lot of double plays. I think he leads the team with

(39:17):
11 this year. So one of those guys that's just
throwing the heavy sinker cutterpitches that are busting you
inside a little bit to get you over top of some balls and you
know, 26. But guy that you're hoping that
once he can kind of return and get back, he can continue to get
some experience and we'll see what happens with him.

(39:39):
Last year, unfortunately the Blue Jays system had about 9
pitchers have Tommy John surgery.
On one of them was TJ Brock and he was there last year and for a
short sample size he looked likehe could be such a dominant
reliever. Could you tell us what you saw
about it from him last year? And is there any update on on
TJ? I haven't heard anything on

(40:01):
teach. You know, I really don't know,
to be completely honest. I, I know that it was pretty
early on that it was the full season for him.
So I, I really don't have anything on them.
I know that his first year was 2023 if I remember.
And then last year we only saw him for about 7 games.

(40:25):
And I, I think just the big thing with him is that guys
couldn't hit him. But it was just with him, it's
just being healthy. So it's it's tough with guys
like that that you don't really see a lot because you don't
really hear a whole lot about them or what's going on.
Yeah, I don't know what I've goton TJ, what I can give you any
updates there. But I mean, just again, with the
draft pick that he was, you hopethat you can see him sometime

(40:48):
soon back up here. So the next question I wanna ask
you is about Alec. But Noah and I know that he made
his rehab start in AA not too long ago before he went to
Buffalo. And I know he pitched there as
well. But what did you see in him?
Was there any encouragement? What was he lacking?
Like talk about a brief bit about like what was his rehab

(41:10):
start about? Yeah, You know, we were excited
for that just because it's a name like you had mentioned, the
guys that have kind of just beenjust that lately names, you
know, names and headlines or names and tweets and updates and
stuff. And so to see the wheels back on
the road from Manoa was really, I think just that alone was
encouraging of, you know, tryingto get him back going.

(41:33):
So to see him go, I think just that alone was encouraging back
here in New Hampshire. And I think to go right off of
that, you're still going to probably have to just wait and
see how it pans out for them. You know, to see him get a
couple strikeouts was encouraging.
But I think the brutal truth is that what he does in AA, like
some some of these rehabbers, they're not dominant.

(41:56):
Like in these, you might see them pick up a strikeout or two.
Maybe it's just a credit of, youknow, a bunch of different
things. Maybe they're trying to get work
done with the personnel and the big league level on what they
maybe want them or don't want them to be doing.
So you can get guys that are rehabbers that are dominant.
You can get guys that aren't exactly dominant at times.

(42:18):
Um, but there, I think just the fact of them making that
experience and doing the reps alone and for him to throw the
pitch count that he did to, you know, he's out there for three
innings, 4 innings, that in alone really is encouraging.
You know, which might not sound like the best take away that I
know that the one appearance he made with the Cats wasn't a
rehab go, but he punched out 10.You know, I'm sure people were a

(42:40):
little more hopeful of somethinglike that.
But we played a team in Redding that led the Eastern League in
offence last week and a guy likeAidan Miller that won player of
the week that had five double s.So like it was kind of daunting,
even though you'd think for Manoa, like, well, the guy was a
finalist first saw young in an All Star.
You think it doesn't always workthat way when they've kind of
been out and trying to work their way back up.

(43:00):
So he, you know, he didn't exactly get the best matchup in
a team that he was getting. And but again, to see him
survive the three and the four, it's just someone that you're
going to have to have continued.Maybe throw in AAA and just get
more and more comfortable with the workload of a season.
But the options are open. We'll see what he eventually
does. Just you're, he's someone that

(43:21):
you know, you're really just hoping that he can pull it
through and, and continue to to try and piece it together.
Tell us about some of the recentguys who got promoted like Javon
Ward, Packed, Gallagher, You already talked about Victor
Arias, but just there's anybody else that I'm not mentioning,
but tell us about some of the guys that that you're seeing for

