4 Blue Jays that need to step up for Toronto to stand a chance in 2023

Alek Manoah

The rotation has been -- for the most part -- a source of stability this season for the Blue Jays, thanks to a combination of consistency but also durability. As a result, they are fourth in the Majors in ERA, third in strikeouts and 10th in batting average.

Making all of this more impressive, is the reality the Blue Jays have achieved this without a steady fifth option. This is where Alek Manoah comes in.

Manoah entered this season as the staff ace, following a sensational 2022 campaign. He was selected to the All-Star Game, finished third in AL Cy Young voting and named to the All-MLB first team.

The world seemed to be at the feet of the 25-year-old, but then it all started to break apart beneath him. He got a shock right out of the gate, allowing nine hits, two walks and five runs on opening day, in an outing which lasted just 3.1 innings.

April offered glimpses of what Manoah was capable of, including allowing just two hits and no runs in 7.0 innings versus the Yankees in New York. However, he also pitched another disaster, giving up nine hits and seven runs in 4.2 innings against the Rays.

In May, the bad starts were becoming more frequent, with all areas of the Homestead, Florida native's game failing him, highlighted by significant issues with his location. Enough was finally enough, after he allowed seven hits and six runs in just 0.1 innings early in June, versus the Astros.

In a move Manoah wasn't happy about, the Blue Jays optioned him to the rookie-level Florida Complex League. You further wondered just how bad things were, when he subsequently gave up 11 runs in just 2.2 innings during an outing with the affiliate.

However, following a promising outing for Double-A New Hampshire, the righty was recalled to the Blue Jays somewhat earlier than anticipated. Since his return results have still been mixed in five starts, with a 4.26 ERA and 1.382 WHIP.

For some context, prior to being optioned to Florida, Manoah recorded a 6.36 ERA and 1.897 WHIP. In other words, however you choose to base you assessment of him, there has been reason for some encouragement since he rejoined the Blue Jays.

The next step is for the 2019 11th overall draft pick to continue showing some improvement, no matter how minor. As much as the Blue Jays would obviously love to see a return to last year's form, even being a reliable fifth option at this stage would help with the team's overall results.

Nate Pearson

As a collective, the Blue Jays bullpen is doing just fine. They're seventh in the Majors in ERA, tied sixth in WHIP and tied 11th in batting average.

However, as we recently wrote, the available talent alludes to the bullpen being capable of even more. And in some respects this is encapsulated by Nate Pearson.

Pearson's potential as a top prospect, led to the Blue Jays selecting him in the first round of the 2017 draft. However, it's been anything but plain sailing for him up to this point of his professional career.

In the end, it took a decision to move the 26-year-old from the rotation to the bullpen, for him to finally show what he was capable of. Along these lines, the 2023 campaign started off extremely well for him after he was called up on April. 24.

Through his first 13 appearances out of the bullpen Pearson was excellent, recording a 1.59 ERA and 0.941 WHIP in 17.0 combined innings. Then the cracks started to appear, beginning in New York versus the Mets.

Regardless, the breaking point came in Seattle, when the Odessa, Florida native allowed three hits and four earned runs, only registering one out in the process. The result was he blew the save and lost the game for the Blue Jays.

At this point, Pearson was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to work on some adjustments. He returned soon after and looked good for a couple of outings, before having another nightmare against the Orioles.

As a result, the righty was optioned back to Triple-A at the beginning of August. He figures to remain in Buffalo longer this time around, to work more on his mechanics and give him renewed confidence.

Understandably, you can make the case the Blue Jays bullpen is strong enough without Pearson. However, he has the ability that, if honed correctly, can enhance the unit and make them even more dificult to face.

Everyone with RISP

Okay, we're 'cheating' a bit here, while also appreciating we've already touched on this recently, but there is no denying the collective production has to improve. The Blue Jays' struggles with runners in scoring position are exasperating, especially considering the talent in the lineup.

The Blue Jays are tied-fifth in plate appearances and third in at-bats with runners in scoring position. And yet, they are also just tied-24th when it comes to batting average in this scenario.

Breaking it down further, the Blue Jays are just tied-26th in OBP, as well as 28th in both slugging percentage and OPS. For some context, overall they are fifth, 11th and ninth respectively. (They are also tied-fourth in batting average.)

Making the situation more confounding, is the Blue Jays' success by comparison with runners in scoring position last year. They were 13th in batting average and ninth in OBP, while also eighth in both slugging percentage and OPS.

Unsurprisingly, this lack of success with runners in scoring position is reflected in the Blue Jays' overall scoring. In fact the contrast in startling, with them ranked fourth last year and just 15th so far this season.

As much as this is about pointing out a team-wide issue, a couple of the Blue Jays' worst 'offenders' epitomize the struggles. More specifically, Santiago Espinal and Brandon Belt.

In the case of Espinal, his .178 batting average and .475 OPS with runners in scoring position both rank worst among all Blue Jays regular players. However, this is indicative of an overall drop in his production with the bat, following last year's breakout All-Star campaign.

As for Belt, he is third-lowest among all regular contributors with a .194 batting average and fourth-lowest with a .571 OPS, when runners are in scoring position. As one of the best hitters on the ballclub overall, more should (and must) be expected when he's presented with scoring opportunities.

Overall, this all alludes to the potential being there to be one of the most potent offences in the Majors. However, if they can't overcome their collective mental block in clutch situations, it's going to prove to be their downfall whether they make the playoffs or not.