Blue Jay Across The Pond

A week of 2024 Spring Training in Florida for the Blue Jays has passed but it’s fair to say that it’s been underwhelming. Toronto sits bottom of the Grapefruit League with a 2-6 record having lost their last 4 games. However, there have been some bright spots, a few surprises but also a few struggles along the way. In this post, I’ll take a look at mainly the regulars who have caught my eye.

Who Has Impressed?

1. Daulton Varsho: 11 AB, 4H, 1R, 3RBI’S, .364 AVG, .417 OBP and .872 OPS. Our left fielder has caught my eye for all the right reasons so far. Varsho was excellent in our first game of the Spring against Philadelphia last Saturday when he went 3-3 with 3 RBI’s and he collected an extra hit against the Pirates on Monday. After an underwhelming first season with the Jays, I’m really hoping that he’ll rebound in 2024 and I believe he will!
2. Jordan Romano: 2 GP, 0.00 ERA, 2IP, 3 SO and 0.00 WHIP. What a fantastic start to Spring for our closer. He collected 2 SO against the Yankees yesterday in one of a few positives from an 8-4 loss. He topped 98 mph on Monday against the Pirates. One word to describe Jordan’s Spring so far? Faultless and proving why he’s one of the best closers in the game at the moment.
3. Bo Bichette: 12 AB, 5H, 3R, .417 AVG, .417 OBP and .834 OPS. He’s played in 4 games but he’s had at least one hit in all of them. Bo finished 4th in hits in the American League last year and if he can stay injury-free I think our star SS will find himself in a similar position once again. Honourable Mentions: Danny Jansen, José Berríos, Yusei Kikuchi and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Surprises

1. Daniel Vogelbach: 7 AB, 2H, 3R, 1HR and 2RBI’s. Many of us weren’t thrilled at the idea of Vogelbach returning with an invite to Spring Training BUT he has been a pleasant surprise. The highlight of ST so far HAS to be his home run off reigning AL CY Young winner Gerrit Cole and we really liked him trotting around the bases. Is there a chance he makes the Opening Day Roster as a backup DH to Justin Turner.
2. Nathan Lukes: 11AB, 5H, 2RBI’s, .455 AVG, .962 OPS. Is there a chance he makes the Opening Day Roster as the 4th OF? Like Vogelbach he’s been a pleasant surprise. His defence is solid and if he does make it, I’m hoping he’ll get more opportunities especially with the injury records of George Springer & Kevin Kiermaier. Honourable mentions: Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Ernie Clement and Bryan Serven, (8 RBI’s.)

Who Has Struggled?

1. Trevor Richards: 2 GP, 16.20 ERA, 1.2 IP, 4H, 5R, 1HR and 3.60 WHIP. The stats say it all really Richards has not been good enough and in reality hasn’t been since he came off the IL last August from a neck strain. He’ll only make it onto the roster because he’s out of options but needless to say, he’s been poor.
2. Alek Manoah: 1 GP, 21.60 ERA, 1.2 IP, 3H, 4 ER and 2.40 WHIP. My last blog post was regarding Manoah’s bad outing against Detroit on Monday and that is still available. Since then, according to Keegan Matheson, Manoah is currently experiencing shoulder soreness and had to cut short his bullpen session on Friday. As a result, he’s been scratched from his next scheduled start against the Red Sox down in Fort Myers. How this will affect the rest of Manoah’s spring? Only time will tell…
3. Eduardo Escobar: 9 AB, 0H, 0 RBI’s, 1R and .000 AVG. Not a good first impression so far and unless he improves he’s very unlikely to make the Opening Day Roster as Kiner-Falefa, Cavan Biggio and Davis Schneider are ahead of him in the depth chart. (Not So Honourable Mentions): Alejandro Kirk and Spencer Horwitz

The Outlook for Next Week

Monday 4th: VS PHI, (1:07 ET/6:07 UK)

Tuesday 5th: @ PIT, (1:05 ET/6:05 UK)

Wednesday 6th: OFF DAY

Thursday 7th: @ DET, (6:05 ET/11:05 UK)

Friday 8th: VS NYY, (1:07 ET/6:07 UK)

Saturday 9th: @ PHI, (1:05 ET/6:05 UK)

Sunday 10th: SPLIT SQUAD @ BAL, (1:05 ET/5:05 UK) VS BAL, (1:07 ET/5:07 UK)

Let me know your thoughts from Week 1 of Spring Training and follow me on Twitter @SophieShipton_