(43:43):
the first time this year in New Hampshire.
You know, what I'm excited aboutis Fernando Perez.
We're gonna see him start tonight.
But he he just recently won Northwest League Pitcher of the
Week and he's only 21. So we're all of a sudden
incredibly young, which is kind of been a tale of us lately.
It seems like last year we had some guys that were a little bit

(44:05):
older. But now all of a sudden, you
know, especially with like Kendry and Trey and the pictures
that we had, we were young and that trend continues.
So I'm excited with the new guysthat just got bumped up to see
really, because this is the opportunities there and the
options are on the table for them to make the most of the end
of this season. You know, some guys they think

(44:26):
of, you know, maybe just the general consensus could be like,
oh, you're August, you're almostat the finish line.
And you know, but for these guys, it's like this is it until
maybe fall league for some of them, maybe some winter ball for
some of them or, or maybe it's not until spring of next year.
So you hope to see that urgency from some of the recently
promoted dudes. I think you are seeing that from
Javan. My absolute favorite thing to

(44:49):
see outside of a home run in thegame is an opposite field double
that splices the gap and that itseems like Javon continuously
does that. He's starting to kind of find
some power strokes in him a little bit more too.
But he left Vancouver's roster as the on base leader in the
walks leader in the ORC. So to get that, finally get a
guy like that that's been prettywell tenured, that's kind of

(45:11):
gone through his licks, getting Tommy John as an outfielder and
just kind of surviving minor League Baseball in itself, you
know, joins Toronto system and obviously makes a lot of
connections and some good friends in Vancouver.
To see those rekindled with the guys that he's parted ways with
now in New Hampshire is awesome.But yeah, excited to see Kai

(45:34):
continue to go, excited to see Yandre Rojas.
Johanns Simone was one of the recently promoted guys too.
So just the guys that were called upon to come up here to
New Hampshire and to finish the year out.
You know, it's it's like, OK, here we go with the opportunity.
And it's, again, it's exciting because you're you're for the
most part getting kind of an idea of what you can expect for

(45:55):
next year. So if we've seen Javan kind of
towards the top of lineups, we've seen him in the clean up
spot, we've seen up towards the bottom and it it seems like he's
been able to contribute a good amount and it's just a talented
outfielder. He can cover a lot of grass and
he's pretty athletic too. So he's been fun and just a good
dude to be around as well. So we had the trade deadline not

(46:16):
too long ago and yeah, some of the prospects that were traded
were in AA. You know, everybody was excited.
It's like OHT, look, look at that star-studded AA rotation
red. What could be the future?
Like it all of a sudden, you know, everything just unraveled
like Jerome Watts Brown got traded I think 2-3 days or two

(46:38):
days before the trade deadline. And it it was so funny that both
or the Orioles in the Jays, boththe Major League and the
affiliates played each other in and they and pretty much Gerard
wants around had to just go across the the duck out right.
So it's just like correct, right.
And then you had Kendra Rojas, that was a winger that got

(47:01):
traded for a guy who had six years of controlling Louie
Barletta. And obviously I was I wrote it.
We could talk about that later. And of course, Cal Stefan is
probably has the one has the most upside out of all, all
three of them. How oppressive were those guys?
And you know what was on your mind mind when those guys were
traded right around the trade deadline time.

(47:22):
Well, you know, to go to your initial point that Jeron was
traded on a Tuesday, you're thinking like initially, like
here we go, you know, like strapin because it for the most part,
it was when you're looking at kind of going through and taking
inventory of like, OK, what are we looking at?
You knew what was on the table and look, they're going for it.

(47:42):
And they I think that they get that, you know, it's it's a
weird thing just hearing from the guys that they're traded,
like talking to the guys that wegot last year and talking to the
guys that were shipped this year, like it's a weird feeling,
you know, but it's it's kind of you're just feeling a part of a
business. But for Jaron, I think when he
goes, it was pretty much like a kind of a strap your seat belt

(48:04):
type thing. That was tough, you know,
because he just he someone that they really liked and on the
players side. But again, you're happy for him
that they go on and join, you know, a new organization and a
new start forum. I think you might be right about
Cal. You know, Kendra is incredible
too. He's they put him right to AAA.
You know, Minnesota really didn't that.

