Raptors draft: 3 Big Ten players to select in 2023 NBA Draft

Raptors draft: 3 Big Ten players to select in 2023 NBA Draft

The Toronto Raptors own the No. 13 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, which puts them in a position to turn that pick into a star player that can reverse this team’s fortunes. Toronto is in need of shooters, ball-handlers, and (ideally) one player who can help in both of those areas. The Raptors have […]
Raptors draft: 3 Big Ten players to select in 2023 NBA Draft – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

13 players the Raptors could pick at No. 13 in 2023 NBA Draft

13 players the Raptors could pick at No. 13 in 2023 NBA Draft

The Toronto Raptors are locked into the No. 13 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, as they didn’t move up or down in the order following their disappointing 41-41 campaign. Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster could trade the pick, but all signs point to them keeping the pick and adding a long-term contributor. The Raptors […]
13 players the Raptors could pick at No. 13 in 2023 NBA Draft – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Looking at the impending pitcher logjam the Blue Jays will have when Mitch White returns

Heading into the 2023 season, it appeared that there was going to be a battle for the fifth rotation spot between Yusei Kikuchi and Mitch White, with both pitchers looking to bounce back after struggling in their first seasons with the Blue Jays.

In his first season with the Jays after signing a three-year, $36 million deal, Kikuchi struggled mightily, posting a 5.19 ERA with a 5.2 BB/9 that saw the southpaw be relegated to the bullpen in August to finish out the year. White was acquired by the Jays at the trade deadline, with the right-hander making 10 appearances (eight starts) and finishing the year with a 7.74 ERA and a 12.3 H/9, allowing five or more earned runs through four outings to finish the season.
Fast forward to today and Kikuchi has earned the rotation spot, not only dominating in spring training but pitching well to begin the season as well, authoring a 3.00 ERA through five starts with 28 strikeouts through 27.0 innings, going five or more innings in four of those five starts. White on the other hand had a late start to spring training after suffering a shoulder impingement during the offseason, which put him behind Kikuchi right from the get-go to begin the year. The former Dodger would suffer a separate elbow injury late in camp, putting him on the IL to begin the season.
After a month into the …

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Author: Tyson Shushkewich / Blue Jays Nation

Revisiting my projections for the Leafs Game 1 Lineup of the 2023 Playoffs

The 2023 Playoffs are fully underway and the Leafs have once again kicked off the second season on the wrong foot.
Tuesday night’s 7-3 loss to the Lightning was a disaster no matter how you slice it. They looked nervous to start the game, badly lost the special teams battle, Ilya Samsonov had a rough outing, and Michael Bunting laid an unnecessary hit that resulted in him being suspended for the next three games.
While the series is far from over (and they have a chance to get back on track tonight), the Leafs certainly did themselves no favours to begin a pivotal playoff series with the future direction of the team hanging in the balance.
During the Leafs’ nightmare game, I kept thinking about the projections I made over a month ago for how the Leafs would have their lines to begin the postseason. This article acts as a follow-up so we can see just how wrong (or right) I was in my educated guesses for what Sheldon Keefe would do.
Forwards
Projections:
Bunting-Matthews-Nylander
Tavares-O’Reilly-Marner
Knies-Kampf-Jarnkrok
Kerfoot-Acciari-Lafferty
Extra: Aston-Reese, Simmonds
Actual Lines:
Bunting-Matthews-Marner
Tavares-O’Reilly-Nylander
Kerfoot-Acciari-Jarnkrok
Aston-Reese-Kampf-Lafferty
Extras: Knies, Simmonds
The only player that I projected to appear on Tuesday that didn’t was Matthew Knies, but how I predicted the lines would look was not exactly accurate.
Given how effective Mitch Marner was when paired up with John Tavares and Ryan O’Reilly, it would have made sense for that line to have been used. Keefe instead opted to return to the safe choice of the Leafs’ top line over the past two seasons. Bunting did not finish the game on this line and Calle Jarnkrok wound up getting reunited with Marner and Auston Matthews, which resulted in …

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Author: Michael Mazzei / The Leafs Nation

Jose Berrios got lit up by the Royals … but at least the home run drought is over!

