What Pieces Are We Missing?

Raptor04 · Post #1 » by **Raptor04** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 2:31 am

Im more of a casual Jays follower so I don't know much about the depth at the farm system and how all of these situations will play out, however going into the 2012 season what players will we have for certain as integral pieces moving forward (ie, the ones who are here to stay and make a big impact)

C- Arencibia (is he our future catcher, or are we gonna upgrade/look to Travis D'Arnaud instead?)

1B/DH- Lind seems good for either of the two positions, so there's flexibility here

2B- Is it Hill, or Brett Lawrie? Now that we have Lawrie, are we gonna look to move Hill if he has a bounce back season?

SS- Escobar was supposed to be a steal, plus we have Hechavarria now.
Side Question: Between Hill, Lawrie, and Hechavarria, who are the 2 most likely to stay and play up the middle? Or did I miss someone that is more deserving?

3B- Unclear?? (Possible FA signing in the offseason?)

RF- Bautista (Given he maintains his level of play from last year, he will get the big bucks to be permanent, otherwise that money would go towards a similar talent?)

CF- Who is this Rajai Davis dude, is he supposed to be an everyday type player that produces well? Or is he a temporary fix. Can we expect to see Gose in the starting lineup come 2012?

LF- Snider

Starting 5 Pitchers:

1. Ace- Unknown (I think we're missing a clear cut #1 pitcher as everyones been saying, possibly sign a FA?)

2. Romero (Clear cut #2 imo)
3. Drabek (Clear cut #3 imo)
4/5. Cecil and Morrow

Who else is in the pitching mix as legit starting options?

Bullpen

From what I can see, right now its a bunch of veterans with some success at the big league level, but noone stands out exceptionally. Will we need to bring in a few arms most likely after the season?

So our top priorities in the upcoming offseason should be signing big name players for a corner infielder, as well as a legit starting pitcher. As well as banking on Gose/Lawrie to show up in 2012. Is this a competitive enough roster for the playoffs, or do we still have some work to do?

turtle_15 · Post #2 » by **turtle_15** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 2:40 am

Lawrie is most likely going to be our 3B of he future if im not mistaken he is being moved to 3B to start the year and if things don't bomb there that's where he'll be

Evermore · Post #3 » by **Evermore** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 2:45 am

I'm not sure if the OP saw much of Morrow pitch last season...but he is clearly the team's ace heading into the this season...

satyr9 · Post #4 » by **satyr9** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 6:07 am

Evermore wrote:I'm not sure if the OP saw much of Morrow pitch last season...but he is clearly the team's ace heading into the this season...

i don't think that's quite right. i think he's clearly the one with ace potential. he 100% has ace stuff and has had some ace type performances, but he's gotta have an actual ace type season before you proclaim him one IMO.

Other than that here's my take on some of your points/questions:
Bautista's here now but he may not be long term because of performance and salary. Also, say Lawrie doesn't work out at 3B that might be his home and Bautista is lost in FA or traded at the deadline.

Davis is a stopgap type and i think 2012 is too soon for Gose if he pans out.

Not sure how the escobar/hech thing will play out, but i'd be surprised if either gets transplanted to 2B so with Lawrie out of the picture at 2B, Hill looks like he's staying, but AA isn't exactly shy about making moves.

Lind needs to have a really good year to prove he can play every day against RHP and LHP.

Nothing with JPA is set in stone. If he plays well he can hold the C job, if not they'll keep it up with stopgaps, maybe even JPA as stopgap, until some of the other C prospects get closer to the bigs. While I think the last year has been fantastic for the future of the Jays, as of right now there are still quite a few question marks for how it'll play out, but even in the most stocked team ever that's probably still the case.

lijon912 · Post #5 » by **lijon912** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 1:42 pm

My thoughts

I dont expect any of our position prospects that start in the minors to be called up
I see Stewart being a SP if someone getting injuried
Lawrie and Hechervarria will probably play for us in 2012. (hoping Lawrie is 3b and Hech is ss, will keep either Hill or Escobar as 2b)
Gose basically has no shot at the bigs in 2012. He can't take a walk or hit. I am hoping these things improve this year because his glove/arm are MLB ready.

JPA if he can hit like 270/25hr, I think we will keep D'arnaud in the minors. and if JPA can stay consistent, I think we keep him and trade travis. Other than that D'arnaud is our future catcher.

Evermore · Post #6 » by **Evermore** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 2:51 pm

satyr9 wrote:
Evermore wrote:I'm not sure if the OP saw much of Morrow pitch last season...but he is clearly the team's ace heading into the this season...

i don't think that's quite right. i think he's clearly the one with ace potential. he 100% has ace stuff and has had some ace type performances, but he's gotta have an actual ace type season before you proclaim him one IMO.

Read my message again...

I wasn't saying he's a bonafide ace...like a Halladay or Lincecum

But as it stands right now...he's the ace of the Jays

Other than a dominant spring by Romero...the only reason Morrow wouldn't get the ball on opening day would be so the Jays could roll lefty/righty/lefty/righty...

MGD24 · Post #7 » by **MGD24** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 3:29 pm

Evermore wrote:
satyr9 wrote:
Evermore wrote:I'm not sure if the OP saw much of Morrow pitch last season...but he is clearly the team's ace heading into the this season...

i don't think that's quite right. i think he's clearly the one with ace potential. he 100% has ace stuff and has had some ace type performances, but he's gotta have an actual ace type season before you proclaim him one IMO.

Read my message again...

I wasn't saying he's a bonafide ace...like a Halladay or Lincecum

But as it stands right now...he's the ace of the Jays

Other than a dominant spring by Romero...the only reason Morrow wouldn't get the ball on opening day would be so the Jays could roll lefty/righty/lefty/righty...

