If you haven’t been checking in on the Jays, they are at the top of the MLB right now. They are dominating the Tigers. They breezed through the Yankees. Competition is stacked this year but we are still hitting the top. The jump in performance from April has been insane!

The next two weeks could be a breeze but we have the Dodgers and Cubs coming up in mid-August! Let’s go Jays!

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[–] streetfestival@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

I'd like to see how this team stacks up against Houston, but I think we're as competitive as anyone in the AL right now, so that could take us pretty deep in the playoffs. I guess one 'warning sign' would be that we're below league-average in home runs; this is a concern because power is more important for scoring runs in the playoffs than in the regular season.

Our defence is elite. Our hitting has been very good to elite for a while. Bottom of the order bats are out-performing expectations, Vladdy is under-performing expectations, and we might get another good bat or two back from the injury list next month in Varsho and Santander. So hitting isn't a priority. Pitching is our greatest need. Many would say that we don't have a true #1 pitcher for a playoff series, but our rotation is pretty deep. We could use 1 or 2 more late-inning relievers. Contracts for the majority of the rotation end this year or next. Even though the greatest win-now move is probably to get a relief pitcher, Blue Jays' front office has used the trade deadline in the past to pick up pitchers (after they've had Tommy John surgery) who have several years of control and then extend them (e.g., Berríos). They might do the same this year. I've heard there's like 1 pitcher (Joe Ryan, a Twin) who checks all the boxes of would be the #1 starting pitcher on our team, might get traded, and has years of team control left. A lot of teams probably want him. Trade deadline is like a week away