Blue Jays Discussion: It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Kevin Pillar!

[zeke]

Deep sleeper Yeltsin Gudino may finally be showing off some prospect stuff this year. Always known for his glove at SS, he's never come close to hitting well enough to look like a real prospect.

This year, though, he's sporting a league average line, while cutting his K-rate near in half, and is showing solid hit ability without the benefit of any babip luck. And he's doing that while actually being an age appropriate 20 for Lansing (unlike all of woodman/olivares/palacios who are a bit old for the level).

He still has no power, but a) for a glove at SS that might not ever be a big deal if he keeps his other numbers in line and b) by all acounts he's still a stick figure out there and will likely fill out at least a little bit yet.

 

[phillipmike]

I am sure this was brought up but i am too lazy to check so in case it hasnt;

Arash just mentioned yesterday on the broadcast that Gibby and Shatkins met with the Spurs front office and Popovich a few times during the year to get advice on running a sports team.

 

[zeke]

Jays have had a bit of a tough sked now that I look at it.

Vs. .550+ teams: 3-11
Vs. .450 - .550: 10-10
vs. -.450 teams: 4-0

and those .450 teams are Seattle...and they're at .447, only after we swept them.

So pretty much we have yet to face any weak teams.

That being said - .500 against the mediocre teams and 3-11 against the good ones isn't good enough, anyways.

 

[zeke]

woot! Jansen promoted to AA.

so good to hear. and so good to see him bounce back so well after last year's disaster year.

AA is the age appropriate level for a 22yr old, so let's see if he can keep looking like a legit prospect there.

 

[metafour]

and those .450 teams are Seattle...and they're at .447, only after we swept them.

So pretty much we have yet to face any weak teams.

Except that Seattle with their entire rotation out and Cano sitting is in fact a very weak team. Those AAA scrubs they threw out against us looked terrible.

 

[theaub]

There are no true weak teams in the AL. We're 3 games out of a playoff spot and 0.5 games out of having the worst record in the league.

 

[metafour]

There are no true weak teams in the AL. We're 3 games out of a playoff spot and 0.5 games out of having the worst record in the league.

Exactly. Even the Royals just won 3 straight against the Orioles (much more impressive than sweeping a decimated Seattle team BTW) and are 6-4 over the last 10 or something despite having the worst record in the league prior.

 

[Canada4Gold]

Jays league the league in HR this month -> I'm so glad the Jays are using small ball to win games

 

[zeke]

Except that Seattle with their entire rotation out and Cano sitting is in fact a very weak team. Those AAA scrubs they threw out against us looked terrible.

we have an injury or two iirc.

 

[MS]

Jays have had a bit of a tough sked now that I look at it.

Vs. .550+ teams: 3-11
Vs. .450 - .550: 10-10
vs. -.450 teams: 4-0

and those .450 teams are Seattle...and they're at .447, only after we swept them.

So pretty much we have yet to face any weak teams.

That being said - .500 against the mediocre teams and 3-11 against the good ones isn't good enough, anyways.

It's a very weird year so far in the AL.

There are 3 teams (Baltimore, NYY, Houston) who have had incredibly good starts and then basically every other team is hanging around the .500 mark. A 19-17 record has Cleveland in the 2nd wildcard spot right now.

If the Jays can go 3-1 against a sadsack Atlanta team, they'll be almost back at .500 and basically have managed a full reboot on the season after the 6-17 start, sitting right in the middle of the group of teams competing for that wildcard spot.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

I wouldn't call a lineup that still had Cruz, Segura and Seager decimated. I'd say the Jays were actually far less equipped with fire power this weekend. It wasn't like their pitching would've changed much given that they scored 6 runs in four games.

 

[Canada4Gold]

The weekend was sorta of injury decimated weakness v. injury decimated weakness. Our starting pitching was almost full strength this weekend with Sanchez back, Bolsinger the guy who's not going, and Biagini instead of Happ or Liriano, and he's been pitching really well. Their offense is still fairly fine for the most part. Our offense has 3 of our better players(in theory) out, while their rotation was decimated.

