Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread
Blue Jays 2022 Draft Report
The draft has come and gone, and it was an interesting one with several future superstars and exciting prospects joining many teams, much unlike last year.
Hank Dietz, a big lefty starting pitcher, was the number 1 draft overall, going to the Colorado Rockies, who are easily the current worst in baseball by a long shot.
3B Chad Darling went to the Marlins, adding to their drive to trade Frank Aguila.
A righty starter with an interesting pitchset went to the Royals, in the form of Rickey Hackman.
Switch-hitting SS David Yu rounded out the top 4, going to the Mariners. The Japanese import's career will be watched with great interest throughout the league.
The Orioles made out with three quality pitchers, adding to their already great pitching depth and further committing to their defense-first strategy, and the Athletics added two interesting pieces, including a big bat that should be able to help them out right away, which only adds to the fear of the team they may be next year.
And then we get to the Jays.
"We just picked what we could, when we could." Said GM TheWarmWind. "We never really had an opportunity at any of the options that we scouted that we felt would shore up our weaknesses."
"That's not to say we did poorly." He added. "Daniel Dias is a fantastic steal with our 1rst round (30th overall) pick. He's an excellent left-handed bullpen option that is ready to play MLB today, while also having a ton of upside. We just don't need more bullpen pieces at the moment, nor in the near future. The rest of our most interesting pickups are all relievers as well. It's... not ideal."
Looking Forward
The Blue Jays have a few things to think about, both in the short term and in the long.
In the short term, it's obvious that the Jays juggernaut is headed to another post season. As the season winds up towards the All-Star break, the Jays need to think about what they can do to shore up their current weaknesses.
1b has been a problem this year. Montano has flip-flopped between the brilliance he showed last year and a guy who just can't hit the ball. Julio has been on a steady decline ever since he got called up, and his bat just has zero pop in it. Steve Roman and Alfredo Moreno have both already been sent down due to their inability to hang in the bigs. Adding Valenzuela to the 40 man and calling him up is an option, but the Jays are reluctant to roll the dice on him just yet. The corner seems cursed.
The Jays have a plethora of pitching they're eager to trade. They'd likely be looking for a rental. Brendon Belt is the obvious choice, but the Giants are contenders this year, so it's doubtful they'll be eager. The Rays' Pedro Alvarado is and option, but he is signed through 2023.
Rizzo is also on a contender, and comes with a hefty chunk of salary to swallow, even if it is only for half a year.
That leave the Cubs' Brian Reyes, and the Mets' Rickey Brister, a righty and a lefty. Both are hitting well right now on teams likely not to reach the post-season. Neither is superstar material, but they certainly can bring stable production to the seemingly cursed position.
In the long term, the Jays will be looking to sweep up some of that fresh talent injected in the 2022 draft. They've got quite a few quality pieces they'll want to dangle early and often this coming off season, regardless of post-season results.
Ron Gilmore is the obvious fruit to hang out. As much as they want to keep the left-handed fireballer, it's hard to imagine him fitting in with the Blue Jays plans. Lozano and McMullen are locked in for another 5 years. Blanco is showing he's the real deal. Fernando Chavez and Alonso Baez are showing themselves to be better then Gilmore, while at the same time costing less over the next few years. Gilmore's got a proven rotation in front of him and a log-jam of quality pitching prospects behind him. Manual Chavez, Troy Reyes, Pablo Gomez, Jorge Hernandez, Juan Brito, Nicholas Burden... the list goes on. The Jays system is bursting with pitching prospects, and something's gotta give.
Hernandez and Burden will likely also hit the block, and I'm sure the Jays would be at least willing to listen to trades involving either Fernando Chavez or Baez.
There will likely be another piece put up for trade in the off-season. Bryce Harper. Roberto Perez is ready to take over as the starter in LF. Floyd Moyer is on the cusp of MLB ready (he just barely got cut a few weeks ago) and Chris Manual has just exploded into the MLB scene in his debut. With Bloom and Mauzoul clearly key parts of the Blue Jays' core, having Harper on salary seems more and more superfluous.
It's not that he's been bad. True, he had a bad April, but that's been true of every single April that he's been on the Jays bar one, and he's (as per usual) picking up consistency and power throughout May and hitting his stride now at the beginning of June. He's also a proven solid performer in the post-season. But having him off salary frees up a ton of flexibility to help deal with the younger Jays.
Honestly, it's not likely to happen. I doubt the Jays will be satisfied with any of the offers that are tabled for him, but he'll be dangled regardless of the futility.
