Cease on Earth

 

So let's ignore for a moment...that the Blue Jays got the snot beaten out of them yesterday by the Colorado Rockies, and let's ignore that it happened because Cody Ponce immediately got hurt in his return to US pitching and handed it to a bullpen that completely collapsed given the opportunity to leg out the rest of the game, and let's also ignore that the Rockies went 0-3 against the Marlins and took it out on the Jays in a very similar manner to the 2024 Astros after getting swept by the Yankees, and while we're at it let's also blind ourselves to the fact that the starting pitcher that kept this team down was Tomoyuki Sugano, who 2025 Jays batters had a .291 average against with 16 hits and 2 homers in 3 games. 

Let's...ignore all that. The Jays began the 2026 season against the Oakland Athletics, a team that was actually expected to improve this year, and who are currently the only 0-4 team remaining. The Jays were able to diminish the output of Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson and Lawrence Butler. Regardless of how the A's are able to even out, that still takes a fair amount of skill.

I am still of the belief that the scrappy play that got the Jays to a World Series last year is only gonna work that once. Both Addison Barger and Nathan Lukes are still hitless, Alejandro Kirk's sole hit so far has been a homer, and even with Andres Gimenez hitting up a storm, the absence of Bo Bichette still casts a large shadow on this team. I think they're just gonna have to alter their approach a bit this year, and actually shift to a more traditional lineup rather than the army of fill-ins that led them to compete. The additions of both Jesus Sanchez and Kazuma Okamoto lead me to believe that while contact is still possible, it may just need to be a bit more balanced now, and a bit less unpolished. Okamoto can hit home runs and help out with contact, and Sanchez's OPS is telling me he's branched out as well. We'll just see how sustainable it is.

Currently unquestionable though is the degree of excellence in that rotation. Gausman and Cease both had terrific opening starts, with Gausman proving he can still be dominant even in his mid-30s, and Cease proving the K rate isn't the only takeaway, regardless of how things go the third time through the lineup. I do think Cease and the Jays are ideal for each other, and he's better off someplace like Toronto than weighing out San Diego. While I do think the team will really appreciate it when Yesavage and Bieber come back, Eric Lauer is still a perfectly fine starting option, Max Scherzer came back for a reason, and I'm guessing either Ricky Tiedemann or Jake Bloss will fill in sufficiently in Ponce's stead. 

Right now, even with the Rockies loss in their rearview, the Jays look like the team to beat in the AL East. Yes, I'm aware that the Yankees also had a nice start. I'm just waiting to see how long it takes for their offense to come back after last night. 

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of the Rockies, a trusty infield bat for the team that made them start 0-3.