Stock Market Report: Blue Jays entering the season

With the season ever so slowly creeping towards us, it's looking like a good time to take stock of who the Blue Jays currently have on their roster and how dependable each of these assets is. With no news emerging recently and my urge to write almost forcing me to go down to the coffeeshop on the corner to start a novella, it's the perfect opportunity to start a new feature!

Borrowing from fellow SBNation site Daily Norseman, the stock market report classifies the team's players into a variety of different categories depending on their attractiveness as assets. As we know, the stock market is a wee bit volatile and the report will be revisited throughout the season to see whose stock has skyrocketed and whose stock has crashed into the depths of Enron nothingness. Without further ado.

Blue Chip Stocks

The blue chips are the most dependable stocks and have a track record of success that allows people to feel confident in their future with little chance for a significant downturn. The Blue Jays currently have five blue chip assets, which is a pretty good total.

Jose Bautista (JBAT)  and Edwin Encarnacion (EE)

The two bash brothers of the Blue Jays have done their thing for a long time in Toronto and it's doubtful they stop anytime soon. The former replacement level players are stalwarts of the team's lineup and if they experienced a downturn it would be fatal for everyone involved with the Blue Jays. The front office has followed the buy and hold strategy with JBAT AND EE and it's paid dividends.

Mark Buehrle (BUEH)

Blue chip stocks aren't always the flashiest of investments, but when the going gets tough these assets weather the storm and come out of it relatively unscathed. Buehrle has been one of the most consistent pitchers of the past decade and can be penciled in for 200 innings every single season, which makes him a rare commodity in the current Blue Jays rotation. This stock may soon be obsolete, but there's at least one more solid year of performance left in it.

Brett Cecil (CECL) and Aaron Loup (LOUP)

In an area that is hard to have consistent performance, the pair of lefties in the Blue Jays bullpen have been true blue chip stocks. Extremely reliable late in the game, CECL and LOUP are guaranteed to give solid performance and can be counted on to be the backbone of any high leverage 'portfolio'.

Solid Stocks Exploring New Markets

Sometimes solid stocks veer off their old path and decide to explore new markets with a high chance of success coming with a possible chance of disappointment. If these stocks are able to continue their success in their new surroundings they can quickly make the step up to blue chip stocks.

Josh Donaldson (JDON) and Russell Martin (RUSS)

Two players who are well-established major leaguers and had success with their former teams came to the Blue Jays this offseason and will look to continue their success north of the border. While it is expected that these assets will quickly become the blue chip stocks they're projected to be, there's a chance that playing on turf or catching a knuckleball could provide unexpected barriers to entry that reduce their attractiveness.

Mid Cap Stocks

Mid cap stocks are middle of the road stocks, which aren't quite massive assets but also are more established than most newer small cap stocks. These stocks have some history of success, but aren't blue chips and therefore carry more risk.

Jose Reyes (RYES) and R.A. Dickey (RAD)

Two remnants of the 2012 offseason transactions, Reyes and Dickey have turned in average performances during their time with the Blue Jays although there was more expected of them. There isn't a huge amount of risk involved with this pair of players, although we've also probably seen their expected return during the last two years.

Value Stocks

The value stocks are considered to have high upside and are currently underpriced with a large amount of room for an increase in value.

Marcus Stroman (STRO), Aaron Sanchez (SNCZ), Daniel Norris (DNOR) and Drew Hutchison (HTCH)

This foursome of pitchers looked impressive during the past season and could quickly become a part of the core of the team in 2015. All four players don't have enough of a track record to be considered extremely dependable but they showed some tremendous upside in 2014 which makes them perfect assets to track as they make their rise to the blue chip section of this list.

Dalton Pompey (POMP)

The only value stock on the position player side of the ledger, Pompey seems to have won himself the centre field job and will look to reach the upside that many people see in him. The risk is quite high for this home grown stock, but there isn't a ton of other options in the current market meaning the Blue Jays are counting on POMP's performance to avoid bringing down the rest of their positions.

Penny Stocks

These stocks are as close to gambling as you can get in the market and should not be considered dependable at all. While the risk is extremely high, there's the odd chance that one of these assets explodes and provides extreme value.

Justin Smoak (SMOK), Devon Travis (TRAV), Ryan Goins (AAAA), Michael Saunders (SNDR) and Danny Valencia (DVAN)

These players aren't extreme penny stocks as they all have some sort of track record that makes them appealing, but the odds they provide solid returns are fairly low. Many of these players have real upside, but if just one or two of them performed solidly then it would have to be considered a win for the Blue Jays.

Marco Estrada (ESTR), Todd Redmond (TODD), Chad Jenkins (JENK), and Steve Delabar (SPLT)

The projected back end of the Blue Jays bullpen is filled with lottery tickets that could have a solid year, especially with a new catcher in place, or they could flame out and never provide any sort of notable performance. Relievers are the ultimate penny stocks as there always seems to be a random standout name each season that comes out of nowhere and becomes the poster child for pitchers who can turn around their careers with a switch to the bullpen.

Try to find a buyer for these stocks

Maicer Izturis (IZT) and Dioner Navarro (DION)

These players no longer have a place in the Blue Jays portfolio and should be traded before the season begins. While they still have some value, they've been replaced by better options that are too similar to them to provide any sort of diversification. If the Blue Jays can dump these assets before April, they definitely should. SELL SELL SELL

There you have it, the first stock market report of the new season. It will be interesting to track each asset's progress as we go through the season and run into inevitable surprises and disappointments. What classifications do you not agree with in this report?