Season in review/grades

[PopAGat]

First and foremost, I'd like to say that it's been a lot of fun watching this team compete for the past 2 seasons. Last year with how we turned around our roster and this year where we maintained our dominance despite a difficult AL East.

Our starting pitchers were absolutely fantastic. Stroman, Sanchez, Happ, Estrada, Liriano, Dickey (at times). I feel optimistic knowing we have Sanchez as our regular starter this year and hopefully an improved Stroman (he looked great near the end of the year).

Our Bullpen was a bit disappointing. I didn't like the Revere for Storen trade at all. I thought Revere gave us the few things we lacked in contact hitting/high average hitter and speed on the bases. Regardless, I felt he addressed a huge need at the end of the pen but some part of me had this feeling he was going to be awful given how he finished last year. That being said, I'm glad Storen ended up being Benoit. Benoit was solid for us when he pitched but it was unfortunate how his season ended.

Iceman Osuna was fantastic (and just 21 years old!). Also give credit to Cecil who had it going during the second half of the season and Biagini who we wouldn't have secured a few wins without.

Our offense: Great. Donaldson, EE, Tulo, Travis played great. Bautista was injured which was unfortunate and the rest of the guys performed as expected.

Next steps:

The Jays need to learn to play small ball. If you look at it, the same guys got hits for us all series--Donaldson and Saunders.

It's clear that the power game does not work in the playoffs. Look at any World Series team in the past 5-7 years. They all were efficient bats that hit in that .275+ range and were guys that got on base (not bombed HRs). KC last year gave me nightmares because of how they could get on base and terrorize us by their running game. In the playoffs, its the base stealing, the timely singles that count.

Throughout the series I saw guys taking really hard swings at the ball which I thought was the wrong approach. That live and die by the HR ball really showed in this series.

We. Need. Speed. And. The. Small. Game.

When we have speed, it makes the game easier for us. Carrera lead-off was evidently very successful. Need a Revere-esque player again.

Offseason needs/general comments (IMO):

- Bullpen. And bullpen stability. No more loaning relievers. Grilli, Benoit, great pickups. But I'd like some consistency and youth in the pen.

- Time to let the Bautista ship sail. JB cannot field anymore and his arm isn't what it used to be. I don't think they should pay 20M+ for a .230-.250 power hitter that's unable to field. EE proved he can play decent D at first so I'd rather keep him (and he's younger).

- Find a 6th starter if we're going to put Sanchez on the innings limit again. I still don't think we should run him 200 innings next year. Would cap him at 180 IP.

- Hopefully the hitting coaches can help Upton revive his offensive game a little. I like what he brings in the field, and on the bases though.

- If the price is right, keep Saunders. I like his opposite field power and his ability to hit to different parts of the field. A very unique skill.

Grades:

Starting pitching: A
Bullpen: B-
Offense: B+

Defense: A
Donaldson and Tulo are incredibly fun to watch.

Gibby: B+
Did good with what he was given.

Shapiro: B+

I'm not a big fan of him because I know he's got a reputation as a cheapskate which would be a bad thing given our potentially expensive team.

But I must admit, he had a great first season. But he got us starting pitching that performed great. That 30 M that everyone wanted to pay David Price went to Liriano, Happ, Estrada. Good move. Anxious to see how he deals with the pressures of this off-season.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Probably missed a lot of but just wanted to briefly go over the season. I want to hear what you guys think!

[Raps in 4]

Offence: D-
Pitching: A
Defence: A+
Gibbeh: B+
Shatkins: A-

[JaysRule15]

The offense was inconsistent all season long, but when you compare it with some of the other teams, we were right up there in the top 5-7 in most categories. Just unfortunate that the bats went into a collective tailspin in September and never got out of it. I feel like with this rotation and a pen with a hot top 4 of Osuna, Biagini, Cecil and Grilli, this team was better positioned than last year's team to make a run in the playoffs if the offense had provided even average production and scored 3-4 runs a game.

[Asianiac_24]

SP:
Estrada/Happ/Sanchez : A+. I don't think an explanation is needed.
Stroman: B+. Came up clutch in the WC game, but overall I felt his season wasn't as great as the other 3.
Dickey: B. Just what you would expect from him.

BullPen:
Osuna: A+. No explanation needed as well.
Cecil: B. Horrible for a while, but he turned the corner in the near end of the season.
Biagini/Grilli/Liriano: A+. Performed way better than expected.
Benoit: B+. Would have given a A or A+ if not for the injury.

