Toronto Blue Jays

[2014olympicgold]

Ever since the SF series he has been the batter that we hoped we acquired last year. We needed it with Bautista down.

Also what do we think of the fact that apparently the Jays are still mulling over Jay Bruce?
http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2016/7/7...ruce-blue-jays

I dunno, I feel like we can use the prospects in this trade to land Miller/Chapman, which I rather have at this point. EC, Saunders, Pillar, and Bautista is a solid 4OF set, and I don’t know about adding a 5^th.

The thing is, who do you move off the 3OF unless they plan on trading Bautista….I think they’re just inquiring about the price at this point, not actually actively trying to get him.

[Eskimo Brother]

I dunno, I feel like we can use the prospects in this trade to land Miller/Chapman, which I rather have at this point. EC, Saunders, Pillar, and Bautista is a solid 4OF set, and I don’t know about adding a 5^th.

The thing is, who do you move off the 3OF unless they plan on trading Bautista….I think they’re just inquiring about the price at this point, not actually actively trying to get him.

I agree with you on the bullpen taget, but the Yankees are going to have a massive price tag on those two, especially within the division. Also having his bat at DH instead of Smoak (EE goes to first) would be nice on occasion. I think the biggest point of interest though, is that he is signed past this season, where neither Bautista nor Saunders are.

[hockeyrobot]

Really hope this all star break doesn't slow them down. How about the clutch hits the past two nights. Awesome stuff.

[blayze]

BOOM! We're coming for first baby!

[hockeyrobot]

BOOM! We're coming for first baby!

I believe they could get it with a win tomorrow.

However Boston and Baltimore have 4 games in hand somehow

[2014olympicgold]

Jays model for winning has been the most sustainable, lease volatile way to win out of the Red Sox and Orioles. Scouts have been saying it all yr that if no one made trades, Toronto would just slowly pull away with the division.

Next question is, how long does Bautista stay on the Jays? In a perfect world he gets moved to the NL for a pitcher on an expiring contract too, total baseball trade. But that never happens. \

The Jays only need BP depth I think. And even then, I don’t think they REALLY need it.

[Eskimo Brother]

Jays model for winning has been the most sustainable, lease volatile way to win out of the Red Sox and Orioles. Scouts have been saying it all yr that if no one made trades, Toronto would just slowly pull away with the division.

Next question is, how long does Bautista stay on the Jays? In a perfect world he gets moved to the NL for a pitcher on an expiring contract too, total baseball trade. But that never happens. \

The Jays only need BP depth I think. And even then, I don’t think they REALLY need it.

I don't see Bautista being moved. He could be a great piece in a deal, but I don't see a fit.
Likely just smaller deals for a 4/5 starter and a bullpen arm maybe similar to Grilli.

[bondon]

I believe they could get it with a win tomorrow.

However Boston and Baltimore have 4 games in hand somehow

Postponed games because of weather from early on in the season when they were basically playing in winter.

They definitely do need bullpen depth. I think they've been shielded a lot this year because the starters have overachieved.

I would fully expect Happ to have a much weaker 2nd half (relatively speaking, I mean, he'll still be a dependable guy), and Estrada and Sanchez won't be quite as dominant either, especially since Sanchez won't be pitching as much as they monitor his innings closely.
So you'll have someone like Hutch doing spot duty, putting even more pressure on the bullpen.

I'm also not sold on Grilli as an 8th inning guy. He is topping out at 93 and doesn't seem to have very good command. He's like Hawkins-lite.
Don't get me wrong, he's an upgrade on Storen, but they still need to solidify their bullpen.

This. So much this. I couldn't be happier with where the team is right now but complacency is going to result in disappointment. I said it all along early, the hitting was going to come around eventually and I still maintained that this team had the best lineup on paper in baseball even when it couldn't hit a beach ball. But the starting pitching is going to hit a rough spot at some point...and/or someone is going to get hurt.

[2014olympicgold]

Grilli in his career has a 92.9mph FB, this yr he’s averaged 92.1mph. His slider is the only pitch that has taken a hit from 83.2mph down to 80.8mph. I’m only worried about Grilli based on age and if he can continue to throw, but only his age is showing that to me. 8^th inning guy…on a meh BP. He should be a 7^th, or an 8^th when they’re up a bit. Him with Martin is pretty fun to watch tho.

Storen, geez. I watch some of his pitches and the movement now is insane. He’s throwing 2-seamers with almost as much movement as his slider. But he’s just going up there throwing as if he was BP-Sanchez, but lacks the power to do so. Maybe he’s tipping his hand or something.

I bet Sanchez doesn’t start till July 24-27^th ish. Maybe not even until August and we see Hutch/Chavez pitch at the end of the month.

[hockeyrobot]

Ya aren't their pitchers #1 in Innings PItched AND Quality Starts. That is WAYYYYY ahead of expectations and honestly probably can't last.

I think even if Sanchez goes to the pen they could use another bullpen arm.....and especially if he goes then they need another starter.

