Patience or Panic? -The Blue Jays Tenuous Start

I’m very worried if I am a Blue Jays fan.  This team is not devoid of talent, but they are devastated by injuries, digging a hole which will be tough to get out of in a competitive division. While the Yankees, Orioles, and even the Red Sox and Rays started out pretty hot, the Jays look up from the cellar of the division with a meager 5-13 record.   The Orioles seem to have found some stability at the top of their rotation in young Dylan Bundy, and are still missing 2016 breakout Chris Tillman.  All the while, the Red Sox are only getting better, and the Yankees and Rays aren’t as bad as people thought.  While the latter two teams might not be at the top of the division at year’s end, they certainly don’t seem to be pushovers.  The Blue Jays will probably claw back up the standings, but another issue is even fully healthy, they aren’t as good as the Red Sox and might not be as good as the Orioles.

Coming into this year, I explained that the Jays hung their hat on pitching last year.  A surprising factoid to many, the Jays ranked sixth in the MLB in ERA last season.  They boast a rotation with talent and upside, but there are no “lights-out” guys to bolster this team to the top of the division. On top of that, performances by starters and injuries to start the year would scare me as a Blue Jays fan.  They have flashed inconsistency in this rotation that was not there in 2016.  JA Happ is still punching people out at an impressive rate, but now he is on the DL with elbow issues.   Then there’s Francisco Liriano, another veteran who remains the ultimate wild card, meaning he can either toss a gem or implode and have to leave in the first few innings.  At least Marco Estrada seems to be the one solid guy, and outside of one 5 run start has only allowed 2 runs in 19 innings.  

The big key for Toronto is how well their two young arms can perform going forward. Aaron Sanchez pitched two games with mixed results, but now is sidelined due to needed surgery on a nail on his finger.  While only a few starts in, I am impressed by the performance of Marcus Stroman. He looked fantastic last night (4/23), hurling a complete game gem against the Angels, yet I don’t buy consistent performances like this from him.  He also recently let up 6 earned runs against the Red Sox in an outing where his stuff was not sharp.  

The injuries to Happ and Sanchez have hurt this rotation, but even worse, this lineup has struggled with Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki down.  You look at how opponents like the Red Sox have coped with injuries and it just exposes how the Red Sox are a better and more deep team.  Even at full health, this is a team with a worse lineup than last year and a rotation that looks way less reliable.  They are most certainly worse from last year, and probably will struggle to earn second place in the AL East.  

Written by Will McGuiness