Blue Jays Discussion: Spring Training Discussion: Countdown to the Season (Thursday at 3pm ET/noon PT)

[Puckstuff]

Horwitz has had a rough spring training.

He probably got demoralized about the Vogelbach and Votto signings. Those 2 guys are direct competition for him

 

[mikeyz]

I don’t care what these doomers realists who have been right about everything they have said and predicted since Shapiro and Atkins have gotten here say. Kirk and Varsho are going to re-lengthen this lineup and make it scary again.

Fixed it for you.

As for Kirk and Varsho. Yes they've both had great ST's so far. Let's see what they can do when the real games start.

 

[canucksfan]

He probably got demoralized about the Vogelbach and Votto signings. Those 2 guys are direct competition for him

Two minor-league contracts shouldn't cause that. IKF signed and Clement is overperforming.

 

[mikeyz]

He probably got demoralized about the Vogelbach and Votto signings. Those 2 guys are direct competition for him

Well then if that's his mentality, then he is clearly not mentally ready to be in the show yet.

Two minor-league contracts shouldn't cause that. IKF signed and Clement is overperforming.

Yes exactly.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Fixed it for you.

As for Kirk and Varsho. Yes they've both had great ST's so far. Let's see what they can do when the real games start.

It’s also realistic to say that Vladdy is extremely talented and only 25. He can easily have a MVP type season. Kirk is also a fairly young catcher who has the talent to be one the best hitting catchers in the AL. Varsho can also easily be a .750 OPS player and with his defence that’s an absolute stud. You just choose to look at things overly pessimistically, IMO.

 

[canucksfan]

Nimmala just crushed a homer.

 

[Discoverer]

Nimmala just crushed a homer.

Even in the spring, tying the game on back-to-back homeruns with two out in the 9th is awesome.

 

[Eyedea]

Fixed it for you.

As for Kirk and Varsho. Yes they've both had great ST's so far. Let's see what they can do when the real games start.

I’m sorry but you’re fairly detached from the real world if you claim them to be two of the worst players while also pining for superstar Gabriel Moreno.

 

[mikeyz]

I’m sorry but you’re fairly detached from the real world if you claim them to be two of the worst players while also pining for superstar Gabriel Moreno.

Last season has been over for almost 5 months now and you still can't come to grips with how bad they were offensively. Especially with RISP, And I'm the one that's far detached from the real world?

As for that Varsho for that Gurriel and Moreno trade????.... Yeah, if you don't see how horrible that trade has been for us so far, then I really don't know what else to tell you at this point. LMFAO

 

[Starry Knight]

Last season has been over for almost 5 months now and you still can't come to grips with how bad they were offensively. Especially with RISP, And I'm the one that's far detached from the real world?

As for that Varsho for that Gurriel and Moreno trade????.... Yeah, if you don't see how horrible that trade has been for us so far, then I really don't know what else to tell you at this point. LMFAO

And why can't you come to grips with the fact that Varsho and Kirk are both young players who have had better seasons in their career than Moreno had last season.

 

[mikeyz]

And why can't you come to grips with the fact that Varsho and Kirk are both young players who have had better seasons in their career than Moreno had last season.

We'll revisit this in a couple of years when Moreno has more then 1 season under his belt. But from what I have seen so far, especially in the playoffs last year. I think Moreno is going to be an absolute stud. Varsho and Kirk need to step it up big time to justify that trade.

 

[Dr.Funk]

 

[canucksfan]

We'll revisit this in a couple of years when Moreno has more then 1 season under his belt. But from what I have seen so far, especially in the playoffs last year. I think Moreno is going to be an absolute stud. Varsho and Kirk need to step it up big time to justify that trade.

Moreno had a .738 OPS and struck out 28% of the time in the playoffs.

Wasn't a fan of the trade then and still not but not sure if Gabby will be a stud.

 

[Seath The Scaleless]

The interpreter must have had money on Ohtani going to the Jays

 

[mikeyz]

Moreno had a .738 OPS and struck out 28% of the time. in the playoffs.

Wasn't a fan of the trade then and still not but not sure if Gabby will be a stud.

That OPS was almost as high as the Blue Jays lineup combined in that Minnesota series. Lol.

I honestly think he will be a stud. He had a rough WS. That's why his total OPS was that low. But in the WC and DS series, he was really good. His OPS was well over 1000 in both of those series IIRC.

 

[canucksfan]

That OPS was almost as high as the Blue Jays lineup combined in that Minnesota series. Lol.

I honestly think he will be a stud. He had a rough WS. That's why his total OPS was that low. But in the WC and DS series, he was really good. His OPS was well over 1000 in both of those series IIRC.

In the WC series, he had a 1.133 OPS, division series 1.091 OPS. Only 17 plate appearances as well. His homer in the WC series was the only hit he had so it inflates his numbers.

In the Championship series he had a .700 OPS and in the WS a .500 OPS.

He provided the same value as Varsho did during the season.

Not saying you are doing it, but Moreno's value got enhanced by a few big hits in the playoffs.

 

[canucksfan]

 

[jetsforever]

End of the Espinal era, makes sense as he doesn't add much anymore

 

[cyris]

Well looks like Earnie earned his spot. Congrats to him.

 

[phillipmike]

41. Chris McElvain, SP​

Drafted: 8th Round, 2022 from Vanderbilt (CIN)

Age	22.3	Height	6′ 0″	Weight	205	Bat / Thr	R / R	FV	35+

Tool Grades (Present/Future)

Fastball	Slider	Changeup	Command	Sits/Tops
40/45	55/60	30/50	30/45	89-93 / 95

McElvain spent his first couple of years at Vanderbilt in the bullpen, then moved to the rotation in his draft year. He has a plus two-plane breaking ball and his fastball plays up due to its riding life, but it isn’t hard enough to miss bats within the zone, so McElvain needs to live above the zone to avoid getting hurt. For this reason, he was walk-prone in 2022, but his command actually isn’t bad — it’s just what he has to do to get by. Because he’s so new to a rotation, he may just be scratching the surface in some pitchability areas (that’s where the changeup projection is derived from here), but Vanderbilt isn’t a school that tends to leave developmental meat on the bone, and it’s rare for pitchers moving from the ‘pen to the rotation to add velocity, something McElvain will ideally do. The Reds didn’t send him to an affiliate after the draft, so he’s poised to be rested for the start of 2023, important context to keep in mind if he’s throwing harder at the onset of camp.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

So happy we traded for this guy. This year's gonna be lit!

 

[canucksfan]

 

[Discoverer]

I'll miss Espinal, but getting anything for him is a a good thing at this point. He's been pushed down the depth charts at every position this year.

Clears room for Clement, and opens a 40-man spot to add Serven as the backup catcher to start the year. Simple enough.

 

[Eyedea]

At least Espinal gets to stay up with the Reds as he was option-able with how things stood here.

McElvain doesn’t seem like much on paper but if they get him in the lab and pump some velo into him he might turn into something.

 

[habamillions]

No idea who the guy the jays got for espinal but im fine with it. Clement needed a spot and better to get something then lose espinal for nothing