Who’s Up, Who’s Down: Blue Jays Batters

Since I missed much of August, I doing this for me.

Our Blue Jays are 10-8 in August (the record looked a lot better before the series in Chicago). Our batters have hit .238/.324/.417, roughly in line with what they have been doing all season. We’ve averaged 4.7 runs per game, which is half a run a game better than we’ve been doing to this point.

Up

Josh Donaldson: Started all 18 games. Hit.344/.488/.836 with 3 doubles, 9 home runs, 21 RBI, 16 walks and 10 strikeouts. And that’s including the 1 for 11 in the 3 games in Chicago. I’m hoping the hot streak restarts in Tampa or I guess St. Petersburg. A few hits, at the right moments, could have changed the series in Chicago. He came into the Cubs series streak of 5 games with 2 hits in each. He seemed to do ok at short, but we didn’t see him turn a double play or make any tough plays. I’m guessing we’ll see him at short some more this season.

Steve Pearce: Played in 16 of 18, starting 15. Hit .315/.433/.537 with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 6 RBI, 11 walks and 11 strikeouts. He’s been pretty great. I would have been looking to trade him at the deadline, but he’s been fun to watch at the plate. I’d be good with opening up the DH spot for him, but I’m guess Kendrys doesn’t have much for trade value. Maybe, at DH, he could stay healthy. He doesn’t have much defensive value. No he won’t be playing second.

Kevin Pillar: Played in all 17 games, starting 16. Hit .310/.354/.397 with 5 doubles, 7 RBI, 2 steaks, 1 caught, 4 walks and 11 strikeouts. He was 6 for 13 in Chicago. Gotta like the guy when he is hot. When he’s cold, he’s tough to watch. There doesn’t seems to be a rhyme or reason to when the streaks start or end. He doesn’t have a home run yet this month. He’s hit at least 2 each month this season until August. That catch at the wall, yesterday, was a thing of beauty.

Down

Jose Bautista: Started all 17 games. Hit .194/.308/.418 with 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 9 RBI, 1 steal, 1 caught, 10 walks and 18 strikeouts. It seemed like he did alright at third base, though he didn’t have much for tough plays. He’s played in 122 of 124 games. 8 games at DH. Personally, I think a 36-year old should be getting more days off, but that’s me. He’s having a terrible season.

Kendrys Morales: Played in 15 games, starting 11. Hit .159/.275/.295 with 3 doubles, 1 homer, 3 RBI, 6 walks and 10 strikeouts. Speaking of having a terrible season. I would be shopping him hard if I was in charge, and I’d be willing to eat some salary. He has a -0.2 bWAR at the moment.

Ezequiel Carrera: Played in 17 game, starting 6. .211/.348/.368 with 3 doubles, 1 RBI, 2 steals, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. He’s been getting on base, which is good. He’s lost playing time to Pearce, but then Pearce tends to get hurt, so he might be back playing more soon.

Darwin Barney: Played in 17 games, starting 13. Hit .191/.208/.298 with 2 doubles, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 steal, 0 walks and 7 strikeouts. He had a good April, but hasn’t hit at all since then. I’m hoping they let him go this winter. He seems like a nice guy, nice doesn’t help us win. He has a -0.8 bWAR to this point.

Rob Refsnyder: Played in 12 games, starting 9. He his .200/.310/.200, 2 steals, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts. I’d like to see him play more, and I’d like to see Barney play less. We are supposed to be looking for speed. He’s got speed.

Norichika Aoki: played in 9 games, starting 4. Hit .190/.227/.381 with 1 double, 1 home run, 4 RBI, 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. I’d like to see him get to play more.

Somewhere In Between

Justin Smoak: Started all 18 games. Hit .260/.308/.466 with 6 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, 5 walks and 19 strikeouts. I mean it is a slump, compared to how he’s been hitting all year, but it is still pretty good, at least compared to his history before this season.

Ryan Goins: Played in 17 games, starting 14. .228/.279/.316, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 11 RBI, 1 steal, 1 caught, 4 walks and 12 strikeouts. This is what he hits. The RISP stuff is cool and all, but he’s getting on base at a .226 rate with the bases empty and that’s unacceptable. There is a value to getting on base, as well as a value to driving in runs. It seems to be that he has himself convinced he can hit with RISP, which is good. I wish he could convince himself that it is worthwhile to hit at other times. He talked about getting off social media, which I think is a good idea for players.

Also Played

Miguel Montero: Played in 5 games, starting 4. Hit .250/.250/.500 with 1 double, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 0 walks and 4 strikeouts. He’s going to be our starter until Martin comes back. He’s thrown out 3 base stealers for us, which is 2 more than he got with the Cubs.

Rafael Lopez: Played in 9 games, 6 starts. Hit .100/.182/.100, with 2 RBI, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts. And one just awful inning. He’s not as bad as he looked that inning.

Injured

Russell Martin: Played in 8 games, starting 7 this month before going on the DL with the oblique injury. He hit .200/.310/.320 with 1 homer, 4 RBI, 1 steal, 4 walks and 8 strikeouts. The team has been quiet about what the return date might be. They haven’t said anything about his status. After yesterday, he can’t come back quick enough.

Troy Tulowitzki: Done for the season. Right ankle sprain is what they are calling it.

Anthony Alford: Hitting .351/.426/.474 in New Hampshire this August.

Darrell Ceciliani: Had shoulder surgery earlier in the month

Dalton Pompey: On the DL, his rehab ended with a sore knee.

Devon Travis: Taking ground balls. Looking like he’s moving around ok, but I’m still thinking it’s unlikely he’s back this year.

Luke Maile: He’s rehabbing in Dunedin. I thought his rehab would last until September 1, but, after yesterday, maybe he’ll be back sooner.