Wow, Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez for Adam Eaton, the white sox are killing it with this rebuild. Go big or go home!
Wow, Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez for Adam Eaton, the white sox are killing it with this rebuild. Go big or go home!
Yay Melancon...Giants actually have a legit closer now. Woo!
thats been dipping velo for the past 2 years lolOriginally Posted by The One
was always a Bagwell fan and I remember being stoked to get his rookie card
I hope its still at my mother's place
Bout damn time raines made it into the hall. If I had a vote, I would have voted only for raines, mussina, edgar martinez and Larry Walker and Hoffman. How pudge and bagwell get in over bonds and Clemons boggles my mind since they were called out as steroid users.
I don't get it either, but the jump in votes for Bonds and Clemons shows that at least some voters are starting to realize how fucking retarded it is to leave people out for taking steroids or suspicion of taking them or whatever else. Baseball didn't test for steroids until 2006. Lol! Who the fuck knows who was or wasn't taking them? Obviously nobody gave a shit until 10 years ago. Move on.
Hopefully they're starting to.
I read a cool article on fangraphs about hof projections, it looks like their should be some very weak hall classes coming in the next few years so we should see bonds and Clemons for sure. I probably wouldn't vote for any of em.
So pecota just came out with their win/loss projections for the MLB.
What you guys think about the Jays projected to miss the playoffs this year? I personally wouldnt be surprised if they miss out this year, but I think pecota is sleeping on our pitching staff. Not one Jays pitcher is projected to finish with an era below 4 lol.
Spencer's team by team AL East analysis.
How I rank each player:
1: below avg MLB player
2: league average
3: above average
4: all star
5: MVP candidate
Toronto Blue Jays outlook: The outlook for the Jays this year is pretty much win or bust. I think as long as we have this core built around Donaldson and a solid pitching staff, the window will remain open. The competition will be much stronger then it was in recent years IMO, but the Jays should be able to squeak into the playoffs again as a wild card team.
Position players: the Jays offense last year regressed quite a bit from the powerhouse we were used to in 2015. A mix of age and health regression along with a little bad luck against lefties really made it clear that we have some holes in our lineup. More or less, the lineup will remain the same, but the departure of Edwin will certainly hurt. That being said, a bounce back year from a few key players is likely IMO and I expect the Jays to be a top 5 AL offense again.
C: Russel Martin. 3.5. Martin had a few prolonged slumps and dealt with a lot of small injuries last year. I think with the departure of RA Dickey and Josh Thole, Martin will bounce back a bit this year and be able to focus more on keeping himself healthy. A healthy and productive Martin would be a massive boon for this team.
1b: Steve Pearce. 2. Pearce is a bit of a wildcard. He is definitely a lefty masher and has shown he can hit righties proficiently enough to play every day, but he has struggled with consistency and health over the years. 1st base could potentially be a real problem for the Jays if Pearce goes down. And he isn't even that great..
2b: Devon Travis. 3. Travis has show that when healthy, hes excellent, but much like Pearce, he has dealt with a few tricky injuries in the past few years. Coming into spring training, Devo has a clean bill of health and I'm excited to see what this kid can do over a more prolonged stretch.
SS: Troy Tulowitzki. 3. The fallen star. I was hoping for so much more from tulo when we acquired him at the trade deadline 2 years ago, but unfortunately, he has been disappointing. That being said, he remains a productive player both offensively and defensively and a bounce back would be amazing to see. However unlikely that is, the upside remains despite the likelihood of tulo missing some time due to injury (100%)
3b: Josh Donaldson. 5. The key to a successful blue Jays season. So far, with the Jays, Donaldson has been nothing but brilliant. He has played almost every game and performed as an MVP candidate almost every day. Based on his improving power numbers and on base skills, I expect more of the same from him to come. Without Donaldson, this team likely finishes at the bottom of this list.
Left Field: Up for debate. 1.5. This could be a problem for the Jays or a pleasent surprise. A battle between Dalton Pompey, Ezequiel Carrera and BJ Upton for the starting job will be fun and interesting. Pompey clearly has the upside, but he needs to prove himself in order to win this spot. End of the day, this is likely a below average player.
CF: Kevin Pillar. 3.5. Pillar is a defensive whiz and has some upside in his bat. He showed some improvements offensively despite putting up worse numbers offensively then in 2015, so with a little luck, I think pillar could have a mini breakout this year. Not an all-star, but he may be a top 5 defender in the entire game.
