clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Blue Jays Mid-Term Report Card: Trevor Richards

By Tom Dakers
/ new
MLB: Toronto Blue Jays at Texas Rangers Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor Richards came to us from the Brewers, with Bowden Francis for Rowdy Tellez.

Since the trade, Tellez has hit .226/.304/.444 with 40 home runs in 288 games. This year he is hitting .213/.285/.388 with 12 home runs in 79 games.

Richard’s time with the Jays has been up and down, In 2021 he had a 3.31 ERA in 32 games after the trade. Last year he had a 5.34 ERA in 62 games, including 4 ‘starts’ (of the opener kind).

This year?

Standard Pitching
Age W L ERA G GS GF CG SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP ERA+ FIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W Awards
30 0 1 3.02 30 3 3 0 0 44.2 32 16 15 7 17 0 67 2 0 1 138 3.59 6.4 1.4 3.4 13.5 3.94
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/11/2023.

Baseball Reference has him at a 0.8 WAR. Fangraphs at 0.5.

The difference between this year and last? His strikeout rate is way up (36.6%, 29.2 last year) and his walk rate is down (9.3%, from 12.5). And he’s getting a lot more soft contact )20.6%, up from 11.7).

By month:

  • April: 3.18.
  • May: 3.55.
  • June: 3.07.

Trevor made 3 starts when Alek Manoah was off in search of his delivery. He had a 3.00 ERA in 9 innings.

But I’m glad he’s back in the bullpen. He’s an important part of the pen, someone that can get us 2-3 innings if needed (and the bullpen is pretty much paper thin at the moment). But then I wouldn't be against them going into next spring training with the idea that Richards was going to be a starter, letting him get stretched out properly for the job.

Batters are hitting .196/.279/.362 against him. He has been better vs. RHB (.186/.263/.326) than LHB (.208/.296/.403).

On the list of pleasant surprises this season, Richards has to be near the top of the list.

Poll

For the first half I’d grade Trevor Richards an

This poll is closed

  • 53%
    A
    (189 votes)
  • 35%
    B+
    (124 votes)
  • 7%
    B
    (28 votes)
  • 1%
    B-
    (7 votes)
  • 0%
    C+
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    C
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    C-
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    D+
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    D
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    D-
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    F
    (1 vote)
351 votes total Vote Now

More From Bluebird Banter

Loading comments...