(48:24):
They've got a a good reputation of developing guys and a former
member of this Eastern League. So, and you know, don't forget
Alan Roden too. Like that's, those are two
really big pieces. But like, yeah, holy smokes,
man. To get to control of Louis
Varland of you, you now all of asudden have your hardest
throwers in your bullpen at the deadline.
And, you know, I think if you ask the organization and the

(48:46):
fans too, like it's going to cost you 3 big names out of your
AA rotation, they're going to say, if this means that we are
taking ourselves seriously for abig push where you find yourself
in in June, I say let's go for it.
And so it's a somber feeling. But again, you're looking at it
like, Hey, this is these are kind of the, the steps that you
gotta take at this point of the season.

(49:06):
When you do find yourself with over 70 wins in the early stages
of July. I you know, it's so exciting.
It's, it's an organization in Toronto that like they've,
they've kind of just been constantly regarded as like the
lovable team from up north in Toronto.
And they, I'm ready for them to kind of have some fangs again a
little bit here and, and start making some moves in September

(49:29):
and October. I think it's time.
I'm not gonna lie my heart, I think it broke a little bit when
JWB was traded. Me too, man.
Yeah, yeah, me too. I think I love, I think that
one, yeah, man, I think that onecould come back to bite them in
the in the future, you know, unless we win the World Series
this year, then it's then it's worth it, right?

(49:50):
But. Yeah, if you win the World
Series, it really like it, it doesn't matter.
And they've got a bullpen now all of a sudden that's like, OK,
it's gonna contend and it's gonna win.
You get like, you see the game how it shakes down and against
Chicago and yesterday at Rogers Centre, you know, that that's a
game that's like that's a trade deadline game where you've all
of a sudden got guys now that, you know, are are going to win

(50:11):
you some games and be the difference.
You know, you know, I do. I did like, I feel that with Cal
a little bit where it's like youjust sit and look at it and go,
you know, and and you're really hope that someone like Shane is
gonna come in And and that mightbe something that you really
don't know for another five years.
And it's the thing like prospects are the currency in

(50:33):
this business. And it's it's kind of just like
the Pandora's box. If they are guys that have a ton
of potential. And you know, Cal was picked
high for a reason. I think Kendra might have been
just from what he has been able to show the best out of all of
them with, you know, just being a hard throwing, controlling
left-handed pitcher. We'll, we'll see what we see

(50:54):
with Kendra. And it kind of reminds you like
the Doc Holiday deal a little bit of, you know, from the
starting pitching perspective. But like, we will see.
I think you walk away from it going, OK, those are the moves
that we made and we'll see how it can go.
But you do kind of have to give a lot up for someone like Louis
Varland with you mentioned the control, so much control.

(51:15):
You really kind of have to cut it over.
Sir. Anthony Dominguez, again, one of
now 2 hardest throwers in your big league bullpen.
You know, Jaron's kind of been been going through it.
He might be a middle bullpen guys.
He gets up to ball tomorrow. And again, you're happy for him
that they've got a new chance now at, at, at at a new
organization and kind of a freshchapter.
Definitely some of the players are sorry, um, who are some

(51:41):
players that you, that you see on this current roster that
could that in your opinion, maybe they're the next guys that
called up to AAA? You know, we always ask that we
we kind of have fun If we look at Buffaloes roster and we're
thinking who's the next Fisher Cat, former cat to to go on up
and get their debut. I'm so happy for Brayden

(52:02):
Fischer. I know I'm going off your
question, but like just seeing Brayden Fisher, Lasaro Estrada
to see those guys, it's go up and contribute.
You know, it's that to me is what makes all this worth it.
I know anyone that's got any type of role in minor League
Baseball would agree to that, that to see them and almost kind
of feel like you buy stock in them at their ages where maybe
they're not super known about. But I, I think it's really just

(52:25):
that it's dependent on what the organization, like what Buffalo
would need up there. I I think maybe you see someone
like Charles McAdoo go on up. He's still young, but he's 23
years old. He's got the power.
He he hits the baseball so hard.He he goes April, May Slumpy
goes to the devil list and goes into the Hartford stretch in

(52:48):
June and had just some of the loudest batting practice that I
I hate buying stock in batting practice sessions because it's
just exactly that it's BP, but it was noise that he was making
that he wasn't making in April and May.
And that's the sound of a guy that has figured it out.
So and he's just such he's such a a goofball.

