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Blue Jays: Looking back at 2020 season Predictions

By Reuben Gasee

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - AUGUST 30: Toronto Blue Jays celebrate after Teoscar Hernandez #42 hit a walk-off two run single to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 at Sahlen Field on August 30, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The day honoring Jackie Robinson, traditionally held on April 15, was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - AUGUST 30: Toronto Blue Jays celebrate after Teoscar Hernandez #42 hit a walk-off two run single to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 at Sahlen Field on August 30, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The day honoring Jackie Robinson, traditionally held on April 15, was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) /
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BUFFALO, NEW YORK – AUGUST 26: Rowdy Tellez #44 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a one run home run during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Sahlen Field on August 26, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NEW YORK – AUGUST 26: Rowdy Tellez #44 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a one run home run during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Sahlen Field on August 26, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) /

Prediction #2- Rowdy Tellez leads team in HR

Rowdy Tellez is a big dude, and big dudes usually means a powerful bat, which leads to big, far hits, which equates to home runs.

Back when I was running a simulated season while MLB was put on pause due to COVID-19, Tellez led the team in home runs. While I didn’t keep track of home runs for each individual player, it was clear that Tellez was the one on the Blue Jays putting the most balls over the fence. I also had Tellez bat cleanup or fifth on a regular basis due to his power.

While the simulated season I did meant nothing in regards to translating over to real life baseball, there’s another reason why I had Tellez leading the team in homers, and that’s because of his stats in previous seasons.

In his 23 game sample size in 2018, his first in the big leagues, he hit four bombs in 23 games with a slugging percentage of .614. In 2019, he played in 111 games, going yard 21 times with a slugging percentage of .449. His 21 home runs in 2019 were good for fourth most on the team.

This season in 35 games played, he went yard eight times along with a slugging percentage of .540. While he didn’t lead the team in home runs, his slugging percentage showed that the power is there.

Another thing that factored into this prediction I made was playing time. I knew consistent playing time was going to be hard to get for Tellez as Charlie Montoyo also wanted to get at-bats for Derek Fisher and Alejandro Kirk when he was called up. Also, Tellez dealt with a knee injury which kept him out for a bit.

It was Teoscar Hernandez who led the team in home runs this season with 16.

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