Blue Jays second-half storylines to watch
By: Andrew Hendriks
Canadian Baseball Network
Entering the second half of what would become Toronto’s first postseason campaign since winning it all in 1993, the Blue Jays had compiled an overall record of 45-46 and sat 4.5 games behind the front running New York Yankees in the East.
Following a flurry of activity that saw the club flip a handful of prospects in exchange for proven veterans such as Troy Tulowitzki, Ben Revere, Mark Lowe and David Price, Toronto surged down the stretch en route to winning 40 of their final 58 games following the trade deadline.
It was a run of dominance similar to the one demonstrated by Colorado Rockies in the fall of 2007. Colorado, a team who at 76-72 on September 16 proceeded to win 14 of their final 15 games prior to punching their ticket to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
Like the ’07 Rockies, who also benefited greatly by the presence of Tulowitzki in their lineup, the Blue Jays fell short of their championship aspirations last fall after a dramatic showdown with Kansas City.
With 91 games played in 2016, Toronto begins the second half having vastly improved on where they stood last July. Instead of being a game below .500, the team is 11 wins over that threshold, and only two games out of first place in the East.
As Toronto gets things started back up this weekend in Oakland, the stage has been set for another dramatic finish. Having won eight of their last nine games heading into the break, the Blue Jays, again, are within striking distance of reaching the World Series for the first time since Joe Carter“touched them all”.
SEEING DOUBLE
Coming out of the break in 2015, Josh Donaldson was slashing .295/.351/.532 over 394 first-half plate appearances. He would go on to produce a line of .297/.371/.568 with a career-high 41 home runs and 123 RBI for the season. Combined with Toronto’s second half dominance and eventual playoff berth, these figures were strong enough to earn the 29 year-old his first American League Most Valuable Player Award.
This year, Toronto’s slugging third baseman has eclipsed his 2015 first half totals by posting a robust line of .304/.418/.598 across an even 405 plate appearances. In addition to having a higher hit total, his strikeouts are down (68/76), walks are doubled (62/30) and the amount of runs scored by the three-time all star are up by 15.
Having scored his 80th run in Toronto’s 6-1 win over Detroit on Sunday, Donaldson became only the sixth player in American League history to have knocked at least 20 home runs while plating 80 runs himself prior to the All-Star break. The other five include Lou Gehrig (1936), Ted Williams (1946),Reggie Jackson (1969), Frank Thomas (1994) and Alex Rodriguez (2000).
In addition to joining the list of 20/80 guys in 1994, the Big Hurt (Thomas) also earned an American League MVP nod that season and became the first AL player to go back-to-back in MVP voting since Roger Maris did so in 1960-61.
Perhaps history will repeat itself this fall.
STEPPING UP
In order for any team to be successful, they need to benefit from a few welcome surprises over the course of a 162 game campaign. In 2015, it was career years from the likes of Chris Colabello and Liam Hendriks along with a breakout performance from Marco Estrada that helped propel the team to a 93 win finish.
To date, it’s been key contributions from Darwin Barney, Ezequiel Carrera and Rule-IV pick, Joe Biagini in 2016.
Known predominately for his outstanding glove work in the field, the former Chicago Cub has posted career highs in batting average (.296), on base percentage (.345) and slugging percentage (.392) over his first 64 games on the season. Utilized in a utility role, Barney’s steady approach at the plate --coupled with the same fielding prowess that earned the 30 year-old product of Beaverton, Oregon a gold glove in 2012-- has unseated Ryan Goins as the teams go-to infielder when either Donaldson, Tulowitzki or Devon Travis can’t answer the bell.
In 98 plate appearances since taking over for an injured Jose Bautista on June 17th, Carrera’s posted an on-base-percentage of .340 while playing exceptional defence in the field. For context, his OBP over that stretch is only 20 points lower than where Toronto's slugging right fielder had been prior to the time of his injury in Philadelphia. Although he doesn’t provide the team with the same kind of home run pop as Joey Bats, Carrera's versatility in the outfield and ability to work the count as not gone unnoticed.
The Blue Jays have always had a successful record when it comes to plucking Rule IV picks away from rival organizations. Be it Willie Upshaw, George Bell,Kelly Gruber, Manny Lee… the list is an impressive one, and barring a complete meltdown in the second half, Toronto can will likely add Biagini to the register of impact selectees come seasons end.
Although his vitals have been inflated during recent action (likely due to a heavy workload earlier in the year), the 26 year-old retains an impressive earned run average of 2.91, which is seventh best among AL rookie relievers with at least 20 innings pitched on the season.
THE SKED AHEAD
Of the 71 games that remain on the Blue Jays schedule in 2016, more than half come against teams that are currently. 500 or below. Of the 37 in total, two games are against Arizona (38-52), three against Minnesota (32-56), seven against Los Angeles (37-52), and nine games vs. Tampa Bay (34-54). All four of these clubs enter the second half sitting at the bottom of their respective divisions.
Conversely, Toronto also squares off against Boston and Baltimore another 15 times in the second half. This includes the final six games of the regular season, three of which will be played at Fenway Park. Boston resumes play on Friday tied with Toronto for two games back of Baltimore in the East.
-Follow Andrew Hendriks on Twitter (@77hendriks)