Our strength held their strength to 6 runs, while our weakness was strong enough to tee off on their weakness.

I feel like it might easier for depth hitting to hit depth starting pitching well than a healthy lineup facing healthy starters. But that might be a biased opinion by how well this past weekend went and the fear in me of having any team facing guys like Latos and Lawrence again(though Lawrence is gone now to Seattle)

 

[Canada4Gold]

Looking forward to how he plays there. It's the biggest jump up the ladder. Also curious how this affects Pentecost. Perhaps they're wanting to get him more games at catcher and that was tough to do with Jansen there. Also curious how the Jansen/McGuire pair will play with NH when McGuire comes back. He hasn't played since May 2nd. I guess Jansen will get the starting duties for now.

 

[metafour]

we have an injury or two iirc.

Sure, but it was pretty obvious that our pitching depth is far greater than theirs, and our offensive injuries have largely been overcome by the emergence of replacement level hitters all hitting at above-average rates at the same time. Does anyone realistically miss Tulowitzki's 100 wRC+ bat in the lineup? Its barely noticeable when you've got Pillar, Carrera, and Smoak all hitting ar 120+ wRC+ rates...at the same time.

I'm just saying; that rotation they sent out against us looked like a joke. Our bullpen (which has been on fire) was able to neutralize their offense, whereas those starters they were throwing out would be hard pressed to stop anyone.

 

[zeke]

Sure, but it was pretty obvious that our pitching depth is far greater than theirs, and our offensive injuries have largely been overcome by the emergence of replacement level hitters all hitting at above-average rates at the same time. Does anyone realistically miss Tulowitzki's 100 wRC+ bat in the lineup? Its barely noticeable when you've got Pillar, Carrera, and Smoak all hitting ar 120+ wRC+ rates...at the same time.

I'm just saying; that rotation they sent out against us looked like a joke. Our bullpen (which has been on fire) was able to neutralize their offense, whereas those starters they were throwing out would be hard pressed to stop anyone.

how well the teams play doesn't justify using the injury excuse for one but not the other I don't think.

 

[phillipmike]

Except that Seattle with their entire rotation out and Cano sitting is in fact a very weak team. Those AAA scrubs they threw out against us looked terrible.

Can you imagine if you were a Mariners fan this weekend? You got swept by a team with 5 bench/platoon players - 2 of which were in AAA to start the season in the lineup. And of the remaining 4 only 2 were hitting close to league average. You just got outscored 21-6 by one of the worst teams/lineups in the league... This board would be losing it if the shoe was on the other foot.

There are no true weak teams in the AL. We're 3 games out of a playoff spot and 0.5 games out of having the worst record in the league.

I would argue the other way... There are no strong teams in the AL outside of the Astros. Baltimore is playing over their heads... They have a 21-14 record but Pythagorean says they should have a 19-17... Plus it looks like Britton is done for awhile; a top 3 bullpen went to the bottom half. Boston's problems look to be the same to start the season; no 3B and big injuries to their pitching; Pomeranz went down yesterday, Thornburg had a setback and Wright is out for the season. We will see what the Yankees do but i dont have a lot of faith in keeping that offense up and Chapman is out a month now.

Only the Indians, Rays, Rangers, and White Sox have + run differentials. For the Rangers Hamels is out thinning one of the worst rotations in the league and Dyson couldnt get an out - they should be a nonfactor. White Sox and Twins will come back down to earth. Something i didnt expect are the Rays doing this well but they have been a good team all season i think they might be in the race but in the end wont have enough. Indians will be much better and take the division in the central.

That being said i still a little skeptical about this Jays team with injuries but competition is very weak and that's what is keeping them in it - along with winning games.