Blue Jays 2022 Draft Report
The draft has come and gone, and it was an interesting one with several future superstars and exciting prospects joining many teams, much unlike last year.
Hank Dietz, a big lefty starting pitcher, was the number 1 draft overall, going to the Colorado Rockies, who are easily the current worst in baseball by a long shot.
3B Chad Darling went to the Marlins, adding to their drive to trade Frank Aguila.
A righty starter with an interesting pitchset went to the Royals, in the form of Rickey Hackman.
Switch-hitting SS David Yu rounded out the top 4, going to the Mariners. The Japanese import's career will be watched with great interest throughout the league.
The Orioles made out with three quality pitchers, adding to their already great pitching depth and further committing to their defense-first strategy, and the Athletics added two interesting pieces, including a big bat that should be able to help them out right away, which only adds to the fear of the team they may be next year.
And then we get to the Jays.
"We just picked what we could, when we could." Said GM TheWarmWind. "We never really had an opportunity at any of the options that we scouted that we felt would shore up our weaknesses."
"That's not to say we did poorly." He added. "Daniel Dias is a fantastic steal with our 1rst round (30th overall) pick. He's an excellent left-handed bullpen option that is ready to play MLB today, while also having a ton of upside. We just don't need more bullpen pieces at the moment, nor in the near future. The rest of our most interesting pickups are all relievers as well. It's... not ideal."
Looking Forward
The Blue Jays have a few things to think about, both in the short term and in the long.
In the short term, it's obvious that the Jays juggernaut is headed to another post season. As the season winds up towards the All-Star break, the Jays need to think about what they can do to shore up their current weaknesses.
1b has been a problem this year. Montano has flip-flopped between the brilliance he showed last year and a guy who just can't hit the ball. Julio has been on a steady decline ever since he got called up, and his bat just has zero pop in it. Steve Roman and Alfredo Moreno have both already been sent down due to their inability to hang in the bigs. Adding Valenzuela to the 40 man and calling him up is an option, but the Jays are reluctant to roll the dice on him just yet. The corner seems cursed.
The Jays have a plethora of pitching they're eager to trade. They'd likely be looking for a rental. Brendon Belt is the obvious choice, but the Giants are contenders this year, so it's doubtful they'll be eager. The Rays' Pedro Alvarado is and option, but he is signed through 2023.
Rizzo is also on a contender, and comes with a hefty chunk of salary to swallow, even if it is only for half a year.
That leave the Cubs' Brian Reyes, and the Mets' Rickey Brister, a righty and a lefty. Both are hitting well right now on teams likely not to reach the post-season. Neither is superstar material, but they certainly can bring stable production to the seemingly cursed position.
In the long term, the Jays will be looking to sweep up some of that fresh talent injected in the 2022 draft. They've got quite a few quality pieces they'll want to dangle early and often this coming off season, regardless of post-season results.
Ron Gilmore is the obvious fruit to hang out. As much as they want to keep the left-handed fireballer, it's hard to imagine him fitting in with the Blue Jays plans. Lozano and McMullen are locked in for another 5 years. Blanco is showing he's the real deal. Fernando Chavez and Alonso Baez are showing themselves to be better then Gilmore, while at the same time costing less over the next few years. Gilmore's got a proven rotation in front of him and a log-jam of quality pitching prospects behind him. Manual Chavez, Troy Reyes, Pablo Gomez, Jorge Hernandez, Juan Brito, Nicholas Burden... the list goes on. The Jays system is bursting with pitching prospects, and something's gotta give.
Hernandez and Burden will likely also hit the block, and I'm sure the Jays would be at least willing to listen to trades involving either Fernando Chavez or Baez.
There will likely be another piece put up for trade in the off-season. Bryce Harper. Roberto Perez is ready to take over as the starter in LF. Floyd Moyer is on the cusp of MLB ready (he just barely got cut a few weeks ago) and Chris Manual has just exploded into the MLB scene in his debut. With Bloom and Mauzoul clearly key parts of the Blue Jays' core, having Harper on salary seems more and more superfluous.
It's not that he's been bad. True, he had a bad April, but that's been true of every single April that he's been on the Jays bar one, and he's (as per usual) picking up consistency and power throughout May and hitting his stride now at the beginning of June. He's also a proven solid performer in the post-season. But having him off salary frees up a ton of flexibility to help deal with the younger Jays.
Honestly, it's not likely to happen. I doubt the Jays will be satisfied with any of the offers that are tabled for him, but he'll be dangled regardless of the futility.
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