Blue Jays AL East Recap: Signs of Hope

Each week, Jays Journal will take a look at the bigger picture of the American League East to help frame not only where the Blue Jays are in the standings, but why they are there.

New York Yankees: 20-9
Baltimore Orioles: 20-10
Boston Red Sox: 17-14
Tampa Bay Rays: 16-17
Toronto Blue Jays: 11-20

The Blue Jays once again played a week of .500 Baseball. Not tremendous, but much better than the first two weeks of the season. In fact, the Jays have played at this level since the disastrous start. More impressive, they have managed to do this without the likes of Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, J.A. Happ, and Aaron Sanchez. If the Blue Jays can keep this pace without them, they may be able to stab at contention in June and July when they are back. The Blue Jays have also received support form unlikely places.

Darwin Barney hit the game winning home run on Sunday afternoon, and has been an admirable part-time fill in. Ezequiel Carrera‘s hitting streak came to an end on Sunday, but won’t know until Monday if he has an in the park home run or the genuine thing. The Trop everyone. Joe Biagini, who blew a game against the Yankees earlier in the week, was excellent in his first MLB start. He’s expected to start again, as there is still not return time for Happ.

Final Takeaway:

The Blue Jays appear to be getting back on track. If they can keep this pace up without the All Stars that are on the shelf, imagine what they can do once the cavalry returns.

Yankees are Sole Kings of the East
20-9

The Bronx Bombers enter play Monday the sole leaders of the AL East. They have been strong in every aspect of the game. Aaron Judge and the offense has murdered opposing pitchers. New Yorks rotation has struggled, but has lasted long enough to give the game to their bullpen. The Yankee bullpen has been one of the strongest in baseball. Not only have Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman been as good as advertised (despite the latter’s blown save Sunday night), the entire pen has helped to pull their own weight.

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The Yankees have passed every test so far. Able to slay every foe in the East, they added a new victim to that list. During the weekend, the Yankees swept the World Champion Cubs, including an 18 inning marathon on Sunday night. The sky seems to be the limit for this young team. The youth movement has arrived in New York, and it is here to stay.

Final Takeaway:

New York gets some easier foes this week, but after slaying the World Champions, it all gets a little easier.

Orioles Fighting for First
20-10

The Baltimore Orioles enter Monday out of first place for the first time in 2017. They have battled better than most this year, and are very much in the mix, only a half a game out. The Orioles offense was always supposed to be excellent, but their rotation was the big question mark. The Orioles rotation has been a revelation so far. Dylan Bundy looks like the certifiable ace, even as staff ace Chris Tillman came back and dazzled for 7 innings. Tillman and Bundy is as good a top of the rotation as any staff, if not the best when they’re performing like that. Baltimore’s ace closer Zach Britton returned from the Disabled List only to land immediately back on it.

The Orioles played a rough series against the Red Sox, to start the week. Though they ended with a tied series, they ended up with the morale high ground. The team responded well to rude and racist comments from some rowdy fans. Division rivalries are always rough, this was particularly nasty.

Final Takeaway:

The Orioles are a real threat in the early going of this season. Expect them to challenge and chase the top spot all year.

Rotation Wows, Bullpen Woes
16-17

The Tampa Bay Rays are once again find themselves hovering under .500. Their successes have impacted them as much as their failures. Tampa’s rotation is the stuff it was meant to be. Chris Archer is been in top form Matt Andriese has dazzled. Alex Cobb has looked very good lately and Jake Odorizzi has returned from the Disabled List. Their excellence and ability to go late in the game has done wonders for the Rays. Tampa’s offense has been more hit than miss lately, and can help get the team the runs it needs to win.

Yet the reason they find themselves under .500 is due to their injury riddled bullpen. While Alex Colome rebounded nicely this week, the rest of the staff was pretty banged up. Erasmo Ramirez has shored up the bullpen some, but the Rays will need to get some of the many arms off the Disabled List to truly fix it.

Next: Blue Jays' Aaron Sanchez throws successful pen session

Final Takeaway:

The Rays are a tale of two teams right now. If the bullpen can support the staff better, they can achieve great success. If they cannot, their season will be over rather quickly.