I think projections from the start are spot on so far minus Twins and Yankees. Indians and Houston are still in a position to win their division. Jays will be battling the Red Sox and O's add in the Yankees now.

Though if you told me that the Jays had all these injures at the beginning of the season then i would expect we would be firmly in last. So it is encouraging but i hope reinforcements arrive soon because i doubt they sustain this.

 

[Discoverer]

I'm just saying; that rotation they sent out against us looked like a joke.

And the lineup the Jays countered with looked like a joke, too.

The Tulo injury is a nice example of guys stepping up to make an injury have less impact on the team. Would you also like to discuss the contributions the Jays have had from 3B (80 wRC+ in May) and C (-29 wRC+) and how missing Donaldson and Martin has negatively impacted the team? Those two injuries are as significant as any single injury the Mariners have had.

You can't just ignore the Jays injuries and say "The backups are playing well, so it doesn't really count." Having backups who can step in and be better than a replacement-level scrub (Barney, Carrera, Biagini) shouldn't reflect negatively on a team.

 

[Discoverer]

I would argue the other way... There are no strong teams in the AL outside of the Astros.

It's kind of both, actually. There aren't really any powerhouses in the AL, but the six worst teams in the league are in the NL. It was the same way last year.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Sure, but it was pretty obvious that our pitching depth is far greater than theirs, and our offensive injuries have largely been overcome by the emergence of replacement level hitters all hitting at above-average rates at the same time. Does anyone realistically miss Tulowitzki's 100 wRC+ bat in the lineup? Its barely noticeable when you've got Pillar, Carrera, and Smoak all hitting ar 120+ wRC+ rates...at the same time.

I'm just saying; that rotation they sent out against us looked like a joke. Our bullpen (which has been on fire) was able to neutralize their offense, whereas those starters they were throwing out would be hard pressed to stop anyone.

Wait, what? Wasn't our bullpen, save for Osuna, being referred to as a joke two weeks ago? I'm confused as to how we're attempting to downplay wins because Seattle was missing their two (one and a half, to be quite frank) decent starting pitchers and Robby Cano.

 

[Suntouchable13]

It's kind of both, actually. There aren't really any powerhouses in the AL, but the six worst teams in the league are in the NL. It was the same way last year.

But the media was telling me in the winter how amazing and awesome Boston is. They must be a powerhouse if the media says so, right?

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

I mean...Boston is a good team. Expecting them to run away with the division is typical media garbage. Expecting Steven Wright, Jackie Bradley and to a lesser extent Rick Porcello not to turn into pumpkins was a little naive. And of course, losing your best hitter and replacing them with Mitch Moreland should have probably been quantified.

Probably still favorites for the division.

 

[Canada4Gold]

We don't need Campos, call up a position player instead.

 

[phillipmike]

We don't need Campos, call up a position player instead.

With two games coming up in the NL park they will have one of Morales or Smoak on the bench so the extra pitcher cant hurt.

Id be suprised if one of Tulo and/or Martin isnt back by the Baltimore series which Campos will be sent back down and along with Ohulman.

 

[Kurtz]

But the media was telling me in the winter how amazing and awesome Boston is. They must be a powerhouse if the media says so, right?

If it's too early to discount the Jays, it's definitely too early to discount the Sox. I think Price is due back before Donaldson.

 

[Canada4Gold]

With two games coming up in the NL park they will have one of Morales or Smoak on the bench so the extra pitcher cant hurt.

Id be suprised if one of Tulo and/or Martin isnt back by the Baltimore series which Campos will be sent back down and along with Ohulman.

With 2 NL games coming up they'll be using a bench player everytime the pitcher comes up to hit in the 2nd half of the game. You need the extra bench players more than you need 9 pen arms. Especially considering you probably don't use your backup catcher to PH you only have 2 guys. Now the depth is pretty much all gone with all the injuries, but still, Campos isn't needed as a 9th guy either.