It has been 21 years of frustration, mediocrity, and lack of playoff baseball in Toronto. The Blue Jays once boasted the best organization, if not also the best fans, in all of baseball. Much like what was the case with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals, a generation of Toronto kids have never experienced the excitement of postseason ball when every pitch matters. The glory of Toronto’s back to back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993 is a fading memory that is beginning to rival the NHL Maple Leafs Stanley Cup futility. There seem to be signs, however, of a possible resurgence for Canada’s team.
Plenty of Lumber
Toronto posted its first winning season since 2010 with a mark of 83-79 last year as they were powered by one of the better offenses in the game and that kept them competitive for most of the season in what has become a mediocre American League East Division. What Toronto lacked and still lacks is proven quality pitching and a reliable bull pen. But they are working on fixing the bullpen and there are signs of hope with the starting rotation. The addition of Josh Donaldson from the Oakland A’s only serves to add runs as he will find Toronto’s Rogers Centre a much more friendly home park for hitters than the O.co Coliseum.
Pitching Prowess
Marcus Stroman had a decent rookie season and is a potential number one ace of the Jays staff. Although his record was 5-9 last year he posted an encouraging earned run average of 3.65. He is projected to eventually be a top ten starter in the American League.
Drew Hutchinson had a respectable season that followed Tommy John surgery with an 11-13 record and 4.48 earned run average. Mark Buehrle and RA Dickey offer a veteran presence and can carry a solid workload of innings.
A prospect to keep an eye on is left-hander Daniel Norris who is ranked as one of the most promising young pitchers in the game. He struck out 163 hitters in 124.2 innings of Class A work and is being touted as this year’s Stroman.
Aaron Sanchez could be the closer the Blue Jays have lacked after allowing just 14 hits in 33 innings upon his recall to The Show.
Opportunity Beckons
The AL East is highly winnable with the Yankees no longer dominant, the up and down Red Sox, the metrics lacking Orioles and the woeful Rays. Toronto’s best shot at the playoffs is now.
