2019 Blue Jays Season Thread

[TheScorpion]

Add Edwin and/or Price and I might just start watching the Jays again.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Wow I’m so stoked.

[Crown Royal]

I usually just read this thread without commenting, in part because I am a pretty casual fan, so I am not as familiar with the players as much as everyone else is, especially new signees. I am also not up on alot of the analytics, so I don't know what half of them mean and even when I do, I can't tell if they are good or not.

I have to admit, I know less than nothing about Ryu because I don't pay much attention outside of the Jays. Is he a guy that generates alot of ground balls? Because that kind of guy has to be more successful in Toronto than a fly ball pitcher.

[ben voyonsdonc]

I’m hopeful that the new acquisitions will help the young Jays get a taste of winning. I suspect that the Jays are still quite far from being contenders but I am glad that they are trying to avoid letting Guerrero, Bichette, and Biggio sink into a team with a losing culture.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by ben voyonsdonc

I’m hopeful that the new acquisitions will help the young Jays get a taste of winning. I suspect that the Jays are still quite far from being contenders but I am glad that they are trying to avoid letting Guerrero, Bichette, and Biggio sink into a team with a losing culture.

This. Lets shoot for more wins than losses as a minimum this (next) year and look to build on that.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Crown Royal

I usually just read this thread without commenting, in part because I am a pretty casual fan, so I am not as familiar with the players as much as everyone else is, especially new signees. I am also not up on alot of the analytics, so I don't know what half of them mean and even when I do, I can't tell if they are good or not.

I have to admit, I know less than nothing about Ryu because I don't pay much attention outside of the Jays. Is he a guy that generates alot of ground balls? Because that kind of guy has to be more successful in Toronto than a fly ball pitcher.

He is almost exactly a 50/50 guy for fly balls vs ground balls in his career.

His GB to FB ratio is 1.03.

[Crown Royal]

Originally Posted by transplant99

He is almost exactly a 50/50 guy for fly balls vs ground balls in his career.

His GB to FB ratio is 1.03.

Thanks, I also found a site to look at some stats. It looks like in 2019 he was 4th best in the majors in in GB/FB ratio at 3.36, for comparison, Stroman finished at 2.97 last season.

In 2018 it was 1.93.

So hopefully this is a progression for Ryu and he can generate the same amount of ground balls in Toronto.

[GreenLantern2814]

1- Bichette
2- Biggio
3- Vlad
4- Edwin
5- Gurriel
6- Grichuk
7- CF
8- 1B
9- Jansen/Reese

Ryu
Price
Roark
Shoemaker
Pearson

As long as Vlad shows up to Spring Training at 235 and not 265, the Jays should be competing for playoffs with that should those additions all happen.

[nik-]

We also get his wife in a Jays jersey as a signing bonus. So that's nice.

[Harry Lime]

Right now it's Shaw at 1st base and Hernandez at CF. If EE comes in to DH, and Price as the #2, the only question is whether taking on Price will drop a decent OF in the Jays lap.

Getting Ryu and frontrunner for EE really turns the season around. Getting Price would make them a wildcard team, fighting with Tampa Bay. This would actually be a very fun season if everything falls into place.

All that happens and I'll lay off of Shatkins for a while. They would be buying a lot of currency with the fans.

[Harry Lime]

Originally Posted by nik-

We also get his wife in a Jays jersey as a signing bonus. So that's nice.

Wow. Ryu Hyun-jin for the win. Don't tell Zamler that she's a newscaster.

[bluejays]

I'm not going to pick on anyone, but we really think this years' team even with Price will be a wild card contender? There will be a couple young guys who will likely regress after a year of scouting on them, plus we're still in the hardest division. I'm sure they're good for 10 wins more, but beyond that I'm not sure. Things don't jump that dramatically in baseball, and the holes in various parts in the roster shows me this is not a playoff contender in the next year at least. One extra year, and a couple extra moves, sure. Just not yet.

[Roof-Daddy]

A lot would have to go right for this team to be a wild card even with EE and Price IMO.

[Harry Lime]

The effect of young players falling back from their rookie year has been reduced in the last 10 years by full season training and player specific analytics. Smart players arn't seeing as much drop off (on the hitting side, pitchers there is definitely fluxuation). I think that Biggio in particular will be much better this year, and Vlad at the major league level is getting a tonne of attention by Jays staff.

