They say you can’t win a division in April, but you can lose one. Given the competitiveness of the AL East, it was paramount that the Blue Jays got off to a good start. They could not afford to fall too far behind the other teams in the division if they seriously plan to contend for the division title. Finishing April with a record of 14-8, the Jays find themselves in second place in the division.
Coming into the season, the biggest strength of the team was thought to be their potent lineup. With a healthy Springer at the top, an MVP in the middle, and the addition of Matt Chapman, their lineup looked to be one of the best, and deepest in the American League. However, they have yet to fire on all cylinders. Two of the biggest issues so far have been the injury to Hernández, and Bichette’s season long struggles.
Coming off his second consecutive silver-slugger season, Hernández is proving to be one of the best offensive outfielders in the game. Hitting behind Guerrero, the Jays’ clean-up hitter was having a very good start to his year before getting injured in the sixth game of the season. Hernández went on the injured list on April 14th with a left oblique strain and is still working his way back. The hope is that he can return when the Jays head to Cleveland to take on the Guardians on Thursday, but obliques are a very tricky injury and setbacks can occur at any time. His absence doesn’t just a leave a hole in the middle of the lineup, but now there is less protection for Guerrero who was hitting in front of him.
Bo Bichette has yet to find his groove at the plate and has struggled all season. It’s still early in the season, and there is no reason to think he won’t figure it out and be the player everyone knows he can be, but right now, it’s been tough to watch. Bichette has always been a free swinger, and has never been known to take many walks, but this season he has been swinging and missing a lot. He has one of the worst chase rates and whiff percentages in the league, and his strikeout percentage is nearly 30%. Fans are starting to suggest it may be time to take Bo out of the two-hole and drop him down in the lineup, but I don’t know how much that is going to help. He will still have the same approach at the plate, and until he is able to lay off the pitches down-and-away, I think he will struggle regardless of where he hits in the lineup.
The pitching has been pretty good for the most part and has been the reason the Jays have won many of their games. Gausman has been as advertised and has shown why the Jays signed him to that 5-year, $110 million deal this past offseason. And Manoah is continuing the success he had in his rookie season. He is 4-0 so far this season with a 1.44 ERA, and the Jays have won each of Manoah’s last 12 starts going back to last season.
The bullpen which was an issue for the Jays in the middle parts of last season, has been solid so far, but may be a little overworked. They have had to pitch a lot of innings in the early going due to starters not going deep into games. Plus, with the lack of runs scored by the offence, the pen it forced to be next to perfect to preserve one or two run leads. Closer Jordon Romano has been lights out, leads the AL in saves, and is emerging as one of the top closers in the game. The only concern is that he has pitched a lot in the last few weeks, and you don’t want to have to tax your pen so often so early in the season.
Overall, the Jays have started the season quite well given the injuries that they have, plus a tough schedule. They have battled, are winning games that last year they probably would’ve lost, and they are winning a lot of close games. They are 8-2 in one-run games, and for reference, last season, their 8th one-run win came on the 123rd game of the season. Although, it would be nice to see the offence get hot and put up some crooked numbers in a game or two to take some pressure off the pitching staff. As the weather gets better, the offence should heat up as well and we’ll see guys performing like they are capable of. There are still months of games left to play, and in baseball anything can happen, but the Jays have come out of the gates strong, and that’s all you can ask for.