RF. Jose Bautista. 3. Another fallen star, but perhaps more likely then tulo to bounce back this season and have a big year. Injuries derailed his year in 2016 and a clean bill of health this year would be huge for both him and the Jays. The all time leader in War for the Jays, I hope for his sake he Jacks 40 bombs and proves all the haters wrong. Bosstista forever.
DH: Kendrys Morales. 2.5. Decent player who has big shoes to fill. I think in a more hitter friendly environment, Kendrys may prove to be a real steal. He has better contact skills then most sluggers in the league and his switch hitting will be a pretty big boost in late situations against dominant platoon relievers.
Bench+minors depth: 1.5. the Jays likely will have a pretty boring bench. Defensive specialists, Justin smoak (1b), Darwin Barney (infield) and BJ Upton (of) are all pretty below average players who can only help out in a pinch, but if given prolonged opportunities due to injury, they could be horrible. The upgrade of salty over Thole will be pretty huge though, and I think the Jays have some intriguing depth in the high minors who could potentially make an appearance at some point if things go really well. (rowdy tellez, Dalton pompey, Anthony Alford, among others)
Position players total: 27.5
Starting pitching:
SP1: Aaron Sanchez. 3.5. coming off a big year, I expect some luck regression, but if he can improve the quality of his pitches, the sky is the limit. Probably the best 2seamer in baseball not owned by a reliever.
SP2: Marco Estrada. 3.5. 2 years in a row among the best pitchers in baseball is no fluke imo. The advanced statistics do not like him one bit, but their is a ton of measurable data that loves his pitch mix and changeup. Estrada is scary to watch because the quality of his pitches is not very good besides his changeup, but he is a wizard and knows how to pitch. Some injuries held him back a bit this year, but I expect him to resume his trend as one of the better pitchers in baseball.
SP3. Marcus Stroman. 3.5. the exact opposite of Estrada, Stroman is loved by advanced stats. With a few minor improvements, Stroman is headed for a major breakout. I believe in this little dude, one of the hardest workers I've seen.
SP4. JA Happ. 3. 20 game winner last year, he is a bit of an anomaly. Much like Estrada, advanced statistics do not like him, but he has learned something about pitching up in the zone the last two years and has been an above average pitcher for awhile now. I like his chances to continue to do so.
SP5. Francisco Liriano. 3. One of the most inconsistent and volatile pitchers I've ever seen. He goes from brilliant to trash game to game. A down year last year may be a sign of bad things to come, but his track record as one of the games better pitchers is pretty extensive despite his volatility. Possibly the best 5th starter in the game lol.
SP total: 16.5. Though still lacking a true ace, I think any of our 5 pitchers will be able to win any day of the week. Our staff was dominant last year and i I would expect it to remain near the top of the AL again in era.
Bullpen:
Closer: Roberto Osuna. 4. One of the best closers in baseball and he's only 22 this year.
Setup man: Joe Biagini. 3.5. Come out of nowhere breakout star last year. He was lights out all year and didn't get much attention doing it. Hopefully he wasn't a one hit wonder
Setup man: Jason Grillin. 2.5. How is this dude still playing? Adrenaline junkie who I hope will remain a good option for the blue Jays late. Scares me though.
Middle relief: Joe Smith. 2.5. Pretty similar to Grilli, I think the Jays are valuing veteran leadership in the bullpen this year. Smith has always been pretty good though, and this could be a quality relief option for the Jays if he works out.
Middle Relief: Danny Barnes. 2.5. Showed he has some interesting upside in the upper minors last year and performed well for the Jays down the stretch. His changeup is pretty nasty. I like him.
Loogy: JP Howell. 2.5. Loogy, what can you say. Hes been a very good option in relief for many years so hopefully he can do his job. The trend of veteran leadership in this bullpen mixed with young nubs is cool.
Long man/spot starter: Mike Bolsinger. 2 Pretty much is what he is. Nothing special with this guy, but has had some success in the past as a starter for the dodgers. He will likely be pretty perfect for the job he's given.
Pitching depth: 2 our starting pitching depth is pretty much 0, which is concerning, but we have a ton of average relief arms in our upper minors. I kinda like the depth we've acquired for this patchwork bullpen.
Bullpen total: 21.5
Sorry for the poor formatting (I'm doing this from my phone) and generally useless information. I just like making these write ups and have had good feedback in the past. Next team will be the Boston Red Sox.
This is where all your time and effort goes, Spencer? No wonder.
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