Toronto Blue Jays: What if the 2021 season started today

What if the MLB season started today, have the Toronto Blue Jays done enough to be a postseason contender in 2021.

The brain trust has assembled what should be one of the most feared offensive lineups in the majors, however, their starting rotation may be their Achilles Heel as Ross Atkins and company have done little to shore up the rotation.

As it currently stands the likes of Matt Shoemaker and Taijuan Walker are no longer in the picture from last season although both remain unsigned. In turn the Blue Jays have added Steven Matz and opted to bring Robbie Ray back into the fold.

The rotation is assembled with ace Hyun Jin Ryu leading the charge at the front of the pack, however, it gets a bit dicey from there with the likes of Nate Pearson, Tanner Roark, Matz and Ray all in line for starts this season.

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Pearson will need to have a breakout season if the current pecking order remains the same in the rotation.

For any fantasy baseball enthusiasts, the latest updated Yahoo player rankings should put it in perspective for you. Hat tip to Kevin Dunbar for pointing out the preseason rankings to me.

Ryu- 87th
Pearson- 233rd
Matz- 2747th
Roark- 2754th
Ray- 2756th

Those aren’t typos folks, three hurlers are ranked near oblivion and for arguments sake free agent pitchers James Paxton is ranked 244nd, Jake Odorizzi 275th, and Taijuan Walker 302nd. Any or all of those three arms would drastically bolster the current state of affairs in the rotation.

Will the offence be so good that the pitching won’t matter, I hardly doubt you can ride the lumber for an entire 162 games?

The additions of George Springer and Marcus Semien will undoubtedly be difference makers but I am not convinced they have done enough to be legitimate contenders. At this point they need to go all in on pitching, not Trevor Bauer but Walker and Paxton could solidify the arms.

If you are in for a penny, you are in for a pound, the Blue Jays committed a lifetime worth of pennies to Springer, so now is the time to throw some at some starting pitching. The time is now……