Southern notes: Jay putting injuries in past

Tyler Jay spent less than two weeks on the Chattanooga Lookouts' disabled list in April, but it was still yet another setback for the star-crossed left-hander.
"It felt like forever, especially with when it happened," said Jay, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 Draft. "I felt really good the first outing and had a fluke thing."

After missing almost all of 2017, Jay was hoping for a fast start this year and the reliever allowed just one hit while striking out two over 1 2/3 innings against Birmingham in his opening appearance. Then the Minnesota Twins' No. 15 prospect ended up back on the disabled list for the fourth time in his often-interrupted Minor League career.
"That was a freak accident with his groin. He was getting stretched out and felt it a little bit," Chattanooga manager Tommy Watkins said. "We put him on [the DL] I think just to be safe."
Safe is always better than sorry, but Jay, who turned 24 two days after coming off the disabled list, needs to pitch. Considered potentially to be on the fast track to the Majors after being an All-American closer at the University of Illinois, Jay has had that timetable altered drastically.
The Twins, feeling that his four-pitch mix could also play as a starter, put Jay in the rotation at Class A Advanced Fort Myers in 2016, and he had success early on. Jay broke down, though, after being promoted to Double-A Chattanooga in July, and the Twins moved him back to the bullpen for 2017. He ended up pitching just 11 2/3 innings, however.
After being shelved by a neck injury the previous season, he went on the disabled list to start last year because of biceps tendinitis and then went back on because of a shoulder impingement. It was feared that Jay might have thoracic outlet syndrome. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.

Jay has cleaned up his mechanics in hopes of avoiding any more arm issues. The lost time, though, was a setback in his development, and neither his stuff nor confidence is quite what it once was.
"I feel good, but there could be a little bit of a mental adjustment to where everything is finally where it should be," Jay said. "It's something I have to hone in on."
Jay made 16 first-half appearances for the Lookouts in 2018, going 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA and converting one of two save opportunities while striking out 23 and walking 10 in 27 2/3 innings. Then came Jay's first appearance of the second half, and it wasn't pretty. He allowed four hits and three runs in an inning work, walking one and fanning two while seeing his ERA rise to 3.45.
Jay made 10 relief appearances in the Arizona Fall League in an attempt to get something out of 2017 and had his fastball up to 94-96 mph in his final outing. His fastball has sat around 92 mph this season with the Lookouts, however.
The Illinois native has pitched multiple innings regularly, but hasn't appeared on consecutive days. Watkins said that Jay wasn't being handled any differently than the Lookouts' other relievers.
"We try to monitor everybody's workload," the manager said. "We try to stay away from back-to-back days early. We'll start to see more guys going back-to-back."
Jay doesn't blame his injury issues on the move from the bullpen to the rotation and then back to the bullpen.
"I think it was all done at the right time," he said. "I really can't pinpoint why I had all the problems."
Jay, looking ahead and not back, just wants to regain his old ways on the mound.
"I'm trying to transition back to the reliever mind-set," he said. "That's something I'd like to be better at."

In brief

Prospect laden: The Birmingham Barons have by far the most prospects on MLB.com's Top 100 list of any Southern League team despite the promotion of outfielder Eloy Jiménez, ranked No. 3 at midseason, to Triple-A Charlotte. No. 43 prospect Dylan Cease moved up to the Barons from Class A Advanced Winston-Salem for the second half, joining a rotation that also included fellow right-handers Alec Hansen and Dane Dunning, rated No. 49 and No. 56, respectively. Catcher Zack Collins, ranked No. 99, gives Birmingham a fourth Top 100 prospect. No other SL team had more than one player ranked at the start of the second half.
Two-way threat: Mobile first baseman Jared Walsh has had a breakout season, averaging a home run every 13 at-bats between the BayBears and Inland Empire of the Class A Advanced California League. Hitting wasn't the only area he excelled in, though. Walsh made two scoreless one-inning relief stints for Mobile after pitching twice for Inland Empire. Walsh, 24, was mostly a pitcher at the University of Georgia, but the Los Angeles Angels drafted him in 2016 because of his hitting potential, and he had 19 homers and 57 RBIs through 68 games this season while compiling a .279/.378/.587 slash line.
Down and now out: Infielder Hutton Moyer, the 25-year-old son of long-time Major League pitcher Jamie Moyer, had six homers and 15 RBIs while batting .295 in his first 12 games for Mobile before going in a prolonged slump interrupted only by a stint on the disabled list. The seventh-round pick in the 2015 Draft out of Pepperdine University had seen his batting average drop to .200 by the end of the first half, and he was released after the All-Star break by the Angels. Moyer didn't homer in his final 23 games for the BayBears and drove in only four runs, missing nearly four weeks while on the disabled list. The switch-hitter struck out 29 times in his final 50 at-bats.
Attendance milestone: Pensacola reached two million in all-time attendance on the final day of the first half, but the special fan came from one of the teams that the Blue Wahoos can't match in support because of stadium size. Rob Norton, visiting with his family from Birmingham, had his first trip to Blue Wahoos Stadium rewarded with prizes and first-pitch honors after he was greeted by staff at the gate with confetti and silly string. The Blue Wahoos, who debuted in 2012, averaged 4,157 fans per game in the first half in a ballpark that holds 5,038 -- the smallest capacity in the Southern League. Birmingham averaged 6,311, followed by Jacksonville at 5,095 and Tennessee at 4,362.