(Mark J. Terrill/AP) 2020
With the launch of the 2021-2022 MLB season, The Toronto Blue Jays are playing out of the TD Ballpark stadium in Florida, USA due to the temporary closure of the Rogers Center. There are many unfortunate disadvantages that the league is currently facing due to the COVID-19 regulations. More specifically, the Toronto Blue Jays are being affected in all aspects such as location, roster, and management. The recent injury of their new signing, George Springer, who was brought to the team on a $150 million deal, has lead to him only playing 4 games this season. A recent injury to Hyun Jin Ryu has also seen him join the 10-day IL.
The Jays’ 16-14 start after winning their game on May 6 against the Oakland A’s puts them tied for second in the AL East, 2 games behind the leading Red Sox. Throughout their first 30 games, the Blue Jays are 8th in the AL with an overall team batting average of .235. The Jays boast 38 homers in 30 games which places them 6th in the AL East according to Baseball-Reference. 14 of those homers are off the bats of young guns Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, both having 7 home runs tied for 17th in the league for most home runs (MLB).
Speaking of young guns, on April 27th against the Washington Nationals, Guerrero Jr. recorded his first-ever hat trick, three home runs in one game that led him to 7 RBI’s on the night. Guerrero started off the night with a grand slam in the 4th inning that ended Max Scherzer's streak of 19 scoreless innings and gave the Jays a 4-3 lead. Vladdy Jr. added two more homers to lead the Jays to a 9-5 win. With many youngsters like Guerrero and Bichette stepping up and winning games with their individual talent and ability, Jay's fans can expect a lot more wins in future games.
However, RBI’s and home runs aren’t all there is to a winning team. Pitching matters a lot, and the Jays are showing why they're arguably the best pitching staff in the AL East. They currently hold a 3.54 ERA which slots them in at third in the American League (Baseball-Reference). The best part about their performance is that not one of the pitchers is in the top 25 for any pitching stats such as ERA, WHIP, and FIP according to the MLB stat database. Every pitcher from starter to the bullpen is performing well, with beautiful outings by starter Steven Matz, with relief from Ryan Borucki and the closer Rafael Dolis who has 13 strikeouts in 50 batters faced this season (Baseball-Reference). The Jays pitching staff wasn’t even rated top 10 according to the MLB’s preseason rankings (Ranking the 10 best rotations for 2021) so it is a pleasant surprise for Jays fans to see their pitchers performing so well.
The Jays are hoping to carry on their 2 game winning streak, paying the Houston Astros a visit over the 3-game weekend series. The Jays head into Houston as underdogs (MLB odds). The Jays are known to struggle when battling against the Astros as they are 8-19 in their last 27 faceoffs. However, the Astros have had a rocky start on their own field and the Jays are certainly looking to take advantage of that.
This year's MLB season for The Blue Jays has been hectic, yet, promising. With the introduction of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette to the roster, the Jays are ready for an outstanding season.. With these stats early in the season from our 2019 additions, this is a year that Blue Jays fans should look forward to.
References
Baseball-Reference.com. 2021. MLB Stats, Scores, History, & Records | Baseball-Reference.com. [online] Available at: <https://www.baseball-reference.com/> [Accessed 6 May 2021].
MLB.com. 2021. MLB Stats | Baseball Stats. [online] Available at: <https://www.mlb.com/stats/home-runs> [Accessed 6 May 2021].
MLB.com. 2021. MLB Stats | Baseball Stats. [online] Available at: <https://www.mlb.com/stats/pitching?sortState=asc> [Accessed 6 May 2021].
MLB.com. 2021. Ranking the 10 best rotations for 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.mlb.com/news/best-mlb-rotations-2021> [Accessed 6 May 2021].
Odd shark. 2021. MLB Odds: Major League Baseball Betting Lines and Spreads. [online] Available at: <https://www.oddsshark.com/mlb/odds?utm_source=Sportsnet&utm_medium=Sportsnet&utm_campaign=Sportsnet&utm_term=editorial&utm_content=Sportsnet> [Accessed 6 May 2021].
Page, B. and Encyclopedia, F., 2021. 2021 Toronto Blue Jays Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com. [online] Baseball-Reference.com. Available at: <https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/2021.shtml> [Accessed 6 May 2021].