10 things we've learned about 2020 Blue Jays

Scott Mitchell

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TORONTO — For the first time in four years, the Toronto Blue Jays aggressively shopped for reinforcements at the trade deadline and did not come away empty-handed.

When you combine the additions of Robbie Ray, Ross Stripling, Taijuan Walker and Jonathan Villar with the potential to get Bo Bichette, Jordan Romano, Ken Giles, Matt Shoemaker and Nate Pearson back from injury, the Jays have become one of the most intriguing potential contenders in all of baseball and the current odds-on favourite to at least secure the eighth and final postseason spot in the American League.

We had to wait a few extra months to get a look at the team GM Ross Atkins and his front office started piecing together last winter, but with 34 of 60 games now in the books, we’re starting to figure out a lot about the talent on the roster, where the club sits in the rebuilding process, and where the priorities are moving forward.

Here are 10 things we’ve learned about this team since summer camp started two months ago.

Hyun-Jin Ryu is as advertised

When you’re handed $80 million for four years of work, expectations will be high.

Through seven starts, Ryu has met those, and you can argue he hasn’t even been as good as he can be.

With a 2.92 ERA, supported by a 2.93 FIP, Ryu has been able to deftly navigate some bandbox ballparks and more walks than he’s used to — 2.4 free passes per nine innings this year, compared to 1.2 last year — by getting a ton of groundballs and, as usual, limiting hard contact.

After watching some of the arms the Jays have trotted out to the mound over the past three seasons, it’s been a pleasure to both watch Ryu work as well as listen to his detailed and critical post-game breakdowns of his performances.

They have their future closer

Is it Jordan Romano? 

It definitely could be, and he was already the closer of the present before a freaky right middle finger injury shut down the hard-throwing right-hander with the 1.23 ERA on Aug. 28.

The numbness in the digit doesn’t have much of an explanation at this point, but the Jays are optimistic the 27-year-old will be able to pitch again before the season is over.

If Romano isn’t the closer a couple years down the road, it could be because Julian Merryweather landed the job and ran with it.

Merryweather’s long-term role is less certain — a return to the rotation hasn’t been completely ruled out now that he’s healthy — but just four appearances into his big-league career the 28-year-old has quieted the Josh Donaldson punchlines, showing off an electric arm with a 98-mph fastball that’s piled up 12 strikeouts across just 7.1 innings.

You never know with relievers from year to year but Romano and Merryweather have both been revelations in 2020 and could form a lights-out high-leverage duo in 2021 if it continues.

Nobody can complain about pitching depth

Merryweather and Romano are a part of this, and you can add Thomas Hatch, Ryan Borucki, Anthony Kay and even Sean Reid-Foley, who has looked much more comfortable in a relief role with smoothed out mechanics this year.

And those are just the internal options the Jays have developed over the past couple of years.

Add in Ray, Stripling, Walker, A.J. Cole, Anthony Bass, Rafael Dolis and Chase Anderson, who’s quietly been a control artist on his way to a stingy 3.20 ERA in five starts, and it’s a pitching staff that’s starting to resemble the Tampa Bay Rays way of doing things, with versatile arms that are able to get outs, regardless of role.

Through 34 games, the 3.68 ERA the Jays have authored as a pitching staff is fifth-best in baseball, sitting right in the middle of legit contenders like the Dodgers (first, 2.77), Indians (second, 2.81), Athletics (third, 3.51), White Sox (sixth, 3.69), Twins (seventh, 3.73), Rays (eighth, 3.75) and Astros (ninth, 4.19).

Patience with Teoscar Hernandez paying off

The mental lapses in the field are what irks those watching Hernandez the most, but it’s hard to complain about what he’s done with the bat during his Blue Jays career.

Previously a frustrating free swinger with a strikeout rate well above 30 per cent, Hernandez has taken things to another level this year, cutting the Ks down to 28.3 per cent, while upping the power and not chasing as many pitches outside the zone.

Will it last? Not likely to this level since 138 trips to the plate is a tiny sample size, but you’ll live with the odd defensive miscue in exchange for this type of offensive production every day of the week.

Worth 1.2 fWAR in 128 games last year, Hernandez has already surpassed that at 1.4.

Ditto with Randal Grichuk

Like Hernandez, who’s in his age-27 season, Grichuk is in breakout territory in his age-28 season, and he’s doing similar things.

The swing-and-miss and approach was always the issue with Grichuk, but the strikeouts have fallen for the third straight year, all the way down to 22.9 per cent through his first 131 plate appearances.

Again, we’re working with an extremely small sample size here in a season full of them — in a normal year, 34 games would have us in the first week of May — but it’s impossible to ignore the incremental strides Grichuk has made as a Blue Jay.

On the other hand, his work defensively as the full-time centre fielder this season has been so-so, evidenced by a minus-5 Defensive Runs Saved.

