Missed Pitch: The Unraveling of the 2017 Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays currently sit a wide 7.5 games behind the divisional leader Boston Red Sox, and last place in the AL East. The team has yet to assert itself in a position other than last in the AL East all season which has led to a very uneventful and disappointing season to date. After a pair of post-season appearances the expectations of fall baseball were once again placed on the Blue Jays. Toronto's struggles have begged many to wonder What went wrong for the Toronto Blue Jays?

The Offense

Runs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, Runs Batted In, Average, and On-Base Percentage. All categories where the Toronto Blue Jays rank in Major League Baseball's bottom five teams. It is crazy to think that a team that boasted one of baseball's most prolific batting orders is now a bottom feeder in some of the most important offensive categories in baseball. Well, for starters, the teams most valuable offensive talent, Josh Donaldson, has been hurt, and has been playing hurt this season. Donaldson's injuries are most reflective in his average this season as the former AL MVP has been batting only .242 this season. Long time Blue Jays veteran Jose Bautista has also been a sore spot for the Toronto Blue Jays this season. While the right-fielder has hit 16 home runs this year, he is only hitting .221 and has struck out 106 times (Leads all Blue Jays hitters). Troy Tulowitzki, once an offensive stalwart and the poster boy for offensive production at the shortstop position has fallen mightily as he is neither hitting for average (Only hitting .250 this season), or power with a minute 7 Home Runs this year. Despite the disappointing performances from players who are depended upon the most to perform, the biggest issue the Toronto Blue Jays have faced offensively is rooted in their one dimensional, home run happy approach. When the long ball makes an appearance, the results are impressive (look no further than their series sweep of the Oakland Athletics). However, when the long ball is long gone, the team struggles to generate runs on the basepath's due to a very apparent lack of speed. The team's leading base stealer is Kevin Pillar who has nabbed 12 bases this year for the Blue Jays making him the only Blue Jay player who has double digit steals. When Jose Bautista is tied for 2nd in steals on your team, there is an issue that needs to be addressed.

The Pitching

Surprisingly with how bad the offense has been this year for the Blue Jays, the pitching staff has actually turned out to be the biggest disappointment on this team. Only one starter on this team (Marcus Stroman) has pitched his way to a sub 4.00 ERA. The starting rotation has suffered a plethora of injuries as both Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez have dealt with blisters this season, J.A Happ suffered an elbow injury earlier in the season, and Francisco Liriano has recently come down with a shoulder injury. Which leaves only one pitcher who has not been officially labelled with an injury, and that is Marco Estrada. While Marco Estrada's rise to stardom was one that was unsuspecting and admirable, it helped mask many issues that were underlying with the Toronto Blue Jays rotation. Now that Estrada's play has fallen to as low as it has been since he joined the Blue Jays, it has created a very big gap in the Toronto's rotation. Examining the relievers now, and where the Blue Jays may have gone wrong was placing such lofty expectations on 40 year old reliever Jason Grilli. Grilli was counted upon at the beginning of the season of being a fixture of the Blue Jays bullpen, but now as we soon enter the month of August, Grilli has been dealt to the Texas Rangers after being designated for assignment. Offseason acquisitions Joe Smith and J.P Howell have both suffered injuries, and the loveable Joe Biagini has been popping in and out of the bullpen and the starting rotation. Dominic Leone, Danny Barnes, and Ryan Tepera have proven to be the three most reliable middle inning relievers in the bullpen. The only relief pitcher who has exceeded expectations has been the closer, Roberto Osuna. Osuna has gone 26 for 30 in save opportunities and has emerged as one of the games most impressive young talents. While the cause of most of the Blue Jays pitching woes have been injuries, it does not make the performance of the rotation and the bullpen any less disappointing to those who had major aspirations of the staff.

Although some may be scratching their heads at the 2017 season the Toronto Blue Jays have had considering how successful the franchise has been the past two seasons, it is easy to see that this season, almost everything that could have gone wrong for the team, has. While the addition of Kendrys Morales and the meteoric rise of Justin Smoak have given fans something to cheer about, the lack of speed and inconsistency of the long ball coupled with the injuries the pitching staff has faced have slammed the Blue Jays into the AL East's basement.