Blue Jays: Signs of optimism from Sean Reid-Foley’s stint in the bigs

Sean Reid-Foley got to the big leagues in August of 2018 and after a rocky start, he finished quite strong with tons of signs of optimism for the Blue Jays.

The Toronto Blue Jays rotation seems very much up in the air following the winter meetings in Las Vegas. There’s some definite interest in Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if one’s moved this off-season and another in season by the deadline. The Blue Jays are going to need some arms to fill innings this year. Ryan Borucki should be penciled in as should Sean Reid-Foley, who had some encouraging numbers in September.

The surface stats aren’t overly good looking for Reid-Foley. In 33.1 innings, his BB/9 was an ugly 5.67 and HR/9 of 1.62. He had a 5.13 ERA, 4.96 FIP, and 4.21 xFIP at season’s end. Control is a big issue for Reid-Foley and when he gets himself into trouble, he had difficulty getting out of it. The home run ball was also a bit of an issue but control factors into that as well.

Despite some poor surface numbers, there was a lot of good from Reid-Foley in 2018, especially in September. In 24.0 September innings, he had a 3.75 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and just two home runs allowed. The 15 walks were still an issue for Reid-Foley but he limited the damage with only 18 hits allowed and those two home runs allowed. He was able to wiggle out of trouble.

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Reid-Foley does have the stuff to be able to succeed at the major league level. Here’s a breakdown of his pitches from 2018:

• Fastball – 93.7 MPH, 17 hits, 18 strikeouts, .279 BA (.244 XBA), 29.0 Whiff %
• Slider – 83.6 MPH, 4 hits, 20 strikeouts, .095 BA (.104 XBA), 37.7 Whiff%
• Sinker – 93.8 MPH, 4 hits, 1 strikeout, .500 BA (.297 XBA), 11.1 Whiff%
• Changeup – 85.3 MPH, 3 hits, 0 strikeouts, .500 BA (.397 XBA), 25.0 Whiff%
• Curveball – 81.4 MPH, 3 hits, 3 strikeouts, .300 BA (.305 XBA), 18.8 Whiff%

There’s a ton of swing and miss in Reid-Foley’s arsenal. On the season, he had a 29.1 whiff%. His slider was virtually untouchable once he got to the big leagues in 2018. There’s a ton of spin on Reid-Foley’s fastball and slider as well. His changeup in a very limited sample size of only 50 changeups thrown proved to be effective when Reid-Foley used it.

If Sean Reid-Foley can nab his control issues, he has all the makings of a guy who can pile up on the strikeouts and have dominant games in the big leagues. It’s all there for him with his stuff. Now, it’s time to harness it.