Blue Jays GDT: 2023 v4 | Sun, May 21 | vs BAL | 1:30pm ET/10:30am PT | Kremer vs Gausman

[Blitzkrug]

Blasted into the Allegheny. This game is over.

 

[MK78]

Nice bit of insurance, Varsho hits a 2 run bomb into the river.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Belt again.

Man if this lineup is starting to heat up, look the hell out.

 

[MS]

Whoa, Varsho destroyed that.

 

[Eyedea]

Bottom of the order carried this series

 

[MK78]

It's a laffer now in the 9th...

Nice bit of emphasis to finish a great comeback series by the Jays.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Amazing series all around. Bottom of the order looks to be figuring it out, the return of prime two hit Whit, all this done without Vladdy in the lineup.

 

[Forgotusername]

You get a homerun, you get a homerun, everyone gets a homerun.

 

[Blitzkrug]

You get a homerun, you get a homerun, everyone gets a homerun.

Except Belt. He doesn't even get a double because by time he ran to second the Leafs game would be in the 2nd.

 

[MS]

RIP Chase De Jong’s MLB career.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Final series score:

Jays: 22
Pirates 3:



Ouch. Knew it was coming for the Pirates but still...to get largely dominated by two of the better teams in the league between this and the Tampa series can't be good for morale.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Loving the Kikuchi renaissance.

 

[MK78]

Final series score:

Jays: 22
Pirates 3:

Yeah that was good series to fix (or wreck) your run differential, hehe..

 

[The Nemesis]

Loving the Kikuchi renaissance.

He gets the win, Belt has a few hits, even Varsho (who got some undeserved stick for not getting off to a strong start with teh bat) had a HR.

Trash bros unite.

 

[MK78]

Loving the Kikuchi renaissance.

Yep, and his two clunker games haven't been nearly as bad as those of others.

 

[Blitzkrug]

I don't know how long Kikuchi keeps getting away with this given the metrics are starting to paint a less than flattering picture (lotta blue on that savant page outside of BB% and some fastball related stuff) but f*** it he is my king and we let it ride.

Shit even if he regresses to a mean of "average as hell" that's still a W compared to last season.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I don't know how long Kikuchi keeps getting away with this given the metrics are starting to paint a less than flattering picture (lotta blue on that savant page outside of BB% and some fastball related stuff) but f*** it he is my king and we let it ride.

Shit even if he regresses to a mean of "average as hell" that's still a W compared to last season.

I think the main thing is if he keeps limiting the walks then when the hard contact comes it does less damage. Luckily don't need him to our ace just can't be getting consistently clown pounded by the 2nd inning with 5 walks lol

 

[phillipmike]

From Reddit;

Brandon Belt, since April 11th (his 6th game)

50 PA

.273/.360/.455

6 XBH

12.0% BB

91.0mph EV

.357 wOBA

129 wRC+

His overall average exit velo is 90.1mph, which is his highest since 2015. His fly ball, line drive, and pull rates are all up from last season, and his pop up rate is way down.

Worth noting as well that he had very limited spring at bats due to him recovering from injury, and he became ill just before the start of the season. He has been the player we wanted when we signed him since the first 5 games of the year.

 

[Blitzkrug]

I think the main thing is if he keeps limiting the walks then when the hard contact comes it does less damage. Luckily don't need him to our ace just can't be getting consistently clown pounded by the 2nd inning with 5 walks lol

Yeah the walk rate is obviously the big thing. Currently in the 87th percentile which is an enormous improvement over his *checks notes* ...3rd percentile BB% last year (yikes, i watched a good chunk of his starts but that number is still bowling shoe ugly to look at)

And like you said you don't need him to be elite. Even innings eater level would be more than fine.

 

[Eyedea]

Yeah the walk rate is obviously the big thing. Currently in the 87th percentile which is an enormous improvement over his *checks notes* ...3rd percentile BB% last year (yikes, i watched a good chunk of his starts but that number is still bowling shoe ugly to look at)

And like you said you don't need him to be elite. Even innings eater level would be more than fine.

Honestly, the way he was throwing last year I’m surprised he wasn’t at the bottom of the list in BB%.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Another savant page to draw attention to would be that of George Springer. Noticed some trashing of him lately and the stats show he's not nearly as bad as this stretch has made him look;

Lots to like here. He's not really doing anything wrong. Hardly whiffing, not chasing garbage out of the zone, not hitting the ball as hard but given he was at 63 last year this is probably just an anomaly. no concern about him bouncing back at all.

His 2022 for reference;

 

[Discoverer]

From Reddit;

Brandon Belt, since April 11th (his 6th game)

50 PA

.273/.360/.455

6 XBH

12.0% BB

91.0mph EV

.357 wOBA

129 wRC+

His overall average exit velo is 90.1mph, which is his highest since 2015. His fly ball, line drive, and pull rates are all up from last season, and his pop up rate is way down.

Worth noting as well that he had very limited spring at bats due to him recovering from injury, and he became ill just before the start of the season. He has been the player we wanted when we signed him since the first 5 games of the year.

If I didn't know any better I would start to think players aren't defined by the most recent week or two, but that can't possibly be right.

 

[The Nemesis]

If I didn't know any better I would start to think players aren't defined by the most recent week or two, but that can't possibly be right.

No. They're defined by the most recent inning.

 

[Blitzkrug]

 

[phillipmike]

If i had my way over the last 3 off-seasons, the Jays rotation would like this;

Ray
Manoah
Rodon
Bauer
Kikuchi