(53:08):
Just a nice dude too. Like that's the part I wish
people could see is just their everyday conversations and stuff
of just that. These are literally dudes at the
end of the day of just, you know, they've got nothing but
each other and the coaches and they're just so fun to be
around. But yeah, I think Charles
certainly could on the pitching side, like we'll see.
We're, we're kind of young. Um, and then the guys that are a

(53:31):
little bit older are the guys that are, are certainly doing
it. So, you know, you mentioned Pat,
I think it could be Pat at some point if, if he just continues
to keep his head on his shoulders.
And it's the same with all theseguys, honest to God with you
guys. Like if they can just keep their
head and, and continue to trust the coaching and, you know, put
the pen on paper and just keep trusting that the development
process, they could that that's what you see.

(53:53):
That's where you see organizational development is
just the guys that were in AA's are up in AAA and it's simply
just chalking it up to the good old developmental process.
So who are the guys that you covered in AA, that in AAA
that's been impressed, impressedyou so far?

(54:14):
I know guys get promoted left, right and centre, whether it's
last year, this year, the time you've been covering the Fisher
Cats. Who would you say you've been
impressed on guys in AAA right now?
Yeah, I really wanna stay patient and and advise patients
without a macro. I don't think we're done with

(54:34):
him yet. I think it's I think it's been
tough with him and AAA this year.
But I think he was someone that last year kind of had that
Yesavage name where they were like, hey, you might see him up
in Toronto to finish out the year.
And you know, just kind of got alittle bit of a Ding up in just
like the July stretch. And then he goes up to AAA at
the end of the year and then just so close to the launch date

(54:57):
this year and kind of got derailed and had to sit out the
April stretch. So it's like, you know, you, it
happens, those things happen. But he's still seems like he's
very much patient and kind of the happy to be where his feet
are type of guy. Um, where if he can just
continue to see at bats and AAA and see what's gonna work with
him and what's not gonna work and just continue that he's

(55:19):
still young enough where, you know, he might be someone in a
lefty starting spot again, there's there's not a whole lot
of that. So I think that that's gonna be
valued. You Pinango and Track.
I just love to see that. But I think the pick, the
biggest one is Riley Tarada. I love so much, man, just seeing
him post up good games because in New Hampshire he was the type

(55:42):
of guy that would just maybe have a a pretty crummy batting
practice practice session and just toss the bat down and RIP
out 15 pushups and. Just kind of lay there.
With his back on the ground and just stare at the sky and like
you, just someone that you, you,you just kind of like you, just
you root for a guy like that. And.
He gets the phone call to to Buffalo.

(56:05):
I think last year it was just ina situation where they needed
him and he forced their hand before he forced his way to
continue to stick around in the team because you never really
know with anyone. Like he was a draft pick that
wasn't in the top 10. He was close to it, but was just
doing his time and the Miners. And then all of a sudden he gets
to call up to AAA and he starts rolling it over.

(56:26):
So I, I saw him tag a Homer whenthey were in Worcester and, you
know, it just, I, I love seeing him do well.
So really the same on the pitching side too.
I, I really wanted to continue to see CJ just hang in there and
continue like he struck out six.It was a gutsy, I think 4 and a
third. So who knows if it's in a
starting spot, if it's in a bullpen spot for him.