[LawMan]

Gotta say I’m happy with where the team is sitting right now. 2 back of the Division Lead against a Baltimore team I think will slump in the 2nd half and tied for the 1st WC (I’m actually more worried about Boston than Baltimore).
Given that the Jays currently sit in a WC position I’m curious what everyone’s Wild Card Game lineup would look like. Assume all players are healthy, all pitchers are available, and the Jays go into Fenway for a 1 game winner take all. If I’m Gibby I’m starting:

1. Devon Travis – 2B
2. Josh Donaldson- 3B
3. Jose Bautista - RF
4. Edwin Encarnacion- DH
5. Justin Smoak - 1B
6. Troy Tulowitzki- SS
7. Michael Saunders – LF
8. Russell Martin – C
9. Kevin Pillar – CF
10. SP: Marco Estrada

I think the bolded players are locks to be in the lineup for their bats (2-5) and gloves (8-9) respectively. I initially had Tulo in the 5 spot but then moved Smoak up to allow the Lefties of Smoak and Saunders to be further apart in the lineup. I also like Pillar in the 9-spot hoping he can turn the lineup over and have some speed on the base paths. I also think Travis can hit lead-off by the end of the season, now that he's up to speed he looks good.
This lineup leaves Gibby with Carrera to come off the bench to pinch-run, and Goins and Barney available as well to hit/run/play defense. Starting pitcher is a bit of a crap shoot right now. Estrada has been the best and if he’s healthy should be the guy IMO, he was calm and successful last post season. If Estrada is not at 100% I can see Gibby going to Sanchez (if still pitching) then Stroman.

[Eskimo Brother]

Gotta say I’m happy with where the team is sitting right now. 2 back of the Division Lead against a Baltimore team I think will slump in the 2nd half and tied for the 1st WC (I’m actually more worried about Boston than Baltimore).
Given that the Jays currently sit in a WC position I’m curious what everyone’s Wild Card Game lineup would look like. Assume all players are healthy, all pitchers are available, and the Jays go into Fenway for a 1 game winner take all. If I’m Gibby I’m starting:

1. Devon Travis – 2B
2. Josh Donaldson- 3B
3. Jose Bautista - RF
4. Edwin Encarnacion- DH
5. Justin Smoak - 1B
6. Troy Tulowitzki- SS
7. Michael Saunders – LF
8. Russell Martin – C
9. Kevin Pillar – CF
10. SP: Marco Estrada

I think the bolded players are locks to be in the lineup for their bats (2-5) and gloves (8-9) respectively. I initially had Tulo in the 5 spot but then moved Smoak up to allow the Lefties of Smoak and Saunders to be further apart in the lineup. I also like Pillar in the 9-spot hoping he can turn the lineup over and have some speed on the base paths. I also think Travis can hit lead-off by the end of the season, now that he's up to speed he looks good.
This lineup leaves Gibby with Carrera to come off the bench to pinch-run, and Goins and Barney available as well to hit/run/play defense. Starting pitcher is a bit of a crap shoot right now. Estrada has been the best and if he’s healthy should be the guy IMO, he was calm and successful last post season. If Estrada is not at 100% I can see Gibby going to Sanchez (if still pitching) then Stroman.

Swap Saunders and Smoak, but otherwise it looks good. This is assuming everyone is healthy, including Estrada's back. That I think will be the biggest test for the Jays. If they stay relatively healthy, then they can compete for the WS, but they don't have the depth to cover if they aren't.

[Eskimo Brother]

Oh yes, good call on also being prepared for a potential injury to their rotation. They've been very lucky so far.

On a side note, and I keep forgetting to mention this, but surely someone else has noticed that Michael Saunders is a very bad left fielder? Good thing he's having such a strong offensive season, because I couldn't justify playing him if he was an average hitter.
I hope that defensive downgrade (from Revere to Saunders) doesn't hurt them come playoff time.

Can't say I've noticed him as being extremely bad. A little below average maybe. Pillar covers a lot of extra ground though, and corner outfielders are generally where you hide the bad defenders.

[LawMan]

Oh yes, good call on also being prepared for a potential injury to their rotation. They've been very lucky so far.

On a side note, and I keep forgetting to mention this, but surely someone else has noticed that Michael Saunders is a very bad left fielder? Good thing he's having such a strong offensive season, because I couldn't justify playing him if he was an average hitter.
I hope that defensive downgrade (from Revere to Saunders) doesn't hurt them come playoff time.

Saunders did have some pretty bad gaffes early in the year, a few balls I recall he either completely lost in the lights, or took a bad line on and ended up letting easy balls fall in for base hits. Outside of Pillar all of our outfielders defense is below average IMO. Bautista has a cannon and makes one or two highlight reel catches a year but his fielding is below average at best, his reads are not good and his decision making is not great. Case and point, trying to make a hero catch in a 9-0 game which lead to a 6 week injury. Even his fly ball catching is far too casual for my liking. Carrera for how fast he is seems to be a poor reader of the baseball and over commits on balls he should let fall in for singles IMO. Again he has a few highlight reel catches but also too many singles that become triples when he gambles in the wrong spot.

Saunders is the opposite of Bautista and Carrera, he doesn't often try to do too much (perhaps because he knows he's an average player) but still seems to make mental mistakes in the outfield (and the base paths early on but hopefully that's been resolved).

The only good news is we have Pillar in the middle playing Right Centre thru Left Centre and everything in between.

[2014olympicgold]

Considering Saunders has had 1 fielding error (I’m pretty sure Buck Martinez said it wasn’t an error, but it def was) and 1 throwing error all year, that’s pretty solid I think. 12 errors in 634 games (1 error in 52.8games), Bautista has 32 errors in 974 games (1 error every 30.4games).


Ben Revere has 16 errors in 704 games (1 error every 44 games)

He just wont be stealing outs like Pillar.