Donaldson: B+. Great season but expected of him.
EE: A+. Great season.
JB: C. Injuries and the fact that he cannot field anymore, plus he was garbage in the postseason.
Travis: B+. Great hitting but his fielding is really suspect.
Pillar: B+. Just what you expect of him.
Tulo/Martin: B. Great defense, I feel like the SPs have a lot to do with Martin catching, but their hitting is just atrocious given their stature.
Saunders: B. Suspect fielding, good/average hitting.
Upton/Smoak: C-. I cannot stand them striking out again and again.
Carrera: A++. Performed way out of expectations and he was clutch in the postseason.

[The_Hater]

SP: A
RP: B-
Offense: B-
Defense: B-
Gibby: B
Shatkins: A


Shapiro/Atkins deserve an A. This team wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the playoffs without all their quality moves. Happ/Estrada were both bargains. Biagini/Grilli/Benoit in the pen. They absolutely stole Biagini. Adding Liriano and prospects at the deadline in a brilliant trade. Not throwing $210 million at David Price which was their biggest early criticism. They traded away Revere who was horrible this season and replaced him with a far superior Saunders. Their biggest blemish was extending Smoak.

[Lateral Quicks]

I don't mind swinging hard at pitches in the zone and/or in your wheelhouse, but have some zone control and situational awareness. When you have two strikes, you should be looking to make hard contact of any kind, not trying to hit it 500 feet. When there's a runner in scoring position and less than two outs, the number one job is to advance him, not hit a bomb. If the opposing team is gifting you half the field by playing a shift, you should be trying to hit the ball to that half of the field. Making consistent hard contact will result in a fair share of home runs in any case.

Grades:
SP: A (not A+, because Dickey)
RP: C (they were really awful early in the year, and not solidified until the Grilli and Benoit acquisitions.)
Offense: B- (another great year from Donaldson and EE, but below expectations for Bautista, Saunders, Pillar, Tulo, and Martin).
Defense: B- (were strong up the centre except for Travis' last couple months, but poor corner outfield defense)
Gibby: B- (should have been a 90+ win team, but all managers cost their teams some games over a 162 win season)
Shatkins: A (they were smart - no huge extensions, renewed focus on prospects - and lucky - Happ/Estrada/Sanchez/Liriano all exceeded expectations)

Shatkins will have to be smart and lucky again if we're to compete next year, because by my count we have four positions in the starting lineup right now without legitimate starters (1B, LF, RF, DH) and an underwhelming bench (Smoak, Goins, Pompey).

[RaptorsJunkie]

F
World Series Champs or Bust!

[Patman]

I'm for bringing back Saunders as well. I know he didn't play well in the summer, but I think that actually helps us bring him back at a reasonable number.

[IMAN5]

Shapiro/Atkins had a pretty solid first year. They came into a situation where the fanbase and hype was higher than it had ever been in 20+ years. They faced a lot of pressure and a lot of guys who wanted to get insanely overpaid and they didn't budge.

Losing David Price hurt the fanbase right out the gate but replacing him with Happ at a much affordable deal while retaining Estrada and getting Liriano on a good deal were great decisions.

Not overpaying Jose after his playoff run last year was smart although not sure if any other teams would've budged to his insane demands. It's time to let the fan favorite go and I think Shapiro/Atkins are the perfect guys to say "well thank you for what you've done but we're going in a different direction". They've proven they won't overpay based on emotion or fan hype, and in this case I'm happy.

Encarnacion should've been locked up last year and he bet on himself and won big time. Whether we retain him or not will be a big question. I feel if you retain EE you have a shot at moving forward without Jose, Dickey and other aging players that aren't working as well. Lose EE and it looks like it might be a slow rebuild. Depends if you can lure any big free agents here.

We'll have to wait and see but I can say that I trust Shapiro/Atkins this time around more than I did last time.

[The_Hater]

I'm for bringing back Saunders as well. I know he didn't play well in the summer, but I think that actually helps us bring him back at a reasonable number.

If you take his play over the entire season, Saunders was still an asset. An OPS+ of 115 while batting LH in our RH heavy lineup. I'd like to see him come back because the options to replace him are pretty weak.

[Patman]

I don't mind swinging hard at pitches in the zone and/or in your wheelhouse, but have some zone control and situational awareness. When you have two strikes, you should be looking to make hard contact of any kind, not trying to hit it 500 feet. When there's a runner in scoring position and less than two outs, the number one job is to advance him, not hit a bomb. If the opposing team is gifting you half the field by playing a shift, you should be trying to hit the ball to that half of the field. Making consistent hard contact will result in a fair share of home runs in any case.

