Toronto Blue Jays Home Stand – The Hot and Cold Of It

The trade deadline has come and gone which has left management, players and fans getting a glimpse of the future for the rest of the season. 

The Blue Jays finished up their home stand with an even 5-5 record, and with all things considered it something of a bright side, as the club lost Lourdes Gurriel Jr. after the first game, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr near the end.

They also had a couple good results by splitting the series with the Yankees and beating the Rangers, but the bats went cold against the Mariners.

Here is a look at who was hot and cold during the home stand: 

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Reese McGuire
McGuire got into four games and was great overall in those appearance.  He threw out three out of four base runners, including two runners in one game.  He also had a good looking 3-2-3 double play against the Yankees.  McGuire hit 6 for 13 (.462) with two home runs, two doubles and had four runs scored.

Danny Jansen
I wouldn’t say it was a bad week defensively for Jansen, but opponents were 6-7 stealing off him, which gives him 14% success rate, but I’ll chalk that up to a small sample size.  At the plate Jansen was 7 for 20 (.350) with three home runs and seven RBI.  This gives the team a .394 average with five home runs from their catching duo.  This should be the pair for the next 2-3 years.

Randal Grichuk
Grichuk tied Teoscar Hernandez with four home runs and was the leader in RBIs with eight, while chipping in a double and triple as well.  His average was .243, which is pretty much what you can expect from him going forward.

Derek Law
I will be the first to admit I am wrong on Law.  A month ago I was saying the Jays should DFA him, but he has been as good as a reliever gets in the majors over the last month.  On July 18, he had an ERA of 6.89 and has not allowed a run since in 13 appearances.  This past home stand he pitched four times for a total of 4 2/3 innings surrendering just five base runners with four strikeouts and no runs.  His ERA has dropped to 4.70 on the season.

Jason Adam
Adam had two appearances before he fell into the numbers game and was sent back to Buffalo. Adam pitched a total of four innings allowing just two base runners and didn’t allow a run.  It is just a small sample size so the Jays really need to see what they have in Adam and if he can be part of the bullpen next year.

Trent Thornton
Thornton had one good game and one really good game, which resulted in no wins and one loss; sometimes that happens.  Over 12 innings, Thornton had a 1.08 WHIP and a 3.00 ERA.

Here is a look at who was cold and struggled during the home stand:

Derek Fisher
He did hit two home runs, but also struck out 12 times in 25 plate appearances and batted .160.  I have a feeling no matter how much he struggles the Jays will give him 120 games next year.

Cavan Biggio
It is hard to give Biggio such a low rating with the rough strike calls he has been getting, but he led the team with 16 strikeouts and batted just .179.  Biggio needs to adjust to the umpires atrocious strike zone they have out for him or he’ll keep getting rung up.

Thomas Pannone
Pannone did have a good appearance against Texas where he pitched four shutout innings, however he struggled in his duties against the Yankees and Seattle.  Pannone pitched 10 innings, allowed 12 hits and 10 earned runs.

Buddy Boshers
I don’t understand why he is taking up a roster spot and why he is being used so much.  Boshers led the team with five appearances where he threw four 3 2/3 innings with a WHIP near two and an ERA of 7.36.

Zack Godley
The waiver pick up has not been a good one and Godley can’t be sticking around for very long.  He had three appearances and allowed runs in every game.  In total, Godley allowed six runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 innings for an 8.53 ERA.

It is clear that the team has hitting and are struggling with pitching as I could have added a couple more guys to the list.  For the most part the hitting has been really good and even the cold hitters have been bringing some sort of positive aspect to the plate.  Cheers to the road trip!