(56:46):
But I'm really hoping an optimist that he can just
continue to hang in there and, and just keep cutting through
outings. You know, now it's Tray.
You know, now it's a guy like Trey Savage where you're like,
yeah, I had a limited time to see him, but there he goes.
And I think I'm standing in a long line of people that are
gonna be tuned into him anytime he takes the field.

(57:07):
So who are some players that you've that you've covered that
are now in the majors, whether that be with, you know, the Blue
Jays are or even just other organizations, just anybody that
that you're impressed on? I man, the first answer to that
is it's bow and Vlad now, like they were kind of the first
pinnacles of like I was so happyto be able to have seen those

(57:29):
guys and be around them. Like I Vlad on media day in 2017
was still embraces and you remember the Beau had a brother.
It you know, it wasn't Beau at apoint, it was his brother.
That was kind of the guy in the Yankee system that a lot of
people were talking about is Dante's son.
Dante. Dante.
Had a ton of potential. Yeah.

(57:50):
Dante. So like, and then, you know, Bo
is 19 and he was a little bit more confident because he had
been in clubhouses with like Troy Tulowitzki and his dad
through the years and was so incredibly close to, to Troy.
So just, it starts with that. I, I used to work production
with production is kind of my guilty pleasure on the broadcast
side. We're like running cameras and

(58:10):
running graphics for the Loons. I worked for the Loons as a
broadcast intern in 21, but thenI worked in college on their
production staff in 16 when theywon the Midwest League.
And pretty funny story. So we, I directed and worked a
lot of the games in the postseason And, and my boss was
cool enough to say, when we win this title, you're going to take
the Cam, the DSLR, the camera, you're gonna go down, you're

(58:32):
going to shoot the celebration, you're going to go in the locker
room and shoot all of that. And of course, you know, was
wanting to do that. So they win at all.
They go in the locker room. They steamrolled.
I don't think they lost through the postseason.
Maybe they did, but they they were just a team of destiny.
They clinched the playoffs in the last day of the regular
season and rolled right through and won it all.

(58:53):
And Will Smith was on that team at one point.
A lot of Dodgers that had kind of stuck around.
Dean Kramer was on that team at one point.
And he we go on the locker room and, and this guy's there and he
says, hey, man, do you want my cleats?
And, and kind of a yard sale takes place at the end of the
year when guys are done, they get rid of their stinky cleats
and their hats and they don't really take all that stuff with

(59:15):
them and like gloves and cleats and stuff kind of has a shelf
life about a year. So at the end of the year, guys
are like giving their stuff awayinto the grounds crew guys or
whatever. And so this picture on the team
asked me if I wanted his cleats.And I was like, sure, man, you
know, I'll take him. And he goes, you want me to sign
them for you? I said, sure.
And so he signs them for me and one of the other cleats, a
couple other guys, you just, youknow, having fun joking around,

(59:37):
signing the cleat for me. And I had these cleats, you guys
for years. And my, my mom stuck them in a
garage sale. They survived garage sales.
Like they sat on our mudroom rack in our garage for years.
And I, because they didn't fit me.
They were about 10 1/2, like maybe a 10.
And I'm about a size up then from that.
And so I never could really use any of these cleats, these Nike

(01:00:01):
cleats. And I go back five years later
to work for the loons. And in their front office, they
have, when you walk through the sales area, it's all these big
blown up pictures of guys that have pitched there through the
years, like Kershaws there, Kenley Jansen is there as a
catcher and you know, cool things like that.
And all of a sudden. His Walker Buehler at his high
point of his release and he's wearing the cleats that I had.

(01:00:22):
And so I, I whenever I went homenext, I went and I looked and I
saw on the Nike swoosh it said BUE for Bud.
And then I looked up the jersey number and they were freaking
Walker Bueller's cleats. And so I still, I have no idea
how to tell them or anything like that, but just stories like
that that are so cool. So Walker Walker was one of
them. Now it turned out that all of a

(01:00:43):
sudden I'm just a big Walker Beeler fan cause you autographed
his cleats for me so many years ago.
But I know I'm gonna ramble, man.
But it's my absolute favorite part.
My favorite part is seeing the guys like in Frisco, they wanted
all that year. They had guys like Louis on
Heliconia was on that team. Jack Lighter, his, you know,
notably started his pro career in AA.