Grades:
SP: A (not A+, because Dickey)
RP: C (they were really awful early in the year, and not solidified until the Grilli and Benoit acquisitions.)
Offense: B- (another great year from Donaldson and EE, but below expectations for Bautista, Saunders, Pillar, Tulo, and Martin).
Defense: B- (were strong up the centre except for Travis' last couple months, but poor corner outfield defense)
Gibby: B- (should have been a 90+ win team, but all managers cost their teams some games over a 162 win season)
Shatkins: A (they were smart - no huge extensions, renewed focus on prospects - and lucky - Happ/Estrada/Sanchez/Liriano all exceeded expectations)

Shatkins will have to be smart and lucky again if we're to compete next year, because by my count we have four positions in the starting lineup right now without legitimate starters (1B, LF, RF, DH) and an underwhelming bench (Smoak, Goins, Pompey).

How many number 5 starters were better than Dickey?

[The_Hater]

How many number 5 starters were better than Dickey?

Tomlin. Maybe 1-2 others.

Dickey would have been lined up to start playoff games for both Cleveland and Texas this season. Most fans don't realize how difficult it is to fill the 4-5 slots for most teams. Heck the Jays spent most of 2015 with 2-3 starting pitchers in the rotation who were far worse than 2016 Dickey.

[jaymeister15]

If grading as a unit, I think you have to get the starting pitching an A+. There aren't many people that would've imagined in their wildest dreams that the Jays starters would lead the AL in ERA (including one of them winning the ERA title). Given that and the overall consistency throughout the course of the season, I don't know what else they could have done.

[Lateral Quicks]

How many number 5 starters were better than Dickey?

We've been over this at length on this board already. Dickey put up a 0.4 WAR in 169 innings this year, and Thole's WAR was -0.8. Together they were a net negative. The only reason Dickey kept his job as long as he did (losing it eventually in September) is due to his salary.

[Rapcity_11]

How many number 5 starters were better than Dickey?

We've been over this at length on this board already. Dickey put up a 0.4 WAR in 169 innings this year, and Thole's WAR was -0.8. Together they were a net negative. The only reason Dickey kept his job as long as he did (losing it eventually in September) is due to his salary.

Aren't a lot of backup catchers negative WAR players?

[sharmaraps]

Offence: B- (compared to what we thought was gona happen after last year but they were still up there and did make the playoffs)
Defence: A- (great infield only question is joey bats and perhaps saunders but with KP there he's grabbing everything)
Starting Pitching: A (Solid all around can't even find anything to complain about. Maybe a complete game)
Bullpen: B (Osuna was terrific, Biagini played like God, Grilli was inconsitant at times but overall did his job. As for the rest except Cecil hope your gone never come back)
Gibby: B+ (The guy does the job)


As for Shatkins I was one of those fans who was dropping F bombs the day Anthopolous left however because of who we lost too and to see how far they came with what they have I am extremely excited for this off season. With several contracts coming off I am hoping we are still contenders next year. Hope EE gets rewarded with a great contract.

[Al_Oliver]

I'm for bringing back Saunders as well. I know he didn't play well in the summer, but I think that actually helps us bring him back at a reasonable number.

If you take his play over the entire season, Saunders was still an asset. An OPS+ of 115 while batting LH in our RH heavy lineup. I'd like to see him come back because the options to replace him are pretty weak.

As a DH, I wouldn't mind, but he has no real business fielding a position...

[Trilogy]

Yea, Saunders problem is he's a pretty bad defensive player now. He doesn't have a particularly strong track record with the bat either. Always depends on price but he's a little scary to re-sign if it's for anything substantial.

[The_Hater]

Yea, Saunders problem is he's a pretty bad defensive player now. He doesn't have a particularly strong track record with the bat either. Always depends on price but he's a little scary to re-sign if it's for anything substantial.

Depends on the term. 1-2 years isn't bad. I agree that his defense isn't great. Hands seem fine but his range not so much. Interesting to see if he can get locked in for 6 months instead of 3 though. He hits LHP ok too

[The_Hater]

How many number 5 starters were better than Dickey?

We've been over this at length on this board already. Dickey put up a 0.4 WAR in 169 innings this year, and Thole's WAR was -0.8. Together they were a net negative. The only reason Dickey kept his job as long as he did (losing it eventually in September) is due to his salary.

2 problems with this theory. Most #5 SP's put up negative wars and most #2 catchers are terrible too. You need to put this into that context.

The biggest issue with Dickey was that he pitched poorly after the allstar break. He had a sub 4.00 ERA prior to the break.