When I look at the Toronto Blue Jays of the past few years, they have been one of baseball biggest puzzles to try and solve.
All of the pieces are there for them to be successful. When they went out last winter and unloaded a lot to get some major players they thought could help them get to the top. And while everyone said it was a now or never type of deal for them, I disagree. I look at the talent they put out on the field and think, this is a team that could be good for a couple solid years.
There's a lot of name recognition that comes with this team. Of course Jose Bautista stands out the most, along with Jose Reyes and Edwin Encarnacion, but I look at other players like Brett Lawrie, Colby Rasmus and Adam Lind as reasons the Blue Jays could sustain success. But name recognition doesn't get you wins, and that has been one of the biggest downfalls of the Jays in recent years.
One of the things I like about the Blue Jays is the balance of their lineup. They're not overloaded with right handed or left handed hitters. They're not overloaded with guys that hit 30 bombs and only get a .250 average. They're not overloaded with so much speed, there will be a power outage in Toronto. They have a great mix of everything.
If it weren't for the injuries of last year, Jose Reyes was well on his way to a very nice first year campaign in Toronto. While staying healthy has always been somewhat of an over-exaggerated problem for him, I think Reyes has a very nice bounce back year. And if he's on base, with the big bats behind him, he should score in excess of 100 runs this season. I don't think that is too much a reach for him.
Like I said, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion really take the headlines for the Blue Jays, and rightfully so. They've really hit their stride since they arrived in Toronto, but a couple guys I think fly very far under the radar that are exceptional players are Brett Lawrie and Adam Lind.
Lind broke on the scene hard in 2009, and while many might say he is a one year blunder, I respectfully disagree. This is a guy that is in the lineup more days than he's not, and he provides tremendous power, as evidenced by his five years of better than 20 homers. I really like Adam Lind this season. I think he has a 2009-like season in Toronto. I think he opens the eyes of his doubters to what's been a very solid big league career for the Indiana native.
One thing I love about Brett Lawrie is his pure passion for the game. It's not just the hustle he plays with that stands out to me. The one instance that really comes to mind for me was in 2012 when there was a sequence of two of the worst calls I've ever seen in a major league game, and Lawrie lost it. I really like the hustle and passion Lawrie plays with. I think it fits almost perfectly on this team. I have to say I like Lawrie to have a real nice year this season.
The other nice thing about the Blue Jays, is the pitching staff they have put together looks rather good on paper. Again though, good pitching on paper can sometimes be deceiving. Brandon Morrow has always had front of the rotation make up, but staying healthy for him has been the biggest challenge. In my mind, the success of the Blue Jays pitching almost single-handedly comes down to his health. When he's in that rotation, he is a losing streak stopper.
The Blue Jays really unloaded a lot of big time talent to the New York Mets for RA Dickey, and his first year in Toronto was less than climactic. I think with a lot of the pressure from last season off this team, I think the RA Dickey and the Blue Jays should have a very nice bounce back year.
The two lefties, Mark Buehrle and JA Happ in the middle of that rotation are very solid arms.
The Blue Jays have a lot of name recognition in their bullpen, but besides Janssen, who should ultimately be the closer, and Delabar and Cecil, I can't say I like the bullpen much. While most teams need three solid relievers, and the Jays have that, when you get short outings out of any one of the five starters, it could be a long day for Toronto.
If games were played on paper and in a vacuum, I'd probably give them a chance at the Wild Card. While that could happen, a lot of things have to work out for Toronto.
All in all, I like what the Blue Jays have in place, but again, because of their track record recently, I don't see them getting too much above .500.
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