Thursday thoughts

Yesterday’s loss was a dreary game in the dog days of the season as both teams struggle to the finish. At least we have some exciting rookies to watch and we haven’t lost 108 games but many of us will be glad when this season is over.

Muchas Gracias Marco

Marco Estrada was strong in his 6 innings, allowing only four baserunners on three singles and a walk. But lets remember the ‘quality’ of the team he was facing. And we still lost.

Marco has a 5.57 ERA over 139 innings pitched this season and the 35-year-old pending free agent may find it difficult to get anything more than a minor-league deal in free agency this winter.

He will likely make his final start at Rogers Centre in a Blue Jays uniform next week during Toronto’s final home series with the Houston Astros. I hope he gets a good send off because he deserves it. Estrada is only a couple years removed from a stellar two-season run for the Blue Jays in 2015 and ’16, where he posted a 3.88 ERA over 346.1 regular-season innings (the 21st-best mark in baseball), was an All-Star and pitched some of the best outings in Blue Jays post-season history.

Parting ways with Pompey

We currently have 39 players in the clubhouse- with one member of the 40-man roster not currently in uniform: Dalton ‘Disabled List’ Pompey.

After a miserable 2017 season, we all hoped Pompey would really make an impact this season. He has, just for all the wrong reasons...

Injuries, surpassed on the depth chart by several outfielders, suspended without pay following an incident with Bisons manager Bobby Meacham, the only man denied a September call-up....

Everything is leaning towards Jays and Pompey parting ways sometime in the coming months. He’ll be out of minor-league options next spring, it’s clear he’s not part of Toronto’s future major-league plans, and the Jays will be in need of 40-man roster spots this winter in order to protect young players from the Rule 5 draft.

I think we all had high hopes for Pompey (as we did with Travis Snider) but it doesn’t look like he has a future in Toronto. If he can stay healthy and that’s a big if, i hope he gets an opportunity elsewhere to show his talent.

Parting ways with Pillar?

The Jays have been using this month to try out some new outfielders, hence why we have seen Anthony Alford, Billy McKinney, Dwight Smith Jr., and Jonathan Davis. Teoscar Hernandez is also auditioning for a full-time role going forward (id rather he not be anywhere remotely near the outfield) and Kevin Pillar and Randal Grichuk are constants in the outfield...

This year Pillar has hit a career-high 38 doubles (leading the team) and has 14 home runs, just two shy of his career high. His defensive wins above replacement are also down, though some of that likely has to do with the fact that he suffered a serious injury in July, missed 14 games and often plays hurt and banged up.

Now in whispers told by the trees, there is the idea the Jays may not bring Pillar back for next season.

Kevin is 29, prone to very extreme hot and cold batting streaks and according to advanced metrics* he seems to have lost a step this year. (*Mark 1 Human Eyeball)

• His batting average is .246- his lowest since his rookie year,
• his OBP (.277) and his OPS is down from last season (.699-.704).
• His WAR (1.9) is the lowest it’s been in four seasons (it was 4.9 in 2015).

So, i pose the question...

Prime talent in the pipeline

In all the slightly depressing talk of players who may leave, there is hope.

There is prime talent in the pipeline and it makes for very encouraging reading!!

Play of the Day

Ryan Haniger with an excellent slide, swim/sneak into homeplate