(01:01:04):
He really kind of got banged up through there.
But like Cole Ragans was on thatteam.
Evan Carter got what he was a late promotion in August to go
on up there. And really anyone, anytime I can
just, you know, be able to see these guys just wishing the
best, you know, they are the really brutal truth is that the
nice guys don't always make it. They don't all make it in

(01:01:25):
general. You wish that all of them could,
but just the time together aloneI'm super appreciative of.
Did you ever cover a meeting flirty a guy that gets slept a
lot on this? Yeah.
Oht you missed him. Wow.
I missed him. Yeah, I.
Wish man that so you you were probably like just like Barger
one year off very similar like. Yep, that I'm trying to think

(01:01:49):
like the Spencer Horowitz kind of Chad Dallas.
Like any 23. Cats.
I missed those. Guys, Yeah.
Alright, so the next question I want to ask you is I want to
talk about the coaching staff here.
And Brett Lavalley is the manager of this team and you
have a Jake Mcgoogan at the bench coach and Austin Bibens
Dirks as their pitching coach and and Mitch Huckabee as

(01:02:12):
you're. So how important are those guys,
especially the way they've been developing?
And I know this organization emphasizes a lot on their pitch,
understaffed alone for for the development.
As you can see in every level ofthe Jays organization, they have
specific guys that's been building routed and established

(01:02:35):
developments and relationships with these guys.
How important is that, you know,having these type of coaching
staff to Brett Lavalley, system manager.
It's everything I genuinely tellyou that it's absolutely
everything to prioritize the relationships that these guys
have and not only their experiences just being in the
game, but what they've done is players, you know, like Austin

(01:02:59):
was he he was the notorious, youknow, 30 plus year old rookie,
But he's he's played in so many minor league games and and
certainly knows his stuff. And, you know, so he shares
those kind of brutally honest, ruthless, you know, experiences
with these guys and as pictures you need that you can't, you
can't afford to have someone telling it in in a way to you
that it's simply not Eric Yardley last year was our

(01:03:21):
bullpen coach and he's now back Vancouver.
He was a big league guy and, youknow, pitch for the Padres and
in the Brewers. So he having those relationships
are huge. You know, and Brent is
incredible with just the feel ofthe day-to-day, the type of
workload that things require. Mitch is a similar spot where he

(01:03:43):
and Brent early on in their careers were connected with one
another, where Brent gave Mitch's first full time job at
the collegiate level and had even recruited him as a player
at one point when Brent was a part of his staff.
So to try to come over. So like, I, I love seeing those
guys kind of reunited. Jake is a Harvard guy, he's a

(01:04:04):
Massachusetts guy, played he wasa quarterback at at Hingham and
and played on the baseball team goes to Hartford.
And so and he's just incredibly smart too, which which kind of
comes with the university, I think, and the territory.
But you know, he was up in Buffalo and then is now back
down in New Hampshire and as as the bench coach and regularly
wraps third base and Delta Cleary junior, who's also

(01:04:26):
someone that's played in so manygames.
You know, he's at 1st and just to have and value the guys that
can relate to these guys. And I mentioned the word
relationships back earlier. It is really everything.
So I think with what Brent had done in Vancouver and to keep
him moving on up, I'm really excited to see how the years are
gonna follow each other here. Um, I'm happy for Sasar up in

(01:04:50):
Buffalo too, but now with Brent here, it's just a different
again. I felt like last year to this
year, there's been so many news that maybe in your second year
you shouldn't still be feeling news, but say star last year in
Brent, this year has felt kind of like its own new year in of
itself. So I'm just excited to see what
things look like next year and what the guys take away.

