The Blue Jays were riding a nine-game winning streak when I last wrote about them in late-May. The team was 32-22 on the year with a three game lead over the second-place New York Yankees and things seemed to finally be clicking.
At the time, the Blue Jays offense was third in runs (256), fourth in on base percentage (.331) and second in slugging percentage (.450). They had a +32 run differential, third best in the American League at the time and were winning both at home and on the road, with 16 wins each. Their offense was the driving force of their early success and the man behind it was first baseman Edwin Encarnacion.
The Blue Jays entered May with a 12-15 record and were sitting at the bottom of the American League East, still hoping to find a spark. Encarnacion gave them just what they needed along with Jose Bautista as the team went 21-9 (.700) in May. During that time, Encarnacion earned American League Player of the Month honors posting a .281 batting average with 16 home runs, 33 RBI’s and 1.132 OPS.
Now we are 10 days into June and less than 100 games remaining in the Blue Jays regular season. Things continue to get better for them, Toronto has improved to 39-26 and have won seven of their past 10 games. Their strength has again from their power and ability to drive in runs, continuing to improve in numerous offensive categories. The Blue Jays are now second in runs (319), fourth in on-base percentage (.332), second in slugging percentage (.446) and first in home runs (91).
Of course, the Blue Jays’ lineup has been a big reason for their success. Encarnacion has stayed hot with a 3.04 batting average, two home runs and 1.081 OPS in June. Bautista continues to shine with a .309 batting average, 15 home runs and .436 on-base percentage. Toronto has also been boosted with Melky Cabrera’s bat, a 3.04 batting average with 10 home runs and 33 RBI’s. It has been a collective effort by the entire lineup and there is even more room to improve when center fielder Colby Rasmus returns.
Their lineup certainly deserves plenty of praise but the unsung hero this season has to be starting pitcher Mark Buehrle, who has surpassed R.A. Dickey as the team’s ace. Buehrle has been dominant this season—leading baseball win wins (10), while standing second in earned run average (2.04). Buehrle brings the team an added confidence on the mound, they know they will always have a great chance to win when he is pitching that day.
While Buehrle leads the rotation in nearly every category, the next top producing arm has been 23-year-old lefty Drew Hutchison. While Dickey gets the star treatment, Hutchison has actually put up a lower ERA (3.96), WHIP (1.23) and component earned run average (3.52). The young starter has been dominant on the road with a 2.03 ERA in eight starts, compared to a 8.72 ERA playing at home. Meanwhile, the 39-year-old Dickey continues to get by with a 4.20 ERA and 1.41 WHIP.
As a group, the Blue Jays team ERA currently stands at 4.00, ranking them 19th in the league. Toronto also is middle of the pack in quality starts, ranking 12th in the majors with 35. It’s difficult for starters to find success at the Rogers Centre, which is third amongst all parks in home runs per game (1.434).
While the Blue Jays have to be happy with the success Buehrle has had so far, his ERA isn’t going to stay in the two’s all year. As evidenced by a 3.18 defensive independent earned run average and a 1.21 WHIP are strong indicators of reality going to set in. While Buehrle may cool down, Toronto has to be excited about flame throwing righty Marcus Stroman joining their rotation.
Stroman’s fastball can get up to 99 miles per hour but usually sits around 95 even later on into games. He pairs it with a strong curveball and is learning to command his pitches more, which helped earn him the promotion from Triple-A. The 23-year-old struggled out of the Pen in early May before being sent back down, but gained his confidence again in the minors and earned a rotation spot. In two starts since being called up, he has back-to-back starts of six innings pitched with one earned run. Stroman will take on a weak Twins’ lineup in his next start and has a great chance to build on his success and build his confidence more.
The addition of Stroman to the rotation will certainly help strengthen a unit that needed more help, but this won’t be enough. The Blue Jays have the prospects to acquire another starter and that’s exactly what they should do. It’s obvious they have the type of offense that can lead them to an AL East banner, but now they need to improve their rotation.
The Blue Jays are for real and it’s not just the American League East teams that should be on notice. This is one of the best teams in baseball and we could be looking at a fun ALCS between the Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics. It might be early into the season, but the pecking order has already been established and Toronto is right near the top.