24-year old righty swinging catcher J.P Arencibia is really swinging a hot bat in AAA-ball right now for the Blue Jays. He came into this season as the Blue Jays’ #2 prospect and you can see why this year. He has played in 79 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 99 of 316 (.313 avg, 1.025 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 27 homers and 66 RBIs. Arencibia’s success could allow the Blue Jays a chance to trade John Buck if they can get a nice haul for him.

The Blue Jays have recently traded 31-year old righty swinging outfielder Chris Aguila to the Phillies for future considerations. Aguila played in 44 games in AAA-ball for the Blue Jays this year and he was 44 of 160 (.275 avg, .802 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Aguila is a .230 career hitter in the majors over 149 games so the Jays won’t miss him too much if at all.

If the Blue Jays continue to fade in the standings look for 23-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Brett Wallace to get his first taste of the majors leagues likely at Lyle Overbay’s expense. Wallace was the A’s #2 prospect heading into this season before coming over to the Jays as part of the Roy Halladay trade. Wallace has played in 76 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 92 of 306 (.301 avg, .869 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 14 homers and 42 RBIs. He has now played in 268 games in his three years in the minors and he is 316 of 1,040 (.304 avg, .862 OPS)with 166 runs scored, 42 homers and 141 RBIs.

26-year old righty swinging infielder Jarrett Hoffpauir is hitting really well in AAA this year. He has played in 48 games for the Blue Jays this year and he is 65 of 196 (.332 avg, .921 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 8 homers, 37 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has only whiffed 11 times this year as he is getting his bat on the ball. Hoffpauir got his first taste of the majors last year with the Cardinals playing in 8 games in which he was 3 of 12 (.250 avg, .854 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. If Mike McCoy continues to struggle don’t be surprised if Hoffpauir is called up with the way he is hitting right now.

25-year old righty starting pitcher Jesse Litsch is almost ready to make his return from Tommy John Surgery that he had last season. He has started 3 games on a rehab assignment in A+AAA-ball this year and he is 1-2 with a 4.57 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. In his three years with the Jays, Litsch has pitched in 51 games (50 starts) in which he is 20-19 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. The Blue Jays won’t need a fifth starter until the end of May and it’s quite possible that Litsch could be ready by then.