GDT: 2/3 Toronto Blue Jays @ San Diego Padres (8:40pm et)

[Spanky99]

I'm convinced that Brandon Belt slept with Schneider's wife.

 

Belt wanted a starting gig, there's a reason he's not signed. You seriously don't think he was offered a bench job, meat?

[Jays24]

Berrios rocking the sub 1 ERA lmao

 

He and Kikuchi going to finish 1-2 in CY voting? Haha

 

Oh and Dalton Varsho is quite the stud muffin isn't he?

 

They're all going to finish behind Garcia lol

[G-Snarls]

He has been great. And he has a lot to work with. With Jansen back, the bench/lineup is deep and everyone has a role except for maybe Vogelbach.

 

TBH it's working out better in reality than it looked on paper to start the season.

[G-Snarls]

Team is 11-9 with almost nothing from Bo and the catchers

 

Not bad at all

[Eat My Shatkins]

Team is 11-9 with almost nothing from Bo and the catchers

 

Not bad at all

 

12-9

[Omar]

12-9

 

Now third in the division two games back.

[jaysblue]

Berrios rocking the sub 1 ERA lmao

 

He and Kikuchi going to finish 1-2 in CY voting? Haha

 

Oh and Dalton Varsho is quite the stud muffin isn't he?

 

Happy to see you getting this excited on April 21st!

 

Kikuchi is my sleeper pick for AL Cy Young. Think he gets 200+ K's. Glad to see Varsho swinging a hot bat right now. Looks like he's returned to form and should be good for 25-30 HR's.

[max silver]

Happy to see you getting this excited on April 21st!

 

Kikuchi is my sleeper pick for AL Cy Young. Think he gets 200+ K's. Glad to see Varsho swinging a hot bat right now. Looks like he's returned to form and should be good for 25-30 HR's.

 

As good as Berrios has been I think Kikuchi might actually have better numbers by the end of the season.

 

Varsho has been a different hitter since he added the toe tap last season. As good as he was in left field last season he's also taken a massive step forward defensively this season so the sky is the limit for the dude.

[jaysblue]

As good as Berrios has been I think Kikuchi might actually have better numbers by the end of the season.

 

Varsho has been a different hitter since he added the toe tap last season. As good as he was in left field last season he's also taken a massive step forward defensively this season so the sky is the limit for the dude.

 

Wouldn't surprise me at all regarding Kikuchi.

 

Varsho is an easy player to root for. Glad to see him bouncing back after his disastrous 2023 season. Hopefully he makes everyone forget about Moreno and LGJ.

[glory]

Really glad to see Varsho doing well with the bat. Him being good again offensively would be huge for this team.

[Daniel Labude]

[max silver]

Wouldn't surprise me at all regarding Kikuchi.

 

Varsho is an easy player to root for. Glad to see him bouncing back after his disastrous 2023 season. Hopefully he makes everyone forget about Moreno and LGJ.

 

I don't think Varsho's 2023 season was necessarily disastrous. Despite the relative struggles with the bat he was still a league average position player by FWAR and nearly a 4 win player by BWAR.

[G-Snarls]

Yeah Varsho is showing every tool

 

A 100-110 wRC+ bat with elite OF defense and good baserunning might be on the table after all

[Spanky99]

As good as Berrios has been I think Kikuchi might actually have better numbers by the end of the season.

 

Varsho has been a different hitter since he added the toe tap last season. As good as he was in left field last season he's also taken a massive step forward defensively this season so the sky is the limit for the dude.

 

Varsho was robbed of a GG last year, Kwan is good, but DV's elite.

[max silver]

Varsho was robbed of a GG last year, Kwan is good, but DV's elite.

 

I think it was fairly defensible that Kwan received a gold glove vs Varsho as Varsho's left field OAA metrics were just a shade above average last year on top of the fact that he split time between left and center field. I do wish that gold gloves were still awarded to the best 3 outfield defenders instead of one per position as Varsho likely should have won a few of them by now but has been denied at least partially due to splitting time between different outfield positions. I think Varsho has improved a great deal defensively and there should be far less of a chance of him not being rewarded again. If he keeps up the type of play he's featured so far a platinum glove may not be out of the discussion.

[Masterbather]

Belt wanted a starting gig, there's a reason he's not signed. You seriously don't think he was offered a bench job, meat?

 

DH. It's clear at this point that Jano should be starting most games and Kirk should only be a pinch hitter in those games.

[max silver]

DH. It's clear at this point that Jano should be starting most games and Kirk should only be a pinch hitter in those games.

 

That's great in theory if you ignore the fact that Jansen's incredibly injury prone and starting more games likely opens the possibility to injury sooner.

[Masterbather]

That's great in theory if you ignore the fact that Jansen's incredibly injury prone and starting more games likely opens the possibility to injury sooner.

They are freak injuries and many of them are because he gets hit by pitches which he's trying to address. You can't go forward with that mentality, he's got to be number one. Kirk should probably play more than the typical backup, specifically because of his framing, but this lineup needs a bit more thump and while I would have preferred better options than this I'd rather have Belt than Vogelbach. Belt could also play some first base to get him in there, Vlad should play less than he does. Obviously with the addition of Turner, Belt still won't play as consistently as last year, but he would play more than he's playing right now.

[max silver]

They are freak injuries and many of them are because he gets hit by pitches which he's trying to address. You can't go forward with that mentality, he's got to be number one. Kirk should probably play more than the typical backup, specifically because of his framing, but this lineup needs a bit more thump and while I would have preferred better options than this I'd rather have Belt than Vogelbach. Belt could also play some first base to get him in there, Vlad should play less than he does. Obviously with the addition of Turner, Belt still won't play as consistently as last year, but he would play more than he's playing right now.

 

The hand injuries may be able to be mitigated with the new wrist and hand armor but Jansen has suffered at least one soft tissue injury in the last 3 seasons as well.

[burlingtonbandit]

Catcher is such a demanding position physically that I’d rather just do a 60/40 split and keep both guys fresh. Kirk has been elite defensively and can put up a few good Abs even if his power is gone.

[Spanky99]

They'll do a 4-3 and 4-2 split depending on the weeks schedule.

[Spanky99]

DH. It's clear at this point that Jano should be starting most games and Kirk should only be a pinch hitter in those games.

 

The Jays were busy on Shohei, Matsuyama, etc, to be worrying about Belt, they signed Turner and Belt wasn't an option as he wanted a starting job, he'd rather retire than sign as a bench bat, again, there's a reason he hasn't signed with anyone man.