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One of the chic sleeper teams in baseball for 2008 is the
Toronto Blue Jays. If this club can stay healthy, it could
be a player in the wild-card race and possibly even in the
AL East.
In a way, it was the numerous injuries to the pitching staff
in 2007 that gives this club optimism in 2008.
Led by ace Roy Halladay, Toronto's pitching staff enjoyed
a strong finish last season, posting a 3.61 ERA in the second
half -- the second-best mark in baseball. The Blue Jays cycled
through 11 different starters, thanks in part to injuries
to A.J. Burnett and Gustavo Chacin.
After all the early woes, the Jays eventually settled on
a rotation that consisted of Halladay, Burnett, Dustin McGowan,
Shaun Marcum and Jesse Litsch – a quintet that combined to
go 56-38 with a 3.85 ERA over 128 starts. Heading into 2008,
the only job that's up in the air is the fifth spot, which
will likely be handed to either Litsch, Chacin or Casey Janssen.
It all starts with Halladay, who finished 16-7 with a 3.71
ERA and a Major League-leading seven complete games. Halladay's
225 1/3 innings ranked third in the league, even after he
missed three weeks in May after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.
He and Burnett form one of the majors’ better 1-2 punches,
but can Burnett stay healthy enough to make more than the
23 starts per year he has averaged in the two seasons since
signing a big contract with the Jays? The 31-year was 10-8
with a 3.75 ERA last year.
McGowan went 12-10 with a 4.08 ERA over 27 starts and he'll
likely serve as the Jays' No. 3 starter this year. On June
24, McGowan came within three outs of completing a no-hitter
against the Rockies. He finished with 18 quality starts, including
11 in his final 14 outings, and limited right-handed hitters
to a .198 average.
Marcum finished 12-6 with a 4.13 ERA in 38 games, but he
shined as a starter, going 11-4 with a 3.91 ERA in that role.
As for the bullpen, the Jays lost star closer B.J. Ryan early
last season to injury and hope to have him back by Opening
Day after Tommy John urgery. If he isn’t quite ready, Jeremy
Accardo (2.14 ERA in 64 games last year) can serve as the
temporary closer once again.
The biggest question mark on Toronto’s offense is the highest-paid
player, Vernon Wells.
In 149 games, Wells hit just .245 with 16 home runs and 80
RBIs. That was a stark contrast to his showing in 2006, when
he was a starter on the American League All-Star team and
finished with a .303 average, 32 homers and 106 RBIs. The
culprit behind Wells' woes turned out to be an injured left
shoulder, although some question his motivation after getting
a big contract.
Last season, Wells played through the injury, which first
became an issue in May 2006. After struggling through much
of the '07 season, Wells went under the knife on Sept. 25
and says he is healthy.
Toronto overhauled the left side of its infield in the offseason,
bringing in shortstop David Eckstein and third baseman Scott
Rolen from the Cardinals. Rolen was acquired in a trade for
Troy Glaus, another of the many injured Jays last year.
However, Rolen has played in 115 or fewer games in three
of his last five seasons, mostly because of a troublesome
left shoulder. Rolen says he's feeling better than he has
since 2004, a year in which he hit .314 with 34 HRs and 124
RBIs. If he can come anywhere close to those numbers, the
Jays will have stolen themselves an All-Star.
Meanwhile, keep on eye on outfielder Alex Rios. Last year,
Rios appeared in 161 games and hit .297 with 24 homers and
85 RBIs. Rios, who turns 27 in February, also stole 17 bases,
tallied 43 doubles, scored 114 runs and collected 320 total
bases.
"The sky's the limit for Rios. Rios can be anything
he wants to be in this game," GM J.P. Ricciardi said.
"Rios has a chance to become a really good outfielder
and I think if he takes as much pride in his defense as he
does with his offense, the sky's the limit for him."
The lowdown: Assuming Halladay is Halladay and that Wells
bounces back and Rios continues to improve, and if Burnett,
Ryan, Rolen and DH Frank Thomas can play a full season and
the young pitchers show they form they did the second half
of last season, this team can reach the playoffs. But that's
a lot that has to go right.
Projected lineup
SS David Eckstein
1B Lyle Overbay
RF Alex Rios
DH Frank Thomas
CF Vernon Wells
3B Scott Rolen
2B Aaron Hill
C Gregg Zaun
LF Matt Stairs/Reed Johnson
Projected rotation
Roy Halladay
A.J. Burnett
Dustin McGowan
Shaun Marcum
Jesse Litsch
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