General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2023)

[John_Havok]

Apparently Jay Jackson had opportunities to sign with lesser clubs and pitch in the Big Leagues but opted to stay with the Blue Jays. Considering how many relievers each team goes through every year he’s going to be here at some point.

 

Honstly, he's probably #1 on the callup list ahead of Pearson depending on the situation.

[connorp]

Kooch K's the side...

 

5 K's 2 IP

 

It’s funny fans of their own team will judge things on ST, when to be optimistic/pessimistic going into the season on guys based on ST, while still having the opinion ST means nothing lol

[Solaxys]

[Spanky99]

It’s funny fans of their own team will judge things on ST, when to be optimistic/pessimistic going into the season on guys based on ST, while still having the opinion ST means nothing lol

 

You're a f***ing stooge.

[wilko]

It’s funny fans of their own team will judge things on ST, when to be optimistic/pessimistic going into the season on guys based on ST, while still having the opinion ST means nothing lol

 

You'd still rather them preform better than not.

[max silver]

You'd still rather them preform better than not.

 

Exactly. The key is not to get too high or too low based on spring training numbers due to a variety of factors, including players working on things, lower quality of competition etc.

[Laika]

 

he must have posted this early

 

31 K's

but 10 walks...

 

no homers though

 

hmmmmmm

 

promising stuff

[John_Havok]

It’s funny fans of their own team will judge things on ST, when to be optimistic/pessimistic going into the season on guys based on ST, while still having the opinion ST means nothing lol

 

It's all about nuance.

 

For pitchers, you care about certain things like spin rates, velo, new pitches being added or pitch sequences changing... all of that matters. Staying healthy matters.

For hitters, you care about seeing their swing paths being consistent, swing decisions (but not as much...) and seeing them implement any changes that they're working on, or any meaningful changes in exit velocity, GB or FB rates, though even those youre dealing with relatively small sample sizes.

 

For younger guys you are trying to crack a roster, you care about all of the above depending on pitcher or position player, as well as getting a better feel for their baseball IQ.

 

For older guys like Jay Jackson, almost everything matters.

 

Wins and losses are meaningless. For full time no doubt roster players, stats are not meaningless, but they also generally arent meaningfull. ST is important for looking at stuff behind the stats, not the stats themselves.

Edited March 28, 2023 by John_Havok

[connorp]

You'd still rather them preform better than not.

 

Yes, I’m not saying they’re projectable numbers by any means when AAAA guys are part of the mix hitting/pitching and other vets are trying some things. However, theres some take aways that matter.

[Jonn]

We can only take so much from Spring Training but if nothing else Kikuchi definitely has some confidence right now. I’m not expecting anything crazy but if he can just be the decent #4 or #5 he was signed to be everyone would be thrilled.

[John_Havok]

We can only take so much from Spring Training but if nothing else Kikuchi definitely has some confidence right now. I’m not expecting anything crazy but if he can just be the decent #4 or #5 he was signed to be everyone would be thrilled.

 

f*** that. All Star or GTFO

[connorp]

My son texted me he’s done a few mocks in prep for his money league and nobody drafts Danny Jansen. I mean it’s C, but still people pick C’s. I got him in BTS’ league at the very end, otherwise prob wouldn’t have been drafted

[Jonn]

f*** that. All Star or GTFO

 

He’s done it before. You never know!

[wilko]

f*** that. All Star or GTFO

 

Cy Young or bust!

[John_Havok]

hows the rotation looking for the frist month or so. early in the season there's always a bunch of offdays so the #5 spot in the rotation is only needed a few games.

 

I think obviously Manoah and Gausman will be going on 4 days rest no matter what with team off days, giving them each 6 starts before the end of April

 

Who's 3-5 ? Bassitt probably the 3 and then Berrios or Kikuchi as the #4 ?

 

I ask because with all the off days, the #5 guy is only needed for 3 starts in all of April so one of them is going to get lots of off days

 

Who would you want pitching 5 games vs 3 as of this moment, Kikuchi or Berrios?

[Jimcanuck]

hows the rotation looking for the frist month or so. early in the season there's always a bunch of offdays so the #5 spot in the rotation is only needed a few games.

 

I think obviously Manoah and Gausman will be going on 4 days rest no matter what with team off days, giving them each 6 starts before the end of April

 

Who's 3-5 ? Bassitt probably the 3 and then Berrios or Kikuchi as the #4 ?

 

I ask because with all the off days, the #5 guy is only needed for 3 starts in all of April so one of them is going to get lots of off days

 

Who would you want pitching 5 games vs 3 as of this moment, Kikuchi or Berrios?