It really is gambling with this team, but the floor is really low, and the ceiling really high.

Boston and NY have the division locked up, but Tampa Bay got really lucky last year, and have a lot of the same question marks that Toronto has. Absolutely, everything has to go right, but they could end up a relevant team near the end of the season.

Anyway, it's the first ray of hope since AA left, so why not bask in it?

[flames_fan_down_under]

Even if they don’t make the wildcard spot it still is a major indication that the front office is serious about fielding a competitive roster, which is all I really wanted to see. It’s really not fun watching Edwin Jackson etc pitch for your favourite team multiple times.

[SuperMatt18]

Would be amazing if the Benintendi being attached to Price rumors were at all true.

If that happened with him in the OF, and Shaw at 1B that lineup you have above becomes pretty formidable.

1- Bichette - SS: 2.1 WAR
2- Biggio - 2B: 2.8 WAR
3- Vlad - 3B: 2.1 WAR
4- Edwin - DH: 2.7 WAR
5- Gurriel - OF: 1.7 WAR
6- Grichuk - OF: 0.3 WAR (2.2 in 2018)
7- Benintendi - OF : 1.7 WAR (3.9 in 2018)
8- Shaw - 1B: -0.9 WAR (4.1 IN 2018)
9- Jansen - C: 1.0 WAR

Ryu: 5.3 WAR
Price: 1.9 WAR
Roark: 2.0 WAR
Shoemaker: 1.2 WAR
Pearson: 0.0 WAR

That's a 23.9 WAR lineup based on the 2019 WAR for each player, with Grichuk, Shaw, and Binintendi all having bounce back potential on top of that.

Last year for WAR by team Houston was first at 31.7 and LAD were 2nd at 22.4.

That would be an ultra talented lineup for sure. It doesn't mean anything on the scoreboard, and there would be no guarantee they would all be able to put it together on the field, but the talent would be there.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by fleury

I'm not going to pick on anyone, but we really think this years' team even with Price will be a wild card contender? There will be a couple young guys who will likely regress after a year of scouting on them, plus we're still in the hardest division. I'm sure they're good for 10 wins more, but beyond that I'm not sure. Things don't jump that dramatically in baseball, and the holes in various parts in the roster shows me this is not a playoff contender in the next year at least. One extra year, and a couple extra moves, sure. Just not yet.

The lineup is solid. The core might have ups and downs but they're too good to have it ruin a season.

Did the Jays even have a major league starter after August? Maybe on paper, but nobody who started a game for Toronto in September would've made anybody's post season roster.

Three major league starters (pre Price) goes a long way. Add Price, you've got four new starters, plus Pearson, plus Shoemaker, plus Waguespack, plus.

That'll make a difference. Biggio's not gonna forget how to read the zone, Vlad and Bo are still gonna mash.

The bigger question is, will MLB juice the balls next year?

[GirlySports]

Also Ryu is a hilarious guy. He's a riot on Korean variety shows. I hope he brings that fun, carefree attitude to the clubhouse.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

The lineup is solid. The core might have ups and downs but they're too good to have it ruin a season.

Did the Jays even have a major league starter after August? Maybe on paper, but nobody who started a game for Toronto in September would've made anybody's post season roster.

Three major league starters (pre Price) goes a long way. Add Price, you've got four new starters, plus Pearson, plus Shoemaker, plus Waguespack, plus.

That'll make a difference. Biggio's not gonna forget how to read the zone, Vlad and Bo are still gonna mash.

The bigger question is, will MLB juice the balls next year?

It's not that guys are going to forget to read the zone, it's that scouting and game theory comes into play a bit more when teams start to pick apart players. I personally still maintain this team has gained about 10 wins, but being the division their in, the regression of at least a couple younger guys (naturally which they'll have to work through), and the holes in the OF which will probably be addressed next year when it's a little more clear who is on the team long term, and who is minor league fodder. I am positive that they'll be working toward something better, but it's tough in this division to improve dramatically with just one major signing.

[transplant99]

Slugger Edwin Encarnacion and the Chicago White Sox are in agreement on a one-year deal for $12 million with a club option for 2021 at $12 million, sources told ESPN.

The deal was first reported by Dominican journalist Yancen Pujols.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...2-million-deal