Toronto Blue Jays
Record: 85-77 (Fourth place in AL East, 11 games behind Tampa Bay)
Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Vernon Wells (.273)
Home Runs: Jose Bautista (54)
RBIs: Jose Bautista (124)
On-base Percentage: Jose Bautista (.378)
Pitching Leaders
Wins: Brett Cecil (15)
Strikeouts: Brandon Morrow (178)
Innings Pitched: Ricky Romero (210)
ERA: Shawn Marcum (3.64). Bullpen- Scott Downs (2.64)
WHIP: Shawn Marcum (1.15). Bullpen- Scott Downs (0.99)
Saves: Kevin Gregg (37)
Highlight of the Year: On August 8, Brandon Morrow put together one of the more spectacular pitching performances of the season, defeating the Rays in a one-hit shutout, 1-0 in Toronto. Morrow struck out 17 and walked just two in the game, as he pitched no-hit ball for 8.2 innings before surrendering a hit to Evan Longoria.
Lowlight of the Year: On July 9, the Jays were blitzed by the Red Sox at home, 14-3. That game seemed to be a microcosm of the Jays’ season against Boston, as they would finish 6-12 against their AL East foes.
The Lowdown:
Rays manager Joe Maddon called the Blue Jays “the SWAT team of baseball” because “they could strike at any moment,” and they certainly did their share in swatting baseballs all over the place in 2010. The Jays rode to an 85-win season almost solely off of the strength of their offense, which reached historic proportions. The team hit a whopping 257 home runs, which tied for the third-most in baseball history in a single season, and the leader of this bunch was Jose Bautista, who put together one of the more shocking offensive seasons in recent memory.
What remains to be seen however, is how good their pitching staff is. Are they really as good as their numbers say they are, or were they simply the beneficiary of one of the more intimidating lineups in baseball? We’ll find that out once we reach our pitching segment of this report card. The Jays may not have been in contention this season, but you would be hard-pressed to find a more fun team to watch in 2010.
Offense:
As mentioned above, the Jays put together an offense of historic proportions this year, finishing in a tie for the third-highest team home run total in baseball history with 257. That total led the majors by far, as they finished 46 home runs ahead of Boston. Several people helped make that total possible, as the Jays' lineup featured seven hitters who hit at least 20 or more home runs, including catcher John Buck (20), first baseman Lyle Overbay (20), third baseman Edwin Encarnacion (21), DH Adam Lind (23), second baseman Aaron Hill (26), center fielder Vernon Wells (31) and right fielder Jose Bautista, who led the majors with an incredible 54 homers. What makes his home run total all the more shocking is that in his six previous big league seasons leading up to 2010, he hit a total of 59 home runs. Bautista not only led the majors in home runs this year by 12, but he also shattered the old franchise record of 47 home runs in a season, set by George Bell in 1987. His performance was stunning enough to where he actually finished fourth in MVP voting, despite his team being a non-factor in the pennant race.
Another reassuring thing for Blue Jays fans to see out of their lineup is the renaissance year put together by Vernon Wells. After an absolutely miserable performance in 2009, Wells bounced back to hit a team-best .273, with 31 home runs and 88 RBIs. His resurgence gives the Blue Jays an effective one-two punch in the middle of their order and with Lind and Hill flanking those two, they have the potential to feature four players with 30 home runs next year. Even though Lind and Hill regressed from their 2009 totals, their power was still effective enough to make this lineup a dynamic one.
Probably the only criticism I have of this lineup is that they do not hit for average or draw walks all that well, since they finished 24th in batting average (.248) and 26th in on-base percentage (.312). Nonetheless, there’s no denying that once they put the bat on the ball, it flew, as they finished ninth in runs scored (755) and first in MLB in slugging percentage (.454). In a division where the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox usually feature the offensive firepower, the Jays held their own this year.
Final Grade: A+
Pitching:
Toronto’s pitching was pretty mediocre this year, and they really benefitted from a great deal of run support. They finished 23rd in ERA (4.22), 16th in quality starts (86), 17th in home runs surrendered (150), 15th in WHIP (1.35) and 14th in “batting average against” (.255). Ricky Romero was the leader of this staff, tossing a team-high 210 innings while recording a 14-9 record and a decent 3.73 ERA. Alongside Romero were Shawn Marcum and Brett Cecil, both of whom featured rock solid seasons as well. Marcum would go 13-8 with a team best 3.64 ERA in his final season north of the border, while Cecil won a team-high 15 games, while recording a 4.22 ERA. Rounding out the rotation, Brandon Morrow was rather unspectacular (his impressive August 8 performance notwithstanding), finishing 10-7 with a 4.49 ERA, while Mark Rzepczynski (pronounced Rep-chin-ski) wasn’t much better, going 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA in 12 starts.
The Jays’ bullpen wasn’t that great this year, finishing 21st in ERA at 4.09. The only two standouts in Toronto’s ‘pen this year were Shawn Camp and Scott Downs. Camp led the team in appearances with 70, and he finished with a 2.99 ERA, while Downs appeared in 67 games this year, finishing with a WHIP of 0.99 and an ERA of 2.64. Kevin Gregg was effective as a closer, recording 37 saves, but his 30 walks in just 59 innings are a bit disturbing, as is his 3.51 ERA.
What is the final verdict on their pitching? It could be better, but it could definitely be a lot worse.
Final Grade: C
Wild Card: The Future
The team is heading in a new direction, with former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell taking the reins of the club from Cito Gaston, who retired after the season. The new direction can also be seen in the pitching staff, as prospect and former first round draft pick Kyle Drabek made his debut this year. Even though he went 0-3 with a 4.76 ERA, he figures to be a part of the rotation next year, as the Jays already made room for him by trading Shawn Marcum to the Brewers. Travis Snider also appears to be one of the bats of the future in this lineup as well, and if he can start hitting to his potential, watch out.
Final Grade: A
Overall:
With Tampa Bay losing many of their key players to free agency this offseason, 2011 could potentially be huge for Toronto. If Kyle Drabek and Travis Snider can contribute effectively, and if the rest of the lineup can have an encore performance, they might have a shot at contending. Their starting rotation also has the potential to get better, as Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil and Brandon Morrow are all under 30 and have good upside. This year’s finish will hopefully be just the beginning for this team, one that hasn’t seen the postseason since 1993.
Final Grade: C+
Check back soon for the report card on the St. Louis Cardinals!
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