Toronto Blue Jays

No one made more noise in the off season than Toronto and they will be hopeful that the investment can help to improve last seasons 82-80 record and do the unthinkable and contend in the East.

Pitching

As per usual last year Roy Halladay was one of the best pitchers in the AL and then injury hit. He truly is one of the very, very best and if he was playing for a higher profile team he might get more credit for it.

So much was made of AJ Burnett all the way through the off-season as Toronto won the race to sign him but he has never fully realised his potential thus far in his career. He possesses one of the very best fastballs in the game but he just doesn’t challenge hitters enough and walks far too many batters. I hope Jays fans don’t expect too much out of him. I also hope Jays fans don’t expect too much out of sophomore pitcher Gustavo Chacin who had a tremendous start to his rookie campaign but the ERA gradually climbed the longer the season wore on.

Competition for the spots in the rotation should be hot with Josh Towers coming off a solid season, Ted Lilly looking to reassert himself and Dustin McGowan lurking in the wings.

You don’t see too many hard throwing lefties and Toronto picked up one of the best to nail down the ninth for them. BJ Ryan struck out 100 in 70 1/3 innings whilst picking up 36 saves in Baltimore last year and there should be little doubt he can repeat that showing. The rest of the pen is an interesting bunch with a pair of solid veteran lefties in Scott Schoeneweis and Scott Downs and righty Justin Speier joined by youngsters Brandon League and Jason Fraser.

Defence

Between Greg Zaun, Guillermo Quiroz and Bengie Molina the Jays are as strong as anyone at catcher and Molina in particular is probably the best in the AL once he dons the armour.

The outfield also has one of the best in the business with Vernon Wells looking for his third straight Gold Glove in centre. Having him out there certainly helps out the left field platoon of Frank Catalanotto and Reed Johnson who are both unspectacular to say the least. Alexis Rios is blooming nicely in right.

The infield is the clubs biggest question mark after a major reshaping which sees Russ Adams as the only guy returning to the same position. There has long been a question of how the Jays would handle Adams and Aaron Hill and with Hill moving to second to replace Orlando Hudson we shall soon see if the club made the right decision. Both are athletic but have average range.
Troy Glaus has been slowed by injuries but still plays a good third base when he’s healthy.

Offence

The key to how successful this team is this year is the health of Glaus who is as fearsome a slugger as you will find. If he lasts a whole year he has enough power to register close to 50 HR. With him on board the likes of Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay should be more effective as pitchers will be more inclined to pitch to them to avoid the big bruiser.

Russ Adams had a hit and miss season but looked far more comfortable once inserted into the leadoff spot towards the end of the year. He will need to carry that over to this season.

Alexis Rios gets better and better but he still hasn’t discovered that power the club are convinced he has and at age 25 this is the time when he should be reaching his physical prime.
Shea Hillenbrand, Eric Hinske, John-Ford Griffin and Catalanotto give the team depth but if Glaus goes down there really isn’t another out and out power threat to replace him.

Rookie Watch

Its not been a smooth journey for Dustin McGowan but as soon as his elbow got healthy he started looking like a pitcher capable of dominating hitters. He’ll return to the minors to start the year with all the depth in starting pitching the Jays have, but should be first in line for a call up. He has a good assortment of power pitches including a nasty slider he can clock up to 88 mph.

Brandon League is reminiscent of former Jays prospect Billy Koch in that he has an incredible raw power arm capable of triple digits on the gun but somehow remains far too hittable. The club are hopeful that he can refine his mechanics and get a more consistent release point so that his location will improve and his electric stuff can become more effective.

Management

JP Ricciardi took a sledgehammer to this team when he first came to the club and after knocking it down he has started to build shiny new things. He may have overspent to bring in guys like Burnett and Ryan but they are far from being bad pick ups and the Jays farm system is fast becoming one of the best in baseball.

John Gibbons has had good success throughout the years as a minor league coach in the Mets system and did quite well guiding the Jays to an 80-82 record in his first full year. In fact if not for injuries to key players (most notably Halladay) it could have been better.

Outlook

The core of this team is still very young but all the pieces are there. Conceivably there aren’t any glaring holes in this unit and they will be especially confident with their pitching and if Glaus can provide the power all year then don’t be surprised to see the Jays in the post-season for the first time since they won it all in ‘93.