 

Got to go with Berrios. ST results shouldn't be a factor here. Berrios was likely working on some things.

[John_Havok]

Here's the schedule I wrote up looking like a 4 year old with a crayon.

 

1 - Manoah - normal rest, 6 starts

2 - Gausman - normal rest, 6 starts

3 - Bassitt - 6th start would be on 5 days rest

4 - Berrios - 6th start would be on 6 days rest

5 - Kikuchi - 1st start would be on 7 days rest (since he pitched today but not a full outing) then the 2 starts after the first would be on 9 days rest each

 

Now, there's lots of room for changes to this if they wanted to give guys an extra day of rest instead of rolling out every 5th day, but I get the feeling that Manoah and Gausman would not want that so early on.

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by John_Havok

[Spanky99]

My son texted me he’s done a few mocks in prep for his money league and nobody drafts Danny Jansen. I mean it’s C, but still people pick C’s. I got him in BTS’ league at the very end, otherwise prob wouldn’t have been drafted

 

Deep Thoughts by Connorpee...

[Spanky99]

They're not skipping any starts in April, mate.

[Stangstag]

They're not skipping any starts in April, mate.

 

Yeah they won’t be skipping spots this early on. No need to force things.

[RustyTrombone]

Damn April is a tough month, only 7 games vs non competing teams. Really need to capitalize on those ones so we can be ok with .500 in the rest of the games.

[Spanky99]

Yeah they won’t be skipping spots this early on. No need to force things.

 

Nah, 2 turns through the rotation on that road trip.

[L54]

I will panic if Berrios looks like s*** early on

[G-Snarls]

hows the rotation looking for the frist month or so. early in the season there's always a bunch of offdays so the #5 spot in the rotation is only needed a few games.

 

I think obviously Manoah and Gausman will be going on 4 days rest no matter what with team off days, giving them each 6 starts before the end of April

 

Who's 3-5 ? Bassitt probably the 3 and then Berrios or Kikuchi as the #4 ?

 

I ask because with all the off days, the #5 guy is only needed for 3 starts in all of April so one of them is going to get lots of off days

 

Who would you want pitching 5 games vs 3 as of this moment, Kikuchi or Berrios?

 

I think they'll keep all 5 going and just enjoy the extra off day

 

Manoah, Gausman, Bassit all solid

Kikuchi looks good

Berrios has to sink or swim

[Krylian]

I will panic if Berrios looks like s*** early on

 

He'll be the #5 this season and will be the whipping boy, replacing Kikuchi in that role.

 

The Kooch will be the #3.

[Stangstag]

He'll be the #5 this season and will be the whipping boy, replacing Kikuchi in that role.

 

The Kooch will be the #3.

 

I really hope not. Only got… 6 more years on that contract

[MadJack]

Anybody surprised that Lukes beat out Lopez for the final roster spot?

 

I'm not, I liked what I saw of Lukes in the spring games.

[John_Havok]

Anybody surprised that Lukes beat out Lopez for the final roster spot?

 

I'm not, I liked what I saw of Lukes in the spring games.

 

Could have gone either way, I would have taken Lopez just for maximum defensive flexibility, but as the 26th man, Lukes will be fine as a pinch runner and lefty with some pop off the bench.

 

Realistically, the Jays don't really need their 26th man to be specifically an IF or OF... the roster they have already have 5 OF (the 3 CFs along with Merrifield and Biggio) and enough IF (Merrifield, Espinal, Bo, Chappy, Biggio, Vlad, Belt). All they need their 26th man to be is a guy who can pinch run late in games for Kirk, Jansen, Belt and/or Vlad and pinch hit for the lighter hitting RHH like Espinal, Merrifield, maybe Jansen if they get matched with a tough righty. They've got enough RHB on the bench as is, so Lopez, while he certainly has more defensive utility, would really be wasted in that role. I get the move even though Lopez is probably a better overall player.

Edited March 29, 2023 by John_Havok

[MadJack]

Good post, that makes some sense. I'd rather have Lukes playing in some situations in MLB and let Lopez develop his game at AAA. .. i agree that in the long run Lopez will be a more rounded player.

[John_Havok]

Good post, that makes some sense. I'd rather have Lukes playing in some situations in MLB and let Lopez develop his game at AAA. .. i agree that in the long run Lopez will be a more rounded player.

 

I feel like Lopez is going to be some sort of Espinal/Biggio hybrid. He won't be quite as good defensively on the IF as Espinal, but will better defensively in both the IF and OF than Biggio. Not sure where his power will eventually settle, but probably in the same ball park as Espinal where 10 HR per year would be the max expected output.