Heading into 2021, it still looks like the Jays would be better off upgrading centre field, shifting Grichuk back to right field, and allowing Hernandez to DH four or five times a week.

Cavan Biggio is a quiet star

Bo Bichette is the face of the franchise, but Biggio is proving to be just as important to the recipe, as he’s proving the Dustin Pedroia comparisons to be true with a gritty, do-it-all game in his first full big-league season.

An on-base machine — Biggio’s career on-base percentage sits at .366 and is still climbing — the 25-year-old’s leadership, positional versatility and dwindling strikeouts have all been on display this season.

A common theme amongst Blue Jays bats this summer — hitting coach Guillermo Martinez and Dante Bichette deserve a lot of credit — cutting his Ks from 28.6 per cent to 20.5 per cent has been the key, helping raise Biggio’s average from .234 last year to .260 up to this point.

Currently, Biggio is on pace for close to a 6.0 fWAR season, which would make him one of the top 15 or so most valuable position players in the game.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a work in progress

Of the big three last names to arrive in 2019, it’s still pretty shocking to see Vladdy Jr. be the one to struggle.

The word “struggle” needs some context.

No, he hasn’t lit the world on fire like Bichette or played with Biggio’s veteran calmness, but Guerrero Jr. has started to figure things out at the plate lately and owns an above-average 118 wRC+.

With a 91.6 mph average exit velocity, Guerrero is hitting the ball hard and striking out less than he did as a rookie.

The next step will be adding a bit of loft to his swing, turning some of those hard groundball outs into gap-punching line drives.

We said the same thing around this time last year, but the upcoming offseason will be an important one for Vladdy to continue to work on his body and his routines.

Even many within the organization will admit the attention to detail away from the field is what’s still holding him back.

Some trades are now clear losses

Atkins’ trade scorecard has some wins on it over the last few years — Hernandez and Grichuk are examples — but there are some losses, too.

You can now chalk up the J.A. Happ trade as an official ‘L’ after Brandon Drury was designated for assignment this week, leaving the Jays with just extra outfielder Billy McKinney to show for the July 28 deal that sent Happ to the Yankees.

Through almost one full season across parts of three years, Drury’s numbers were ugly. The 28-year-old slashed just .208/.253/.353 with 15 home runs and 130 strikeouts in 490 at-bats.

McKinney, meanwhile, is just barely holding onto his spot on the 40-man roster.

Another trade residing in the loss category is the decision to send outfield prospect Edward Olivares to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Yangervis Solarte on Jan. 6, 2018.

Olivares cracked the Pads’ roster for the first time this year, but was then traded at the deadline to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Trevor Rosenthal, one of the top rental relievers on the market, and will soon get an opportunity to play every day.

Like Drury, Solarte struggled mightily, posting a .226/.277/.378 slash line in his 122 games with the Jays.

Catcher of the Future title still up for grabs

The duo of Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire, while capable defensively behind the dish, has been an absolute black hole at the plate.

Through 34 games, the pair has been one of the least productive tandems in baseball, posting minus-0.5 fWAR, 28th in baseball.

The slash line is ugly at .130/.240/.231 and the power has been non-existent with just five combined extra-base hits.

There aren’t a whole lot of signs either is close to snapping out of their funk, which led the Blue Jays to adding 21-year-old Alejandro Kirk to the five-man taxi squad this week.

That leaves the portly backstop potentially on the verge of his debut, even it that would likely come in the form of pinch-hitting duty, a handful of DH days and a start or two behind the dish sprinkled in.

Be excited about Kirk’s high-contact bat, accept what he’ll bring defensively.

The next month of baseball will play a big role in what the Blue Jays do with the position this winter.

They may have to look outside the organization for an upgrade.

Nate Pearson’s injury the biggest disappointment

A lot of things have gone right for the Blue Jays this season.

Other than some key injuries, which will happen to all 30 teams, offensive breakouts and good pitching have put the Jays in great position to make some noise in September and get into a three-game postseason series where absolutely anything can happen.

While losing Giles, Bichette and Romano hurt, the Pearson elbow injury was extremely disappointing for fans, as well as extremely scary for the front office and coaching staff.

After all the hype, all the waiting, it was clear something was not right with the 24-year-old when the command of his second-best pitch, the slider, loosened and the high-90s heat became less frequent over his last couple of starts before landing on the IL.

Diagnosed with a flexor strain in his right elbow, it was an exhale moment for the organization and Pearson is currently working his way back by playing catch.

A bullpen could be on tap within the next week if Pearson is setback free, but the Blue Jays are going to be oh-so cautious with a pitcher who many thought could be co-acing alongside Ryu from the jump.

That hope is on pause for now, but the one thing that could get in the way of Pearson fulfilling his ace promise — health — has already reared its ugly head, and that’s not a good thing.​