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Blue Jays by the numbers: Bats are booming but pitching not where it needs to be yet
We're now two weeks into the 2015 regular season and so far it's been nothing more than the same old Blue Jays. Sure, there are a few new faces, pitchers and position players alike, but Toronto finds itself in an awfully familiar spot. The team is having little issue scoring runs and a few problems preventing them.
ML rank | Team | Record | Runs scored per game |
1 | Royals | 10-3 | 5.77 |
T-2 | Blue Jays | 6-7 | 5.38 |
T-2 | Tigers | 11-2 | 5.38 |
ML rank | Team | Record | Runs against per game |
22 | Orioles | 7-6 | 4.62 |
23 | Blue Jays | 6-7 | 4.69 |
24 | Rays | 6-7 | 4.85 |
Even with the changes in the lineup and on the mound, their start still lines up with their overall performances in each of the last three seasons.
| Runs scored (ML rank) | Runs against (ML rank) | Run differential (ML rank) |
2014 | 723 (5) | 686 (20) | +37 (10) |
2013 | 712 (9) | 756 (27) | -44 (18) |
2012 | 716 (13) | 784 (25) | -68 (22) |
Much of the early concern falls on Toronto's young pitchers. Drew Hutchison (3 GS, 7.20 ERA) has followed up a strong outing on opening day with a couple rough starts. Daniel Norris (3 GS, 6.08 ERA) and Aaron Sanchez (2 GS, 6.23 ERA) have looked like rookies adjusting to the major leagues. It's safe to say that's not going to cut it. The bullpen is going to take some of the blame, allowing 20 runs in 47 2/3 innings, but eight of those runs came against now-departed right-hander Todd Redmond, and their collective 3.59 ERA would have put them middle of the pack last season.
What's most surprising about the offensive output to date is that the Blue Jays have been able to rack up runs without consistent contributions from Edwin Encarnacion (30 wRC+), Russell Martin (82 wRC+), and to a certain extent Jose Bautista (106 wRC+).
But even as the runs come in without great help from their big-time run producers, the focus is squarely on the pitching. Because the pitching performances have been too similar to those in recent seasons, and we know the last few years of baseball in Toronto hasn't been good enough to get into the playoffs. That'll need to improve if it's going to happen in 2015.
For a primer on the wRC+ statistic, visit FanGraphs for a thorough explanation on why it's a valuable metric to evaluate offensive production.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