(01:05:12):
But anytime you ask them and youknow, like myself in interviews,
how things are, how they are, that they just have the most
respect for them. So it's always nice to see and
great to see. So for a final question on
today's episode, I'd like to talk a bit about the home of the
Fisher Cats dental Delta Dental Stadium there there was, you

(01:05:35):
know, it's such a cool and unique looking stadium because
you got that hotel out in out inleft centre.
And it's like I remember watching a segment, I think it
was on MLB Network where flat hit hit a ball out there off of
tea. And and one game he hit, he
actually hit a ball off off the actual hotel, which is crazy,

(01:05:57):
which is, I mean, it's just something like that just looks
so unique for a minor league stadium.
I've always wanted to go there. So tell us a bit what some of
the features of that stadium andand just how cool it is.
It is man, it's cool and and to me, like when I first got there,
I I got there February 2024 lastyear and everything was frozen

(01:06:19):
over and it looked kind of cold and sad and depressing and it
and it couldn't look less like baseball.
And I was trying to remind myself like it'll it'll be
summer time, it's gonna be hot, it'll be baseball time.
These the seats will have peoplein it here in no time.
And and that turned out to be the case.
So it is beautiful. People love it.
I mean, the fact that we've carried the Toronto organization

(01:06:39):
for 20 plus years now and have been playing in the same
ballpark for now 20 years. It it carries a lot of weight
when minor League Baseball staples community.
I think that that's a big telling aspect of it.
And then to go right off of that, you know, we got a new
general manager this year and Taylor Fisher and Taylor and the

(01:07:01):
new ownership of Diamond Baseball Holdings is gonna
really kind of ascend thing. So, you know, now all of a
sudden I'm I'm really excited tosee what the landscape looks
like for us, what it looks like for the folks in Manchester to,
you know, to continue watching the team that has, you know, won
them titles throughout the years, conveniently separated by
7 years. We thought this was the

(01:07:21):
seven-year gap from 2018. So.
We were hoping. It would be this year.
I don't think it's going to be this year.
But again, man, it's such a beautiful place.
And then for me, like I'm a loyal guy.
It's the place that called me and gave me a shot like it's, it
really could look like anything.And it's, it's gonna be my
favorite place in the world. So it's I just, I love being

(01:07:43):
there. You know, it's gonna be a place
that always has a lot of rank with me.
And it's introduced me to Bob. Bob Littman's been with the team
since 2004. And I could sit and just talk
and listen to him tell me stories at all that he he writes
in our game notes we're doing Onthis date and Fisher Cats
history. And he's got one for every

(01:08:03):
single night. It's like a running log that
he's got of just the different takeaways from throughout the
season. And so that that takes a special
spot on the front page every night.
But it's, it's home, you guys, it's home for me.
And you know, again, I, I genuinely love every single
person player that is a part of this organization because it's
just, it's just who I, you know,it's, it's what you get.

(01:08:26):
Chris, we had a great time in this episode, man.
We finally got it done. And then you were great man and
and we enjoyed everything you said and we appreciate you.
Take your time to give us insight about the AA New
Hampshire Fisher Cats. But where could we find you?
In social media and everywhere else?
Yes, I'm at Chris Jericho one, Ithink on both.

(01:08:49):
I think on Instagram or acts they call it now, but shoot the
Fisher Cats to follow and stay up to date with them at Fisher
Cats and then go to nfishercats.com and got to get
you guys out. If it's this year, if it's next
year, please come out and let meknow and we'll get you on the
broadcast and I can return the favor.
So again, so appreciative of youguys doing this because these

(01:09:09):
guys, you know, it's there everysingle day lives and they're
putting it on the line night andnight out and just try to give
the shine that they deserve. And that would be so awesome to
get out there one of these days,man.
Thank you for the invite and thank you for joining us on the
episode, man. We had a great time.
It was awesome, man. Hopefully we can get you back in
the future. You guys just just hit me up and

(01:09:33):
let me know. Rob Rocky, I appreciate it.
Thank you guys. We will place your description
below where you can find Chris Jared, but till next time, take
care, be kind to each other. Signing up for the Blue Jays
Ave. Podcast on Friday, August 15th,
2025. Yeah.