Blue Jays: Five Bold Predictions For The 2019 Season

After a painfully long winter, it’s almost time for Opening Day and the start to another season of baseball. Here are five bold Blue Jays predictions for the 2019 season.

1. Aaron Sanchez makes AL Cy Young voting list

The Blue Jays starting rotation enters the 2019 season with a great deal of uncertainty. Whether it’s injury concerns or lack of consistent success, not one of the projected Blue Jays starters can be trusted upon for a good season.

That being said, the Blue Jays have a pitcher that when healthy, has the makings of a true ace – one that can carry the rotation throughout the course of a long season. That pitcher is Aaron Sanchez.

Sanchez flashed his tantalizing potential in 2016 when he had a 3.00 ERA in 192 innings. In the past two seasons, Sanchez has failed to stay healthy due to a multitude of finger-related injuries.

However, none of these injuries are particularly concerning as they seem to lack the potential of future re-occurrences. All reports coming out of Spring Training seem to indicate a healthy Aaron Sanchez and with a little more luck staying healthy, Sanchez has all the tools to orchestrate an ace-caliber 2019 season.

2. Randal Grichuk and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. combine to hit over 70 home runs.

With the departures of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion coupled with Josh Donaldson‘s injury-plagued season, the Blue Jays lacked their typical offensive firepower that fans had become accustomed to in seasons prior. In the 2019 season, look for that firepower to come back stronger than ever through Randal Grichuk and Vlad Jr.

In Grichuk’s case, hitting over 35 home runs isn’t too much of a bold prediction. After a slow start to the 2018 season, Grichuk made a slight mechanical tweak that saw him hit 23 home runs in 99 games after June 1. Projecting those stats over 162 games results in 35-40 home runs over a full season.

As for Vlad Jr., there are some quiet doubts that his in-game power won’t immediately show in 2019. While it’s true that Guerrero Jr. is more of a line-drive oriented hitter right now, he still hit 20 home runs in 95 games last year in the minors.

Maybe he doesn’t hit 40 this year, but 30 home runs with a sparkling batting average seem to be a realistically optimistic prediction for baseball’s top prospect.

4. Elvis Luciano stays on the MLB roster for the full season

By now, most Blue Jays fans should know about the 19-year-old Rule-5 draft pick who might beat Vlad. Jr to the big leagues. As it stands right now, Elvis Luciano is not necessarily guaranteed a roster spot on Opening Day.

If he makes it, it’ll be as a reliever, and there seem to be quite a few spots up for grabs. Ken Giles and Ryan Tepera are guaranteed spots while Tim Mayza has a clear advantage due to the lack of quality left-handed options in the pen. Luciano will have to battle Joe Biagini, Sam Gaviglio, David Phelps, Trent Thornton, David Paulino, and perhaps even Clayton Richard for the remaining 4-5 spots.

While it may seem like a long shot for a 19-year-old who last pitched in rookie-ball to make an MLB roster, based on Ross Atkins’ comments, it may not be a far-fetched idea.

“THIS IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY. TO ACQUIRE A YOUNG, POTENTIAL STARTING PITCHER THAT’S 19 YEARS OLD, THAT HAS ALL OF THE ATTRIBUTES TO PITCH IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES, IS NOT EASY TO DO. IT PRESENTED ITSELF AND WE HAVE THE ROSTER FLEXIBILITY TO DO IT.”

The Blue Jays front office seems to be really high on the potential of Luciano, and based on Atkins’ “roster flexibility” comment, giving a 25-man roster spot to Luciano looks to very much be a possibility.

Furthermore, Luciano has impressed a lot of people so far in Spring Training with his maturity and poise, which further helps his case of pitching at the MLB level. With an already effective fastball-changeup combination, look for Luciano to pitch adequately as a low-leverage reliever while being sent down in 2020 to further his development as a starter.

5. Jose Bautista retires, signs a one-day contract with the Blue Jays

With the game becoming younger by the day, it’s becoming extremely hard for veterans like Jose Bautista to find jobs. In 2018, Bautista was a serviceable player. Though he had a horrendous .203 average, he still posted a very strong .348 OBP that resulted in a 107 wRC+ and 1.0 fWAR.

Sadly, “serviceable” may not be enough to find a guaranteed MLB contract. In fact, with a player like Adam Jones struggling to find work, it seems very likely that the only options available for Jose Bautista are of the MiLB variety.

Given his age and pride, expecting Jose Bautista to play much longer seems unrealistic. Rather, a bold (?) prediction would be for Bautista to retire in 2019, sign a one-day contract with the Blue Jays, and deservedly see his name placed on the Blue Jays Level of Excellence.