I disagree...I don't think it's a clear cut choice for Morrow...I think Romero had just as solid a year last year and he has more experience as a starter than Morrow.
I would not be surprised at all if Romero was chosen as Opening Day starter.

Either one would be fine with me.

Sure Morrow has a lot of potential...but ace of the Jays...that's still up in the air.

LBJSeizedMyID · Post #8 » by **LBJSeizedMyID** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 3:55 pm

Romero will have the tag of "Ace" this year, but Morrow can just as easily be the "Ace" next year. We're missing a bonafide closer, a third baseman (if Bautista wants to move to right), and first baseman to begin the season. Think after this season the Jays will have a much clearer picture for the short term.

Evermore · Post #9 » by **Evermore** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 4:47 pm

Okay, I may have over-stepped my place in labeling Morrow as the team's ace...

I think I was just a little shocked at seeing him in the 4th/5th spot in the OP

His 2nd half was definitely ace-like though

Raptor04 · Post #10 » by **Raptor04** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 8:51 pm

Morrow is definately going to be no lower than the third spot in the rotation this year. I was referring to when 2012 starts, at which point we should be looking to move Drabek up the line since hes supposed to be one of our best pitchers (however, I didn't move Romero up since I don't think hes ace worthy, just an amazing 2nd man).

And the reason I put Morrow as indesicive (4th or 5th) was because as said before, he hasn't proven himself over a whole season yet. Sure, I agree Morrow was in the second half our best pitcher last season, but same can be said for similar pitchers in the past (Litsch, Mcgowan, etc).

For now, I meant to say Romero and Drabek are the primary pitchers we expect to be successful at the big league level, while Cecil and Morrow are yet to show they can carry over their success.

Evermore · Post #11 » by **Evermore** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 10:32 pm

Morrow was drafted 5th overall and is only just 26...

I'd say he's on his way to becoming a very good top-of-the-rotation pitcher

hyper316 · Post #12 » by **hyper316** » Tue Feb 8, 2011 10:40 pm

Evermore wrote:Morrow was drafted 5th overall and is only just 26...

I'd say he's on his way to becoming a very good top-of-the-rotation pitcher

wow, i never knew he was drafted 5th overall. seattle really gave up on him for league

WpgPage · Post #13 » by **WpgPage** » Wed Feb 9, 2011 5:22 am

They got a ton of heat for passing on local prospect Lincicum and really just need to get him out of the organization for something so they could move on from it.

Kurtz · Post #14 » by **Kurtz** » Wed Feb 9, 2011 5:36 am

hyper316 wrote:
Evermore wrote:Morrow was drafted 5th overall and is only just 26...

I'd say he's on his way to becoming a very good top-of-the-rotation pitcher

wow, i never knew he was drafted 5th overall. seattle really gave up on him for league

And Yoho Chavez, who had an amazing year in the minors last year.

WpgPage · Post #15 » by **WpgPage** » Wed Feb 9, 2011 4:15 pm

Kurtz wrote:
hyper316 wrote:
Evermore wrote:Morrow was drafted 5th overall and is only just 26...

I'd say he's on his way to becoming a very good top-of-the-rotation pitcher

wow, i never knew he was drafted 5th overall. seattle really gave up on him for league

And Yoho Chavez, who had an amazing year in the minors last year.

An amazing year playing in the desert his AA numbers will be the real test for him. I've never really liked him all that much and i think he develops into a pretty average OF.

northernlight · Post #16 » by **northernlight** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 2:40 am

Disagree.........you were right........he is the best of a good group.....has the the best stuff

Evermore wrote:Okay, I may have over-stepped my place in labeling Morrow as the team's ace...

I think I was just a little shocked at seeing him in the 4th/5th spot in the OP

His 2nd half was definitely ace-like though

tiger7 · Post #17 » by **tiger7** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 4:48 am

I think we need to find a long term solution for 1B/3rd base and ensure we have a complete 1-5 starting rotation and middle relief pitchers. All those spots are pretty obvious gaps in the Blue Jays starting lineup if you've watched any decent amount of Blue Jays games.

Lateral Quicks · Post #18 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:50 pm

tiger7 wrote:I think we need to find a long term solution for 1B/3rd base and ensure we have a complete 1-5 starting rotation and middle relief pitchers. All those spots are pretty obvious gaps in the Blue Jays starting lineup if you've watched any decent amount of Blue Jays games.

I agree with the 1B/3B point, but disagree with the rest. Our rotation is filled with young, high-pedigree guys, with even more soon to be knocking on the door. Last year's rotation was pretty decent, and with a consistent 5th starter in either Rzep, Litsch, or Stewart, coupled with continuing maturation of the rest, should be very, very good this year. The bullpen is much improved, and Janssen is a very capable long man.

Despite the mega home runs last year, this team's weakness remains its offense IMO. My one concern going into this season is whether they'll be able to score enough runs to support their pitchers. If JPA is Buck-like, Snider hits like I think he can, Bautista keeps it up, Lind and Hill perform to their career averages at least, they should be good. But that's a lot of ifs. Another capable bat at either 1B or 3B would really help them.

WpgPage · Post #19 » by **WpgPage** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:21 pm

Lawrie is the future at 3B for this team even if his D is E5 like his bat will make up for it. As for 1B I agree we need to find a solution there it could be Lind, it could even be EE, or we could address it in next years FA. For the rotation there is a ton of potential there I personally would like to see
Drabek and Stewart in the rotation after June to keep their FA clocks from starting, and to give them some AAA confidence and experience.