For the third time in four years, the Toronto Blue Jays are going to the playoffs. Prior to the season, most people would have predicted the Jays to not just be a postseason team, but be the AL East division winner. Obviously, as it played out, they were never close to winning the division thanks to the meteoric rise of the Baltimore Orioles – something most people didn’t see coming – but the Jays have still earned themselves a playoff spot through the wildcard. It has been a rollercoaster of a season for the Jays and their fans, as this path to the postseason has not come easy. Though, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you make it, just as long as you do.
Over the last few years, the Jays have been an offence first team that could slug and homer themselves to victory. This year, even with some changes to the lineup, they were expected to be more of the same. However, things didn’t quite play out like that. They finish the season being middle of the pack in high offensive categories like homeruns, slugging, and OPS. This is mainly due to them lacking a strong cleanup hitter the middle of the lineup, and guys like Chapman, Springer, and to a degree, Vladdy having down years.
Despite the offence not being as powerful as expected, their pitching on the hand, has been better than ever. Even with Manoah essentially being a non-factor this season, thanks to incredible bounce-back seasons by Berríos and Kikuchi, they have one of the best rotations in baseball. Not only have the quartet of Gausman, Bassitt, Berríos and Kikuchi been very effective this season, they have all been healthy and have each made at least 31 starts. The Jays are the only team in baseball that has four pitchers make at least 31 starts, and no other team has even three.
Even the bullpen, which has been a bit of a kryptonite for the Jays the last few seasons, has been extremely effective. You have the two Jordans (Romano and Hicks), throwing gas at the back end, and have multiple other guys that can come in earlier in the game in a big spot and you feel extremely confident with. The pitching staff as a whole is essentially the reason they even made the playoffs because of how good and consistent they have been.
They say pitching and defence wins championships, and the Jays have those in spades. Just because they are a wildcard team, doesn’t mean they don’t have a shot at going to the World Series. Just look at the Phillies last year. They clinched a playoff spot in the final few days of the season, and rode that momentum all the way to Game 6 of the World Series. Also, the fact that the Jays have played so many important, and close games down the stretch, it has almost been as if they have been playoff games for the last month. That could help, because they had to fight their way into the postseason and could carry some of that momentum forward, again, similar to the Philles last year.
It definitely won’t be easy for the Jays, but you cannot write them off right away, mainly because of how good their pitching is. If the offence can come through with some timely, and big hits, the Jays could be a dangerous team and will have as good of a chance as anyone in the AL to win the pennant. The other thing the Jays have going for them, is that unlike the NL with the Braves, there is no juggernaut that looks unbeatable. Every team in the AL has their flaws, even the Orioles who are the top team in the AL.
It’s almost impossible to predict how the playoffs will play out, as any player could step up at any moment and be a hero. Regardless how things unfold, it has been a heck of season for the Jays. Full of highs and lows, and celebrations and heartbreaks, but as long as you make the playoffs, those terrible losses in May don’t matter anymore. The regular season may not have gone exactly how the Jays would have hoped, but at the end of the day, they are in the postseason, and that’s all that matters.