With the start of the 2019 season rapidly approaching, I believe it’s time that we give you the ultimate breakdown of each division and predict their position in the standings come season’s end. It’s hard to predict record, so we’ll just give you their placement in the standings. Of course, this is coming from a fan’s perspective and what we think it could look like, not what it will. Today, we focus on the American League East and the Toronto Blue Jays:
Toronto Blue Jays
2018 record: 73-89, 4th in AL East
Projected Lineup:
LF Billy McKinney
SS Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
1B Justin Smoak
DH Kendrys Morales
CF Kevin Pillar
RF Randal Grichuk
2B Devon Travis
C Danny Jansen
Starting Rotation:
RH Marcus Stroman
RH Aaron Sanchez
LH Ryan Borucki
RH Matt Shoemaker
LH Clayton Richards
LH Sean Reid-Foley
Key Bullpen Pieces:
RH Ken Giles
RH Sam Gaviglio
RH Ryan Tepera
RH Joe Biagini
Key Bench Pieces:
INF Brandon Drury
OF Teoscar Hernandez
SS/2B Freddy Galvis
OF Anthony Alford
The Blue Jays aren’t expecting to contend in 2019, but they are expecting to draw some crowds as the year goes on thanks to the anticipated debut of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The son of the Hall of Fame outfielder will unfortunately start the year in Triple A after suffering an oblique strain in spring training, which the Jays are certainly fine with so they will gain the extra year of service time with his debut being held back until the end of April, early May. However, once he comes up, he immediately becomes the best hitter in that lineup, supported by guys like Pillar, Smoak and Grichuk. Toronto also expects their second best prospect, SS Bo Bichette, to make his debut in 2019 as well. The hope is that Guerrero and Bichette will be the left side of the Jays infield for the next 10 years.
The top three of the Jays’ rotation has potential, but it comes down to health. Stroman and Sanchez can be one of the better 1-2 punches in baseball if they can stay healthy and that’s a big if. Stroman had a very bad year in 2018, pitching to a 5.54 ERA in just 19 starts. Sanchez had a very good 2016 season and hoped to extend that heading into 2017 and beyond. But due to poor performance and injury he has not come close to his expectations. What helps these two is their youth-Stroman entering his age 28 season, Sanchez his age 26. The other young arm here is Borucki, who started 17 games last year and pitched to a respectable 3.87 ERA with 67 strikeouts last year.
Ultimately, the Jays won’t be competing in 2019 but it will be used as the start of their rebuild thanks to the hopeful emergence of Guerrero Jr and Bichette as the offensive threats they expect them to be. In terms of these two, it will be fun for Toronto fans to go to the Rogers Centre to see what their teams’ future holds.
2019 prediction: 4th in AL East
