Blue Jays: Ranking and Dissecting the First Half

With a record of 41-47 to close out the first half, the Blue Jays have come up short of their expectations in 2017. We’ll take a look at what’s gone well, all that’s gone wrong, and what the future may hold for the team.

It’s been one of the most inconsistent seasons I can remember as a baseball fan, which has culminated in the Blue Jays sitting in last place in the AL East, and 8.5 back of the Red Sox. They’re 5.0 games back in the Wild Card race as well, but have to leapfrog seven teams in order to take one of the two spots. That’s a tall order, even at this early (ish) stage of the season.

Not everything has been bad, as we’ve watched Justin Smoak transform into an All-Star before our eyes, and he will represent the club at the Mid-Summer classic on Tuesday. He’ll be joined by Roberto Osuna, who has been as dominant as any closer in baseball this year.

However, the bad far outweighs the good for the Blue Jays this season, which isn’t hard to figure out when you look at how things have gone. They’ve had tremendous struggles to overcome in the injury department, including the likes of Devon Travis, Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and more on offence, and Aaron Sanchez, J.A. Happ, Francisco Liriano and plenty more on the pitching staff.

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/883385913967038464

It hasn’t just been the injury issues though, as even those who’ve managed to stay healthy have largely struggled on the diamond. One could argue that their two All-Stars are the only players who’ve outperformed expectations, and that’s not exactly a recipe for a contending team.

Let’s have a look at each department of the team, and break down what’s gone wrong for such a talented roster.