25-year old righty starting pitcher Brandon Morrow was simply electric for the Blue Jays yesterday against the Rays. He didn’t give up a hit until the Rays had two outs in the ninth inning and he responded to that by whiffing the next batter to seal the win. He struck out 17 batters while only walked 2 as he was being very aggressive in the strike zone letting his nasty stuff do the talking. Morrow threw 97 of 136 pitches (71.3%) for strikes! Morrow has now started 22 games for the Blue Jays this year and he is 9-6 with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He has whiffed an amazing 151 batters in only 127 2/3 innings while allowing only 117 hits showing that he has the stuff to be a ace if he can harness his control. Morrow has walked 57 batters this season which is too many but he seems to really like throwing to Jose Molina so look for that to continue.

The Blue Jays have placed 25-year old righty starting pitcher Jesse Litsch on the 15-day disabled list with a labral tear of his right hip. Despite being put on the 15-day D.L. this injury will end Litsch’s season. Litsch has started 9 games for the Blue Jays this season and he is 1-5 with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. The Jays have recalled 25-year old lefty Brad Mills to replace Litsch in the starting rotation. Mills has started 17 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 8-4 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Mills did get one start for the Blue Jays earlier this season and he won it by pitching 7 scoreless innings allowing only 2 hits.

The Blue Jays have called up 24-year old righty swinging catcher J.P. Arencibia to replace John Buck. Arencibia was the Blue Jays’ #2 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Arencibia has played in 95 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 115 of 379 (.303 avg, .998 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 31 homers and 79 RBIs. He has now played in 400 games in his four years in the minors and he is 435 of 1,583 (.275 avg, .826 OPS) with 239 runs scored, 82 homers and 284 RBIs. I don’t think the Jays brought up Arencibia up to sit so look for Jose Molina to back him up while showing him the ropes.

The Blue Jays have placed starting catcher John Buck on the 15-day disabled list with a laceration on his right thumb. Buck has played in 84 games for the Jays this year and he is 79 of 285 (.277 avg) with 34 runs scored, 14 homers and 49 RBIs. The Jays will likely go with Jose Molina as the starting catcher until Buck is ready to return to action. Molina has played in 37 games this season and he is 30 of 106 (.283 avg) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 9 RBIs. Molina is a solid defensive catcher but the Jays will likely miss Buck’s bat a bit.

The Blue Jays have recently called up 22-year old lefty swinging outfielder Travis Snider from his rehab assignment and they will look to get him some steady playing time. Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion are the most likely pair to lose some at bats for the Jays. Snider has played in 38 games for the Jays this year and he is 33 of 129 (.256 avg, .840 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 7 homers, 18 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Snider has a bright future and the Blue Jays don’t want to hold him back so look for him to showcase his power bat the rest of the year.