Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Blue Jays (Part One)

The 2020 Blue Jays. If this were a regular season, they'd be a feel-good team that missed the postseason by inches.

However, this is the 2020 season, so they were a playoff team. Which, honestly, was kinda cool. You don't often see clunky little cinderella teams like the Jays squeeze into the playoffs very often anymore. And, thankfully, the Blue Jays were exactly that. A harmless, cinderella team that had a nice little time in the playoffs before losing to the AL Champion Rays in a Wild Card series. It was nice to see a Jays team that didn't threaten me, that I could potentially root for without having flashbacks of those terrible 2015-16 runs that came out of nowhere. 

Like any mid-tier playoff team, the Blue Jays were imperfect. Yes, Matt Shoemaker was able to stay healthy until September, which is a marvel in itself, but right as he was beginning to get the hang of things, he was phased out in favor of some of the new starters in Toronto. He did finish the season with an improved 4.71 ERA, 26 Ks and a postseason start, so...he's still far from as useless as he was in his injury-prone era.

2021 Prediction: Will be a solid fourth starter for a mid-tier team. I think he'll start 18 games, which is as much as the last 3 seasons combined.

 

Coming off of a strong year with two clubs, Tanner Roark was signed to back up Trent Thornton and Hyun-Jin Ryu in the rotation, and he...had a weak year, what else can I say? In 11 starts he had a 6.80 ERA and 46 strikeouts, and a 2-3 record. Not much at all worth talking about.

2021 Prediction: A return to form, and a lower ERA, but...I don't think he'll spend the entire season in the rotation.

Danny Jansen won the catching battle over Reese McGuire, on account of Jansen not being an abuser. Jansen did, however, fail to hit over .200, despite 20 RBIs, 6 homers and some clutch moments down the stretch. He's still a durable, reliable catcher, but he needs to learn to hit for average.

2021 Prediction: By September he's backing up Alejandro Kirk.

Travis Shaw was the centerpiece of the Brewers two years ago, but since his average has fallen off he's looked more mortal than ever. In his first season as Blue Jays third baseman, Shaw hit .239 with 39 hits, 17 RBIs and 6 homers. Not much to write home about whatsoever.

2021 Prediction: Wherever he signs, it'll be as a bench/backup. 

A year after debuting as the lovable power-hitting DH in Toronto, Rowdy Tellez took a step back as the other Baby Jays sort of took over the assault. He still hit .283 with 23 RBIs and 8 homers, but he missed most of September due to injuries, and was missing for the postseason. Despite a nice season, he's gotta win back some goodwill, cause they could have needed him.

2021 Prediction: 30 homers, .250 average, and serious trade talks. 

Speaking of trade talks, after landing in New York for the waiver deadline last year, Joe Panik hopped onto the Blue Jays bench, hoping to get some playing time backing up the baby Jays. An injury to Bo Bichette gave Panik some much needed starting time in August, right before Jonathan Villar would take the position. In 41 games, Panik hit .225 with 7 RBIs and 27 hits. Not to the caliber of his Giants numbers, but not bad.

2021 Prediction: Someone will pick him up, but his days of starting are over.

And in the 'surprising reliever' category, as Anthony Bass did the majority of the ninth inning work, the statistical relief pitching leader for 2020 was Rafael Dolis, the former Cubs prospect who hadn't pitched in the majors since 2013. Dolis had spent the last 4 seasons pitching for the Hanshin Tigers, becoming one of their premier relief weapons, and building his arsenal back up for a return to the majors. In 24 innings, Dolis posted a 1.50 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 5 saves. Safe to say the big man is back in the MLB to stay.

2021 Prediction: Will eventually get the closing gig, get 35 saves and be the talk of the winter meetings. 

I had to split this post in two for the sake of the tags, so everybody who joined this team after Opening Day is tonight in Part 1. 

Garrett Richards is Healthy and Thriving

I don't know how the Angels did it, but for the better part of the 2010s, they rest their rotation on  the well-beings of two pitchers, Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker, who could not for the life of them stay off the IL. Richards, after stellar work from 2013 to 2015, played 6 games in each of the next 2 seasons, and increased his output to 16 starts in 2018. Shoemaker, after a stellar rookie year in 2014 and consistent seasons in 2015 and 2016, began to see injuries take more and more from the next 2 seasons in Anaheim.

The most interesting part is that these were never 'something's wrong, everybody's hitting him' injuries. Both pitchers posted solid ERA numbers before going on the IL for the remainder of the season. Eventually, though, LA gave up on both of them. Toronto claimed Shoemaker, and Richards signed with San Diego.

The 2019 season was arguably the same for both of them. Shoemaker started the season healthy, got off to an outstanding start for the Jays with a 1.57 ERA and 3 wins in 5  starts before missing the rest of the season due to injury. Richards, however, was a late-season call-up for the Padres, making 3 starts but posting an 8.31 ERA over 3 starts. It was not the comeback either of them had hoped for.

2020 has brought prolonged health so far for both hurlers, but their stories couldn't be more different this season. Shoemaker has yet to post a win in 5 starts, and has a 4.91 ERA. As his Blue Jays improve for the stretch, perhaps his numbers will improve.

Richards, though, is having a fantastic year so far. In 6 starts, he has a 3.52 ERA with 25 strikeouts, as well as a 0.9 WAR, his highest since 2017. He is also a member of a rotation that includes young talent like Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack, as well as an impressive Zach Davies performance or two. He's found  himself on the right Padres team at the right time, and I'm glad his luck has improved.

The Padres, meanwhile, are for real. Machado's hot as hell right now, and he, Tatis, Grisham, Myers and Jake Cronenworth are an excellent core that could take this team well into October. I do think they have enough to fend off Colorado, who have dropped recently, and I do wonder how they'll do in the next month against the Dodgers.

It's nice to see Garrett Richards, and the Padres, doing better.

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of Shoemaker's current team, somebody's son who's good at contact-hitting.

Uncustomed Heroes of Baseball: Angels (Part One)

So, if there are any fans of the blog that I haven't lost after my no-post November, they'll remember that every December I commemorate the best stars of baseball that I haven't customized during the season. I used to organize the customs by year, but since that got to frenzied with the addition of non-Topps designs, I do it by team now. But darn it, there got to be too many customs for a lot of teams, so for the guys that have a lot going on, I'll split the post into two.

Also, for the players this year that have made a definite impact on the game, due to their 2014 season,  there may be some second-customs for a lot of people. Like, I already made one during the season, but they were so great this year that I wanted to make another.

So Matt Shoemaker had a terrific rookie season, becoming one of the standouts of the team by August, and pitching into the postseason, as well as rocking some incredible facial hair.

David Freese's first season as an Angel was not as productive as a lot of Angels fans would have preferred. Freese was injured for a little bit, and when he was active, he didn't contribute too much outside of a few hits here and there.

Kole Calhoun was the resident utility outfielder, who came in halfway through the season and became the team's regular right fielder over time, which was nice, even if he didn't match the star power of the guys in center and left. He had a modest season for a guy trying to win a spot.

Howie Kendrick had another really nice season without being a league standout. People are calling Kendrick one of the most underrated position players in the game, and I would agree with a lot of those people, as he is a nice little second baseman, without a lot of pomp.

Later today I'll post some more uncustomed Angels.