Blue Jays: Trying to tactfully sum up the first half of the 2018 season

Underperformance

If we’re talking about the list of players who have failed to meet or beat their expectations this year, it would nearly cover the entire roster. There are obvious exceptions like Happ, Solarte, Curtis Granderson, and a few others, but the majority of the team has performed below what most of us had hoped to see.

Russell Martin had a terrible first half, and will look to salvage the remainder of the campaign and help the team pick up a few more victories. While he’s been worth 0.8 bWAR largely due to his defensive value, he’s continued to stumble at the plate. He finished the first half hitting just .172, and picking up just six home runs and 17 RBI in 62 games played.

When Stroman and Sanchez have been healthy, neither has been the type of “front of the rotation” option the Blue Jays were hoping for. Stroman has been significantly better since returning from the DL, but his season has been a disaster for the most part. Sanchez managed to stay healthy until the contusion on his finger has kept him out, but was just 3-5 with a 4.62 ERA. Add that on to Garcia’s 6.16 ERA which lead to him losing his rotation spot, and even Estrada’s 4.72 ERA, and it’s been anything but ideal for the starting group.

Then there were the epic struggles of Morales and Grichuk I mentioned earlier. Morales was a routine target for fans and writers online, with most of us (myself included) calling for the Jays to cut him loose as he struggled through the first couple of months. Grichuk wasn’t much better, but being a lot younger and cheaper, he didn’t face quite the same level of wrath. Kevin Pillar’s hot start to the year has provided him a much longer leash than he likely would have had otherwise, but he’s regressed back to even below his normal offensive standards.

Add the below-expected production together with the ridiculous amount of injuries, and it’s been a recipe for disaster for the Blue Jays. The proof is definitely in the standings, as even the Rays are ahead of the boys in blue right now, which is really disappointing for a number of reasons. Thankfully the Orioles have been as bad as they’ve ever been, keeping the Blue Jays out of the basement of the AL East this year.