While the season ended with disappointment for the Blue Jays and their fans as they fell one game short of a wildcard spot, the season as a whole was anything but. Of course, the goal in any sport is to win a championship, but just because the Jays didn’t make the playoffs, doesn’t mean the season was a failure. The Jays won 91 games, and that itself is an impressive accomplishment. Since the second wildcard spot was introduced in 2012, 91 wins would have been enough to secure one of the two spots in four of the last seven years, excluding the shortened 2020 season. Even though it wasn’t enough this year, there are still a lot of positive things to look back on and plenty of takeaways from the season.
The most obvious highlight was the breakout season for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Guerrero debuted in 2019, and while his first two seasons weren’t poor per se, they were below expectations given all the hype that was built up for the then-19-year-old number one prospect in baseball. Last offseason, Guerrero worked extremely hard to get his body into better shape, going into the 2021 season 40 pounds lighter. One of the big questions coming into the season was, would all the work that he put in the offseason translate to more success on the diamond? To put it simply, it did. Vladdy hit .311/.401/.601 with 48 homeruns, 111 RBI, and had an OPS of 1.002. He led the majors in runs scored with 123, was tied for most homeruns, and had the highest OBP, SLG, OPS, and OPS+ in the American League. He was challenging for the Triple Crown for most of the season and will likely finish as the American League MVP runner-up. Guerrero’s season was historic, setting the MLB record for most homeruns in a season by a player age 22 or younger.
Guerrero wasn’t the only player with a historic season, though. Marcus Semien, who the Jays signed for only one-year at $18 million, had himself a career year. He set the record for most homeruns by a second baseman in a season with 45. Semien was a vital part of the Jays’ offense and served as an excellent leadoff man in the absence of George Springer. He also came up with some big hits for the Jays, including walk-off homeruns against the Red Sox, and his former team, the Oakland Athletics. It wasn’t just his performance on the diamond that was valuable, he was a great leader and teammate off the field as well. After the final game of the season, Bo was asked what Semien meant to him, and while holding back tears, Bo said, “Everything. He meant a lot to me.” Semien is going to become a free-agent and it would behoove the Jays to re-sign him, but it is unknown if Marcus has any desire to return or if he would rather go to a team where he can play shortstop again.
Coming into the season, the starting rotation was seen as the team’s biggest weakness. They had their ace Hyun Jin Ryu at the top, but a lot of uncertainty afterwards. They signed Robbie Ray to a one-year $8 million deal and traded for Steven Matz from the Mets, but no one really knew how effective they would be. Matz performed quite well and finished the season very strong, and Robbie Ray is probably going to win the Cy Young Award. Ray had an incredible year, and what made him so successful was his ability to strike people out, and limit walks. He led the majors in strikeouts with 248, and had a career-best walk percentage of 6.7%. He also had an ERA of 2.84 and a WHIP of 1.045, both of which led the American League.
Another bright spot in the rotation was the emergence of Alek Manoah. The rookie right-hander caught the attention of Blue Jays fans in Spring Training with some impressive outings, and then had a hot start in Triple-A. He made his major league debut on May 27th and added some much-needed stability to the rotation. He only threw 111.2 innings in the season, but finished with a respectable 3.22 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He also set the record for fewest number of games to reach 100 career strikeouts, as he accomplished that feat in only 17 games.
The bullpen was a weak spot for a while in the middle of the year, but there were two key pieces of the pen that had breakout seasons – Tim Mayza and Jordan Romano. It was on September 13th, 2019, when Mayza’s arm “blew up” as he delivered a pitch to then-Yankee shortstop Didi Gregorious. Mayza fell to the ground in pain and, although you can never assume the extent of any injury when it first happens, most baseball fans knew that Mayza was going to be out for a very long time. Mayza had to undergo Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter and would not pitch at all in 2020. He was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training this year and had to prove he belonged in the bullpen. After a very impressive Spring, Mayza earned his spot and went north with the club to start the season on the big-league roster. Mayza developed into one of the Jays’ best relievers and soon found himself pitching in high leverage situations. He finished with a career best 0.98 WHIP and held opposing hitters to a .230 batting average. After everything that Mayza went through, it was wonderful to see him have the success that he did this year.
Markham native Jordan Romano also had an outstanding year and earned the roll of the team’s closer. With a fastball that can hit 100mph and a devastating slider, Romano became the most trusted and dominant reliever in the pen. There was a stretch of time in the middle of the season when he struggled with the homerun ball, but after making a change to his delivery, got his season back on track. He finished with a strikeout percentage of 33.6%, which was in the top 5% of the league, an ERA of 2.14, an opposing batting average of .181, and 23 saves. A dominant closer is instrumental to a team’s success, and the Jays may have found theirs in Romano.
Other positive takeaways included Teoscar continuing to show he can be one of the best offensive players in the game. He may not take a lot of walks, but he has significantly cut down on the strikeouts. Bichette is also developing into possibly one of the best offensive shortstops in the league. He had 191 hits which led the American League, and he also set the record for the most homeruns by a shortstop in Blue Jays history with 29. The blockbuster trade acquisition of José Berríos on July 31st told Jays fans that the front office is serious about winning and was even willing to trade their top prospect. Berríos pitched well for the Jays in the final two months of the season, and with him still under control for next year, he could take the reigns as the next Blue Jays ace, should they lose Ray in free agency.
When looking back at the 2021 Toronto Blue Jays, yes it was disappointing that they just missed the playoffs, but the season was still a very positive one overall. The young position core of Vlad, Bo, and Teoscar had breakout seasons, Manoah demonstrated that he could be a future ace, and Mayza and Romano showed that they can be dominant bullpen arms. There is work that needs to be done in the offseason to take this team to the next level, but as fun as 2021 was, it was likely just the beginning of a new era of Toronto Blue Jays baseball.