One of the most anticipated debuts of the 2023 season was that of Jose Berrios, who’s 2022 season appeared to be an outlier amongst the rest of his career. Would an offseason of work, tweaks, and film study pay off for the 28-year-old righty?

The answer for tonight, at least, was no. Although pitching far longer than his season debut last season, Berrios gave up more earned runs than that outing, giving up 8 earned on 9 hits over 5.2 innings of work on Monday night, as Toronto dropped the first of a four-game set in Kansas City 9-5. It is already the third time this season that the Jays have allowed nine runs in a game.
The Blue Jays were facing a far inferior lineup as opposed to what they were up against during opening weekend in St. Louis. They couldn’t get anything going off of Royals starter Brady Singer, who was making his season debut tonight like Berrios. To make matters worse, Ryan Yarbrough saw action in tonight’s game for Kansas City. We just can’t avoid him.

Berrios and Bassitt are putting up Roark and Anderson numbers
— Lewis (@JaysKid_RHP) April 4, 2023

Blue Jays Nation Player of the Game: Zach Pop
Sure, he allowed a 2-run homer to MJ Melendez in the 6th inning, but Pop had electric stuff tonight. Despite …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

Reliever Matt Gage has been claimed off of waivers by the Houston Astros

Well, a 2022 Blue Jay is no longer on the 2023 Blue Jays roster.

According to the Houston Astros’ Twitter account, the Astros claimed left-handed reliever Matt Gage off waivers.

We have claimed LHP Matt Gage off of waivers from Toronto.
Gage joins the Astros 40-man roster, which is now full. pic.twitter.com/EE3bj82Opv
— Houston Astros (@astros) February 13, 2023

This isn’t too surprising, as the 30-year-old had success in both the minor leagues and major leagues in the Blue Jays system last season. With the Blue Jays, he had a 1.38 ERA and a 3.88 FIP in 13 innings pitched, along with a 24 K% and a 12 BB%.
He had more of a sample size with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, where he posted a 2.34 ERA and a 2.78 FIP in 42.1 innings pitched, along with a 27.4 K% and a 9.5 BB%. He was also Buffalo’s primary closer, as he registered 12 saves for the season.
Gage was placed on unconditional release waivers on February 6th, meaning that he likely had an international opportunity. Since the Astros picked up Gage, he will remain on the team’s 40-man roster, meaning that he could be one of the first to earn a call-up to the team – if he doesn’t make it out of spring training.

Here’s Matt Gage (@MattGage91)’s strikeout thread from this evening!#BlueJays #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/QrRz8Bmxmo
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) September 16, 2022

In terms of depth, the Blue Jays bullpen did take a little bit of a hit, but they’ve invited five left-handed pitchers to spring training as non-roster invitees. You can read more about that here.
With all that being said, we here at Blue Jays Nation …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

The Leafs looking for a defenseman, a forward, or both, or neither. Welcome to silly season

The Leafs looking for a defenseman, a forward, or both, or neither. Welcome to silly season

It seems fitting that 2023 started off with the Leafs being the focal point of the 32 Thoughts intermission segment on New Year’s Day. 2023 needs to be the year for the Leafs and while it is not necessarily a now or never season for the Leafs, it’s definitely a “why not now?” season for the organization and might in fact be a now or never season for Kyle Dubas.
Kyle Dubas has spent the better part of the last three years reaffirming his belief in the post Mike Babcock Leafs, and while there has been plenty of tinkering along the way, the core of the Leafs is very much intact and for all will they/won’t they about the Leafs, Toronto might ultimately do very little. That of course won’t stop us or others from talking about what the Leafs could do leading up to the deadline nonstop for the next two months.
So that brings us back to Elliotte Friedman’s comments. (Clip can be found here.) Friedman noted that to start the season the conventional wisdom was that the Leafs would be shopping for a defenseman. The injury to Jake Muzzin certainly made that look like a strong possibility and still does. The Leafs haven’t replaced him or preferably replaced who Jake Muzzin was two years ago. Instead they’ve managed to get b …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation