Blue Jays 2020 season review + playoff preview

After 3 long losing seasons in Toronto, we were forced to latch on to the hope of someday. We watched some of the Jays top prospects light up the minors and banked on those kids bringing winning baseball back to Toronto. This season was almost like a tease for what is hopefully yet to come. There was a lot of good, a lot of bad, and a TON of weird. Who would want it any other way in the year 2020? Let's reflect on the bizarre year that was and the super bizarre playoff run that awaits.

The good

Hyun Jin Ryu: They brought him in to be the ace, and he delivered in spades. However, he has struggled in postseason play in the past, how he performs in October will determine if the jays got a bonafide superstar for an affordable cost, or just a nice arm at market value.

Taijuan Walker: Tip of the cap to Ross and Mark on this one. I would argue this acquisition has had the biggest impact on any team around the big leagues. He’s had one bad start as a Blue Jay, and that was largely due to Derek Fisher’s inability to catch a baseball. Yes, he’s a rental, but he’s already done what they hoped of him and if they want, I have little doubt he Will be a Jay for years to come. 

Bullpen: For most of the year, the starters were providing decent quality, but not much quantity. The rise of Jordan Romano, the nice seasons they got from acquisitions like Dolis and Bass, along with the young arms they threw in the pen for 2020 like Hatch, Kay, Borucki, and now Pearson. The pen may be the single biggest reason why the Jays have a playoff game later today. 

Vladdy’s attitude: After showing up to spring training slimmed down and bulked up, I feel as though the fanbase saw that as the natural progression of what everyone thought was a rising superstar. I‘m not saying these expectations aren’t valid, I would just like to remind everyone that 1: This is baseball, don’t expect him to be some freak of nature ala Stanton and Judge, that’s not the norm. Nelson Cruz and David Ortiz is the kind of body you should expect to see Vladdy sporting in the coming years. As long as he rakes like those individuals, there is nothing wrong with that. Overall, he did what he needed to at the plate. He didn’t blow anyone away, but his numbers at the plate show a slight uptick from his rookie season, and he finished the regular season on a torrid stretch. If he continues that into October, oh baby. But let’s talk about his attitude for a second. This is a guy that probably knew what he was going to do with his life since he had any ounce of consciousness. That’s a TON of pressure to carry around. Especially given the fact that baseball is a game of failure. As a 21 year old who probably didn’t quite get off to the start he was hoping for in the big leagues, he still shows up at the park day in and day out with an ear to ear smile and a want to improve. Slowly but surely, he has. Don’t be worried about Vladdy. Get excited. 

Santiago Espinal: Let’s face it, this is a guy that was on nobodies radar until Summer Camp. Fast forward a couple months, Espinal appears to be a super utility player in the making. The value he can have on this squad both in the present and future cannot be understated nor unrecognized. 

Teoscar’s Bat: The talent has always been there with Teo. He was just searching for that ever elusive consistency. Something that many if not most big leaguers have never been able to attain. This year, all be it a shortened campaign, Teoscar Hernandez was without a doubt the most potent bat the Jays had to offer. Dare I say the second coming of Edwin Encarnacion? We’ll wait and see. 

Front office: From the moment Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro arrived in 2016, replacing national treasure Alex Anthopoulous, the tandem had their fair share of doubers. Myself included. Since the jump though, they have preached patience to us. They prioritized rebuilding the farm. Then, once they feel like the big league club is competitive enough, they showed this year that they are not shy to be aggressive and try to push a team over the top when in the playoff hunt. To be short, this season pretty much showed us all why they are them and we are us. 

The bad

Defense: If you had to describe the Jays defense in one word, it would probably be bad. Going around the diamond, the catchers couldn’t throw out a soul, pitchers didn’t pick anyone off, Vladdy and Rowdy are well-below average at 1bag and likely always will be, up the middle we seem to be good enough. Which, at the big leagues, you sure as hell be at least that. Travis Shaw has an accurate arm, but don’t expect him to track down many balls over there at the hot corner. Lourdes has a rocket arm and should be a good enough corner outfielder, sure Randal was rock steady at Center, but as he gets older and slower, he will likely get pushed to the corners before long. Tesocar Hernandez may very well be the worst outfielder i've ever seen in my life and I doubt that will change much. The one big positive would be Johnathon Davis who’s defense got him to the big leagues and will likely keep him there. Plus, he already has a highlight reel catch on his resume thanks to Sunday’s circus catch that robbed a Homer. All in all, this young core gave us lots to be excited about, defense however, sure isn’t one of them. 

Strike three, you’re outta here: At the start of the season, you could probably figure guys like Brandon Drury and Derek Fisher were giving it one last kick at the can. Unfortunately, both swung and miss. A lot. As a result, they are selling printers right now while the team is getting set for game 1 of the wild card series. Best of luck though, fellas. 

Reese McGuire: It’s been a rough go for Reese. Last year he seemed to finally breakthrough and gave us vision of a 1A 1B situation with him and Danny. Then, the news in the offseason came out that he got caught with his pants down quite literally, and then on the field, his lackluster play along with the emergence of Kirk, means he will probably have to try and make a go of it with another team if he hopes to find himself back on the big stage. 

To be continued....

Just how high is this team’s ceiling? I think last weeks 4 game set against the Yankees told us a lot. After getting run out of the Bronx in embarrassing fashion, they were able to rebound in the midst of many of the players first playoff clinching opportunity. I think that shows us they are not just good, but they are also winners. When the stakes get higher, they are able to elevate their play. Hopefully that trend continues these next few days and beyond. 

Enjoy this run. It’s not often you have a team playing with total house money like the Jays are, that both makes it more enjoyable for us fans, but for the players, I think that makes them a scary opponent and a team capable of shocking those south of the border.

Wild Card Series Prediction

Jays in 2. I think if they are going to pull of the upset, it has to be in 2 games. Taijuan Walker has been beat up by lefties in his career which does not bode well against a lefty heavy Rays lineup. Steal a win today, Seal it with Ryu tomorrow. Simple as that baby!